Without the context of the initial reveal trailer and gameplay to go along wit it, there probably wasn't a sentence I could have cared less about a couple short years ago than "there is a new God of War game starring Kratos coming". To tell the truth, I actively disliked the early games in the series, admittedly only ever playing the first two on the PlayStation 2, but I never saw anything to bring me back in with the third game or God Of War Ascension. The latter itself had already been a source of apathy and bemusement, with a feeling around it of "really, another one?" that never let up. I had always found Kratos to be a boring character, I had always found the narrative to be one-note, I'd never really found the combat all that engaging, there was just nothing there for me, and I had accepted that. But then that first showing of this new game happened, confusingly rebooting the title while very much not rebooting but rather continuing the story and character, and it seemed like it was a completely new game. It looked like God Of War had grown up.
I don't want to imply that the previous games - or the fans - were juvenile, certainly not at first blush with the subject matter and content found within, but perhaps the style and attitude had not aged very well in more than a decade. However the "mature" aspect of those games had never been their themes. At the risk of being slightly reductive, they all followed the formula of Kratos is angry, he's a god, he hates gods, all the gods suck, he kills all the gods he encounters, and repeat. Yet here was this beacon in the darkness, a new setting for Kratos to explore did more than refresh the visual style, it allowed for a complete refresh of what God Of War even meant at the end of the day.
It's been an undetermined time since Kratos (voiced now by Christopher Judge), the Ghost of Sparta, left Greece and traveled north to Midgard. Opening up after the death of his second wife Faye, Kratos and his young son Atreus (Sunny Suljic) are tasked by her dying wish to take her ashes and spread them over "the highest peak in all the realms", and set out an a coming of age adventure. This proves to be the vehicle Kratos needed to finally have some weight and growth as a character, even if the story being told is secretly more about Atreus than it is about Kratos himself. While there are some unfortunate aspects of Kratos' new family's only female influence being killed off before the game even begins, I did feel better about this, and the adventure she had a hand in authoring at the conclusion of the story.
This new status quo, as it turns out, is everything I ever wanted from God Of War. For a series that had put so much emphasis on Kratos' feud with his father Zeus, it was time to see the cycle through, and witness what lessons Kratos would bring to his own son. The relationship goes through it's ups and down, there is a respect and familial love that it is evident from the get-go, but there is also a distance and resentment between Kratos and Atreus, a gulf that at times grows wider only to close significantly by the journey's end. Kratos is stern, but not without good reason, as he tries to teach Atreus how to fend for himself with the now fresh and painful reality that Atreus will not have his parents forever. Adding onto this is Kratos' own desire to not have his son repeat his mistakes, in a world full of bad fathers, worse sons, and the murder of one of those parties by the other, the sins of the father have never been more prominent. That's not to say that one must have a detailed understanding of the previous games to understand what goes on here, but at least some knowledge of the past goes a long way in hammering home the impact of some of most important scenes in the back half of the game.
This personal and more cinematic story is now told through a more, well, personal and cinematic lens via the game's ambitious single-take style. After the initial load every time you start the game and continue, there are no load screens or camera cuts, as everything happens in one continuing unbroken shot, never leaving Kratos or Atreus to focus elsewhere. This is their story, and everyone else is a side-character without exception. Some of the stand outs in that supporting cast include Mimir (Alastair Duncan), a former advisor to Odin who, in the form of a severed head, accompanies the duo for most of the game as a guide, and Baldur (Jeremy Davies) the main antagonist whose lack of feeling combined with his status as a son of Odin leave him a cracked, angry foil to what Atreus could be with the wrong upbringing and values.
This single-take method bleeds it's way into the gameplay, which has also seen a major overhaul since the last outing. All exploration and combat is now behind the back and tighter on Kratos than in previous games. This leads to some problems now and then where it's hard to see enemies that are behind Kratos, but there are at least indicators when an attack is coming from off screen to allow you to dodge. Also new is the Leviathan Axe replacing the double blades of old. Despite it's size, it's still fast and snappy in it's light and heavy attacks (which are mapped to R1 and R2 in the default layout instead of the traditional face buttons), but the real joy in using the axe is the ability to throw it at enemies and then recall it with the press of a button. This is exceptionally fun besides being a useful tool for combos and crowd control, as well as it's numerous uses outside of combat for puzzles. Along with this is a new tech tree of abilities and perks to be earned through XP gained from fights and completing missions. Most of them are useful ways to expand your moveset and options for whatever scenario you find yourself in, but not all of them are winners. There are several branches of the ability trees that focus on stance changing, a mechanic that never really felt like it clicked or even worked in what little I tried of it as they required you to do an attack and then stand still until Kratos changed his footwork, which was often just not an option in the frantic battles that would be taking place.
In addition to Kratos, Atreus an be given new skills and options as well as he is also a vital part of combat. Atreus can fire arrows on command with the square button (which is in almost all cases just the "Atreus button"), as well as get up on enemies to slow them down or allow you to get in a free shot. Atreus will fend for himself, and while he will on rare occasions get grabbed by an enemy requiring you to free him, or knocked over by a large attack that takes him a few seconds to get back to his feet, he never really needs micromanaging, which allows you to focus on using him offensively without having to be precious about his vulnerability. With this ability customization also comes nuance in the form of gear, in a sense turning the game into a quasi loot game with it's coloured tiers of rarity. Chest, wrist, and waist armour, as well as axe pommels and talismans give you the ability to spec Kratos in a specific style focusing on whichever of his core stats you feel most comfortable in, ranging from strength (self-explanatory), to cooldown (how long you have to wait to use your special runic abilities of which you can have two equipped at a time), or luck (which will modify the amount of money and XP you receive from drops or after battle).
The world, that is to say worlds, that you explore is also one of the prettiest and most shockingly vibrant open(ish) worlds I've seen. For a game in which there are very few characters, everything feels lived in. This may be because of the thematic nature of a space where the past inhabitants destroyed each other, or were victims to the whims of the gods, but despite the land being devoid of people, it feels entirely believable and real, and that's not even getting into the other realms that Kratos and Atreus go to on their journey. While every one of the nine realms aren't present in the game - at least not at this time - there are plenty of different places to visit and explore. And exploration, including backtracking, is encouraged with it's "metroidvania" influences. There are often things that cannot be accessed when you first encounter them early on in the game, although Atreus is usually quick to let you know that trying to figure them out is a waste of time, at least. The downside to this, however, is the map. While very nice to look at no matter what realm you find yourself in, the fact of the matter is it's barely functional. It's pulled back way to far to really see the path or where you are specifically, being more of an overworld map, but you also cannot mark things to check back on later, which is important in this type of game. There are some things that will be added to your map when you find them, like docks for your boat on the lake, or the fast travel points that can be used later, but simple chests you can't access because they're covered in the red vines you can't do anything about for a while are left unmarked. It's a surprising oversight that irked me more than a few times.
With no less than four sequel-hooks and twist reveals in the last twenty minutes of the game, it's clear that this is the beginning of a new series, likely a trilogy as things are wont to be, and I'm all for it. This game made me a believer in there being something at all to tell with Kratos as a character, especially if it continues in a way where we set Atreus up to continue on in the franchise's future. With games like The Last Of Us and even the recent Wolfenstein games, the themes of being a parent or what world we leave behind for our children is coming into vogue in gaming, and God Of War is another great effort in this niche sub-genre. Taking something that had previously been a 6-8 hour button mash romp and turning it into an epic, realty hopping quest that probably takes 15-20 hours (depending on the amount of side quests you decide to follow through on) has moved the series past simply being a technical marvel of spectacle and violence into something that just feels like it matters more. And now it has my full attention.