God of War so far is not GoW, but Uncharted and Last of Us

I've played God of War for about an hour and a half, two hours tops now. What I've noticed:

Camera angle - Identical to Last of Us

Traversal through the world - Identical to Last of Us

Small areas and paths off the main linear path, for collectibles/health - identical to Last of Us

Kratos movement - identical to Joel from Last of Us

Atreus quips/quirks, tips during battle (Guy to your right, Dad! Guy behind you, Joel!) - identical to Ellie from Last of Us

Atreus bow during fights - Similar to Ellie's pistol but not as useful/effective

Climbing sections - Almost identical to Uncharted 4

AI companion - Identical to Last of Us/Uncharted 4

Solving puzzles to move through an area - Identical to Last of Us

Using chains to open doors - Identical to Last of Us/Uncharted

Boosting Atreus up to certain areas to help solve a puzzle/progress - Similar to Uncharted 4/Last of Us but much faster

Heavily narrative driven (and it's damn good so far with great character development/interaction/relationship building) - Last of Us/Uncharted

I knew the game was going to play similar but damn I didn't realize how carbon copy it was going to be until I actually sat down and played it myself lol. This is fine for me though as I am a huge fan of TLOU/Uncharted series, and never particularly cared for the old GoW style of gameplay. I don't hate it but I thought it got boring and repetitive, the combat in this new one is 10x better in my opinion.

Have you guys noticed any other similarities between God of War and Naughty Dog games?

Classic Sony movie game

Because Sony now have a template.

Low Risk, easy casual market.

Yup.

For sure I have noticed similarities. The biggest difference is the brutal difficulty. I started playing on God of War and I had to go back and start over on give me a challenge.

I was unhappy about how it didn’t open with an epic set piece like every God of War before it, and the camera angle during combat has been frustrating and nauseating, but the game is gorgeous and the characters are played well by their voice actors.

I predicted I wouldn’t like the combat, but I tried to go in with an open mind, and still am not satisfied. Hopefully it’ll improve as I open up the skill tree.

Hey, whatever sells 10 million while still being great....

I thought the beginning was really slow, up until the fight with The Stranger. Even still it's moving at a slower progression, I can see how it's going to be 35-40 hours long.

I'm playing on the second level difficulty, I forgot what it's called but I've died a few times so far. Mostly in boss battles.

Some of the things you mentioned are pretty silly. God of War came before both games, and had some of the things you mentioned before them.

@jcrame10: The stranger fight I found to be repetitive. It should have ended after “round 2”.

Thus the reason I a, still on the fence about this game. The hype for the game is unpar if not greater than Uncharted 4 and Uncharted 4 was a great disappointment. I don't want to buy this game to be bombarded by heavily scripted sequences and mindless walking interrupting my gameplay. So far I am getting mixed signals from gamers on this issue.

Yeah but the only similarities between God of War 2018 and the original God of War trilogy is the name "God of War" on the cover of the game box and that you play as a guy named Kratos.

It was too long and drawn out for a fight at the beginning of the game with a character you know nothing about

I imagine Ubisoft thought the same thing, as they casual made all of thier franchises follow the same template... Sony's quality is only higher because they focus on one system as far as I can see. In the gameplay department however? barely a difference.

I'm just gonna laugh whenever I see cows bash Ubisoft from now on.

The walking sequences aren't really slow and drawn out so far, I mean you have to walk to get through the areas of the game. You can also hold in the stick and run really fast.

Cutscenes aren't bad either they're not unnecessary, out of place, or annoying so far.

@jcrame10: agreed. No investment. At least with the Hydra and Colossus in 1 & 2 the scale was epic, and battling Poseidon in 3 was gratifying because it was Zeus’s bro.

We shall see I guess. I’m not hating on the game. I’ve always enjoyed GoW. It’s just that this game...isn’t really GoW.

I know this isn’t really contributing to your topic directly but i just want to say - i love the combat component of this game.

The last of us wasn’t really my thing, a little too dark for me. I’m really enjoying Gow, though. I tend to shy away from unanimated games but the action in this game really graps my attention. I consider it one of my fav games right now, so far.

I don’t understand people blasting it as a “movie game.” It has a story line but so far non-interactive parts have been less overwhelming than i expected

I think you need to play more. The combat is very God of War. It's not the same style, but the intensity and violence is still there. So is the flair and the combos.

And that's why I'm not buying it. We don't need anymore of Sony's formulaic movie "games".

I love the tears !!! Cry more please ( grabbing pop corn ) Entertain me some more.

Buhuuu, another movie game ... While X1 has nothing to show, literally and Switch having games like Labo to show as exclusives ... and people crying over GoW being cinematic !! haha ! Go on, this is beyond amusing.

I played first hour and game looks and plays like a boss. Better than any past Gow game. " but but , its a movie ".... Oh yeah, i want more of that please. The more the better.

You missed out the combat. The combat is nothing like any of the others.

