{by Ben Ayuko}
{image by Rabstol}
God of War is a game created by David Jaffe at the Santa Monica Studio in America, and 6 years ago, in 2018, they released the 4th installment of the game titled “God of War”
These are some of the reasons I liked playing it.
The Story
This is probably the best thing about the game, and that is saying a lot. Kratos, the protagonist, has been the bane of the gods for a fare many years. Based in Greek mythology, he has gained a reputation for his propensity to communicate through his anger using his blades of chaos. in this, the fourth installment of the franchise (with regard to console gaming), Kratos finds himself in Midgard, of Norse Mythos as he attempts to navigate and balance being a god with being a father.
After Kratos’ wife, Faye, passes away, she leaves behind her dying wish: for her ashes to be scattered from atop the highest mountain peak in all the 9 realms. This sets Kratos and his son, Atreus, on a journey across the 9 realms, e.g. Alfheim, Muspelheim, Niflheim, etc., where, for the first-time, we witness Kratos having to show a vulnerability we had yet to see as he attempts to connect with son as they mourn the passing of their wife/mother
The Gameplay
This being God of War, it stays true to its roots with the visceral combat as Kratos shows no mercy cutting down all manner creatures down to size. This includes Trolls, Ogres, the undead, the dark elves, dragons and even the Valkyrie.
All this is done with his new weapon, the Leviathan Axe. A powerful axe which can be recalled to the thrower producing a similar effect to a boomerang. Atreus also helps out with the combat using his archery skills taught to him by his mother and later, his father.
There is also all manner of puzzles one has to solve, in true god of war fashion, without any hand holding. Sometimes you don’t even realize where or when the puzzle begins. There are no hints whatsoever apart from Atreus occasionally going, ‘What’s that over there?” or “That looks interesting”.
The Lore
The lore of the game gets very deep as you come across various different characters, both dead and alive, who are either malevolent or benevolent. Characters like Freya- the witch, Mimir- the talking head would help you on your journey whereas others like Baldur- son of Odin, and Magni and Modi- sons of Thor, would hunt you down for some nefarious purpose.
There are many Giant murals (as in murals made by Giants) scattered across the land that tells of their history on earth as well as many stone carvings that exposit the tales of the travelers who came there before and maybe were not as equipped or as fortunate.
Get to know of Jormungandr, the world serpent whose coils wrap around the world and the dwarves whose architecture was so advanced, Odin felt threatened enough by it to be compelled to destroy it, forcing them all into hiding.
Yggdrasil, the world tree connecting all nine realms, is also a feature in the game you employ in order to travel across the realms.
The Graphics
God of War is a very beautiful game. Whether its the magic emanating from your armor/weapons. Or the scenery you get to see from the Mountain tops. The forests you travel into. All of these, of course, being entirely unique in each of the different realms you journey into.
And it seems they knew this too because they added a ‘photo mode’ feature in the pause screen which enables you to take screenshots whenever you deem necessary and saves them directly onto your machine for you to look at whenever you please. These are some of my own examples:
There are so many reasons to play this game, I could go on and on about it. This is barely the top of the tip of the iceberg.
There’s a reason it won the award “Game of the Year” in 2018.