God of War- 2018's Horizon Zero Dawn-tier game?

So God of War comes out next Friday, but the review embargo lifted tonight. So far, it has a 94 Metacritic from 75 reviews (0 mixed, 0 negative).

Having never really liked any of the God of War games that I tried (not big on the mindless hack n' slash genre), I'm now super curious, especially since it's simultaneously a sequel and a complete reboot of the franchise (in terms of gameplay, style, story, and even genre, it seems). And the weird/neat thing is that it's being rebooted by the very same developer that started it all (Santa Monica Studios).

I have only delved into two reviews for it so far:
IGN's, which gave the game a 10/10, and Skill Up, who goes beyond that to call this game... well:

Now, hyperbolic statements like that are usually something that gives me pause (especially since Skill Up goes on to state that he didn't completely love The Last of Us, Uncharted, or Horizon Zero Dawn, which is usually a clear sign of deep-seated mental issues), but he goes on to explain why he feels that way, and I can sort of understand where he's coming from, given his previous perspectives.

What I took from both reviews:

-The game is not-quite open world, but has tons of optional explorable areas, with real challenges that reward those explorations, and which often flesh out the world.

-You can pick and choose several playstyles, and the game has ways to reward and flesh out those playstyles, while giving you lots of room to experiment and change the way you play.

-The game is meaty, but doesn't drag on or ever feel boring (25-42 hours is the normal completion rate, depending on whether or not you check out the optional challenges).

-The story is solid, and characters (Heroes, villains, supporting cast) are interesting and multidimensional.

My curiosity was piqued when the gameplay trailer was released (dat ending!), but now it's sounding like a must-buy.

Anyone here a fan of the series?

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I’m in your boat. Didn’t like and didn’t play the original games, but the trailer for this one intrigued me.

Skill Up put out a video yesterday saying to be careful with reviews, that there’s a lot of neat stuff that could be easily spoiled. I’ve seen similar comments from other industry folks on Twitter.

I’ll definitely be buying it.

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I'm seriously considering buying a PS4 for it, even though I'm really not confident that I should be spending money right now.

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I'm seriously considering buying a PS4 for it, even though I'm really not confident that I should be spending money right now.

You’re right, real life priorities come first....

That said, you can grab the custom God Of War special edition PS4 Pro with the game (and Digital Deluxe content voucher) for $400 right now, and if you get it from Best Buy, you can finance it!

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I am a fan. Despite never having owned a PS2, I had a couple of roommates just after college (so, 2005-2010 period probably) who both did and who both were big God of War fans. So I played GoW 1 and 2 quite a bit, and actually pooled money with one of those roommates to buy a used PS3 primarily to play GoW 3 (bought used so I could get the original, fully hardware back-compat model, which at that time could also run alternate operating systems). Then after Chains of Olympus came out on PSP, I bought that and borrowed a friend's PSP to play it. BTW, read the reviews for Chains of Olympus sometime - it was an amazing game at the time. They managed to really make something that felt like a full console game.

I think what struck me about the original game was 2 things:

1. The way sound and movement was combined with the character of Kratos. Kratos is a being of pure rage, a mortal who defies death and kills a god purely because of his all-consuming hatred for Ares. And it's hard to define exactly why GoW did this so well, but I just felt that every time Kratos swung his blades or crushed something's skull, the combination of the animations and the voice acting REALLY sold that this was a man who'd been tricked into murdering his family.

2. The way they did quick-time events. GoW 1 was the first game I remember doing things like that. It probably wasn't ACTUALLY new, but I can't remember noticing it previously. GoW did a good job making their QTEs feel like they ALMOST directly translated the physical action. Having to tap a button VERY rapidly to lift a door wasn't actually the same as lifting, of course. But it felt like you actually had to put physical effort into it. Twisting off a Gorgon's head required actually circling the analog sticks, and so on. It made an already visceral game feel more physical and (nearly) real.

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I think it’s actually my favourite God of War game. I know GoW 2 is generally seen as the series’ benchmark, and for good reason. It’s awesome. But I think Chains of Olympus does all the same things right, and in a tighter package. As great as GoW 2 is, I found it did drag on a tad long. Chains is a bit shorter, but not at the expense of its sense of grandeur or scale.

