If you are a fan of mythological epics, then you are definitely going to enjoy God of War. And if you are playing God of War for the first time, then you may not have heard Kratos, the vengeful, angry and a violent god appeared in the God of War games in early 2000. But turn to 2018, Kratos returns again and this time not as the angry god, but as a father to a teenaged son and looks much older than before but a lot wiser in his thinking.
Even though the story is still brutal as before with lots of bloody action but includes a family drama in between. The current edition of God of War has certainly raised the bar with its beautiful storytelling along with spectacular cinematography and perception.
In this edition, Kratos is lives in exile in Scandinavia and sets out on a journey with his son to scatter the ashes of his wife from top of the highest peak in the kingdom. And his son doesn’t have an inkling of an idea of how his father has been a blood-soaked and vengeful god-slaying person in the past. On the way to the peak, the father son duo gets caught unwillingly amidst the wrath of the Norse Gods.
The current edition of God of War portrays Kratos as a person, rather than a merciless killer who breathes violence every second of it. And truly the game developers have succeeded on that aspect to a great extent and God of War will truly emerge as one of the best games this year.
It is the confidence the game developers had in coming up with a concept to focus more on the father-son dynamic and combining it with some bloody action and never ending quests have made the God of War into one of the best games released this year.
Combat
Even though the God of War game is filled with lot of emotions between the father and son, it is never going to disappoint you with its bloody and action packed sequences. There is a lot of action involving fights with mountain-sized monsters, ugly one-eyed creatures along with frozen undeads.
The fights are definitely brutal with its deadly combat and blood-filled action. Kratos doesn’t feature with the same weapons like in the past as does his enemies, as the instruments have been pepped up for some more thrilling action.
Even the combat itself have been portrayed much different from the original as it is more tactical now. Kratos tries a lot of different things and makes some strategic moves to win over his opponents. Now and then Kratos throws his axe to destroy his enemies and the axe returns to his hand after completing its mission.
Even though his son Atreus is bit weary in the start, he becomes much more comfortable with his bow and proves helpful to his father during the action.
Gameplay
God of War is not all about fighting with demons and deadly creatures, but it also involves the father-son duo to explore the region either by foot or by boat and help them to find temples and ruins that are largely inspired by the Norse mythology. The players need to be alert always and keep an eye on the surroundings to look for hidden treasure chests and mythological texts
You always need to have a 360 degree view all the time to look for these treasures that will largely help you by a great way in Kratos quest. Kratos can use his axe not only to terminate his enemies, but can also be used in a lot of ways in puzzles and can also be thrown at activating switches that are hard to reach.
The gameplay has been skillfully conceptualized as it not only involves throwing the axe to pierce the demon’s skull, it also keeps you absorbed for a long time with mystery quests and exploring some beautiful surroundings. The World of God of War is huge and it may take anywhere around 30-35 hours to explore it completely. There are lot of mini-quests and adventures that involves finding hidden treasures, temple ruins and mystic texts.
The mythological setting largely complements the mysterious world with its ravages and ruins along with demons and creatures. Kratos and his son needs to decipher difficult puzzles and riddles to push along with their quest further. This is where Atreus seems to be a lot of help to his father.
Innovation
Santa Monica Studios has clearly came out with a winner in God of War in terms of excellent use of graphics and technology. Having understood the full power of the PS4 Pro, the developers with the help of checkerboard rendering can be able to display outputs of 4k/2160p images. Throughout the game, the assets and textures have been thoughtfully designed.
Lot of innovation is gone into the appearance of Kratos as you can see a lot of finer details imbibed in his clothing and armor. The physically based renderer have largely helped in modeling the enemies too by making them look much more monstrous, deadly and violent. The use of color throughout the game has been brilliant as when Kratos goes through various quests and different worlds, you are allowed to witness some spectacular surroundings with colorful tones and dazzling graphics.
Conclusion
Even though there are some people around who are crying about the new direction in which the current edition of God of War has taken, from my point of view, it certainly sets a new trend in the gaming industry with its spectacular surroundings, brutal action along with a fine storyline involving the relationship of the father and son.
And don’t think no one expected the game developers to infuse a fresh leash of life into this mythological adventure and brutally violent game with a fine storyline that describes the relationship between the father and son. It is truly a masterpiece and sets high standards both in terms of the use of technology and narrative storytelling along with gorgeous surroundings.
