God of War (2018)

God of War (2018) is actually the fourth game in the series. God of W4r. God of War Four feels a bit clunky to say. They have always been on Sony platforms. God of War (the original one) came out on the PS2, God of War II did as well; God of War III (The one we all thought was the end) came out on the PS3. There were some other non-numbered titles released on the Playstation Portable (PSP) & PS3. Though technically the one on the PS3 was God of War 0 as it was a prequel. I can tell you I played a few of the original games, and I was completely blindsided by what 4 brought to the table (We’ll call God of War (2018) 4 for clarity). This game is so mind-bogglingly different from a gameplay standpoint that it could be another series. The only thing that connects this to the previous entries in the series is Kratos, the main protagonist. I understand why they didn’t name the game God of War IV or something like that because of this reason. That they want it to stand out on its own, that it is on new hardware, the PS4. To some people, seeing a title like God of War IV means that they need to go play the first 3 to truly get into the series. Which is fine to think so, making the decision to “restart” the number counter also makes sense in that way, and that is fine too. That being said, your interpretation will vary wildly depending on whether or not you’ve played the prior games, and that is awesome.

Since this is a soft reboot of sorts all the game systems have been overhauled. It is now an over-the-shoulder action game with Role-Playing Game (RPG) elements. The previous entries were a pure action game with a fixed camera angle. More reasons why the title change makes sense. While I have no strong feelings about the change in core gameplay, the team at Sony Santa Monica did. They understood that they needed to respect their previous pieces of work in this new one, admirable. Previous games had a dedicated grab button, which was a central mechanic of the game. 4 has a contextual grab that Kratos can perform when an enemy’s stun gauge is full. They wanted to honour the previous mechanic, even though it was in a different way. Certain enemies can also be juggled, returning from previous games. Everything is polished to a shine. Animations have weight, they flow, they’re responsive. The game feel is great. It really has to be played to be understood. Feel can’t be done justice in words. The RPG elements are… OK. There is some build variety, the stats make a difference. Personally, I would rather play a pure action game, as I think it feels a bit arbitrary when you meet an enemy and can’t kill them simply because their number is too high. This game is also a Metroidvania! Skills and abilities are acquired, as well as changes in the world, to unlock new areas the player can traverse. All these changes came from the top, the directors of the game decided that it should have these systems and mechanics. Stylistic choices, if you will. It is unfair to fault a game on those decisions, because there is nothing inherently wrong with them. What I can comment on is how all the design and work that went into making those decisions fun. In that respect, the game is a masterpiece.

One of the achievements of this game is that it has a single one-shot camera for the entire game. Right from the title screen. If you don’t die and play the entire game in one sitting, there are no camera cuts nor load screens. Though if the player goes somewhere the game doesn’t expect, the game will freeze to load. Technical limitations and all. Having a one-shot camera in film is about hiding the cuts. With video games it is “easier” in a way that things can pop in and out off-frame without the physical limitations of the real world. Anyway, gameplay is not usually cut away from the player’s regular camera, unless certain moves have specially scripted cameras; Even still the game should return to a regular gameplay camera as soon as possible, so it isn’t too jarring. A lot of the difficulty in having a one-shot camera in games is making sure everything is loaded and in the right place at the right time. This game utilises a lot of clever tricks to maintain that illusion, though it does break if the player purposely messes with it in the right way. Video games are relatively easy to break if you try hard enough, just look at how speedrunners manage to clip through collision, go Out of Bounds and traverse the empty void. This is something the player consciously chooses to do. I was trying to do no such thing but I still encountered a load screen. Not a big deal, but the suspension of disbelief the game worked so hard to build cracked a little. As long as a bug or glitch doesn’t break the game, I am okay with it. It was also the only real issue that happened to me. The real nice part about having a one-shot camera is that transitions to and from scripted cinematics are seamless, which I really like. Overall I’d say they managed to achieve their vision for the game with respect to the presentation and it is a resounding success.

This game has the rare accomplishment that I respect its narrative. Most of the time I don’t appreciate narratives in games because they try to tell a story that might as well be in another medium. Meaning that gameplay comes to a complete stop while the game can exposit in a cutscene. Taken as a pacing tool, these are okay. That is the bare minimum a game could do. It would also have to be ever so expertly and delicately done. What I find is it works better for games where the stress level is relatively high. Stealth games, difficult games, difficult action games. In this way, a cutscene is a somewhat welcome break. Games also have the luxury of letting players dictate their pacing. Tired? Save and take a break or stop until the next session. Books are similar in the sense they are not to be taken in their entirety in one sitting. At least, not for me as I am a famously slow reader. Films are meant to be taken in one go, not TV series. Even still, they all follow pacing rules. Games by their nature have higher engagement levels because… Well, the player is actively engaged. Therefore, games have to manage a larger delta between the peaks and valleys of engagement. 4‘s pacing is a success. But I will also concede that I was a big fan of the plot from early on.

One of the first characters Kratos meets in the game is called The Stranger he comes to the house and is looking for someone. Kratos hides his son under the house. If this is the first game you play, you might think The Stranger is obviously looking for the son, he’s being actively hidden. If you played the previous games you might think he’s looking for Kratos, because you know of his capabilities. If you play 4D chess, you know The Stranger is actually looking for Kratos’ late wife that was just cremated. The game actually explains this at the very end. There are many such moments in the game; appreciation differs depending on your experience with the series. Just like how the new RPG systems let you choose your playstyle, choose your enjoyment of the narrative! A lot of the exposition about the world comes about while the player us traveling, so it makes you want to explore to hear all the stories and dialogue. They even branch! If a character is missing when the dialogue is initially spoken, the player can go back to the same location and there will be more dialogue! If you haven’t noticed, Kratos is also in a new land now. Players that played the previous titles will ask “How?” Those that have only played 4 will not realise the difference. I like these kinds of “mysteries” and will constantly look for clues to the answers. No such luck here. There are teases to how this is possible, but no actual answers, I looked really hard. Which is OK, maybe in the next game, they teased the sequels too. Other mysteries in the game do get proper answers towards the end which is cool. A lot of strong themes that I really enjoyed, parents raising children, dealing with the ghosts (of Sparta) of the past, life lessons. The parallels between current Kratos and past Kratos make watching the character quite enjoyable.

Here we have a game that attempted to do a lot. They wanted to soft reboot the franchise, have a one-shot camera, a character that follows around the one the player controls. We’ll put the redo of all the game systems and combat under the soft reboot objective. The team had multiple games to refine and perfect the old gameplay, I think they did a good job for their first foray. Overall we are lucky to have a game that achieves all it sat out to do. It is a true masterpiece and received multiple awards to show for it. I’m eagerly awaiting the next installment, and they better have answers for how Kratos ends up in Midgard. What new gameplay elements will they have in store for us? Will they continue the metroidvania format? I don’t want the game taking away all the abilities I earned. They teased some sequel bait in the 3rd act of the game. There’s a documentary about the making of the game. You can watch it here. The thing I noticed is that they spent a lot of the runtime talking about the plot and the talent that brought all the characters to life. That’s cool and all, people really resonate with that. For me, I like more design related content; I understand that might be boring to most people, though. This is an interesting way to pull back the veil and let the players see what goes into making a game, albeit a little misrepresented. Take it as a dramatic representation. I’m really hopeful the excellence will continue into future installments. The juxtaposition of the past and current Kratos has probably run its course with this game, we’ll see. It cannot be fully expressed how truly outstanding this game is. The sequel has a lot to live up to.