God of War Review Thread

[hanselthecaretaker]

It's a pretty great game. I was never the biggest fan of the previous titles due to the monotonous combat which indeed was just mashing the same button over and over. It got old fast thought the dramatic over-the-top setpieces always kept me inclined to keep playing. The new game however has some terrific combat: dodging, blocking, slashing, throwing. Every encounter is awesome and this game has some of the most impressive visual and audio feedback. Speaking of visuals, this must be one of the prettiest games I've ever played. I even really like the brat, not half as annoying as Ellie from The Last of Us and it fleshes out Kratos as a character more and gives him more stuff to say without looking like he's talking to himself. I am also completely blown away by the art direction in the game so much so that I immediately ordered the art book which is incredibly thick. So much creativity went into making this game. This is the one time I fully agree with the consensus that this is an exceptional game.

What...No Bloodborne or Souls? Have my eyes deceived me?!

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

and I feel like I'm fighting with the camera more than the original Dark Souls port, with Kratos taking up a good 40% of the screen adding to the general feel that the game isn't difficult because of the enemies, but because of the lack of visibility and how many are just sponges.

I knew it. I just read the same complaint on the other forum I frequent.

Been playing this - enjoying it enough. Challenging difficulty, played about 5 hrs.

It's pretty much an Uncharted/TLoU clone. I like the setting. I wonder if Scandinavians are allowed to complain about Americans culturally appropriating from them?

The combat suffers because of the camera choice. It's extremely frustrating to see gaming press downplaying the importance of situational awareness during combat, while at the same time saying things like "the entire game is one take" - as if some arbitrary cinematic measure should have relevance in our completely different medium.

It is not as pretty as advertised, with the world fogged out beyond 30 metres and the occasional "setup" to show bigger landscapes. They really have just built levels and connected them with corridors, so I find anyone calling it an Open World a real stretch. Horizon Zero Dawn was a much bigger and better open world.

This is why I don't pay reviews much attention.

That "review" doesn't seem much better either; just on the other end of the spectrum. He makes it sound like every game that has combat should be a top-down/isometric view with a bird's eye viewpoint. That is essentially trying to de-legitimize a great deal of game genres, including something like the much lauded Souls series, since 99% of the time the camera aligns itself behind you facing forward as well. No, this is mostly a continued knee-jerk reaction to a major change in an IP that was already running on fumes from nearly every design perspective.

I remember in the old GoW combat system you didn't even have to be facing the opponent to block. You could literally just waltz around swinging your blades, hit parry at the right time and block whatever attack was near enough. The new viewpoint brings more structure and IMO hasn't impeded situational awareness since I can still rotate the camera when not locked on to see everything I need to. It even goes a step further than most TPS/OTS games and adds indicators for off screen attacks, which can be prevalent in large groups. If I die it's because I wasn't paying attention to what's on screen, one way or another.

Also, the designers have always said they weren't making an open world game, so not sure why he thought it was one.

I don't really care what he said about the openness of it. I just highlighted the part that was important.


Seems like it's slow paced, with enemies taking their time. I suppose it has to be slower paced, because you turn slower and can't see shit.

Like I said above, you can turn the camera however you want and often have to for range combat. It's the first game on PS4 I don't max out camera speed (8/10 for me on the slider) because it seems a bit too fast otherwise.

For reference, there is also a lot of enemy waiting going on here where by your camera logic there should be no excuse -

Spoiler

A lot of those scorpions just stand there hesitating as if waiting their turn as well, as do other enemies throughout the game. Hell, the whole series has examples of it, and I know it isn't the only one.

 

[Casual Shinji]

Seems like it's slow paced, with enemies taking their time. I suppose it has to be slower paced, because you turn slower and can't see shit. I'm not even saying the camera has to be fixed liked in the old games. Plenty of action games have normal, movable cameras.

Bull. Shit. The combat in this game is anything but slow paced. Enemies come at you relentlessly, and Kratos controls just as snappy as he did in the past -- Have you seen the dude's quick-turn? The only difference now being that you need to think about your moves and the moves of the enemies. You need to be on the ball, because as soon as you lose the "rhythym" of the engagement you'll slip up and get killed very quickly.

As third-person and over-the-shoulder as this game might be, it plays nothing like The Last of Us, or Uncharted, or even the SoulsBorne games.

