Even Gods can change (God of War, in review)

    In the year 2018, a game came out for the PS4 called God of War. It was a revival for an old IP that Sony had played with since the PS2, with sequels and prequels on the PS3, and PSP, with another collection on PS Vita. The team behind the original titles clearly had a significant change of heart in the years between God of War 3 and this new one, as the tone and the attitudes of Kratos have changed completely here. I'm hoping that I can drum up some anticipation for the new game in the series, God of War Ragnarok, which is coming in November, by recapping some of the interesting bits of God of War here without giving complete spoilers or anything of the sort. There's a lot to cover here, so let's grab our axes and head into the snowy mountains of Midgard.

The Story leading into this...

    Let us begin with a little history lesson on Kratos. He was a general in the land of Sparta in ancient Greece, and as such, victory was all that mattered to him. Therefore, when a battle wasn't going in his favor, Kratos cried out to Ares, the God of War, to be with him and bring victory to his troops. The god blessed him with extreme strength, and Kratos almost single-handedly defeated the enemy troops, but in his rage, he accidentally killed his wife and daughter while under the influence of Ares. He was left coated in ashes and known after that point as the "Ghost of Sparta." He vowed vengeance against the god, and eventually he got it. Traveling seemingly all over the world, and overcoming impossible odds, he did defeat Ares in the end and became the new God of War. That didn't last for long, as the other Gods saw what Kratos was capable of, and drained him of his power. Kratos vowed revenge on all of the Gods after this and teamed up with Gaia, mother of the titans of old to take them down. Again, he takes down quite a few of them in God of War II, but most of his task is devoted to finally making it back to Mount Olympus, which is where the entirety of God of War III takes place. In killing the gods, Kratos discovers that the ocean begins raging out of control once he kills Poseidon, God of the Sea, but figures it is more important to keep going with his rage-filled quest, no matter what consequences could be waiting for him. Along the way, Kratos discovers a little girl named Pandora, the daughter of Hephestus, and tries his best to save her, viewing it as a potential way to redeem himself for his past loss of child (remember that, it's important for later). Kratos also discovers at the end of the game that he is the son of Zeus, and therefore a god himself, even though he's been killing Gods like bugs all the way through this game. Kratos then kills his father, and dooms all of the Greek realm to chaos and destruction, and then seemingly dies himself. The credits roll, and only Zeus's body is left on the peak of Mount Olympus. In Kratos's place is only a bloody stain and a trail that seems to lead off of the mountain and into the sea. Where could he have possibly gone?

And now for something completely different...

    The new God of War title for the PS4 (which is confusingly also titled God of War (PS4), not to be confused with God of War (PS2)), begins with Kratos and his son, Atreus, chopping down trees for the funeral pyre of his recently deceased wife, Faye. Yes, clearly we have missed a lot of time. Kratos apparently escaped the destroyed realm of Ancient Greece and he now is in Midgard, a realm based on Norse mythology, living in seclusion in the woods. It's clear that Kratos is a changed man, though the game literally starts with a swing of his axe, it's a much more peaceful opening than the original game, which started by fighting a giant Kraken on a sinking ship. It's notable that he doesn't have his Blades of Chaos, which were his classic weapons in the original three games. He now has the Leviathan Axe, a wedding gift from his wife, which has apparently been enchanted to freeze enemies, as well as return to his hand at will. The logs that Faye wished to make up her funeral pyre were marked by her handprint, but that also removed an enchantment which hid the small family from the Gods of this realm. Faye's final request was that when she was gone, Kratos and Atreus would travel to the top of the highest mountain in all of the realms and sprinkle her ashes there. Charming sentiment, don't you think? Unfortunately, this task ends up being a whole lot more complicated than Kratos first anticipates. During this quest, the father and son pair meet many interesting characters: A pair of feuding dwarven brothers, a god cursed with immortality that's been fused into a tree, a former queen who has been cast out by her king, and who is plagued with a horrible secret. None of them show up as much as the mysterious stranger, who appears right at the beginning of the game and threatens you at basically every step, and claims to feel no pain or physical sensation of any kind. All of these characters are truly interesting and funny sometimes in their own way, but they all pale in comparison to the relationship between Kratos and Atreus.