Most importantly, Chains retains the best part of the franchise: super tight, fast, and satisfying combat. It’s one of those games that I replayed over and over, working my way up through the difficulty settings, because mastering the combat felt so rewarding. Plus, the shorter length made the game a bit more inviting to replay.

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Can't wait to play it.

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Both standard and Deluxe edition. I think I'm gonna hop on that.

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Both standard and Deluxe edition. I think I'm gonna hop on that.

If you are an Amazon Prime member all pre-ordered games are 20% off. I didn't realize this fact until I pre-ordered Sea of Thieves.

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Can you preorder it digitally?

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Can you preorder it digitally?

Don't think that I've ever seen a Digital preorder available from Amazon. It's why that 10% off from GMG stood out to me.

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Can you preorder it digitally?

Don't think that I've ever seen a Digital preorder available from Amazon. It's why that 10% off from GMG stood out to me.

hmmm I don't know that. I thought you could when doing sea of thieves, but I accidentally bought the physical edition. But I'm pretty sure it was in both. It also might be different for PS vs Xbox

For the record. God of War isn't digital preorder on Amazon.

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For some reason I thought they changed it to only be for preorders.

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And that's all on me. I have a thing about series. I feel like I must play the entire series to get the "full effect" of the latest entry. It's why I've never played an Assassin's Creed game or The Witcher. Am I weird?

I've dabbled in an early iteration of God of War. Didn't really like it. (Sorry Bigarm!) Maybe I'll become more flexible. Maybe.

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And that's all on me. I have a thing about series. I feel like I must play the entire series to get the "full effect" of the latest entry. It's why I've never played an Assassin's Creed game or The Witcher. Am I weird?

I've dabbled in an early iteration of God of War. Didn't really like it. (Sorry Bigarm!) Maybe I'll become more flexible. Maybe.

Forget about the earlier two games and play The Witcher 3, damnit! That was my introduction to the series (which was good enough to convince me to go back to the previous two games). Trust me, The Witcher 3 stands on its own, and you're missing out on what I would consider an essential experience. I would put it up there with Knights of the Old Republic and the Mass Effect trilogy. The Witcher 3 is the new standard, the way KotoR or the Mass Effect games were in their time.

I understand not making time for it (a conservative estimate for a mainline playthrough is at least 40-50 hours, and that would be a dead sprint, I think). I'd definitely still argue it's worth the time, but it is a huge commitment. But if not playing The Witcher 1 and 2 is legitimately the thing holding you back, I'm begging you to not let it do so any longer. It really is not necessary.

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And that's all on me. I have a thing about series. I feel like I must play the entire series to get the "full effect" of the latest entry. It's why I've never played an Assassin's Creed game or The Witcher. Am I weird?

I've dabbled in an early iteration of God of War. Didn't really like it. (Sorry Bigarm!) Maybe I'll become more flexible. Maybe.

Forget about the earlier two games and play The Witcher 3, damnit! That was my introduction to the series (which was good enough to convince me to go back to the previous two games). Trust me, The Witcher 3 stands on its own, and you're missing out on what I would consider an essential experience. I would put it up there with Knights of the Old Republic and the Mass Effect trilogy. The Witcher 3 is the new standard, the way KotoR or the Mass Effect games were in their time.

I understand not making time for it (a conservative estimate for a mainline playthrough is at least 40-50 hours, and that would be a dead sprint, I think). I'd definitely still argue it's worth the time, but it is a huge commitment. But if not playing The Witcher 1 and 2 is legitimately the thing holding you back, I'm begging you to not let it do so any longer. It really is not necessary.

I second this. It was my first introduction to the series and there was only one part where I felt like I missed something in the first games and it was a side quest. I now judge a lot of games by this game now because of how well it does quest lines.

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The God of War soundtrack is available on Spotify, and it's really good.

