God of War - PC - Review

PlayStation maybe new to this whole games on PC thing, but their first few releases were incredible ports, can God of War keep up that tradition, or is it too filled with rage to make the port worthwhile?

In this newest adventure, we meet Kratos as he is cutting down a tree, his young son Atreus beside him and while it seems a little weird, the context as to why is quickly provided, Faye, Kratos new love and the mother of Atreus has passed on. Completing her last request is what Kratos aims to do, first to light a pyre and then take the ashes to the top of the highest mountain and sprinkle them there, a journey that he feels he will have to do alone, due to Atreus not being ready for the challenge. Before the pilgrimage can begin though, a stranger arrives and claims that Kratos has what they are seeking, but rather than explain what they want, or who they are, he decides to push Kratos’ buttons, which leads to a battle that reshapes the surrounding landscape. While Kratos does emerge as the winner in this fight, he changes his mind and brings Atreus along with him and thus the adventure begins.

While the nearest mountain peak is what they seek, it is not the one that is needed, so the journey keeps on going, along the way they meet many locals of the land, some friendly and some that are not so, but at the heart is a story about a father longing to connect with his son. For those who know the God of War lore, Kratos had a wife and child before, but was tricked while in a state of bloodlust and murdered his family. Seeing him wanting to connect to Atreus throughout the story is still as heart-wrenching now as it was when the game first released, but of course the same story problem is still present. While Kratos truly grows over the course of their quest, Atreus barely changes from beginning to end, what change he does manage to go through though, happens so fast; you would not be mistaken in thinking that he becomes a different person at one point. While they try to show why it happens, it’s such a change that it defeats any growth he has at the end. 

Thankfully, the gameplay is far stronger than the story and given just how much more relatable Kratos is now, that was something that I wasn’t expecting to be true. As with almost all of PlayStation’s first party efforts, the game is played from a 3rd person view and now puts a lot of emphasis on Kratos and his actions. Gone from the old games is Kratos running everywhere, instead he now just meanders along, only running should you want him to, that action alone helps set the pace that the game is going for. Each action Kratos does perform has a sense purpose, and while if he can, he will avoid people or dangers, especially if they don’t concern him, when he does interact with folks, some of the old Kratos does shine through. While the story is linear, the game does allow for some exploration, for the most part it is in small parts off the track you are walking, but there are sometimes when you get the chance to really explore.

Combat, a stapple of the series, remains as fast paced as people will remember it, but with the new viewpoint to Kratos, the addition of the axe and location awareness, change things up so much, it feels like a whole new way of fighting. You can keep your axe in your hand, dealing out light or heavy attacks when enemies get close to you, or you can throw it at them, dealing some damage from afar. What makes things interesting though is that when you recall the axe from whence it was thrown, any enemies between you and it will take some damage, if it connects and given that you can also bounce it off walls, to catch enemies from behind and such, it really is quite the versatile weapon. As you journey onwards, you will collect materials, which you can use to upgrade your axe and armours, letting you deal more damage and such, but the addition of Runic attacks, allows you to customise Kratos to fight in the way you want, meaning that you don’t have to learn all the combos the game provides to you.

Runes can be added to everything that you can equip, some provide better protection from select enemies and other can provide a faster cooldown on some of the more powerful attacks that Kratos can unleash. While the game isn’t an RPG like Final Fantasy, this addition of customisation does allow for players to feel like Kratos is becoming more powerful as he progresses, even Atreus feels like he grows a little, based on the choices you make there. A system like this will not be for all players and while on the PlayStation 4, I did endeavour to make the best of it, here on PC, I just left it alone, purely because I just wanted to power through. What is interesting is that as you progress further into the game, you can start to create some more powerful versions of your axe and other weapons, which can help turn the tide in battles, as long as you have the resources for them.

With everything that you can do, to change how the game plays, you might think that the game is fairly easy, but you would be wrong, the game will always challenging you, with each boss type encounter and challenge room keeping you on your toes, the game will demand your attention constantly. The concern with this though, is the game can feel inconsistent, there are some rooms I would enter, only to find myself dying without dealing much damage, but then a room or two later, I would decimate the enemies on screen, without breaking a sweat. The biggest downside to the combat is when Atreus runs into a battle on his own, he does not do it a lot, but when you are wanting a few minutes of peace, to have to fight because he triggered a baddy, is nothing short of annoying.

On PlayStation 4 the game looked amazing and it looks just as impressive now on PC, perhaps even slightly more so, if you have the hardware to support its higher end offerings. The main part of my computer is an 11th gen Intel CPU and that is coupled with a Nvidia RTX 2060 and while the GPU may not be as powerful as the new cards, it was able to present the game without any issue. Just with its PlayStation 4 release, one of the most striking elements, is the fact that there is not a single camera cut, each time the camera moves back to Kratos after a cutscene, its seamless, when a cutscene is triggered, the camera will pull tight, swivel around and all manner of motions, without a break. The only way you can notice the change from playable action to movie, is the lack of HUD and given how small it can be at times, you might be delayed a bit in noticing it.

Of course, the visuals themselves really help sell the story and setting, the entire time Kratos is on screen, he feels believable and not because of his actions, those can be larger than life at times, but because of the small little touches that show on his face. One of the most tender moments is when Kratos reveals his true nature to his son, the movement of the eyes, before he even speaks, sells the struggle more than any words he speaks. Atreus is much the same and the dynamic between them both is crazy. Characters like Freya and the Dwarves are equally compelling to watch, sadly the Aesir gods that you encounter are less so, and sadly the opportunity is wasted when you don’t encounter any of the ones you expect.

The world itself teems with life, and while it is not open, it is far less restrictive than games past, the lake is your hub and getting out and exploring it, will reward players, same with revisiting old locations. Each of the locations are varied enough that you will find something new to look at in each spot, the varying realms also help there, with Hel looking so different from Midgard, which also looks so different to Vanaheim. Each location has a look that you will come to recognise, though the consistency of the world comes from the Norse theming, with runes, glyphs and such scattered around. I did encounter a few issues with the presentation, specifically around some background elements popping in, or flickering and it wasn’t something I can recall seeing on the PlayStation 4 release. My first thought was out of date drivers for the GPU, but an update there didn’t correct all of the issues, so while they may not happen to you, it is something to be aware of.

The score is something that anyone who has followed the game will know, that presentation when the game debuted, had the biggest impact and the full score is just as good. Each realm has a distinct sound to it, but when the score is layered atop it, it makes the world sing. The themes for the characters are also wonderfully crafted, though, there are times when the mix can get in the way, over shadowing some. When the world gets dark, the music can almost drop out completely, leaving you with nothing but the sounds of your surroundings and these moments are just as impressive, as when the full score kicks in.

God of War was a title, that once it landed on PlayStation, was something every owner of that hardware needed to play and that fact still stands true today on PC. If you have a machine that can run the game and you haven’t experienced this epic yet, then you will be doing yourself a disservice by not playing it. The story is still touching, the combat is still frenetic and while some of the exploration isn’t as rewarding as one might hope, it really is something that goes beyond the sum of its parts. Kratos may have started out as a rage fuelled killing machine, but this entry proves that there is more to the God of War than any of us expected there to be.

The Score

9.5

Review code provided by PlayStation

The Pros

+The game provides a tale that makes Kratos a relatable character

+Combat is fun, chaotic and something that can be rewarding, if you invest the time into it

The Cons

-Atreus can get in the way sometimes and engage enemies in fights, when you don’t want that

-Some graphical issues do pop up, which can be quite jarring to see, when the rest of the game looks incredible