Impressions: God of War

Seriously, that's a pretty sweet beard

So God of War is probably the most talked about video game of 2018 and it's...pretty good. No really, it's a good game. While God of War doesn't necessarily bring anything new to the table, it's a very fun game that brings together both a cinematic and challenging experience all in one.

Of course, there are many die-hard fans of the series who insist that this is NOT God of War. Obviously, if you look at the games of old side by side with this new entry, they are objectively correct.

But I haven't. And frankly, I couldn't care  less.

What I can tell you about God of War, is that it's the story of Kratos and Boy...or Atreus...but you might as well just remember him as boy. Seriously, I forgot his name at one point in the game, because Kratos is so damn persistent about simply referring to him as 'BOY'. All credit to Jim Sterling for coining the name 'Dad and Boy' first, but this game truly is the story of Dad and Boy.

Anyway, Mom has passed away, so Dad and Boy now set out on an adventure to climb to the highest reaches and scatter her ashes across the sky, or something dramatic like that. It feels pretty much like a mythological plot, so who am I to complain.

For what it's worth, there's a lot of well designed 'father/son' moments throughout the game. While some may cry THE LAST OF US RIPOFF in regards to the adult/child dynamic, there's definitely enough here to differentiate between the titles, with ease. I'd go as far as to say that there are some very touching moments and life learning lessons to be observed throughout God of War, and that's...pretty neat.

The armor and weapon system...well, it borrows a lot of influence from Destiny. Upgrading your weapons and attaching stronger talisman will increase your overall character level. You can also add new skills and attacks via a weapon tree that unlocks as your weapon levels increase. At first I was turned off by this, mainly because of my great spite of Destiny...but once I realized how well this system was implemented, I got over it. It works, and it works pretty well.

The combat itself? Well, it's much better than games like The Last of Us. There's a satisfying feeling you get when chucking your ax at an enemies face, then recalling it and doing it all over again. You can of course just juggle enemies by thrashing them over and over (with the help of Boy shooting them with his arrows), and if you build up what I call your 'beat down' meter, you can unleash a powerful R3 attack that will squash your enemies akin to a Doom glory kill effect. It's pretty neat.

Balancing Kratos and Boy's attacks isn't too terribly difficult. You will get used to utilizing both characters to your advantage. It only gets complicated when you forget about all of the actual commands at your disposal. For instance, numerous times, I completely forgot that Kratos has a shield and, as a matter of fact, can block.

One of the biggest letdowns, however, is the lack of original and memorable bosses. With all of the great things that God of War does and does correctly, I simply don't know how they messed this up. Sure, there are a fair variety of enemies to crunch, but you will see the same boss types over, and over, and over. It's truly disappointing, and I'm fairly surprised to see that many critics are simply glossing over this fact without hardly a care in the world.

So, sure, God of War is indeed a very good game. I would highly recommend you try it out, especially if you are a fan of the Sony exclusive, third-person formula. I legitimately enjoyed watching Kratos and Boy develop their bond throughout their journey and...sure, I'd like to see where we go from here. Kudos to Santa Monica on a job pretty well done.