I've always enjoyed playing the God of War series based on its Greek Mythology, gameplay, and lots of blood and violence. When looking back at E3 2016 I wasn't expecting another God of War game at all did kind of recognise the music a little being played in the background before the start of Sony's Press Conference for E3 2016. Soon after, a new God of War game would be announced for the PS4 this version, however, is loosely based on Norse Mythology taking place a few years after God of War III you don't need to play the past games in order to understand the story this does feel like a soft reboot feeling more like a sequel for those who have played the past games anyone new to the series, this might be a good start and understanding the story on Kratos is easy to pick up and follow making you want to play the past God of War games on either the PlayStation 2 or PlayStation 3.
With the story being based on Norse Mythology both Kratos and his son Atreus venture on a journey to the wilds where Kratos is trying to teach his son how to hunt and survive. Kratos looses his second wife and now have to look after his son Atreus they both go on a journey to fulfil her promise and spread her ashes at the highest peak of the nine realms. The story is mostly based on the father and son relationship and bonding together kind of borrowing elements that were used in The Last of Us but takes the story to a different level.
The gameplay mechanics and completely different this time round which might notice those who have played the series in the past is mostly based on a third-person over-the-shoulder free camera as Kratos, you don't get to play as Atreus however you can tell him to fire arrows at enemies or solving certain puzzles, platforms and translations throughout the game. Kratos uses the Leviathan Axe as the main weapon to attack enemies and also be used to solve certain puzzles like if you want to lower the bridge, throw your axe at the gears to freeze them and let go of the handle and you can easily get across and recall you axe back to your hands. You can perform light and heavy attacks on your axe including the option to throw it at enemies from places you can't reach. You've still got your health meter to check on your health you've also got an orange meter as well, which will be your Spartan Rage when it's full you can cause some critical damage to enemies.
God of War does have a few RPG elements added in where certain enemies can be beaten by using your fists and also you can upgrade your weapons and armour for both Kratos and Atreus and learning new skills and attacks by using exp points. There is a challenge between difficulty settings, but you'll gain a better experience of God of War either on normal or hard setting which gives more of a challenge, there are side-quests as well including some quests to gain rare items which can be used to upgrade your equipment.
What makes the latest instalment of God of War that enjoyable is the graphics and visuals you can really see how much detail had gone and went in from the character animations to the snowy environments to Midgard. There's just something special that makes this game stand out, especially on the PlayStation 4 you can really tell that Santa Monica Studios really have put a lot of detail into this, if you have a PS4 Pro it would look even more impressive if you don't it still looks amazing as it is. The voice acting is very well done and keeps the story fresh making you wonder what's going to happen next or where your adventure will lead next and of course learning a bit about Norse Mythology at the same time. There have been some really good moments here and there, including some bosses you end up encountering it really does show how this game really shines on next-gen consoles.
You can finish the main story between 20 - 30 hours depending on how much you want to explore, there's even more side-quests and challenges along the way. After finishing God of War I just wanted to go back exploring and finding all the secrets that can be scatted across the game. Fans of the series may find a few easter eggs and references throughout the main story, but as I've already mentioned it just keeps offering a memorable experience for any gamer and worth picking up in your PS4 collection.