Kratos is back in a brand new God of War adventure. This time taking place after his tenure as War God, Kratos has settled down with a new son; his second child born in the land of Norse Gods. Having lived with a woman named Faye, the now deceased mother of his son Atreus, Kratos has to deal with the challenges of parenthood while on a quest to teach Atreus how to survive the Norse wilds and not grow up to become the man he once was.

God of War is a 2018 action-adventure game, it is the start of a new God of War franchise. It is developed and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment and is available exclusively on Playstation 4.

From the very moment you boot the game God of War begins the inner workings of a fantastic story.

After a near decade wait (unless you count Ascension) God of War receives a new series acting as a soft reboot now set in Norse mythology. Having unleashed his rage on the Gods & beasts of Greece, Kratos has settled down with a woman named Faye with whom he has a son named Atreus. Unfortunately for Kratos, tragedy once again plagues him as Kratos’ second wife passes. Prompting him & Atreus to embark on a journey to fulfill her final request; release her ashes at the highest point within the Norwegian world.

A new journey pits Kratos & son against the beasts of Norse lore.

THE GOOD: In the new God of War takes Kratos to the world Thor, Odin, and other big players of Norse Mythology. Several years have passed since the defeat of Zeus and most of the other Greek Gods and to his credit Kratos really tried to adjust to a normal life as a mortal and even remarries and has a young son. However once his wife Faye dies Kratos is once again pulled into super bloody violence as he teaches his son on survival, how to remain vigilant, and to never lose who he is as a person to anger. Kratos’ shift from sociopathic God to attempted humble father seems odd at first, but it’s so believable to the point where the previous franchise felt like a dream. This time Kratos’ long-time voice actor Terrence C. Carson is replaced by new lead voice actor Christopher Judge who succeeds in voicing a much older Kratos.

A bonding story of father and son takes Kratos to new emotional territory.

Combat mimics that of the original franchise, while also separating itself from it. The Blades of Chaos have been replaced as a core weapon by the Leviathan Ax; a weapon with an ability to be called back to its user after having been thrown or lost. The ax also can freeze enemies in place for quicker kills and heavy damage combos. Hitting triangle for the ax recall is one of the most satisfying feelings ever in gaming I did it several dozen times for fun just so I could hear the sound effects and see the return animation. There’s lite RPG elements which allows players to upgrade and customize Kratos & Atreus with runes, armor, weapon parts, and a skill tree. Difficulty ranges from medium to extremely high regardless of what difficult level you’re playing. Monsters strengths are indicated by color coding with weakest being green, medium being yellow, and extremely hard being purple. The purple monsters can literally kill you in a matter of seconds, but upon defeating them you’re often rewarded with satisfying crafting resources.

God of War is a technical marvel.

As you go through the story you experience the true growth of Kratos & Atreus as characters, especially Atreus. After learning of his true origins he becomes increasingly arrogant and these aren’t just one off scripted instances, this occurs throughout the game for as long as you’re within that part of the story. So if you decide to take a break from the main campaign to do side quests Atreus’ behavior will remain as such. Speaking of Atreus he’s perhaps the greatest AI companion in gaming history next to Elizabeth in Bioshock Infinite. He never feels in the way or useless and is rarely in danger to where you have to come to his aide in annoying frequency. Kratos eventually is forced to succumb to his demons in order to save and further keep Atreus from becoming who he was/is. Admittedly there isn’t much boss variety, but when an original boss does appear it’s always a special moment. One boss fight in particular with Baldur is by far the greatest boss sequence I’ve ever experienced within at least the last two or three years.

A pseudo-open world God of War experience brings out the absolute best of the Playstation 4.

After you complete the 30 or so hour long main story there’s still tons more to do including optional bosses and two realms which weren’t touched on in the main story that can be explored post-game. The side quests seem nearly endless and the higher difficult level monsters spread across the game world help keep it fresh and alive after closing the main story.

God of War feels like a never ending game with tons of post-game content to quench your thirst.

THE BAD: As mentioned earlier, boss variety is mostly limited to trolls and golems. While the difficulty does get increased with each creature you come across it’s still tiresome as there’s no need for a change in tactics to defeat them. While underground the game tends to suffer a bit from pacing and it becomes abundantly clear that above ground is where most of the creativity went.

God of War is a near perfect soft reboot that successful transitions the series to new heights.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: God of War gets a more than successful hit on the reset button with the new Norse territory. Although the story and gameplay have changed quite heavily the sequel never loses it’s spirit in regards to the original franchise and it’s direction. As we get closer and closer to the end of the eighth console generation, God of War will go down as one of this gen’s greatest games of it’s time.