God of War Review: A Reinvention That Hits Like the Leviathan Axe
Let's get this out of the way: 2018's God of War has no business being as good as it is. Taking a character defined by two-dimensional rage and turning him into one of gaming's most compelling fath...
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Let's get this out of the way: 2018's God of War has no business being as good as it is. Taking a character defined by two-dimensional rage and turning him into one of gaming's most compelling father figures is the kind of creative gamble that almost never works. And yet, Santa Monica Studio pulled it off with such confidence that it's hard to imagine Kratos any other way.
Boy. Listen Carefully.
God of War
SIE Santa Monica Studio · Sony Interactive Entertainment
Apr 20, 2018
God of War is the sequel to God of War III as well as a continuation of the canon God of War chronology. Unlike previous installments, this game fo…
The relationship between Kratos and his son Atreus is the beating heart of this game, and it's executed beautifully. What could have been an extended escort mission instead becomes a genuine partnership that evolves naturally over the course of the journey. Atreus starts as a timid, unsure child and gradually grows into a capable companion - both narratively and mechanically. His arrows become an essential part of your combat toolkit, and his dialogue fills quiet moments with worldbuilding that never feels forced.
The central premise - scattering the ashes of Kratos's wife from the highest peak in all the realms - is deceptively simple. It's a road trip story dressed in mythological armor, and the intimate scale of that emotional core gives weight to every encounter along the way. When father and son argue, when they share rare moments of warmth, when the truth of Kratos's past threatens to surface - these moments land with the force of the axe itself.
The Leviathan Axe Changes Everything
Speaking of the axe: it might be the single most satisfying weapon in action game history. The heft of each swing, the crunch of impact, the whistle of the throw, and - most critically - the deeply gratifying snap of the recall. Santa Monica Studio understood that a weapon isn't just about damage numbers; it's about how it feels. And the Leviathan Axe feels phenomenal.
Combat has been completely rebuilt from the ground up. Gone are the fixed camera angles and button-mashing combos of previous entries, replaced by a tight over-the-shoulder perspective that puts you directly into every punch, throw, and dodge. The system is deceptively deep - light and heavy attacks, runic abilities, shield parries, Atreus's arrows, and eventually a second weapon all combine into a combat sandbox that stays fresh across the entire runtime.
Enemy variety is one area where the game stumbles slightly. Draugr, trolls, and their variants make up the bulk of encounters, and by the final third, you'll have fought enough recycled troll bosses to last a lifetime. The Valkyrie optional bosses, however, are some of the best encounters in the entire game - punishing, fair, and enormously satisfying to overcome.
Midgard and Beyond
The Lake of Nine serves as a gorgeous central hub that slowly opens up as you progress, revealing hidden chambers, optional realms, and environmental puzzles. Muspelheim and Niflheim offer endgame combat challenges with their own reward loops, while the lore hidden throughout the realms paints a rich picture of Norse mythology that Mimir - the best companion character in recent memory - narrates with endless charisma.
Visually, the game is stunning. The one-shot camera technique - where the entire game unfolds in what appears to be a single unbroken take - is a technical marvel that enhances immersion immensely. Transitions from gameplay to cutscene are seamless, and the art direction brings each realm to life with striking color palettes and environmental design.
The Verdict
God of War is a masterful reinvention. It takes a legacy franchise weighed down by its own excesses and strips it back to something raw, emotional, and deeply human. The combat is weighty and satisfying, the story is among gaming's best, and the world is dense with secrets worth uncovering. A few repetitive enemy encounters and the occasional puzzle that overstays its welcome are small prices to pay for what is otherwise one of the defining games of its generation. When that axe snaps back into Kratos's hand for the last time, you'll wish the journey wasn't over.