What can be said about God of War (2018) that hasn’t already been said? The game is just pure class, plain and simple. From the beautifully designed mythical worlds, an engrossing story, deep lore and back story and absolutely amazing combat – and of course an awesome Scottish character, Mimir.
Santa Monica Studio and Sony have created an absolute belter of a game in God of War, everything about it just screams excellence and this author was very much pleased with the whole experience.
God of War’s story starts off with Kratos and his son Atreus heading off on a journey to spread his dead wife’s ashes atop the highest peak in Midgard. What seems to be a fairly simple task soon turns in to an epic adventure, with Kratos and Atreus travelling to different realms and meeting a host of different characters and fighting a variety challenging enemies along the way.
One of my favourite characters in God of War is Mimir a Norse God of Knowledge and Wisdom and he’s Scottish. Kratos and Atreus find Mimir early on in the story, he’s been imprisoned in a tree by Odin and Kratos cuts his head off to free him. His head is then revived by Freya.
Mimir then tags along with Kratos and Atreus for the rest of their adventure, hooked on to Kratos’s belt. As Mimir has no body, Kratos often refers to him as “head”, but it might have been more fitting if he was referred to as “heed.”
Mimir often uses Scottish slang words when speaking or telling his stories, words like “bawbag.” It’s great to see a true Scottish character is a video game using Scottish phrases and words and not just being a Scottish accent.
Mimir does quite a lot of talking throughout the game (well he is Scottish), the stories he tells on the boat rides are added to the lore tab as Mimir’s Tales. I wonder if that’s why Santa Monica Studios chose a Scottish Actor (Alastair Duncan) to voice Mimir as Scottish is undoubtedly the best accent and is easy to listen to.
Great Scottish characters aside, the story of God of War was simply brilliant, I felt it was more than just a story about Kratos and his son on some adventure but more of the relationship between Father and Son.
In the beggining of the game Atreus seems more like an hinderance to Kratos with Kratos treating Atreus merely like an acqaintance. As the story progresses though, you see Atreus trying his best to win his fathers approval and Kratos is clearly proud and more strongly connected with Atreus at the end.
God of War’s story in my oppinion is about bonding, about family sticking together through thick and thin and coming out closer and stronger at the end their arduous journey.
Gameplay – oh so satisfying
God of War has some of the most satisfying gameplay I have ever experienced in a game. The Leviathan Axe, Kratos’ main weapon, is one of the best weapons ever designed for any game.
Not only can you hack and chop at enemies in close range combat, but you can also use the Leviathan Axe for ranged attacks. Kratos can throw his axe some distance to target enemies and smack them on the head, and pressing triangle to quickly recall the axe back to Kratos’ hand is one of the most amazing piece of game mechanics I’ve ever witnessed, it just felt so damn good.
Theres also a host of different skills to unlock that let Kratos do different combos and moves whether he be weilding the Leviathan Axe or fighting bare handed. Some of these moves when pulled off really do make for some bad ass action moments.
Gameplay in God of War is definitely the most satisfying gameplay I have experienced in a game. Even playing on the Give me a balanced experience difficulty, which is the second easiest, some enemies where extremely challenging and I often had an immense feeling of relief and satisfaction when defeating some of the tougher enemies in the game.
God of War has some of the most spectacular and beautifully created worlds of any recent game. In total there are six worlds or realms you will visit during the course of the game, with each equally stunning as the last. From the icy cold world of Helheim to the firey depths of Muspelheim, each world looks unique and stunning.
Midgard is the main realm you will likely visit the most, it’s the largest of the realms and there is aboslutely tons to explore. After I had finished the story I went hunting for the various collectibles to unlock the Platinum trophy and there was still areas of Midgard that I hadn’t seen before.
Although God of War isn’t an open world game and parts of it can be linear, the worlds are designed very well to make them feel kind of like they are open world, especially Midgard.
Conclusion
God of War is one of the best games I have played recently, it’s great to see that the narrative driven, single player game is far from dead.
God of War ticks all the right boxes, from a great story to amazing gameplay and gorgeous worlds, God of War has it all. I was actually quite sad when I got the paltinum trophy as I quickly realised that God of War was pretty much done. It’s one of those games that you wish you could play for alot longer, a bit like those gerat movies you wish had anotehr two hours to run. I guess, I can always go farm some mist echoes in Niflheim.
On the value for money front God of War is absolutely worth every penny. The main story will take you about 10 – 12 hours which is a pretty decent length, there’s also some side quests you can do. If you’re a bit of a trophy hunter, there’s a ton of stuff to do to get the coveted Platinum trophy, which is one fo the more challenging platinums I’ve ever achieved, particularly because of the Valkyrie’s.
Even if you have no interest in the Platinum, God of War is just one of those amazing games that you just simply must play.
God of War - The PSF Verdict
God of War is one of the best games I have played recently, it's great to see that the narrative driven, single player game is far from dead.