That being said it is a bit God of Us else where.

You do realize the OP is enjoying the game. And you also realize that this thread mentioned nothing about the Xbox until you arrived.

I think the hype is greater than those games because its simple this game has the gameplay to go along with all that stuff. The template is familiar more so at the beginning hours but goes much further than the TLOUS. Not just those games but then adds games like zelda, soul metroidvania style of dungeon crawling. Which truly is the thing you spend most of your time doing. You fight a challenging skill full combat, you solve puzzle to open up something to get to the loot not just moving along the story (It is a loot game). Sometime you run to closed off door with some seal that require a different ability or item you don't have yet (metroidvania style). You run to optional bosses that you cannot beat yet that you can come back later. Just a bunch of varieties that are not there in those games. Those game funnel you forward but this does not care about that. Somebody crafted Bloodborne like level design for you to explore, basically dungeon crawling for loot and combat. And also of course the many option and different areas for you to go.

I'm going to put this on the spoiler for the people that care about story but the game can be played without necessary caring about this stuff IMO.

There is nothing like that in the LOUS never alone UC which is even weaker then LOUS when it comes to gamplay. My opinion if a whiff of those games put you off then stay away from this game. If you always thought that those games deliver in story telling they just need more gameplay then GOW take them to that level of a game. I believe this game is getting more hype and high reviews because on gamplay it stand out on its own merit. Its captivating everybody to the point where the negative can be all over the place. Those that like story they may think this is too much. Those that like pure gameplay they may think a whiff of LOUS story telling put them off. A subtle example in the LOUS Ellie progression is controlled by the story In GOW Atreous progression is not only controlled by the story but by gameplay design. I think they just made it very very hard for LOUS part 2 to get to the score that its getting without compelling gameplay. I don't know unless ND has another level of amazing story telling to unlock. They also try there hardest to keep some old god of war big boss cinematic stuff.

Nothing wrong with that. Didn't like how weak Joel was, so playing Kratos would be more fun.

If that's the case then I think I'll pass, it may be good but the mechanical function of those games is just not fun to play.

What? He doesn't move identical to joel. You havr a dash/evasive roll.

Also the world is much more open than tlou and esp uncharted.

Alot of that stuff you wrote is flat out wrong.

Thanks for the feedback. It does sound like they have focused on the gameplay element a bit more than the games mentioned which is good. I am still overly cautious because of the hype that follows games upon release only to find out the hard way that in the midst of the hype some jarring flaws are overlooked and sometimes these flaws can break the experience for some. I really detest games that take away control from the player and forces the player to watch a cutscene. You know the game where you watch a cutscene, regain control, take a few steps another cutscene and its repeated a few times with this formula and I sit there wondering "Why the F*&# isn't it just one big cutscene? Why do I have to push forward to be trapped in another cutscene?". Then the same geniuses would add the walking cutscenes which was first pioneered by Gears of War (hated that shit) in which all the player does is push forward and listen some story expose. These mechanics really annoy me in games and negatively affect my experience.

Keep playing, you barely even started the game. It opens up far more.

• Combat is nothing like Uncharted/TLoU
• Puzzles are actually pretty damn good, they make really good use of the axe throwing mechanic unlike the brain dead puzzles in Uncharted/TLoU
• You haven't even reached the point where you get fast travel yet
• You can go back to previous areas to pick up stuff you missed
• Uncharted/TLoU don't have optional boss fights and exploration is far more limited in those, the side quests in God Of War actually feel meaningful
• RPG elements - nothing like Uncharted/TLoU, you're really going to have to upgrade your stuff and you have a full skill tree you haven't even gotten into yet in this, at one point I accidentally summoned level 6 enemies in an area and I wasn't even close to ready for it and got one shot

The only thing that really reminded me of Uncharted was when you got a boat in 4 and could travel between a bunch of different islands, but unlike in Uncharted it's not nearly as boring and has actual meaningful stuff to do and find.

From what I've played so far (about 10 hours in), it's more Dark Souls meets God Of War meets The Last of Us.

@Pedro:

No lie there is some of what your talking about in there especially the begining hours. Then it gets far in between there is also of course character banter while your doing your stuff. Then I just run in to a boss fight that was like trying to pay homage to the old god of war games. I mean cinematic and few button prompts just not as crazy as the old games. The fight was good though had enough pure gameplay that the boss kicks your ass if you no good.

I don't mind banter if it doesn't take away normal controls. I may consider getting the game. Still sifting through the hype.

@jcrame10:

Here's what I think about all this.

So the camera angle thing isn't really fair. It's not like Uncharted and TLOU are the first and only games that have such a camera angle. People tend to also ignore that the player now has control of the camera in GOW. Before you were restricted to what the devs intended. I remember play the old gow games and have the camera tilt a bit in a certain area and that was a clue that there was a secret area somewhere. Now if you have to actually look around for areas the explore. Places that you can easily miss if you only focus on what's ahead of you. Going off the path was limited in previous GOW games, but it's not new to that Kratos goes off to find stuff like health, magic orbs and red orbs for upgrades.

