The First Wave Of Reviews For Santa Monica's GOD OF WAR Are In Suggesting One Of The Best Games Ever Made

It looks like PlayStation 4 owners have yet another reason to celebrate. Just two months ago, Sony released Bluepoint's excellent  Shadow of the Colossus remake, and SIE Santa Monica Studio has seemingly deliver the highest-rated original (sorry, The Last Of Us Remastered) PlayStation game of this generation, and one of the best reviewed interactive experiences in the history of Sony's platform.

God of War currently holds an average of 94% on review site Metacritic, meaning that Kratos beats all of this year's mega hits, such as Monster Hunter: World (90%), Dragon Ball FighterZ (86%), and Far Cry 5 (84%). GOW's score shouldn't change drastically anytime soon, considering that the game's fantastic result is based on almost 80 reviews from the biggest websites and magazines across the globe. 

The verdict is simple - Santa Monica Studio has crafter a wonderful story, that is more emotional and deep than all previous God of War games combined. The graphics and vistas are a beauty to behold, slashing monsters in fun as always, camera works better than usual, and borrowing elements from The Last of Us clearly worked. God of War is on the fast-track to earn itself many Game of the Year awards.

Ultimately, God of War is the perfect example of how it’s possible to revolutionize a beloved series while improving it massively, in a way that does not feel unnatural. Mechanical improvements add up on top of a compelling story and impressively solid and likable characters. Cory Barlog and his team managed to reinvent the wheel, and while they added more pieces, it rolls smoother than ever before, providing the best God of War experience of the history of the franchise.

All of this equates to a game that crackles with the thrill of its ferocious combat and vast expanse of Norse mythology, but also takes pains to stay grounded and intimate. How well this will play with fans of the series remains to be seen. This is, without question, the biggest God of War game yet -it will be knocking on 30 hours before the credits roll- but is comparatively reserved in scale. And as the game succumbs to a touch of bloat in its denouement and a habit of enemy repetition starts to bite, you wonder if a few more gargantuan scuffles would have filled the gap before its spectacular finale. But perhaps that would be too easy, because as it is God of War represents a stunning, creatively-risky gamble that deserves to pay off. Turns out there are plenty of places it could go, after all.

God of War is a story about what it means to be a god – traversing realms, killing mythical monsters, exerting power, exploring the boundaries of possibility – but also about what it means to be a man. Power and masculinity are intertwined, and Kratos’s desire to protect his son from the realities of both is unexpectedly touching. Atreus is far from the irritating sidekick he might have been, complementing Kratos’s gruff and humourless dialogue with quips and endearing observations, turning his father’s intense seriousness and inability to find humour in anything into a running joke. Their dynamic changes shape more than once over the course of the story, and their relationship involves a lot more demon blood and magical artefacts than the typical parent-child relationship, but Kratos is still a distant, emotionally remote father trying clumsily to reach out to a son who feels unwanted.

God of War starts "new" and finds it footing before it begins to blend in the "old". And it works. By the time everything finishes up, Sony Santa Monica has set God of War on a new path. It's a strong one that hints at further adventures in other places, even if players won't be going there anytime soon. When God of War: Ascension dropped, the series felt trapped in what came before, but with God of War 2018, the possibilities seem endless.

God of War is one of those rare titles that define the console generation. Kratos’ fighting has been refined to its very best and the lands of Midgard are filled with wonders of all manner to explore and defeat. It’s been nearly the entire lifespan of the PlayStation 4 console since Kratos has seen new adventure but the wait has been absolutely worth it. Santa Monica Studio’s journey is still far from over, but they’ve once again shown why Kratos is one of gaming’s greatest anti-heroes.

Years ago, Kratos killed the deities of Mount Olympus in a gory rampage. Now, in the Norse realm, he has remade himself into a different kind of god. He is quieter and more deliberate, affected by his history but not constrained by it. Kratos’ reinvention serves as a narrative hook, but it also parallels the series’ evolution as a whole; where God of War once relied on bombast and bloodlust, now it leaves space for strategy and nuance. It still has superb action and plenty of jaw-dropping moments, but it supports them with a new level of depth and maturity. God of War learns from its past while clearing an exciting path for the future, and emerges as one of the best games of this generation.

Every single aspect in God of War works perfectly in order to create a violent, yet moving masterpiece. Probably the best looking game on current gen consoles and a deep story, whose only weak point is that we get the feeling that the best is yet to come.

God of War shows us how the evolution of a series, no matter how popular it is in its original state, is essential for it to improve. The end game doesn’t expand on the game’s strengths quite to the extent that it could, but such an omission is only notable due to the uncompromising quality of everything leading up to it. God of War does exactly what it sets out to do, and if it isn’t perfect, it’s damn near close.

The new God of War brings back Kratos in a superb fashion. Santa Monica studio should do the same for a potential sequel and I won’t be able to worry about my favorite hero. The game is bold in introducing some radical changes to the series’ formula but if you stop looking back you’ll know – this is an excellent game in every way.

God of War tells a wonderful tale through a beautiful spectrum speckled with more than a few drops of the blood of your enemies. It’s a shame, then, that boss fights have fallen by the wayside at every level to become terribly monotonous – but if that’s the cost of what Santa Monica has built, it’s certainly a price worth paying. The ending isn’t as grand I’d hoped for, but the setting up of a sequel makes up for this – and there’s still plenty left to do in the Lake of Nine. God of War is the best in the series.

A lot of what goes into God of War feels as though it was cherry-picked from the modern gaming zeitgeist. The semi-open world structure, loot system, and a much deeper narrative focus work well, but are all trends being pushed by most other big games. As a result, God of War can feel slightly homogenised in a way that some fans may find unappealing. Thankfully, a strong sense of setting and brutally satisfying combat help maintain that God of War identity. If it wasn’t made abundantly clear already, this is the first in what will most likely be a new trilogy for the God of War franchise, and this first instalment serves as a pretty great foundation.

From Santa Monica Studio and creative director Cory Barlog comes a new beginning for God of War. Living as a man outside the shadow of the gods, Kratos must adapt to unfamiliar lands, unexpected threats, and a second chance at being a father. Together with his son Atreus, the pair will venture into the brutal Norse wilds and fight to fulfill a deeply personal quest.