PS4:
-The Evil Within 2: 8.5 / 10
-Tales from the Borderlands: 8.5 / 10
-Monster Hunter: World (main story): 8.5 / 10
-Secret of Mana (remake): 6 / 10
-My Life is Strange: Before the Storm: 8 / 10
-Bloodborne: 9 / 10
-Far Cry 5: 8.5 / 10
-God of War: 9.5 / 10
I just finished the main story campaign for God of War. Even though we're only just about to enter May, I'd dare say that we have a strong contender for Game of the Year already. So uh, here's my quick but TL;DR review behind it:
I absolutely loved this game. I've said this before but I've never been a real fan of the franchise until now. The developer's made a smart decision by completely rebuilding the game play and style of story telling.
The story was awesome. I really enjoyed the growth we see between Kratos and his son Atreus. I actually cared about them, where is in previous God of War games, Kratos was just on a murderous warpath fueled by rage and vengeance, which is entertaining in its own right but it must get old after three or more games running like that. What I like is that you don't necessarily have to play the previous games to fully understand and appreciate this game's plot but honestly, if you have (which I haven't), then it'll probably be a better experience. Personally, I just watched some God of War recap videos on YouTube. The Norse mythology though is very interesting and a welcoming change.
The overall game is not exactly "open world" game per say, but it's at the very least an expansive, non-linear environment that allows the player to tackle side quests and explore for treasure, materials etc. In a "Metroidvania" manner, you will be doing a lot of backtracking, returning to areas you've previously visited with different abilities to open new locations, solving environment-based puzzles etc.
The graphics of the game are bloody beautiful. Unfortunately, I don't have a PS4 Pro or/and a 4K TV, so I couldn't experience the game in 4K or a smoother frame rate, but it's probably the best looking PS4 game to date. Certainly rivals Uncharted 4: A Thief's End. I really dug the orchestrated soundtrack with the deep, ominous opera-style vocals, and the voice actors were all great, especially Christopher Judge, best known for his role as Teal'c in the old television series Stargate: SG-1.
The combat system is fun and challenging. It still retains that previous God of War feel with the brutality and violence, but feels different with the new game play, as Kratos can dodge roll, duck and weave, perform parries with a shield, bust out some cool combos, throw his axe like Thor throwing Mjolnir etc. Kratos' son Atreus joins alongside Kratos for most of the game and is not at all a burden, as he performs archery on Kratos' command and can stun enemies with melee attacks and bow choke holds. The game also features RPG-style mechanics, earning experience points to unlock new abilities and attacks, as well as finding a form of currency and resources to have new armor built for you, or current weapons/armor upgraded.
There's plenty to do. I'd estimate the game probably has somewhere between twenty to forty hours of game play, depending on how much you want to do. While I've finished the main story, I'm still playing in an attempt to finish off a few side quests.
It's a near-perfect game, but there's always going to be a flaw or two.
Unlike previous God of War games, Kratos runs around mostly with his new weapon, the Leviathan Axe, or punching stuff with his bare hands. I didn't mind too much as the skill tree consistently makes the Leviathan Axe feel "new" over the course of your adventure, but I imagine some players might be disappointed by the lack of weapon variety.
Sometimes, the difficulty would spike up tremendously. Enemies' difficulty would be represented by a coloured bar (their health) above their head, ranging from green, to yellow, orange and then purple. Early game, you can encounter purple enemies that can one shot you. It is possible to defeat them, but incredibly hard, so it's best to just come back when you're stronger in level. I found myself being a dick head (no surprise) trying to fight purple enemies, to absolutely no avail.
The crafting system conducted by the black smiths isn't very detailed, so I would hardly call it "crafting" at all, and I found that later in the game, if you want some of the best items, you're going to have to spend a lot of time grinding in challenging environments.
While I didn't experience any glitches at all (not sure if I was lucky, or if the game is that well polished) but I did experience a few frame rate drops, especially in hectic battles with many enemies on screen. I imagine this problem would be less of an issue on a PS4 Pro.
At first, the game's camera seemed annoying in combat, but I'm fairly certain this has been addressed in a recent patch (there have been a lot of patches for this game), because now the camera looks and feels better during combat.
Overall, it's an awesome game and a great experience. If you have a PS4 but you don't have God of War, you're missing out.
