Board 8 > Platinum #74: God of War on PS4 [spoiler-free review!]

(+) Yeah! (+)

For anyone that hasn't bought the game or maybe just hasn't gotten around to it yet - yes, this game is as good as everyone says it is. In fact, you may not actually realize how good it is after beating the first time, and that's saying something because you'll probably think it's pretty fantastic.

There's a lot of presentation bonuses that really are impressive, such as the gorgeous surreal landscapes and the single camera shot, and they do help the game's story. The single camera shot keeps you with Kratos and Atreus, the gorgeous landscapes force you into immersion, and the great voice acting reels you in for the powerful moments.

The game does a wonderful job of a lot of things that seal this as the game that defines the PS4. It builds a lot of mystery early on, answers all of the big questions, and then raises a few new ones toward the end to promise the player that this world will be revisited in the future. It ties into the Norse mythology that the game is based on so perfectly, possibly better than the original God of War trilogy did with Greek mythology. It delivers a meaty amount of content, both in the story and in side quests / post-game adventures. Most importantly, it keeps its plot close but its themes closer.

God of War doesn't really ever lose the main focus of the plot, but what it does even better is always finding a way to tie back into the heart of the story. It's about a father-son relationship. It's about family. You could even say there's a lot about unconditional love in God of War, which sounds strange considering it's still a very violent and brutal game. But it's true.

The combat is no longer just stylish button-mashing as it was in the other God of War games (that's unfair to the old God of War games, but you can do a lot of button mashing in them and get away with it for free). It keeps the heavy-hitting nature of the previous combat systems, but adds more depth and options. Square square triangle isn't the easy-mode go-to move anymore. Most moves have a good use and it's fun to explore those options, while in previous games it was almost a hassle to learn how to do the more complex attacks because the easy SST combo was... well, it was easy! And effective!

After platinuming all of the God of War games, I can safely say this is the best one. God of War III is a fantastic game, and for a while it was in my top 10 games ever, but the new God of War certainly may be the best game on the PS4, and it will probably be remembered as one of the best games ever. It faces stiff competition from Naughty Dog for best PS4 game, as Uncharted 4 is also a brilliant release (The Last of Us too, if you think the remaster qualifies that title as a PS4 game). Both Uncharted 4 and God of War excel at the same things (powerful story, large-scale epic, strong characters, upgraded gameplay from other games in the series), but each one really stands out in a different way from the other, so I can't say which one I like more.

tl;dr It's fucking fantastic, go play it if you haven't. Might be best game on PS4, and it's definitely a game that every gamer needs to play before they die.
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good job beating Dad of Boy
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Just started this game a few days ago and holy shit I'm hooked.

When they announced it I was really worried that they'd overdo the narrative and ruin the combat, which to this point was the only thing the series had going for it. I can say it now, I was completely and utterly wrong. They've added SO MUCH that the series has never had, exploration is a joy and the combat is legit better than it's ever been. Like, the depth of combat is actually kind of stunning to me and it feels so damn good when you're playing it well.

I'm apparently less than halfway through but another thing I'm completely loving is how the story's major beats so far have been very quiet and personal moments, but completely batshit stuff on par with other God of War games just kind of "happens" along the way to those key moments. It's a fascinating way to make the game epic and subdued at the same time, which works really well for the story they're telling here.
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ninkendo posted...

good job beating Dad of Boy

lmfao

that's honestly a pretty good title

Xiahou Shake posted...

Just started this game a few days ago and holy shit I'm hooked.

When they announced it I was really worried that they'd overdo the narrative and ruin the combat, which to this point was the only thing the series had going for it. I can say it now, I was completely and utterly wrong. They've added SO MUCH that the series has never had, exploration is a joy and the combat is legit better than it's ever been. Like, the depth of combat is actually kind of stunning to me and it feels so damn good when you're playing it well.

I'm apparently less than halfway through but another thing I'm completely loving is how the story's major beats so far have been very quiet and personal moments, but completely batshit stuff on par with other God of War games just kind of "happens" along the way to those key moments. It's a fascinating way to make the game epic and subdued at the same time, which works really well for the story they're telling here.

The original trilogy had a decent narrative! It wasn't anything that was really amazing or anything but it served it's purpose.

That said it obviously does not hold a candle to this game's narrative. Keep on going. You won't be disappointed. And I promise you there's a lot of stuff you haven't caught on this playthrough in terms of the story and dialogue. After you beat the game, I recommend looking on YouTube why you should do a second playthrough, or just do a second playthrough anyways and see what you didn't get the first time through.
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I only played the first one.

It was fine but I think I was comparing it too much to DMC3. And the lack of being able to run through it again with all your power-ups killed my interest in replaying it (which I need to do for a plat).

Maybe after DMCV I'll get back into the series.
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Nice, I loved this game as well and I'm two trophies away from the platinum myself.

The only two left are killing all the ravens, which shouldn't be too bad with a guide, and beating Sigrun who is completely destroying me on Give Me God of War.
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pjbasis posted...

I only played the first one.

It was fine but I think I was comparing it too much to DMC3. And the lack of being able to run through it again with all your power-ups killed my interest in replaying it (which I need to do for a plat).

Maybe after DMCV I'll get back into the series.

AFAIK they are completely different series, and the first one is one of the weaker ones tbh. Definitely recommend at least going through the main games!

BlackDra90n posted...

Nice, I loved this game as well and I'm two trophies away from the platinum myself.

The only two left are killing all the ravens, which shouldn't be too bad with a guide, and beating Sigrun who is completely destroying me on Give Me God of War.

Ravens are gonna be fine, especially because the game tracks them for you.

Sigrun... yikes. That's not gonna be easy on almost any difficulty, and you're stuck on the hardest difficulty. Good luck my dude

(These are almost definitely fine to not label with spoilers but I guess I'll do it anyways.
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