Review of God of War
After fifty hours in God of War, I understand why it is called that way - without numbers and subtitles. For five years, the developers from Sony Santa Monica have been making a completely new game, surpassing, perhaps, all the old installments of God of War combined. But it is full of recognizable features, and the rich backstory inherited from the previous seven parts adds depth and drama to the new plot. Therefore, it is still God of War. But not everything is smooth with her.
Video version
God of War in 2018 leaves behind a lot of old fans - lovers of that very uncomplicated slasher about an evil bald man who rips off the heads of the Greek gods. In the series, in fact, there was always a deep lore and sensibly written drama, but the game did not emphasize these elements at all, and therefore did not remember them.
God of War spawned a whole slasher direction - the western (Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, Darksiders), which was put across the Japanese (Devil May Cry, Bayonetta) representatives of the genre.
The Japanese need to cram combinations and check the timings. All the entertainment is packed into incredibly mannered, complex choreography and daring anime cut scenes. And in God of War, everything is not so - here, of course, you can learn a combo, but it is enough to learn a couple of especially convenient and powerful ligaments, and then not really take a steam bath, just picking up the pace of a bloody meat grinder. And the spectacle was of a different kind - the most mundane cruel reprisals: torn mouths, heads broken by stones and other violent tin.
Does the new God of War have all of this? Yes, but only in part, she still became neater and smarter, along the way becoming the heir to Darksiders 2, which itself once grew out of a clone of God of War. Here is such a funny continuity.
God of War is a deeply story-driven game. She is more focused on her characters and their story than before. This time we are not having a large-scale massacre of another pantheon, but a melancholic journey through a cold, unfamiliar and inhospitable world. A personal journey - Kratos, who fled to the north, together with his son Atreus, goes to the highest mountain to scatter the ashes of his deceased wife. Of course, this is an excuse to show the progression of the father-son relationship and to reveal new sides in the character of the old hero. The types are maximally incompatible: a naive light child and a ruthless cold-blooded killer who hides his true nature.
And after all, he hides not only the essence, but also the truth about his past - Atreus is not aware that he is the son of God. He does not know where his father came from, what he ran from and what he managed to accomplish. This is an important moment, because the scriptwriters are talented in building the general plot tension around it.
Not to say that a game on a well-known theme is expressed from some new angle - but it works it out remarkably. The heroes go through all the expected stages: a parent disappointed in a child, a child trying to meet the standards of his own father and losing hope, quarrels, disobedience - all ultimately lead to understanding and acceptance of each other. Yes, a comparison with The Last of Us suggests itself, but the circumstances are painfully different in games, so it's impossible to say firmly where progress is shown better. The emotional connection of the heroes is growing progressively and gradually, Atreus is slowly turning into a warrior worthy of his ancestry.
In the finale of God of War, you will see really different heroes. “Don't be like me, be better,” says Kratos to Atreus, but the Spartan himself is getting better. Apparently, all this time he lacked a person for whom he could change. But this was also hinted at by his relationship with Pandora in God of War 3.
It's even fascinating to watch Kratos break down and become more human - especially in numerous dialogues - going from monosyllabic rude statements to frank conversations about life with his son and instructive fables.
And yes, there is a lot of dialogue in the game - it helps to bring both the characters and the setting to life. Kratos and Atreus are constantly discussing everything, and from a certain moment Mimir, the smartest of people, will become their companion. He will be a source of constant well-aimed jokes and a guide to the world of Scandinavian mythology - he will tell a ton of stories and myths, introduce dozens of characters and make it interesting.
And after all, if before the new God of War there were no seven old ones - who instilled in us the image of the impenetrable stone monster-Kratos - his transformation in the new game would not have been so significant. His concern for his son would not have been so piercing. This is why God of War is a sequel, not a restart.
The image of the old Kratos constantly flickers in your head, you constantly involuntarily compare him with the new one. Every time Kratos can't decide to have another heart-to-heart conversation with his son, when he wants to hug him, but awkwardly pulls away when he is almost in tears and runs off his feet to save his child.
The theme of "fathers and children", family relations in God of War concerns not only Kratos and Atreus - it is permeated with the motives and actions of most other characters-gods. They are not worked out in such detail (apparently, so as not to blur the focus), but plausible. And one storyline in terms of the degree of drama, perhaps, surpasses the Kratos-Atreus branch. She also throws hooks for future sequels, she can squeeze a sincere tear from the most sensitive players.
Focusing on a chosen topic is both a plus and a minus of the game. Yes, it turned out quite a whole piece-statement, not too philosophical, but very understandable and vital. After all, many of the old fans of God of War have already had children themselves, so chances are they will get hooked on the game.
