Back in college, when the original God of War came out, I had heard very good things and so decided to pick it up. I've been a Greek Mythology nerd since I was a little kid, and given how good the game had been reviewed, I figured I would like it.
But in all honesty, I wasn't crazy about it. For one thing, it was one of those games that promised big but was oddly small in scope - most of it takes place in the massive temple where Pandora's Box is held. It also had a protagonist that did not really appeal to me. Kratos had reason to be angry, of course, but he just seemed like such an asshole, and the kind of nihilistic rage monster that seemed like it would appeal to a narrow age range of teenage boys - I was 19 at the time, but already I felt like that kind of "audaciously violent" character felt too immature for me.
I was wary of this new game when it came out, but it looked like it could be good. While I appreciated the colorful, cartoonish art style of the original (and this was before the "real is grey" movement that would take hold over the next couple years) I think the thing that stood out to me about this new one was the change in perspective, from isometric to over-the-shoulder.
Kratos, as a protagonist, is still kind of a shit, but he's a different, and I'd say more interesting kind of shit. Having left Greece after the events of the third game (I didn't play II or III, but my understanding is that the Olympians and Greece itself were left pretty much devastated by his rampage - so naturally he goes to a part of the world where the gods are, canonically, mortal,) Kratos is introduced chopping down a tree for his wife's funeral pyre. Kratos, of course, is always carrying the ashes of his first family on his skin, and much of this game involves carrying the ashes of his second wife to scatter them where she had asked him to.
Kratos' journey all along the way includes his son, Atreus, who - like Elizabeth in Bioshock Infinite - seems to be one of those "yes, theoretically this is an escort quest, but you'll just be glad they're there" kind of characters. Kratos has shielded Atreus from his past as a pantheon-killing rage monster, but the result is that he's been a cold and distant father who gets easily frustrated with his son. Hell, he calls his son "Boy" more often than using his actual name, which tells you a lot.
On a personal note, while dead moms and wives are a trope that people reasonably complain about (largely because it's an excuse for male writers to avoid having to write female characters,) I can identify a bit with Atreus given that my mom died a little less than two years ago. Obviously, I'm not a little boy - though I will say that losing a parent simultaneously makes you feel more adult than you've ever felt and also makes you feel woefully unprepared, as if you should still be a child.
Anyway, while it's not a totally unique story, it is one that I find more compelling than the original game (to be fair, I don't know if the sequels told it better.)
In terms of gameplay, the first hour or two I found sort of passable, but not very interesting. There's not a great amount of tutorializing, and after a brief introductory adventure involving a hunt with Atreus, you get a three-phase fight with what I assume is the game's final boss that both lasts way too long and also would be a lot easier if the game explained to you about, say, running, dodging, and blocking.
But after a slow beginning, you eventually develop more interesting combat abilities and around that time you also get some more interesting visuals. A trip onto a lake in which you meet one of the incredibly massive creatures this series is known for reveals the game's major hub, which both opens the game up (or at least its potential - the hub lets you go to all the nine realms, but so far the only other realm I've been to is Alfheim) and also starts to bring in more of the fantastical elements after the early game is a lot of forests and caves.
The point is, I'm starting to enjoy the game more. So we'll see how it goes as I continue.
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