 

[stroopwafel]

As third-person and over-the-shoulder as this game might be, it plays nothing like The Last of Us, or Uncharted, or even the SoulsBorne games.

Yeah, that is one of the game's best things, it has some incredibly fun combat that doesn't feel like it's a clone of something else. If there is one game though the amount of visual feedback reminded me most of Monster Hunter World. Espescially when fighting those lizards.

What...No Bloodborne or Souls? Have my eyes deceived me?!

Hehe..I meant it mostly in the context of a more 'mainstream' title.

 

[Casual Shinji]

I'll take that with a grain of salt, because I can tell just from looking at it that the zoomed camera is problematic and I'm still seeing comments like this pop up:

Generic. As shitty and basic the combat system from the original GOW games was, the games were still campy and stupidly funny in a unique way.

-Combat system is incredibly unsatisfying. The weight, timing, feeling, and skill required for execution of each move in Axes or Blade of Chaos moveset feel way too similar to each other. It's the Skyrim problem, bunch of weapons that look vastly different to each other but all feel the same. Certainly doesn't help that the player is restricted from several gameplay functions, such as the camera as mentioned by previous posters and no jumping. Massive downgrade from previous installments.

-Low skill threshold for every movesets which lowers incentive to dedicate yourself to the combat. Then again that was the same in the previous games so it's not exactly a downgrade

-Bosses. The mini "ancient" bosses are just carbon copies of each other. One's blue, the other one's red, and so on. The big bosses are even more disappointing: their range in type of attacks are pretty low, they're lethargic, and the first and last fights were filled with obnoxious cinematic interruptions. Like the old ones were bad but in this game they're far worse. There are some fun bosses like the Valkyries ones though

-Low and inconsistent framerate. Terrible for any hack and slash game but then again this isn't one, it's TLOU inspired so it's supposed to be slow and shit.

The camera angle isn't even that bad

The second one is funny. People say it's not that bad when they're not confident enough to say it's good.

You take positive comments with a grain of salt, but take negative ones as gospel... One would almost think you're looking to have your bias confirmed concerning a game you haven't even played.

 

[Casual Shinji]

Not really. I'm weighing them against each other while taking my own perception (which carries more weight) into account.

Yet anything negative you pounce on as an example why you think it's shit, and anything positive you brush off because what you're seeing apparently tells a different story.

Dislike the game all you like, but don't bring in other negative comments to prove you're right, all the while dismissing the positive ones, when you haven't even played it yet.

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

There will always be a vocal opposition, especially for something that has gotten a lot of praise. What?s odd though is that they often sound like they?re written by angst-ridden teenagers, so they aren?t off to a great start trying to convince anyone not to like something.

 

[Phoenixmgs_v1legacy]

So I've been playing it for a good couple of hours and god... DAMN!!!

I second Shinji's impressions...

It's a pretty great game...

Cool. I've only just played 2 hours and so far so good. The base combat (no upgrades or skills yet for me) is pretty simple overall but already better than the classic GOW combat. I really hope there's upgrades on the axe's callback ability, I love doing it but it feels lackluster on its affect on enemies. The first boss fight or mini-boss was a bit disappointing, it seemed like it took too long and there wasn't much you could do to him outside of just hacking away until dead. For some reason, I thought I was going to hate the kid even though I watched very few videos about the game; but I'm quite enjoying the father/son relationship so far along with some chuckle worthy lines from both characters.

I like this picture.

Really? I'm pretty sure that Sony publishes the most varied library of games of ANY publisher out there, not just including Nintendo and Microsoft but any publisher whether it be EA, Activision, Ubisoft, Bethesda, etc.

You can barely see what's on your sides. It's because almost all of the big action games and shooters are like this now that I'm so vocal about it. God of War basically plays like a third person shooter if all the enemies were at arms' length.

You can just mentally keep track of most enemies off screen. Like freeze a guy behind you with the axe and have that internal clock going before he unfreezes like a quarterback in the pocket. That's situational awareness. Being able to clearly see everything is the opposite of situational awareness, that's why it's called situational awareness when an outfielder is tracking a ball near the wall and just knows where the wall is without being able to see both it and the ball at the same time. You complain about ADS or OTS in shooters limiting your view, you can't keep mental track of things for like the 1-2 seconds you should be shooting at any given time? How are all the big action games just like God of War? What other melee combat action games besides like God Hand has a similar camera to GOW? Lastly, God of War plays nothing like a TPS because, you know, it's not a shooter.