It's composed by Bear McCreary, who has worked on a bunch of stuff, the most notable of which (for me) is the Battlestar Galactica reboot from the mid-2000s. As a sidenote, man, I really miss Sci-Fi Fridays with BSG and both Stargate SG-1 and Atlantis playing in an awesome mega block.

Can't wait for Friday!

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I'm a few hours in now. I just opened up the lake and met the second craftsman, for those that have played that far.

I have not been this into a game in quite a while.

First thing's first: Teal'c is the voice of Kratos! And it's amazing. A quick google shows me that info has been know for like a year now, but I didn't know it, and it was a great surprise when the game started and his name showed up.

Second thing: This game is gorgeous. Horizon: Zero Dawn gorgeous. Better, in a lot of ways, if just slightly less impressive because of its smaller scale. The area with the Witch almost literally took my breath away. While obviously technically beautiful, the art design of God of War is just stunning.

Now, the most important thing: Combat in God of War is good. Really, really good. I only played the demo for God of War III, so I have no prior experience with the game. So far, this combat is shaping up to be some of my favorite in any game ever. It starts slow. Honestly, I thought too slow, but I'm just now starting to get into more of the skill tree (and only just barely), and I've come to realize that it had to start slow. There are so many options and so much customization--if they went any faster with opening things up, I'd have very easily been overwhelmed. There is a surprising learning curve, but once I got the controls down (I swapped the X and O inputs for a slightly more natural feel), it is so smooth and very, very satisfying.

The combination between the axe and it's powers, throwing the axe, using Atreus to stun enemies, going into rage, using combos . . . It's a lot to keep track of sometimes, and the game absolutely doesn't screw around with enemies. This isn't Batman or Shadow of Mordor where the enemies all wait their turn and attack one by one. The enemies will swarm and surround you, attack simultaneously. There will be multiple ranged enemies firing at you, while a few random low level guys surround you and one or two bigger guys with attacks you can't block move in. I can't even really articulate how good all this feels.

If you were on the fence about this game, I would have to make a strong argument to jump off that fence and go get it. It might end up as my favorite PS exclusive ever, if it keeps going at this rate.

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I'm roughly as far into the game as you are... maybe a tiny bit further, but pretty close.

So far, I'm really enjoying it as well. But I would put forward a caveat or two. (no spoilers)

The game is great so far, but as a fan of the franchise, I have to say it doesn't scratch the same itch as the previous games. That's not a criticism, really. It's just a different thing. Its got more in common with The Last of Us than the previous God of War games. As someone who absolutely loves The Last of Us, I'm totally cool with more of that kind of game. Plus the traditional God of War formula is certainly a bit played out and dated at this point. However, I do find something lacking in this game, and I think it comes down to the combat.

I think the combat in this new God of War is very very good. But the combat in the original franchise (particularly in GoW 1, 2, and Chains of Olympus) is some of the best videogame combat ever. Sure, if you played those games on easy or normal, they could be reduced to button-mashing. But on the harder difficultly levels they required an intense amount of precise timing as well as strategy. And within that, controlling Kratos felt wonderfully satisfying. The controls were always super snappy and responsive, and Kratos himself was a whirlwind of speed and power. High level combat in the original series was a blur of constant motion, with attacks and combos and counters all chaining together in a non-stop flourish of destruction.

Combat in this new game just doesn't flow that way. It can't. The move set is just built differently. And even if the move set were closer to the original, the change in camera angles means the player can't have as much situational awareness as they could in the previous games (which feels very intentional, to me). It's much more start-stop-wait-repeat in its rhythm, now. Closer to Dark Souls or something in that vein. And that's great too. Again, not a criticism at all. Just a very key difference between this game and the rest of the franchise, and one that I think is worth considering or at least being aware of for longtime fans.

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Combat in this new game just doesn't flow that way. It can't. The move set is just built differently. And even if the move set were closer to the original, the change in camera angles means the player can't have as much situational awareness as they could in the previous games (which feels very intentional, to me). It's much more start-stop-wait-repeat in its rhythm, now. Closer to Dark Souls or something in that vein. And that's great too. Again, not a criticism at all. Just a very key difference between this game and the rest of the franchise, and one that I think is worth considering or at least being aware of for longtime fans.

