God of War has been one of Sony Santa Monica Studio’s flagship brands since it launched in 2005, and when our antihero Kratos was let loose he eviscerated an entire pantheon of Greek gods just to quell his anger.
Now the brooding warrior has resurfaced many years later and thousands of miles away from the familiar sight of Mount Olympus, in the land of the Norse gods called Midgard.
But Kratos’ age and location isn’t the only thing that’s changed in God of War.
He is also a father now and terrified he’ll pass his violent anger on to his son, Atreus.
Without giving away too much of the plot, this instalment takes place after the mysterious death of Kratos’ second wife Faye.
The godslayer is left to raise his son alone and honour his love's last dying wish: to have her ashes scattered across the highest mountain.
It may sound easy, but all is not what it seems.
New lands and new adventures
It’s clear the developer is going in a bold new direction with their violent and visceral character while trying to maintain the comfortable familiarity of the series.
One of the biggest changes to the game is that it seems to have opened up more.
Previous games in the franchise were quite aggressively linear and fast-paced, with very little room to explore unless you were looking for chests and power up items.
The same is true here to an extent, but there are more opportunities to explore and go back and revisit places when equipped with new abilities.
Depending on your point of view this could be a good or a bad thing, but personally I found myself questioning if it was ever worth going back to run through a 30-minute dungeon with no enemies just to get one particular chest.
Nevertheless, this choice in game design seems appropriate as it gives you time to slow down and take your time - something which is mirrored in a slower and more jaded Kratos.
Father and Son
In the previous God of War trilogy, there wasn't a companion character to anchor Kratos down - he didn't like to talk much, choosing mainly to grunt as he hacked and slashed his way through Sparta.
With him now being a father figure, he's got something that he's looking out for - so you see a lot more of his caring side.
This is a refreshing change to the format, as you can't continue to have the same single dimensional character, especially nowadays when fans are expecting more of a story.
There are a few instances where Kratos goes pat his son on the back then he stops himself.
The whole point is he's training his son to be better prepared and to be able to survive in the adventure but there’s a sweet nurturing side to him which prompts an inner conflict in Kratos.
More than just a clever plot device, Atreus narrates certain aspects of the story and acts as a battle aid to help you out.
While he's controlled mostly by AI, there are times when you can order him to fire an arrow with the square button.
There will be blood...
In terms of mechanics, God of War is still the same hack and slash you know and love.
The interplay with Atreus assisting in combat adds a new dimension, but the selection of weapons or combos feels more limited compared to previous games.
However, the combat system is a little harder this time around, with certain enemies having very specific weaknesses you have to exploit, so you definitely have to pay attention during battles.
Some fights feel quite balanced, but others I've come across have felt like you need a few tries to figure it all out.
Expect to die in every major battle and to die at least once or twice on normal difficulty or above.
But this also introduces a new mechanic called the Resurrection Stone, which is essentially an extra life.
Grab your axe and suit up
While there's definitely a feel of the old trilogy, armour is a new thing you can now collect and has a real impact on the game.
If you want to gather some momentum while hacking and slashing then I’d advise players get armour that's purely strength based and that will increase his raw damage output.
But strength isn’t everything, and if you’re looking for something else then you can choose armour that best suits your style of combat.
There are options that reflect defence, vitality (health) and even cooldowns so you're less reliant on hack and slashing your way through and more reliant on agility or range.
In terms of weapons, Kratos is equipped with a Leviathan Axe, which is basically an old double-handled Viking battle axe he can throw around and recall at will.
He also has a shield strapped to his left arm, although it only expands to its proper size when he’s actively using it.
More weapons become available but I feel that’s best left for the players to discover.
It takes a god to kill a god
The bosses are definitely challenging, but in essence, they're all quite similar.
The first few bosses in particular are the fairly straightforward David versus Goliath-style battles we’ve all come to expect for a God of War game.
One of the most impressive and imposing behemoths to battle is a massive dragon, which seemed like it almost came out of Skyrim.
It was here that, frustratingly, Kratos’ slow movement let me down and I found it quite difficult to dodge attacks, especially when you've locked onto your enemy.
The reason is your character slows down to pace himself and side-steps during some attacks you really need to run. There is much not much jumping in this sequel.
A legendary game
God of War is going to be one of the blockbuster hits of 2018 and deserving of the hype which surrounds it.
The world is stunning, while the graphics and art design are brilliant - the whole thing feels very well fleshed out in terms of gameplay and combat.
The only real flaw I could pick out was now that Kratos is a bit older and therefore a bit slower, experienced players may have some difficulty adapting to the refined version of the combat.
However, if you're a God of War fan you won't be disappointed, but also if you're new to the genre then this is a great introduction to the franchise.
Platform: PS4
Price: £47.99