 

[Redryhno]

There will always be a vocal opposition, especially for something that has gotten a lot of praise. What?s odd though is that they often sound like they?re written by angst-ridden teenagers, so they aren?t off to a great start trying to convince anyone not to like something.

Hey look, we've moved on from dismissing complaints and grievances to just straight up going to rule 11 of the internet.

I think the camera and the focus on telling a "serious" story is nothing but a detriment to the game and franchise simply because of just basic cognitive dissonance and the fact that I'm fighting with the camera more than I'm fighting with the sponges. There are parts of the game that are interesting and the art style, while lacking in places, is done well, the puzzles seem to largely be interesting in design and theory, but the praise loaded on it is undue. It's a solid 7 game, but in terms of franchise and branding, it falls below the bar to me. This is not God of War, it's just a game that was marketed as one because new IP's are scary.

Also I do so hope you're getting paid for this, because you do it so confidently, and otherwise you're seriously just a very sad fanboy in my eyes.

I like this picture.

Really? I'm pretty sure that Sony publishes the most varied library of games of ANY publisher out there, not just including Nintendo and Microsoft but any publisher whether it be EA, Activision, Ubisoft, Bethesda, etc.

Sure, but the thing all those games have in common beyond the same goddamn camera angle and how much everyone seems to be in love with trees and post-post-apocalyptia, is that they're mostly praised by critics, but have some pretty vocal detractors that are often saying much of the same thing: Pretty, but with glaring flaws that seem to be glossed over(if not outright ignored or even attacking said detractors like hansel is doing now) by the people that like them.

 

[Casual Shinji]

Cool. I've only just played 2 hours and so far so good. The base combat (no upgrades or skills yet for me) is pretty simple overall but already better than the classic GOW combat. I really hope there's upgrades on the axe's callback ability, I love doing it but it feels lackluster on its affect on enemies. The first boss fight or mini-boss was a bit disappointing, it seemed like it took too long and there wasn't much you could do to him outside of just hacking away until dead. For some reason, I thought I was going to hate the kid even though I watched very few videos about the game; but I'm quite enjoying the father/son relationship so far along with some chuckle worthy lines from both characters.

You'll find the combat gets better the further you progress. There are some excellent moves that will turn you into a powerhouse. I suggest getting the Executioner's Cleave as soon as possible, as it will carry you through the game. However, it's a move that has a slow charge, and most enemies will either attack you out of it or dodge it. And this is why the combat is so brilliant, because you can't just unleash shit, you really need to find those attack windows to get the better of your enemies. A parry for example will knock the air out of most enemies enough to perform an executoner's cleave. And I would highly suggest playing it on Challenging, if you aren't already.

And yeah, fighting the big trolls isn't that interesting, and I do wish there was more to taking them down other than just hacking at their shins. Fortunately most of your fights will consist of increasingly difficult enemy combinations.

I was kinda worried about the kid myself, since the trailers showed him using a lot of contemporary speech and some slang, which in an ancient, gritty norse setting is kinda a detriment. But yeah, he's actually pretty great. The game doesn't even hammer the father/son dynamic as much as I expected, focusing more on Kratos as a very detached and strict teacher who wants to learn the boy to stand on his own two feet.

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

There will always be a vocal opposition, especially for something that has gotten a lot of praise. What?s odd though is that they often sound like they?re written by angst-ridden teenagers, so they aren?t off to a great start trying to convince anyone not to like something.

Hey look, we've moved on from dismissing complaints and grievances to just straight up going to rule 11 of the internet.

I think the camera and the focus on telling a "serious" story is nothing but a detriment to the game and franchise simply because of just basic cognitive dissonance and the fact that I'm fighting with the camera more than I'm fighting with the sponges. There are parts of the game that are interesting and the art style, while lacking in places, is done well, the puzzles seem to largely be interesting in design and theory, but the praise loaded on it is undue. It's a solid 7 game, but in terms of franchise and branding, it falls below the bar to me. This is not God of War, it's just a game that was marketed as one because new IP's are scary.