The funny thing is that the combat is what put me off from the God of War franchise in the first place. It really was just generic button spamming, without any real skill required, and the quicktime button-mashing boss sequences felt super shallow.

It's been pretty well known that the huge shift in combat could lead to tons of "this isn't God of War!" complaints, and that lens definitely skews how longtime fans see the game (I'm pretty sure Stabbim is the most likely person to dislike this game).

Personally, I reeeeeally love the way the game's combat and encounter loops work.

-You fight a new enemy, and learn what they're all about.

-You fight a larger number of the enemy, with previous enemies thrown in.

-Your knowledge of all of the enemies so far is tested, and the room itself may provide an additional challenge.

-You fight a new enemy, and learn what they're about.

This stream of learning, improving, and adapting is great, and causes enemy groups to play more like a puzzle that can be solved a number of different ways.
Combine that with your steadily-growing list of abilities, unlocks, and knowledge of how you can synergize them all, and the tools at your disposal open up so many avenues to approach an encounter.

I recorded a clip of how I handled the early room where the spiked ceiling descends on you whenever you call for your axe. I loved that encounter, and how I adapted to it and got my way through. But when I watched the video later, I realized that I did everything "wrong" in that room, and I could have approached every single part of it way better.
Then I watched Sammy go through that room, and do everything completely different from the way I did it, and the way I "should" have done it. And she still seemed to have less trouble than I did.

It's pretty great.

PS, the control scheme definitely takes some getting used to, but it might help to change the controls up a bit (Sammy had to swap the bumpers and triggers, which I thought were fine).

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The funny thing is that the combat is what put me off from the God of War franchise in the first place. It really was just generic button spamming, without any real skill required, and the quicktime button-mashing boss sequences felt super shallow.

That really is selling the original games completely short. As I said before, those games could be button-mashy on the easier settings, but crank up the difficulty and the game gets far too punishing to play that way. Then you realize how crucial the snappy controls are, and you grow to appreciate the depth of the combat and the breadth of the tools at your disposal.

It's been pretty well known that the huge shift in combat could lead to tons of "this isn't God of War!" complaints, and that lens definitely skews how longtime fans see the game (I'm pretty sure Stabbim is the most likely person to dislike this game).

Personally, I reeeeeally love the way the game's combat and encounter loops work.

-You fight a new enemy, and learn what they're all about.

-You fight a larger number of the enemy, with previous enemies thrown in.

-Your knowledge of all of the enemies so far is tested, and the room itself may provide an additional challenge.

-You fight a new enemy, and learn what they're about.

This stream of learning, improving, and adapting is great, and causes enemy groups to play more like a puzzle that can be solved a number of different ways.
Combine that with your steadily-growing list of abilities, unlocks, and knowledge of how you can synergize them all, and the tools at your disposal open up so many avenues to approach an encounter.

Yeah, the encounter design seems really good so far. I totally agree with the way you've broken it down.

I recorded a clip of how I handled the early room where the spiked ceiling descends on you whenever you call for your axe. I loved that encounter, and how I adapted to it and got my way through. But when I watched the video later, I realized that I did everything "wrong" in that room, and I could have approached every single part of it way better.
Then I watched Sammy go through that room, and do everything completely different from the way I did it, and the way I "should" have done it. And she still seemed to have less trouble than I did.

It's pretty great.

That's a great room. I initially tried to engage the enemies up close, but I accidentally recalled my ax mid-fight and got crushed by the ceiling. So on my next try, I just jumped back out from under the spikes and recalled my ax, crushing all the enemies in the room. Great stuff :)

PS, the control scheme definitely takes some getting used to, but it might help to change the controls up a bit (Sammy had to swap the bumpers and triggers, which I thought were fine).

Yeah I do find I've been fighting the controls somewhat. There's nothing wrong with the layout itself, I think... it's just that my muscle memory seems to keep diverting back to other games that use a different layout.

