Thank God... of War

Haha, I do apologize for that bad joke, and I admit it's in poor taste, but I still remember the time when I heard Yahtzee make it in one of his Zeropunctuation videos, and I still crack up whenever I think of it so...

So, yes I've been playing God of War quite a bit this past week and a half. It's helped a lot with the various problems I've gotten stuck on, in the way that time heals and diminishes the looming immediacy of various aches to plague heart and mind. Time, and escapism.

It might've been exactly what I needed: something to fill in the empty moments of the in-between time between relevancy and what is(/was)) relevant to my mind; a game so anticipated which proved to be so all-consuming, so new and interesting, so present and all-pervasive that I ended up dreaming of it: hours and hours of immersion a day will do that to anyone, I guess.

I played it a lot. Everything got shoved aside for this thing. And as is is usual for the things I enjoy, I took my time with it, getting every little thing on the road to the end.
It is done now though. And as an added benefit: I feel a lot better myself now.

So, if only for that, if not thanks to God of War, then definitely thanks to director Cory Barlog, who really did an amazing job.

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God of war (2018) takes place an undetermined time after the cataclysmic ending of God of War 3 and follows Kratos and his son, Atreus (but colloquially more known as; "Boy!") as they embark on a journey to scatter the ashes of Kratos's late wife on the highest mountain of all the realms.

The Greek mythology has been left behind, and as we are in northern realms now, it doesn't take long for the Norse mythology to come knocking on your door. And it knocks with arrogance and with violence, and swiftly manages to draw out our recalcitrant anti-hero into a new and interesting adventure.

And here's where I'd show you,
 but everything about this part is just perfect enough
 that I ended up deciding that I'm not going to spoil it at all.
That and the fact that because the scene is over 2 minutes enough, which means 
that I can't upload it here in its glorious entirety.

And I do mean adventure here, because where the previous God of War games were all about spectacle, sensationalism and brutal and shocking no-holds-barred violence, this one is pretty much a hero's journey: one where an all-time villain regains his humanity along the way, with the help from, and for, someone he loves.

Before playing the game I had my doubts about what it would be like, and if the franchise could make its way forward by making such a radical change in its combat mechanics. But I never even imagined how the storytelling would be changing along with it. I took the brutal god-slaying that the franchise had already established itself with as the be-all end all for my go-to story expectations; all I expected was just new and inventive ways of killing gods.

But damn. I never expected anything like this.

It honestly is incredibly amazing; the depth and complexity of character, the emotional resonance and how much it ends up being genuinely touching.

I've played all of the six God of War games before this one to platinum-completion so, and as of a few hours ago this one as well, so as you can imagine, I'm pretty invested in this series, and in the main character especially.

So every time Kratos shows the slightest bit of emotion I'm practically bawling: To see him evolve from unrepentant murderer and genocidal rage-monster to someone who actually cares, who reaches out, who pushes past massive emotional barriers in order to open up, is just... before now it was just inconceivable.

This doesn't mean that the sensational violence and brutality that the series earned its fame and notoriety for has gone away though, oh no; it's just been tempered and doled out pretty much only where it matters.

Though the combat system has changed, and though I still have my reservations, and an idle 'what-if?' whenever I wonder how this game would be if it had stuck closer to the earlier more cinematic button-mash-enabling formula, it has definitely grown on me and has managed to establish itself as a pretty damn good combat system all by itself.

I've kept all the gameplay within the first few hours or so, because I definitely couldn't show you any of the later game stuff due to spoilers. It means you get pretty much no story line information or any of the epic stuff that the game has hidden up its quite voluminous sleeve. Those things you can find on the internet quite easily if you take even a minute to look it up but I'm not the one who's going to go and spoil things.
I also don't have any footage of the game's many puzzles, because truth be told I've never been a fan of those, even if I can appreciate that they offer up a change of pace from the constant bloody carnage.

Long story short: If you're a fan of the franchise, you need to be playing this game already, and there's definitely some hair-raisingly good moments here for long-time fans, and of course provided you have a PS4.

If  you don't have a PS4?

Is it a system seller; is this the game to buy a Playstation for?

No, in my opinion, it isn't. The story, though very good, isn't closed enough to leave one with the kind of satisfaction that only the greatest stories give you. And though the story will continue, it's a little too soon to be celebrating this thing-yet-to-come.

But then, the 4 has Bloodborne, The Last of Us, Horizon, Uncharted and a host of other stuff, so there's enough to go around.

So yes, I've finished the main story now, and though I feel a little unsatisfied, I figure that's more of a result of this game being clearly part of a larger tapestry; one that we'll have to wait for a little while yet to continue to unfold, unfortunately.
But despite that niggle, the tale told in this game; and with that I mean the evolving relationship between father and son, and how they deal with the slow revealing and updating of the mythology most relevant to the fights leading up to and especially including the final jaw-dropping battle, which punctuates this particular gaming installment, is actually really well done. with clues and elements sneakily seeded in throughout the game in a very unobtrusive and organic way. Stuff and scenes that you'll look back on with awe-struck comprehension when that final confrontation has played out.

I've a recording of the last few minutes of that fight and the scenes that come directly after, and watching it again just now I'm struck with how impressive it is and how well the game has been building itself up for everything present in these scenes. Themes and intent coming into perfect clarity because of how well they've been strengthened beforehand.
There are layers of ideas and meaning here that are whole levels above anything the previous God of War games delivered.

I'm also sure that although there might be a little too much foreshadowing for what's coming next, or for how this journey will ultimately end, it'll be okay because this really makes it seem as if this story has been planned out beginning to end already.
The wait won't be as long between this one and the next one either, as the next games will continue on from the same system and same mechanics that were introduced here.

Did Barlog say there might be as much as 5 more coming in his particular vision???

In any case, they better come soon though, as some of those final hours and final questions and answers just need to be followed up on.

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Some Bonus clips: 

Rotunda waterfall.
Because the location is nice.

Introduction of an ally.

Headphones on.

Yeah also, this reminds me; here's a good tip: The game's music is beautiful but doesn't get enough time in the spotlight at all.

You're well served by changing the audio settings to its benefit.