Also I do so hope you're getting paid for this, because you do it so confidently, and otherwise you're seriously just a very sad fanboy in my eyes.

I like this picture.

Really? I'm pretty sure that Sony publishes the most varied library of games of ANY publisher out there, not just including Nintendo and Microsoft but any publisher whether it be EA, Activision, Ubisoft, Bethesda, etc.

Sure, but the thing all those games have in common beyond the same goddamn camera angle and how much everyone seems to be in love with trees and post-post-apocalyptia, is that they're mostly praised by critics, but have some pretty vocal detractors that are often saying much of the same thing: Pretty, but with glaring flaws that seem to be glossed over(if not outright ignored or even attacking said detractors like hansel is doing now) by the people that like them.

What makes anyone think the camera ?problems? are really problems for everyone that plays it? There are enough options to help alleviate any playability concerns for anyone familiar with modern game design, and it?s not like the old games didn?t have their share of off camera enemy attacks (firebombing harpies for example). At least now you can get the full picture with a controllable camera instead of having to run to a different part of the stage to change the camera angle or to reveal off screen enemies. Sometimes the levels weren?t even big enough to allow that at all. Even considering that, I can?t say I ever posted diatribes on the internet complaining about it. So to hear that being done over an improvement just seems like begrudged cynicism by people that want the series to stay the same. I also kinda wonder how many of the most vocal critics were diehard fans in the first place.

About the collection of comments on the previous page that Ezekiel copied from somewhere, my wording only reflects the tone they presented. Some of them literally said the game is ?shit?. Doesn?t seem all that rational as useful feedback.

 

[Redryhno]

What makes anyone think the camera ?problems? are really problems for everyone that plays it? There are enough options to help alleviate any playability concerns for anyone familiar with modern game design, and it?s not like the old games didn?t have their share of off camera enemy attacks (firebombing harpies for example). At least now you can get the full picture with a controllable camera instead of having to run to a different part of the stage to change the camera angle or to reveal off screen enemies. Sometimes the levels weren?t even big enough to allow that at all. Even considering that, I can?t say I ever posted diatribes on the internet complaining about it. So to hear that being done over an improvement just seems like begrudged cynicism by people that want the series to stay the same. I also kinda wonder how many of the most vocal critics were diehard fans in the first place.

About the collection of comments on the previous page that Ezekiel copied from somewhere, my wording only reflects the tone they presented. Some of them literally said the game is ?shit?. Doesn?t seem all that rational as useful feedback.

What makes you think I said anything about "everyone"? I'm pretty sure I specifically said "DETRACTORS". Like c'mon, there's still people that say that 30fps is superior to 60 and that consoles are still objectively better than PC.

And sure, there were some places that had problems, never said they didn't, just that in this specific game, I feel like I'm spending more time with the camera than I am with the sponges in said game. The camera is something you have to constantly fiddle with instead of just enjoying the game and the angle and combat leaves alot to be desired. It's artificial difficulty, and I've never liked it in any game.

Also just stop with that shit "not diehard fans of the originals" after "You just don't like it 'cause it's popular". I enjoyed the originals, they were campy and silly, even if they were made seriously. I just preferred the games they were a derivative of. And this one largely feels like

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

What makes anyone think the camera ?problems? are really problems for everyone that plays it? There are enough options to help alleviate any playability concerns for anyone familiar with modern game design, and it?s not like the old games didn?t have their share of off camera enemy attacks (firebombing harpies for example). At least now you can get the full picture with a controllable camera instead of having to run to a different part of the stage to change the camera angle or to reveal off screen enemies. Sometimes the levels weren?t even big enough to allow that at all. Even considering that, I can?t say I ever posted diatribes on the internet complaining about it. So to hear that being done over an improvement just seems like begrudged cynicism by people that want the series to stay the same. I also kinda wonder how many of the most vocal critics were diehard fans in the first place.

About the collection of comments on the previous page that Ezekiel copied from somewhere, my wording only reflects the tone they presented. Some of them literally said the game is ?shit?. Doesn?t seem all that rational as useful feedback.

What makes you think I said anything about "everyone"? I'm pretty sure I specifically said "DETRACTORS". Like c'mon, there's still people that say that 30fps is superior to 60 and that consoles are still objectively better than PC.