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That's a great room. I initially tried to engage the enemies up close, but I accidentally recalled my ax mid-fight and got crushed by the ceiling. So on my next try, I just jumped back out from under the spikes and recalled my ax, crushing all the enemies in the room. Great stuff :)

Yeah, it's pretty funny when you realize that you could have just done that all along (and Atreus acknowledges it if you do).

PS, the control scheme definitely takes some getting used to, but it might help to change the controls up a bit (Sammy had to swap the bumpers and triggers, which I thought were fine).

Yeah I do find I've been fighting the controls somewhat. There's nothing wrong with the layout itself, I think... it's just that my muscle memory seems to keep diverting back to other games that use a different layout.

Right. When I started playing, I was pretty frustrated with the control scheme (I kept hitting Square to quick-melee, which is what Hellblade and The Last of Us both have it mapped to), but looking through the options, the default layouts made the most sense to me anyway, so I stuck with them (though I think I'm gonna remap quickturn to L3, since Sammy's been having success with that).

Once I got used to it, I was happy that I stuck with the default options, especially chaining moves together. I'm playing on the harder difficulty, so being quick on the combos is a lot easier when L1 and R1 are instantly available and responsive as block and quick melee, with the Heavy melee and throw still available at a moment's notice, and dodge being the closest face button to hit from a turn.

For me, anyway...

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I think the control scheme is fine. The problem remembering all the option and button combos. It’s a lot to keep track of, but it works well once I got the hang of it. I can’t imagine it being pleasant at all with attacks mapped to the face buttons.

I just switched X and O because it feels a bit more natural that way for whatever reason.

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I just switched X and O because it feels a bit more natural that way for whatever reason.

Probably because HZD and Witcher 3 have dodge mapped to Circle, and Interact mapped to Triangle and X respectively. Circle is a pretty common dodge/crouch button, I think.

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We’re going to have to do a spoiler thread in a week or two. This game goes places.

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We’re going to have to do a spoiler thread in a week or two. This game goes places.

Holy crap, does it ever!

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I have borrowed a PS4, and I started playing through last night. I'm only an hour or two in but so far it seems quite good. The sort of over-the-shoulder view doesn't seem detrimental, and that was probably my biggest worry. It didn't take very much editing in the menus to good a button layout that feels familiar to me. If I'm going to have any trouble at all, I suspect it'll be from not identifying the buttons fast enough in QTEs. It's been a long time since I played anything on PlayStation.

The Leviathan axe feels good. God of War has done a lot of different weapon styles over the years, but this still feels fresh. Switching between it and hand-to-hand feels pretty natural to me. The old games always had different weapons/forms to switch between. This is just more fluid.

I'm really looking forward to listening to Christopher Judge for the next 25+ hours and am really happy that he got the part. I always thought he had more to offer than just being Teal'c (not that that role wasn't great).

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I have borrowed a PS4, and I started playing through last night. I'm only an hour or two in but so far it seems quite good. The sort of over-the-shoulder view doesn't seem detrimental, and that was probably my biggest worry. It didn't take very much editing in the menus to good a button layout that feels familiar to me. If I'm going to have any trouble at all, I suspect it'll be from not identifying the buttons fast enough in QTEs. It's been a long time since I played anything on PlayStation.

So far, there hasn’t been an really egregious QTEs. Mostly just for when Kratos moves heavy objects, and that’s just mashing the correct button (which I switched on the options to just holding the button). There are no QTEs for bosses like there used to be (that I’ve seen anyway).

The Leviathan axe feels good. God of War has done a lot of different weapon styles over the years, but this still feels fresh. Switching between it and hand-to-hand feels pretty natural to me. The old games always had different weapons/forms to switch between. This is just more fluid.

It feels incredible. There are a lot of options there that you’ll unlock. Some neat combos that aren’t super complex, but a really good variety of options that allow combat to be much deeper than it appears for the first few hours. Once you get out to the central hub, things really start to open up and give you more options.

I'm really looking forward to listening to Christopher Judge for the next 25+ hours and am really happy that he got the part. I always thought he had more to offer than just being Teal'c (not that that role wasn't great).

It doesn’t hurt that Kratos is just angry Teal’c. We straight up get a Teal’c “indeed” at one point pretty early and I was just grinning.

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