-The Evil Within 2: 8.5 / 10
-Tales from the Borderlands: 8.5 / 10
-Monster Hunter: World (main story): 8.5 / 10
-Secret of Mana (remake): 6 / 10
-My Life is Strange: Before the Storm: 8 / 10
-Bloodborne: 9 / 10
-Far Cry 5: 8.5 / 10
-God of War: 9.5 / 10
I just finished the main story campaign for God of War. Even though we're only just about to enter May, I'd dare say that we have a strong contender for Game of the Year already. So uh, here's my quick but TL;DR review behind it:
I absolutely loved this game. I've said this before but I've never been a real fan of the franchise until now. The developer's made a smart decision by completely rebuilding the game play and style of story telling.
The story was awesome. I really enjoyed the growth we see between Kratos and his son Atreus. I actually cared about them, where is in previous God of War games, Kratos was just on a murderous warpath fueled by rage and vengeance, which is entertaining in its own right but it must get old after three or more games running like that. What I like is that you don't necessarily have to play the previous games to fully understand and appreciate this game's plot but honestly, if you have (which I haven't), then it'll probably be a better experience. Personally, I just watched some God of War recap videos on YouTube. The Norse mythology though is very interesting and a welcoming change.
The overall game is not exactly "open world" game per say, but it's at the very least an expansive, non-linear environment that allows the player to tackle side quests and explore for treasure, materials etc. In a "Metroidvania" manner, you will be doing a lot of backtracking, returning to areas you've previously visited with different abilities to open new locations, solving environment-based puzzles etc.
The graphics of the game are bloody beautiful. Unfortunately, I don't have a PS4 Pro or/and a 4K TV, so I couldn't experience the game in 4K or a smoother frame rate, but it's probably the best looking PS4 game to date. Certainly rivals Uncharted 4: A Thief's End. I really dug the orchestrated soundtrack with the deep, ominous opera-style vocals, and the voice actors were all great, especially Christopher Judge, best known for his role as Teal'c in the old television series Stargate: SG-1.
The combat system is fun and challenging. It still retains that previous God of War feel with the brutality and violence, but feels different with the new game play, as Kratos can dodge roll, duck and weave, perform parries with a shield, bust out some cool combos, throw his axe like Thor throwing Mjolnir etc. Kratos' son Atreus joins alongside Kratos for most of the game and is not at all a burden, as he performs archery on Kratos' command and can stun enemies with melee attacks and bow choke holds. The game also features RPG-style mechanics, earning experience points to unlock new abilities and attacks, as well as finding a form of currency and resources to have new armor built for you, or current weapons/armor upgraded.
There's plenty to do. I'd estimate the game probably has somewhere between twenty to forty hours of game play, depending on how much you want to do. While I've finished the main story, I'm still playing in an attempt to finish off a few side quests.
It's a near-perfect game, but there's always going to be a flaw or two.
Unlike previous God of War games, Kratos runs around mostly with his new weapon, the Leviathan Axe, or punching stuff with his bare hands. I didn't mind too much as the skill tree consistently makes the Leviathan Axe feel "new" over the course of your adventure, but I imagine some players might be disappointed by the lack of weapon variety.
Sometimes, the difficulty would spike up tremendously. Enemies' difficulty would be represented by a coloured bar (their health) above their head, ranging from green, to yellow, orange and then purple. Early game, you can encounter purple enemies that can one shot you. It is possible to defeat them, but incredibly hard, so it's best to just come back when you're stronger in level. I found myself being a dick head (no surprise) trying to fight purple enemies, to absolutely no avail.
The crafting system conducted by the black smiths isn't very detailed, so I would hardly call it "crafting" at all, and I found that later in the game, if you want some of the best items, you're going to have to spend a lot of time grinding in challenging environments.
While I didn't experience any glitches at all (not sure if I was lucky, or if the game is that well polished) but I did experience a few frame rate drops, especially in hectic battles with many enemies on screen. I imagine this problem would be less of an issue on a PS4 Pro.
At first, the game's camera seemed annoying in combat, but I'm fairly certain this has been addressed in a recent patch (there have been a lot of patches for this game), because now the camera looks and feels better during combat.
Overall, it's an awesome game and a great experience. If you have a PS4 but you don't have God of War, you're missing out.
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