And sure, there were some places that had problems, never said they didn't, just that in this specific game, I feel like I'm spending more time with the camera than I am with the sponges in said game. The camera is something you have to constantly fiddle with instead of just enjoying the game and the angle and combat leaves alot to be desired. It's artificial difficulty, and I've never liked it in any game.

Also just stop with that shit "not diehard fans of the originals" after "You just don't like it 'cause it's popular". I enjoyed the originals, they were campy and silly, even if they were made seriously. I just preferred the games they were a derivative of. And this one largely feels like

My bad, I read "everyone" after "camera angle" and misconstrued the phrasing. It just sounds like the "detractors" can't understand how anyone could think that style of camera can work well in a game. The perspective change to me does a far more effective job of channeling the feel of Kratos as a playable character, in terms of conveying his brutal fighting style. The camera options can help alleviate much of the fiddling, but often I end up missing the freedom of being able to pan around when needed. The only way this could really be remedied as much as possible would be to pan out so far that the feeling of the game is trivialized.

Agreed that some of the enemies can be spongy, but often there are different tactics to alleviate it. I'd also prefer if enemies showed more signs of dynamic physical damage based on weapon type, armor, flesh, etc., but perhaps that would be too great an undertaking for even today's technology. The biggest problem I've had so far is deciding what buttons I want to use sprint and stun finishers for. They seem better suited to the sticks, but I've never been thrilled with using those buttons for the possible extra wear and tear caused.

I really like the originals too, but the fact that most people didn't take them seriously is a big part of why they went in the new direction. It must have worked, with the general consensus being that Kratos seems like a more believable, fleshed out character now. That's what I meant by diehard fans. There are some who thought that more could be done with the mythos, combat, presentation, etc. and now it has.

 

[Phoenixmgs_v1legacy]

Sure, but the thing all those games have in common beyond the same goddamn camera angle and how much everyone seems to be in love with trees and post-post-apocalyptia, is that they're mostly praised by critics, but have some pretty vocal detractors that are often saying much of the same thing: Pretty, but with glaring flaws that seem to be glossed over(if not outright ignored or even attacking said detractors like hansel is doing now) by the people that like them.

Horizon's camera is decently pulled back, most of the time you can see Aloy in her entirety, even her feet. It's basically as pulled back as a Souls game. And Aloy is basically centered on screen as well instead of offset. I don't see the big deal with several games having a similar camera angle really. I was much more adamant about Uncharted 1-3 and TLOU not having a camera sensitivity option than the camera angles themselves and even then, the slow camera sensitivity of those games was really only felt online against human opponents, but Naughty Dog can't balance a competitive multiplayer to save their lives anyway.

Like c'mon, there's still people that say that 30fps is superior to 60 and that consoles are still objectively better than PC.

I feel like I'm spending more time with the camera than I am with the sponges in said game. The camera is something you have to constantly fiddle with instead of just enjoying the game and the angle and combat leaves alot to be desired. It's artificial difficulty, and I've never liked it in any game.

Consoles and PCs both have pros and cons that's why neither hasn't wiped out the other. Some really basic features of PC gaming has literally just came about this gen like say the basic ability to return/refund a game and much improved controller support. Plus, the average person needs an actual PC less and less these days than ever before.

Unless you only like games with fixed cameras (which have downsides too), you're always adjusting the camera in basically any type of game, most of all any 1st-person game. Even an isometric game like Shadow Tactics has a camera you're constantly adjusting, and its camera ain't that good IMO. Camera adjustment is like second nature at this point.

I really like the originals too, but the fact that most people didn't take them seriously is a big part of why they went in the new direction. It must have worked, with the general consensus being that Kratos seems like a more believable, fleshed out character now. That's what I meant by diehard fans. There are some who thought that more could be done with the mythos, combat, presentation, etc. and now it has.

I loved the original GOW but the sequels just sucked from a story perspective along with Kratos' characterization. Extra Credits has a decent video on the sequels' failure at storytelling. And, the gameplay just can't carry the old GOWs alone, everything has to be firing on all cylinders basically. Sorta like Uncharted, you don't come just for the shooting because if you did, they are OK games at best then; you came for the adventure, setpieces, story, characters as well.

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

Double post, please delete.