But after all, God of War was especially loved for the scale, for the epic twisted before the overload, where Kratos slammed titans the size of a mountain. MORE (too much) was in Asuraʼs Wrath. In the new God of War, there is very little of this - four or five real popcorn wow-moments per game. It was especially offensive with the bosses, which in many ways made the series a name. In the new part they are practically absent - and this is unforgivable. There are only a couple of more or less visually remarkable skirmishes for the game, and one of them at the very beginning. And really complex boss fights about tactics and attentiveness are generally taken out of the plot into a large side-quest.
However, it's not only about bosses and large-scale scenes (and fashionable shooting cut-scenes "in one take" without gluing and with a shaking camera - why is that?), But in general in the story outside of personal dramas - it is also practically nonexistent. On the one hand, Kratos' hike will result in a large-scale journey across almost all nine worlds of Scandinavian mythology. On the other hand, all movements and actions will be conditioned by the only goal set at the very beginning - to climb the mountain.
Kratos is not favored by the local gods, they want either his death, or something else, they hunt for him. But why and why is completely incomprehensible. The game deliberately does not explain the motives of Odin, Thor and their messengers, and it plays out the plot with a small number of characters - important for mythology, but not particularly known to the broad masses. Don't expect first-line gods. In the finale, of course, everything is explained (seemingly), but somehow too head-on, ignoring all inconsistencies.
A lot in the game says that it was originally conceived as the start of a new series, so I can conclude that the developers save resources - they do not want to cut in the epic ahead of time and shine important heroes. In the new God of War, the gods almost never die. And the real scale starts after the end credits, when the game ends.
But this does not mean that God of War does not work well with mythology and the world. Myths are played here as accurately as possible and close to the original source, and the world ... is more complicated with it. The developers have repeatedly stated that they were inspired by Bloodborne and the Souls series - especially in terms of the device and level architecture. And the influence of From's games is really noticeable - even stronger than you'd expect.
The new God of War is literally imbued with the atmosphere of Dark Souls. Devastation and desolation are all around, people are leaving Midgard - in this world there are only animals, robbers and gods stuck on the verge of madness. The former greatness of this universe can only be imagined by looking at the dilapidated ruins and sunken temples. The history of these places is partly conveyed through the stories of Mimir, but more visually.
You need to look very carefully and reflect. The approach is controversial - I was imbued with it, but after the colors of the previous God of War for someone such an alignment, all this emptiness and cold, may seem too depressing or even boring. It is uncomfortable here, you can feel not only hopelessness, but also alienation - both the picture and the music play on this (great within the game, but memorable without it), and the design itself - Kratos, for example, does not understand the local languages and runes.
In the preview, I wrote that the Scandinavian setting is an overly hackneyed topic, but God of War still found an angle from which to play it fresh.
God of War has a corresponding pace. Monotonous wanderings in search of unnecessary puzzles and secrets among the bones of the once great world are an important part of the game. And there is where to wander around - the locations in God of War are incredibly huge, very cunning and complex, and their architecture also resembles From games: a lot of shortcuts, non-obvious paths and large optional branches with additional tasks.
In addition, the game has a large hub level - a real open world, to be honest, although the developers argued that there will be no open world in God of War. This is a huge lake, on which you can sail on a boat, looking for unexplored islets - during the course of the plot, the water will drop several times, revealing new patches of land and even full-fledged large regions.
Another question is, are these side activities interesting? Is it fun to explore the world? Yes and yes. There are very few side quests - about fifteen pieces. They're pretty short, but almost each have their own story. There are even a couple of full-fledged chains with a separate storyline - the search for the dwarf king, for example, or the release of the Valkyries. Given that open worlds and deep RPG integration into all genres are also quite a trend, I would like to believe that other developers will follow the example of Sony Santa Monica. Less is better.
Exploring the world works great too. Following the latest trends - no question marks on the map. No, even indirect, compulsion to leave the central path. But thanks to the talented level design and the general beauty of the world, you still want to search the levels, you want to check every strange path - especially since there is always something on it. I'd say God of War has one of the most stress-free open worlds I've seen in the last few years.
But of course, there is a more mundane reason to rummage through the levels and go through poloids. And here we just got to the most controversial moments of the game. God of War is now a full-fledged RPG - with crafting, loot and leveling. You can shout that the developers are chasing fashionable mechanics and our old favorite games are being remade for them - that's the way it is - but it's better to figure out how these mechanics work, how they fit into the game and whether they really spoil it.
The role-playing system in God of War is pretty confusing - and not at all due to the pumping itself. With her, everything is simple: we kill enemies, accumulate experience, open new simple combos and power-ups for it - not much different from what was in the series before. It is quite possible to buy all perks by the middle of the game, and health and a bar of rage, as before, are pumped through the search for special items, and not for experience.
