Review for God of War. Game for PlayStation 4, the video game was released on 20/04/2018
Thus begins thePoetic Edda (or greater) which, together with theEdda in prose, is currently the main source of Norse mythology.
Hljóðs biðk allar helgar kindir, meiri ok minni mǫgu Heimdallar; Vildu at, Valfǫðr, vel fyr teljak forn spjǫll fira, þaus fremst of man. Ek man jǫtna ár of borna, þás forðum mik fædda hǫfðu; níu mank heima, níu íviði, mjǫtvið mæran fyr mold neðan.
Or
Listen I ask all the holy bloodlines, major and minor sons of Heimdallr; you want me, O Valfǫðr, to fully narrate the ancient stories of men, the ones I remember first. I remember the giants born in the beginning, those who once bore me; nine worlds, I remember nine supports and the sublime measuring tree that penetrates the earth.
Why start this article like this too? Why the new God of War and this: a videogame exaltation of Norse mythology, an extreme and immersive journey in the cold lands of the north, between myths and legends, between popular tradition and mysticism. Accompanying Kratos and Atreus during their adventure was not only satisfying, but also extremely exciting in every aspect (sadness, joy, anger, lightheartedness and anxiety).
Kratos' return is as impressive as his figure: charismatic, never banal and brutally exceptional.
Padre e figlio
God of War is innovative in all respects. One of the first aspects that leap to the eye is certainly the very precise direction that Santa Monica Studios he wanted to give the title, characterized by a very strong and very solid narrative component. And so it is, not only in ideas but also in practice: solid, fluid, never predictable, with perfect rhythm management and with decidedly mature tones compared to the past. The outline, made up of the ecosystem of enemies, allies, the figures you will meet and also the gameplay, is perfectly synchronized in order to support the main theme: the between father and son.
The torments of Kratos, the dynamics of the interpersonal s of those who - like the Ghost of Sparta - must learn to be a father along the way, are all elements that you will discover, that you will love and that you will learn about during your personal journey together with the two protagonists. We don't want to go into the details of the plot just because the added value of this work is the ability to constantly attract the player both with twists and with a masterful direction of the direction that supports every event by increasing its pathos. Finally, as it was initially said, the game acquires a further value thanks to the mythological accuracy: although it allows some logical poetic license, God of War is sprinkled in every corner of epic elements that will fascinate the neophytes of the Norse world and will send in raptures lovers.
Brutal gameplay
One of the main criticisms raised by fans in Santa Monica during all these months has been the clear separation from the past, also and above all in terms of gameplay. The new camera, in combination with the new combat system, has generated more than some perplexity. Well, the change was necessary to adapt the brand to the current historical moment of the videogame industry, and the result is extremely satisfying and incredibly profound (despite the ax throw mechanics being objectively over powered). As mentioned in the preview phase, the combat system based on the Leviathan ax is deep, varied in moves and abilities, and the rune system further expands the action park in an effective way. Learning the opponent's move sets, mastering dodge windows and mastering counterattacks should be your priority..
This new combat system, in addition to the RPG-style statistics and equipment system, not only allows you to increase the overall longevity of the game, but also hybridizes the title bringing God of War to rewrite the canons of the action genre, proposing itself as a new yardstick. In short, disintegrating enemies is brutal, it's fun and gives that sense of omnipotence that fans were worried about not perceiving. To all this is added a level of difficulty that already offers a decent challenge in normal mode. Right in the preview phase, however, we had left open some doubts regarding Kratos' son. Well, these doubts have been dispelled: Atreus is fundamental, it evolves in a clear and constant way following the events of the plot and the gameplay benefits from it in a more than positive way. The young man is in effect a main character who, although immature, is not crushed by the figure of his father either in the dialogues or in the fight. Finally, regarding the exploratory component, we reveal that the macro areas are interconnected without reaching the standards of the open world, but it is not a bad thing, on the contrary: the player does not feel the need for anything different since the available exploration - combined with a very well structured secondary mission system - masks all the possible limits of the exploration component. The variety of settings and the incredible care in their characterization envelop the player in a whirlwind of sensations due to the charm of what is shown. Snow-capped mountains, thriving forests and bleak glowing volcanoes are just some of the types of areas you'll see in the title.
A memorable work
Anything that doesn't fit into the fiction and gameplay baskets is just as excellent. Technically God of War is monstrous, the highest graphics level currently achieved on consoles: environments, panoramas, particle effects, polygonal models, everything is finished down to the smallest detail and extremely suggestive. The clothes, above all, were created with a care that more than once left us with a dislocated jaw. The sounds are superb: both the ambient sounds and the music are truly inspired and accompany the progress of the action with the right mix of effects. The dubbing in Spanish and the localization of the subtitles are also of excellent quality, while remaining a few steps below the English version.
God of War is truly a memorable work that borders on excellence. Why does he skim it and don't get it in full? In our opinion, while remaining totally usable by anyone (old fans and newbies), God of War gives 100% of itself only if you have a background with the previous chapters. We are not saying that those who do not have this background cannot enjoy the title, but the game acquires its true value when it is present. However, these are small things, which do not affect a mammoth and incredible production, which certainly deserves to be experienced.
God of War is the best new beginning that could be hoped for in the saga: Kratos is in great shape and Atreus brings a remarkable breath of fresh air. The revamped gameplay and RPG-like structure help a general innovation that was desirable and needed. The imagery created by Santa Monica is then the most faithful and representative of Norse mythology. What is about to become a milestone in the videogame world is today a memorable work capable of making people dream, and at the same time reflect on the value of the father-son .
► God of War is an Adventure-Action game developed by SIE Santa Monica Studios and published by Sony for PlayStation 4, the video game was released on 20/04/2018
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