I just finished the main story of God of War, and overall, the game was a polished jewel in the PS4's life cycle, and is no doubt a PS4 classic. Going into playing this game, I had questions about the direction the franchise was going for the reboot. After finishing the game, I felt like I still had more fun playing the older God Of War games, but if you are able to ignore the older games and look at the rebooted game for what it is, then you will be blown away at its magnificence. I cannot fully talk about this game without mentioning spoilers, so spoilers below:
The strongest positive about God of War is the story, and in particular, the relationship and dynamic between Kratos and his son, Atreus. Kratos is terse, concise, and acts quite cold, while Atreus is naturally positive, inquisitive, and impulsive (so just like any kid his age). Together, they form a unique duo where their personalities bring out the raw emotions of each other. I can see people who play this game think about their own relationships with their parents while experiencing Kratos and Atreus' journey, and the voice acting and dialogue helps with that. Despite the game being set in mythical times, this aspect of the game felt relatable to our present time. This game also had one of the best quotes I have ever heard in a video game. Early in the game, after Atreus acts rashly and apologizes to his father, Kratos tells him "Do not be sorry. Be better." I will definitely be using that quote for my offspring, if I ever have a child or children of my own.
God of War's combat system is incredibly refined, yet simple. It borrows heavily from the older God of War games in terms of the hack-and-slash nature, but this game felt a little bit more nuanced than just a hack-and-slash combat game. The game encourages you to use Atreus to your advantage, as he can shoot arrows to hurt and distract enemies, and then you can deal major damage while your enemies are distracted. The game is just as gory as the older God of War games. The upgrading of your weapons and armor is straightforward, as it should be. The major boss battles that you go through feel epic. The cinematography and the menacing mature if these bosses create a sense of grandeur and makes the game feel larger than life. One such larger-than-life instance is when you meet the World Serpent for the first time (although he is not a boss). It was such a "Holy crap!" moment due to the serpent's size and the camera's portrayal of it.
I have some other quick positives to mention. Graphically, the game looks amazing. In certain instances, the musical scores help to enhance the significant moments of the game as well.
Unfortunately, the game has some negatives as well. From playing the game, a sequel was obviously going to be in the works. Although the main objective of scattering Atreus' dead mother's ashes was reasonably satisfactory, there were ideas with the Norse mythology that they could have used in this game that they obviously saved for future God Of War games, such as encounters with Odin or Thor. Some of the minor boss fights were repetitive. The amount of times I had to fight trolls, ogres, and ancients (they looked like Charade from Soul Calibur II) in this game with only minor variations in their attacks felt tiring and grueling. Finally, I was annoyed by the amount of times Kratos kept calling Atreus "boy" in the game. It got to the point of annoying hilariousness.
The God of War reboot rivals the best games of the linear action-adventure genre, such as the uncharted series, and The Last of Us. If you have a PS4, then you must play this game. The game was grand and enormous in its world building, but also wholesome in its dialogue and relationship between Kratos and Atreus. Despite the feeling of not being complete in terms of the overall story in the place of the Norse mythology, this is still a satisfying experience, and gamers can still enjoy it for what it is.
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