'God of War' Review - An Evolution of a Studio
No Spoilers
Throughout the years, Santa Monica Studios has improved with their technology but fell behind in narrative. That was set to change with the new title in the 'God of War' series; simply titled, 'God of War'. With this new entry, Cory Barlog and his team set out to reinvent the franchise by focusing on a new style of gameplay, and a larger focus on narrative. After completing the game one-hundred percent, I can safely say that "God of War" is a technical masterpiece, and solid narratively speaking. Sure, it had its issues, but in the grand scheme of things this game accomplished everything that it set out to do.
We once again play as Kratos as he takes his son to the highest point in all the realms to spread his mother's ashes. It was a basic plot with not many twists or turns. However, the way it was executed was well done, to say the least. The whole game was presented with one continuous shot, always keeping us with Kratos and his son Atreus. Since the camera never cut, the pacing was a key element to making this technique not feel like a hindrance. Luckily the game was pretty well paced. The story progressed with a nice flow, but it did have the occasional halt that kept the characters from progressing. These moments felt a bit forced, so it did effect the pacing at points. Dialogue and characters are also key to making a story like this successful. This was where the game faltered a bit. Don't get me wrong, the dialogue wasn't bad, but sometimes characters repeated things that we had seen visually, and some cheesy lines popped up from time to time. Overall, however, the dialogue was pretty good and kept my engagement level high. Character-wise the game was limited. You have Kratos of course who felt more like a fleshed-out person. He goes through a personal journey in this game, but not one of revenge or anger. But a journey of bondage and knowledge. A journey that would improve not just himself as a father, but help his son become a warrior. Atreus seemed reminiscent of Kratos' old personality. He used anger to defeat his enemies, but he never knew how to control it making him go off the rails a few times. These two characters learned off each other in an organic and fun way. In fact, there was quite a bit of humorous banter between them. This was elevated by the side characters such as Mimir, who was also quite humorous. But this humor never felt out of place or forced, which helped keep the tone consistent from scenario to scenario. What also elevated these characters and narrative was the gorgeous visuals and performances. Some of the best this generation. In general, the game felt very fluid in pacing and tone, effectively giving us a great narrative. However, although the narrative is important, it's up to gameplay to make or break a game.
Previous games in the series revolved around hack-and-slash gameplay with a fixed camera angle. With 'God of War (2018)' Santa Monica decided to go a with a more traditional over-the-shoulder camera angle, and a more nuanced combat system. Gone are the linear levels, as exploration was now a key element. The central hub in the game was pretty expansive with plenty of small islands and caves to delve into. These areas usually contained useful components to upgrade your gear, and plenty of treasures to sell for currency. Along with these areas came side quests. The side content never felt as engaging as the main narrative, but they were a good enough distraction for me to go through them. Plus, you were also given useful items, such as new armor to upgrade. But these areas and side quests also contained plenty of combat challenges and encounters, but these encounters wouldn't be fun if the combat was bad. So, how is the combat? Excellent in my opinion.
Although the game presented us with a limited arsenal of weapons, what we were given was still fantastic. The 'Leviathan Axe' is the Nordic weapon that Kratos possesses, and it was extremely satisfying to use. The first time I threw the ax and called it back was one of the highlights of the game for sure. It was surprising how this single weapon never got repetitive to use. It helped that you could choose different special attacks with the 'Rune' system. Each 'Rune' contained a special attack, making combat more varied. You could also customize your ax's handle to change some of the stats for it. Back to combat, it's probably some of the most visceral and epic combat this generation has gotten. Every blow with your ax felt brutal and oh so satisfying. Plus, the enemies you do encounter had great AI. I was constantly challenged at every combat situation, never making the game boring or dull. Sadly, the enemies you fight, although nicely designed, did get overused. What I mean by that was that there wasn't much variety in the enemy types. On many occasions, the mini-boss was just an elemental creature, a troll, or a giant. The smaller enemies had the same problem which was a shame. This didn't detract from the game that much, but it was an issue I thought I'd address. Other than that, the game-play loop and systems were addictive, to say the least.
As a whole package, 'God of War (2018)' is defiantly up there for one of the best games this year. It was visceral, engaging, and most of all; fun to play. I commend the folks at Santa Monica Studio for not only maturing but for taking a risk that could have ended horribly without the dedication and talent they have. I hope we get more AAA, story-driven, blockbuster games like this one. As this game has shown, once again, that story-driven games are most certainly not dead.
9/10
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