What's so identical about Kratos' movements and Joel's? Do you mean melee combat? Walking and running? Because I don't see it. Kratos' posture and movement aren't of one who's trying to avoid being shot and trying to be stealthy. He's upright and aggressive and ready to rip someone's head off.

If you traveling with your child who's helping you fight, wouldn't you expect your child to help and call out enemies. Also, TLOU is not the only game that does this. Hellblade is a recent game that does this as well.

Puzzles. I mean you do know puzzles and chain pulling was in God Of War PS2 and in every GOW game since right? Tomb Raider also has puzzles and chain pulling.

AI Companions are not exclusive to Sony games. Think Mass Effect, especially 3, where you actually needed your companions to fix devices while you cover them.

Having a narrative driven single player action game is what's so great about SP games now. And, of course, this is not exclusive to Sony games either. Think Quantum Break and Hellblade. Both third person narrative driven stories. One is a shooter that sometimes involves an AI companion. The other is a slasher where your companions are in the main character's head. They both have puzzles to solve and they both have worlds they traverse through with collectible items. These are mechanics that already exist in many games already and just because GOW uses them, doesn't mean they're following a cookie cutter formula by a specific company. If anything, Sony studios have been modifying and perfecting these mechanics as time goes one.

I'd like it if you explained what about these areas of the game make you think these games feel so similar to other Sony titles specifically.

Agreed. I was telling @Pedro the same thing in another thread. The cutscenes really just chain gameplay segments together or when important plot points have to play out. It's never you just sitting there for more than 5 minutes just watching nothing happen.

So far (about an hour into it), it has a lot less cinematic moments than i expected after seeing the trailer. I don’t think these people calling it “a movie game” have even tried it

Think it's a combination of a few more modern games. The structure of the game is very much Tomb Raider reboot (primarily linear, but with some metroidvania/sidequests thrown in). Combat is def Souls inspired. I agree that he duo-dynamic is very Naughty Dog.

Climbing reminds me a bit of Prince of Persia 2008, the way Atreus hangs on the Kratos' back. But I guess SSM could have rediscovered that move lol.

Combat is way more complex than I thought. Still learning a lot of stuff. Amazing feedback on some moves like the execution (the hold R2 one). It's pretty hard (playing on "give me a challenge", so I guess it should be).

@Zero_epyon: nothing, it's people butthurt as always

That's a pretty safe assumption in general on this board :p! And I agree it feels gameplay focused with a really cool combat system as the core of the experience.

Oh god, give it a rest. 95% Metacritic, GOTY, and best selling game of april. Just hide in a cave.

Watched the entire play through on twitch. The beginning of the game isn't much god of warish. I see also a lot of streamers not having much fun at the start. Specially if you play hard mode where monsters are practically raid bosses which gets tiring fast. The flower pick quest at the start just made me completely face palm.

However at the later part it starts to finally move more towards a god of war type of game and gets substantiation better but gets pretty much abrupt ended with a god of war 5 teaser, when the game finally started to become something interesting and move into old territory again.

It's clear they shoehorned the kid into there and tried to build something around him, they would have been better of deleting him and make a more interesting story around Kratos as the kid makes specially in combat zero sense. Gods fighting, little kid jumps and shoots another god constantly which in any fight would end up ending that kids life in a second.

Visually the game is also a mixed bag. Sometimes the game can look really awful. sometimes the game can look extremely good. specially in closed off area's with encounters or when they pump up detail in more cutscene type of behavior.

Animation is top notch tho so that really stands out against other games.

I believe after the credits there is even more content to explore so maybe that's going to be interesting. Probably will keep on watching it on the side for today also to see that content.

I'll wait until it hits $20 or less. I saw some boss fight footages and they looked weak.

This is the first deviancy from the what most are saying.

Don't know if it's a good thing or bad but the game does follow a certain formula. Is undeniable. I'm enjoying it much more than Uncharted and TLoU, that's for sure.

It's just the typical Sony template... surprised they didn't try to make Gran Turismo the same.

I see a lot of Lems have been watching the game in twitch.

Yup.

It plays nothing like TLOU or UC4. Only similarities I've seen are the traversal and camera angle. The actual combat and gameplay is completely different from either TLOU or UC games.

@Pedro:

It's what i noticed from the playthrough tho, however people that are more in hack and slash games could probably see it differently then me. I in general wouldn't be there audience to start with so there's that.

@seaofsalt: you’re gonna pass because you’re would rather wait for ms’ next shitty 6/10 game is the real reason

@creepywelps: I would say about 95% of Cows as well. Sony exclusives always have criminally low attach rates.

Reminds me more of the reboot Tomb Raider games.

Form your own views of games, unless of course you like being a slave to what other people think. In that event please continue.