The subtleties begin at the stage of equipment selection. The breastplate, armbands, belt, Atreus armor, talisman, weapon grip - all this can be changed and there are a lot of options. Different sets of armor have different effects on the set of basic characteristics - something gives more strength, something speeds up the recovery of abilities, something adds luck, and so on. An increase in different parameters also affects the work of perks, each has conditions for additional effects. An increase in strength to a hundred, for example, can add fire damage to some combo. The game slightly pushes for meaningful pumping: in fact, there is a soft class system hidden here. But each piece of equipment can be pumped and up to three "stones" can be inserted into each one, which will add more effects from above.
It is interesting to tinker with the role-playing system God of War if you love RPGs, but there is a moment - if you score on meaningful pumping, you will not lose anything. Already at the average level of difficulty, for sure - only on hard and higher is the difference between Kratos pumped into strength and Kratos pumped into recovery felt. Even if the enemies are higher than your level, it is quite possible to cope with them - in one of the side quests I hacked down draugr of the sixth level, being on the second myself. It's a huge difference - I finished the game in seventh. To complete the plot and most of the side quests, you do not have to bother and select loot according to characteristics. It is not necessary to run around the world in search of materials for crafting especially powerful armor.
The gnome blacksmiths Brock and Sindri, who will supply us with ammunition, always have enough average equipment options, the materials for which are found by themselves during the course of the story.
The game tries to balance - not forcing fans of the slasher past of God of War to delve into the jungle of the role-playing system, but it does not provide sufficient incentives to study and use it. Why is it needed at all? Why epic gear, which materials are really hard to find? If we talk about the plot and sides - it's all not needed, only one secondary quest is really picky about equipment. But the game has a couple of additional modes - an arena with waves of enemies and modifiers and a simple analogue of the dungeons from Bloodborne. This is where fiddling with the role system is needed. And only there.
And against the background of role-playing transformations of the game, the combat system is surprising. In the preview, I also compared it to Dark Souls. It seems like you don't have to cram a combo, it is important to choose a place on the battlefield, a moment to attack, parry and throw an ax in time (this is an important mechanic in battle, and in many puzzles - an ax freezes enemies and mechanisms).
But the more you swing, the more combos familiar from the series are added to the arsenal. Three light blows and a strong one; light hit, pause, three light hits - classic slasher schemes. Something opens during pumping, and something can be added in the form of runes to the handle of the weapon - they just open up special techniques and combos that can be used once a minute or two. You can choose the style of play: play Dark Souls, relying on somersaults and parries, or in the classic God of War (especially closer to the middle of the game, when weapons appear, with which the game finally turns into God of War 3 over the shoulder) , but you can combine both mechanics.
And do not forget about Atreus - he independently attacks and stuns opponents, shoots enemies with arrows at your command, and generally benefits. But not right away - he needs time to swing. However, closer to the end, Atrei becomes a full-fledged combat unit and even deals significant damage - without him it would be more difficult to play. I was very much afraid that he would be a copy of Elizabeth, and I am very glad that the developers still went further.
The problem here is exactly the same as with pumping - lack of motivation. Throwing an ax, for example, is an absolutely immobile thing that can be used to slowly pick up almost any opponent. Why use something else? The same can be asked about a couple of particularly effective combos. But wasn't it earlier in the series?
God of War is a very enjoyable, tactile game when it comes to fighting. Here are disgustingly boring and monotonous opponents, but even cutting them is cool for tens of hours. The game can show incredibly cool, spectacular battles. A real battle dance in which every movement is verified and not a single opportunity is missed. But only if you yourself want it - do not be too lazy to remember all the techniques, strikes, combinations and subtleties. And it's not so easy, believe me: towards the end of the game, there are so many buttons and their combinations that the game begins to resemble the same Bayonetta - it's not casual at all. If you need it.
The game is generally excellent, it not only grabbed popular mechanics from competitors and stuck it on Kratos's forehead, but used them talentedly and with a sense of proportion. Its main problem is not even on a smaller scale and not in the depleted rivers of blood (the cruelty has really become much less), but in some infantilism, in the unwillingness to fully integrate the new cogs into the main mechanics. Here's a lego car and a bag of parts - you can use them to turn a car into a tank, if you want, we do not impose!
Too desperately, the developers are trying to please everyone - they seem to have gone far from the roots, but they don't want to jump into the pool.
Right now, God of War looks like a very high quality prototype. The game, released to test the waters, evaluate the reaction and only after, by the second part, finally form the new formula of God of War. I'm ready to bet that everything will come out as with its almost namesake Gears of War. But you can't skip God of War.
