ValiantTraveler
Member
I finally reached the secret ending, and Oh BOY. What a game this has been.
First of all, let me talk a bit about the visuals. Imagine jumping straight from 3DS and PSP visuals to a PS4 game that's among the most beautiful on the system. I've been blown away time and again all the way through this game, I can't start to imagine how much work went into creating the environments. Many areas are breathtaking, the constructions and the lake in Alfheim, the way to the top of the mountain, the place around the giant turtle, Thamu's corpse, and many others. The puzzles for the most part were fun, even the Nornir chests were satisfying to open.
The combat is great too. Playing as Kratos is incredibly satisfying thanks to the awesome animations. Runic attacks are epic as hell--heck, even the shield has some sick moves! The zoomed in camera can be annoying at times, you have to move it around or do the instant turn-around to see what's going on behind, but nothing that ruined my enjoyment of battles. Finishing off enemies with R3 adds to the spectacle and Godly strength of Kratos.
Speaking of which, the sequence where Kratos goes back to get the Blades of Chaos is probably my favorite in the game. There is nothing you can do during the short trip on the boat but the synchro of Kratos and YOU taking a moment to ponder what just happened to Atreus, while the weather trembles and darkens under the wrath of the gods, made for a memorable scene. The Blades of Chaos come at the perfect time to add variety to combat which would become too repetitive with the axe alone.
It's just a bit of a shame that this huge buildup gets no real payoff, in the end you just settle things with Baldur and complete your journey. The final battle with him was riveting though I wish I could fight Thamur's corpse as well.
This brings me to the biggest criticism I have for the game. Like many others, I'm disappointed in the lack of enemy variety, especially when it comes to the bosses. The giant bird in the distance should've been the boss of that area. Instead it's a troll. Likewise, the two guardians of Tyr's vault should have been anything but palette swaps of trolls. Huge missed opporunity if you ask me. You reach the end of an area that was nice to traverse and you know it's going to be another troll. The dev team should have saved some of the time and effort spent on optional areas to create two story-related boss fights. I know this game was a gargantuan project and that compromises had to be made at some point. I wish the next game implements that criticism which was voiced by many on the internet.
That being said, all encounters with Baldur, as well as the dragon, are fantastic. Even the sequence with Baldur on the back of his dragon, despite not being a boss fight, was thrilling and I didn't mind the QTE brawl at all. As somone who practices martial arts, I enjoyed that barehanded block-dodge-attack exchange as it felt real. The dragon boss too was extremely impressive, especially the size and level of detail of its model. The moment his head drops dead with Kratos standing between the jaws... Wow. Great scene direction right there.
A few words about the writing. While the development of Atreus can be abrupt at times, and some plot points can make you raise an eyebrow (how did Baldur escape Helheim?), but the dialogues between Kratos and Atreus are excellent, all the way till the end where he explains the story behind the name Atreus. The BOY is annoying on several occasion but he grew on me so yeah, good job writing team. The dwarves too have lots of personality and a surprising amount of lines. Mimir is an unexpected yet excellent companion, I'm glad he is still alive by the end and hope we'll see more of him in the future, hopefully with a new body. I really enjoyed all the dialogues while travelling on the boat or walking around. Honestly, games get criticized for the sections where you walk around while characters talk, but I don't mind them at all as long as said characters are interesting and have a good dynamic.
All in all I had a wonderful time with GoW (I don't think there's a western game I'll enjoy more). I can't wait for the sequel on PS5!!
P.S. That Thor visit was better than any stinger in the MCU. Imagine GoW 5 starting with a fight against him.
P.P.S. Who shot the harpoons on the boat in Helheim?
First of all, let me talk a bit about the visuals. Imagine jumping straight from 3DS and PSP visuals to a PS4 game that's among the most beautiful on the system. I've been blown away time and again all the way through this game, I can't start to imagine how much work went into creating the environments. Many areas are breathtaking, the constructions and the lake in Alfheim, the way to the top of the mountain, the place around the giant turtle, Thamu's corpse, and many others. The puzzles for the most part were fun, even the Nornir chests were satisfying to open.
The combat is great too. Playing as Kratos is incredibly satisfying thanks to the awesome animations. Runic attacks are epic as hell--heck, even the shield has some sick moves! The zoomed in camera can be annoying at times, you have to move it around or do the instant turn-around to see what's going on behind, but nothing that ruined my enjoyment of battles. Finishing off enemies with R3 adds to the spectacle and Godly strength of Kratos.
Speaking of which, the sequence where Kratos goes back to get the Blades of Chaos is probably my favorite in the game. There is nothing you can do during the short trip on the boat but the synchro of Kratos and YOU taking a moment to ponder what just happened to Atreus, while the weather trembles and darkens under the wrath of the gods, made for a memorable scene. The Blades of Chaos come at the perfect time to add variety to combat which would become too repetitive with the axe alone.
It's just a bit of a shame that this huge buildup gets no real payoff, in the end you just settle things with Baldur and complete your journey. The final battle with him was riveting though I wish I could fight Thamur's corpse as well.
This brings me to the biggest criticism I have for the game. Like many others, I'm disappointed in the lack of enemy variety, especially when it comes to the bosses. The giant bird in the distance should've been the boss of that area. Instead it's a troll. Likewise, the two guardians of Tyr's vault should have been anything but palette swaps of trolls. Huge missed opporunity if you ask me. You reach the end of an area that was nice to traverse and you know it's going to be another troll. The dev team should have saved some of the time and effort spent on optional areas to create two story-related boss fights. I know this game was a gargantuan project and that compromises had to be made at some point. I wish the next game implements that criticism which was voiced by many on the internet.
That being said, all encounters with Baldur, as well as the dragon, are fantastic. Even the sequence with Baldur on the back of his dragon, despite not being a boss fight, was thrilling and I didn't mind the QTE brawl at all. As somone who practices martial arts, I enjoyed that barehanded block-dodge-attack exchange as it felt real. The dragon boss too was extremely impressive, especially the size and level of detail of its model. The moment his head drops dead with Kratos standing between the jaws... Wow. Great scene direction right there.
A few words about the writing. While the development of Atreus can be abrupt at times, and some plot points can make you raise an eyebrow (how did Baldur escape Helheim?), but the dialogues between Kratos and Atreus are excellent, all the way till the end where he explains the story behind the name Atreus. The BOY is annoying on several occasion but he grew on me so yeah, good job writing team. The dwarves too have lots of personality and a surprising amount of lines. Mimir is an unexpected yet excellent companion, I'm glad he is still alive by the end and hope we'll see more of him in the future, hopefully with a new body. I really enjoyed all the dialogues while travelling on the boat or walking around. Honestly, games get criticized for the sections where you walk around while characters talk, but I don't mind them at all as long as said characters are interesting and have a good dynamic.
All in all I had a wonderful time with GoW (I don't think there's a western game I'll enjoy more). I can't wait for the sequel on PS5!!
P.S. That Thor visit was better than any stinger in the MCU. Imagine GoW 5 starting with a fight against him.
P.P.S. Who shot the harpoons on the boat in Helheim?
Last edited:
