God of War review: a father and his boy

Reviewed on: PS4

“Read it, boy!” – by Leon Cleveland

Regardless of what you went through in life when it comes to your family, fathers and mothers are always sacred subjects. We have seen paternal and maternal figures placed in countless contexts and positions many times, but in the end they are always the same thing: the mother is always the mother and the father is always the father. Even in God of War.

So, even in the context of an (ex?)God of War in self-imposed exile in the northern cold, a father is always a father. Love and affection in the stoic and stubborn way, but because he knows he must above all prepare his offspring for life. “Focus boy”, “Keep your expectations low and you will not be disappointed”, “boy, remember your training” – are phrases I heard and felt I was being advised by Kratos himself during the exciting and touching narrative of God of War. This is not a story about how the Slayer of Greek Gods continued his life after clearing out the Hellenic pantheon; it is a story about how a man who made mistakes in life and has now found relative peace wants his son not to go through the same suffering – but to go through the same learning. This is not a story about how the Norse gods Baldr, Týr, Thor, Odin, Freya and everything else, are great bastions of morality; it is a story about how even beings with many powers still possess human feelings: wrath, greed, envy. Fear.

Atreus and Kratos form, indisputably, one of the greatest duos any popular medium has ever conceived – trailing only Batman and Robin. The multifaceted dynamic of “father and son”, “mentor and advisee”, “master and apprentice” is very evident throughout the journey. Rediscovery and self-discovery are constant words that, even though never mentioned a single time during the little over 30 hours I spent with the game, provoked this kind of thinking in me. The narrative aspect of God of War is without a doubt one of its biggest positives, but it does not go unscathed, since the pace of this narrative is a bit confusing at times. Atreus, although a child, goes from an obedient boy to a disrespectful brat in a matter of minutes – from one act to the next. This takes away a little of the brilliance of the already mentioned multifaceted dynamic.

But, only a little: God of War is brilliant in how it exposes the relationship between Kratos and Atreus. Combat, for example, is a subject that needs to be addressed in a paragraph of its own, since it is extremely important to the series – but here it is a very powerful narrative device. The interplay and the abilities of Atreus and Kratos, as they grow and expand in possibilities, also show how the duo communicates better with each other over time and over the

story. Duo attacks will be a constant after a while, but only after a while, since Atreus is not yet 100% confident in his abilities at the start of the game and will only attack, for example, if you incapacitate an enemy first.

By the way, let it be clear that combat and the mechanics in God of War are, easily, the sharpest and most precise of the series so far. It is curious to see that even in that Kratos has matured: before, an enraged, barbaric Spartan who attacked without thinking much while the square button was pressed repeatedly and we saw the Blades of Chaos whipping around in blood and fire; now we see more calculated combat – still fast, full of possibilities for combos and everything else – but more restrained. Dodge, block, enemies that are immune and resistant to one weapon or another… combat is much more strategic in God of War with Kratos the father than with the Ghost of Sparta. Mindless brawling is not always the answer in combat and the game will force you to think of different approaches for each of the combats you face.

The RPG element is strong in the game and decisive, for hours. Equipment must, above all, be in total harmony with what you want from the game for yourself. Do you prefer to bring an axe down on the head of draugr? Take equipment with more strength and vitality. Do you like spells? Cooldown and Runic will be your main domains here while a certain pair of weapons makes a triumphant return in what may be the most impressive intertext in God of War.

And, while Mimir, Kratos and Atreus navigate the boat through the beautiful Midgard, rich in stories, details and colors, we see the exceptional work of Santa Monica Studios here. The art of this game is nothing less than impressive. The Nordic-fantasy landscapes are so beautiful that I must have spent more time photographing them than actually playing the game. The work is very well done and made me think, a lot, how they managed to put so much beauty and detail into (relatively) so little space. The way Kratos’ old violent harshness – whitish, red and with hard expressions, though reminiscent of Hellenism – talks with the natural, wild and simple beauty of his new Norse reality (here personified in Atreus, in the axe Leviathan and in Midgard) is exceptional! There is no single color palette used as a guide, because Midgard is a world extremely – as said before, but I don’t tire and won’t tire of repeating myself – rich in references, moments and stories. Mimir tells the main legends about the Gods, while we navigate the lake and see Jormungandr, the World Serpent, calmly existing there in his titanic majesty. It is a feeling that borders on the odd and the impressive in a pleasant way.

And what impresses most in the audiovisual side is that Midgard is not the only place we visit. Unlike the mixes of Midgard, the other realms have their guiding lines well defined: Alfheim and its shades of pink and purple, the flaming crimson and scarlet of Muspelheim, the gray depression of Helheim. An indisputable audiovisual spectacle adorned by the beautiful soundtrack that, incidentally, serves as the backdrop for the one writing this to you. The right cadence and rhythms, with notes from the original trilogy’s soundtrack fused with the orchestration of Kratos’ new moment, make the experience even more emotional.

An epic in three acts. About what it is like to be a God and have the chance to protect someone from a fate that is supposedly tied to the divine burden. A world where Gods are human beings raised to the nth power, whether for good or terrible traits. A touching story of a father who is getting a second chance, a son who is growing up and perceiving the world around him and a world heading toward “inevitable destruction”. A work of art, rich in colors and sounds, that tells the passage of an exiled Greek warrior to redeem himself from a past that hurts only himself.

God of War is all that. But the reality is that it is a game about Father and Son. About building bonds delicate as silk and strong as steel. A masterpiece of how every father, however tough and stern he may be, is wholly and purely love. It is a love story between the most beautiful love there is, in the by no means impartial and 100% moved opinion of the one writing: the love of a father and his boy.

Mechanics – 10

Narrative – 10

Audiovisual – 10

FINAL SCORE – 10