    As you'd imagine, the history that Kratos has lived through does not make him the most warm and loving father, and the game opens with him being very cold towards the boy. It's clear that his wife did the majority of the parenting, while he was more about discipline. His relationship to the Gods is clearly not the greatest, and now that he knows that he is one, he hates himself more than he did even back in the days when he was killing them all. More than that, he feels the need to teach Atreus responsibility, and though it's clear that the boy may not have the otherworldly strength of his father, it's important for him to be better than the gods he knew in his other life. Kratos actually has issues with both sides of parenthood, as he killed his daughter before the first game began, and he killed his own father at the end of the third game, which has obviously taken another toll on the man. Therefore, it's just beautiful to see the care and respect for each other grow as they take this wild and fantastic trip into the unknown in order to pay tribute to the woman that brought them together in the first place. Atreus learns that although his father is cold and not always there for him, he's trying his best. Kratos, on the other hand, is constantly having to be reminded that Atreus is still just a child, and though he does pick up on things very easily, such as old ancient languages, he does still need to be taught how to do things in a proper and responsible way. This is one of the more moving and interesting stories that I've seen in a game, which is why I always say that this was my favorite game of the PS4 generation. Kratos, the man who brought down the entire Greek pantheon, is faced with a change and becomes an ultimately much better character than I ever anticipated. The first time I played through this game, there were moments where I got actual chills, and though I didn't get that feeling when I replayed it at least two more times, I still consider it an incredible story, as well as an example of the lengths that video games can go to, greatly fueling the "games as art" conversation.

Gameplay!

    The gameplay is brutal at times, taking some clear inspiration from Souls-likes, but I have to say it's probably not as difficult as any of those games, depending, of course, on what runes you equip and what armor you have. The movement and combat are both extremely satisfying once you get the hang of them, and the RPG mechanics work pretty well for the most part. This isn't a strict action game like the older titles are, you have to think about what perks you need for different fights, and the bigger the fight, typically the better the reward will be. Atreus helps out in battles, always equipped with his bow, which also gets more powerful as the game continues on in many different ways, which also helps convey the theme of the father/son bond, as Atreus can really make or break some of the fights later on in the game. The side quests around the Lake of the Nine in this game are not only really interesting, but also it's just beautiful to explore every nook and cranny of the world to find so many secrets locked away. I really can't give too much of the world away, because I think that is what really caught me off guard with this game. I went into it not expecting a whole lot. I thought it would be fun, but I certainly didn't expect to be talking about it still five years later. 

    I love this game, and as such, I talk about this game a whole lot. It's always hard for me to sell people on a game through spoken word, as I tend to gush about tiny details, but I really tried to not talk too much about it other than just saying that it was really good. I had a conversation with a friend recently about this game after he finally played it and said something to the effect of, "Oh, I now understand why you were talking about this game so much." That was such a cool moment for me, because I just hope I'm not going to get expectations too high or anything, I just have to talk about things that I like and that I'm interested in. The most important part of the equation in this game's case is just the dialogue and story beats helping you learn what all of the different characters are after. That was the really important part that I tried my best to hide from people, and in writing this, I tried to hold back a lot of the cool moments of the story as well, I hope I succeeded in that. I hope you'll give this game a look over if anything today has made you interested, especially since the game is now available on PC, and I hope that you're looking forward to what is in store for Kratos and Atreus in this upcoming chapter of their adventures together, God of War: Ragnarok. I know that I certainly am!

    Thanks so much for reading this post, friends. Have you ever played a game that just completely caught you off guard by how much you liked it? I would love to hear about your experience. In my opinion, that's really one of the best feelings that you can get from this whole medium. The same could be said about movies as well, of course, but games last for much longer and it's just really nice to find something that you can find some deeper meaning in every now and then. Thanks again for reading, and I hope you'll have a great week! Until next time, I've been Jonathan, your Self-Proclaimed Midgard resident, and I'll talk to you again soon!