Many of the industry’s greats started so long ago that it’s easy to forget how different the humble beginnings of many a beloved franchise were. It’s also easy to forget, mainly due to nostalgia, that they weren’t exactly the flawless gems most thought they were. Case in point, a blood-soaked journey to Ancient Greece, as it was depicted in God of War, where the world was introduced to Kratos, arguably one of the biggest stars of the industry. Considered a true classic amongst hack ‘n’ slash action-adventures, and one of the top titles of the PlayStation 2 era, this retrospective review poses a simple question: Was it really that good?
It all begins with Ares waging war on Athens, holy city of goddess Athena. The reason? Why, the usual petty reasons of the Greek pantheon, with Ares trying to prove to papa Zeus that he is better than his favoured daughter. Humph, siblings. Anyways, Athena’s newest chosen hero is coming to help…but not before stopping mid-sea to fight a gigantic hydra. Kratos swings giant blades that are chained to his arms, brutally slaying everything standing on his way, then brings down a creature larger than a building. As a reward he gets to have fun with twin birds that rock some fine funbags. Oh, yeah, he is also on the road to slaying a freaking Olympian. No other franchise has let people experience what feels like a true Greek epic. God of War also understands that Greek mythology isn’t a fairytale. This is filled with bloodshed, takes place in a grimdark world and follows a tragic, but also cruel and selfish, protagonist on an almost hopeless road to redemption.
The story of Kratos is slowly fed to the player, mainly through flashbacks that delve within his dark past. The narrative does a fine job at making it immersive and all, but here’s the deal: Kratos is bad to the bone and unlikable. Ιt’s always cool in epics that deal with gods and monsters to have a character badass enough to deal with both, but it’s really, really hard to empathise with this fellow, especially after learning about what has been torturing him. On the other hand, maybe he doesn’t have to be likable. He is an evil person who is on a quest to slay an evil greater than him. As a whole, this is a more than decent story, with some pretty neat moments, a bit of tasty cheese, and lots of breasts and blood to satiate one’s inner teenager.
It is almost a certainty that most will feel that they have travelled a couple of millennia back into a fantastic mythological Ancient Greece, partaking in a bloodier version of the 12 Labours of Heracles. God of War still looks great after so many years. Wonderfully crafted creatures that range from undead hoplites and imposing giants, to slithering gorgons and brutal minotaurs, plus breathtaking scale in many locations decorated with gargantuan palaces and temples, with the best part being the enormous raging battlefield in the distance while Kratos is adventuring in Athens. The animations are also butter-smooth, and the frame rate never misses a beat. Still, is it a good game?
Many tried this expecting Bayonetta but got something like Darksiders. This isn’t about pure action. There’s some light exploration and puzzle solving on offer, which honestly ranges from passable to annoying. Pushing a block to the correct spot, climbing a wall, using machinery to destroy obstacles, and even walking from A to B grabbing a key and going back to A again is something that’s rarely exciting. It’s tedious filler that frequently ruins the pacing, making the adventure feel longer than what it actually is. Platforming has bigger issues. There’s nothing worse than being immersed into the power fantasy of being a demigod that obliterates whatever dares breathing, only to then lose that feeling by falling down while awkwardly scampering across a narrow, slipping, and getting insta-killed.
Concerning the combat mechanics, yours truly belongs in an admittedly small minority that sees nothing special when it comes to the action on offer, which pales by comparison to other known hack ‘n’ slashers like Devil May Cry. Why? Well, for starters Kratos has few options. Sure, he receives a variety of combo moves from the get-go, and unlocks even more throughout his ordeal, but it’s highly unlikely that he’ll need to use something apart from two or three moves and his block. The same applies to the few magic spells that will be given at specific intervals. The thunderbolt is good for the occasional far away archer, and the Medusa’s gaze has about…three good uses throughout the quest, but 90% of the time magic means using Poseidon’s very powerful AoE thunderstorm.
It’s disappointing that, while there are a couple of nice innovations here, it doesn’t really take advantage of them. As an example, many stronger monsters can be killed either by simple means or by weakening them and using a QTE finisher and then receiving health or magic energy rather than EXP – but most of the time battles are all about spamming your favourite combo until the enemy has lost enough blood. The bestiary lacks variety too, with the majority of the game revolving around two kinds of undead soldiers, with the occasional bigger beast thrown in to spice things up, as many enemies sort of disappear altogether after a while.
All things mentioned so far make an already repetitive experience even more so, as combat doesn’t really evolve as much as one would expect. Also, sorry God of War fans, but the battle mechanics aren’t really as perfect as you think they are. There are none of the lightning-fast response times of Japanese hack ‘n’ slashers, with Kratos feeling a bit slower and clunkier to control. Challenge is all over the place as well, with the player spending 10 minutes cutting through the opposition like a hot knife through butter and then dying because a Medusa turned Kratos into a stone mid-air which kills him the moment he hits the ground and turns into dust.
Pacing is an even bigger mess. Apart from this being three hours of content padded with needless stuff to last eight, certain stretches…err, stretch for way too long. Surprisingly, the introductory stage is the best as it offers the correct dose of combat and platforming, before finally throwing Kratos into an epic fight against a three headed monstrosity. After that there’s a bit of similarly well-paced maps to explore and do combat in…but then the hero enters an enormous Legend of Zelda-esque palace which feels like it goes on forever. A boss fight later and he is thrown into even more annoying platforming, and after what feels like a wasted hour and a half, he gets to fight the big bad himself in a battle that is pretty lame when compared to the tutorial-like Hydra of the beginning.
Okay, despite the many ways this can irritate you, there’s lots of fun stuff here as well. God of War isn’t unfairly loved, but it also hasn’t stood the test of time as much as people’s nostalgia has led them to believe, and is not one of the genre’s best. In the end, the biggest problem is its lack of focus. It does three different things – exploration/platforming, puzzle solving, and combat – rather than just sticking to combat and trying to make it as fun and fine-polished as possible. At its best, battle scenarios have Kratos keeping many balls in the air, platforming requires skill but failure doesn’t lead to death, and puzzle solving is about using your eyes and brain rather than performing tedious tasks. Unfortunately, for most of the runtime, God of War isn’t at its best.
