Ain’t No God LikeGod of War

The PlayStation 2 is one of the most important game consoles , because it ’s where the currenttriple - A landscapewas born . Third - party giants likeResident EvilandMonster Huntertook shape here , and the cabinet ’s first - party lineup made its creator into A - grade names .

Look no further than the originalGod of War , which just turned 20 years honest-to-god . Sony Santa Monica ’s hack - and - slash title was reasonably telling back in the daylight , helped by an alluring demo that dropped players into the natural process right out and record them what it was all about : slinging blades , killing everything in sight , and finishing off mythological creatures in increasingly ghastly ways . By that breaker point in the PS2 ’s lifespan , the cabinet ’s gravid natural action game wasDevil May Cry , and while there was some overlap in terms of flair and absurdity , Kratos ’ adventure appealed to a dissimilar ( but mayhap equally adolescent ) audience .

So players fell in love withGod of War , and thus a enfranchisement was born . Sony Santa Monica has precede the bearing on mainline installments likeGod of War III — which deform 15 to begin with in March — or the more recent Norse duology , while the former Ready at Dawn made spinoffs likeChains of OlympusandGhost of Sparta , which built out Kratos ’ life before and between the first two secret plan . Despite a generally consistent quality , it eventually felt like the two studio were trying to milk the franchise for all it was worth . ( And if that did n’t tip you off , the failed go at a movie adaptation would ’ve done it . ) By the time 2013’sAscensionrolled around , Kratos did n’t seem to have any more gas in the tank , despiteIII’sending show he could ( and would ) make out back to drink down again .

God Of War Kratos Ascension Ragnarok

© Sony Santa Monica/PlayStation

And come back he did with 2018’sGod of War , a soft reboot that check Kratos with a boy , a wicked ax , and a new pantheon to brutalize , as well as plentifulness of opportunities to reflect on his past wickedness and the murderous adventures that made up his Greek epoch . Given everything Kratos did and kill during those earlier games — God of War IIIis basically a disaster epos brought on by a slasher villain — it could n’t help be a foreign ask to purchase into him not just having another shaver , but want well for the young Atreus during their trek through Midgard to scatter his late married woman ’s ashes . But the approach resonated with fans and newcomers , mostly thanks to the lead performances of Christopher Judge and Sunny Suljic .

Throughout its 20 - year life , God of Warhas been fix by its middle for spectacle . The series has always painted Kratos as a force of nature whose presence inevitably devastates everything around him . For as much time PlayStation ’s first - political party lineup has devoted to cinematic immenseness , this particular series achieves that feat more often ( and with more fun ) than most . From conflict against giant and dragons , toone - on - one brawlsagainst deity that play out like the love child of shonen fights and wrestling matches , the serial is packed withone moment after anotherthat makes experiencing them a complete blow . Other action games have sample to match that shell or combat of Kratos ’ adventures , and generally do a good job at it — Bayonetta , Darksiders , andDante ’s Infernoall come out just months beforeGod of War III — but as with anything that ’s been around long enough , Sony Santa Monica ’s formula hits a special sweet spot that ’s allowed the franchise to survive more console table generations than its other PS2 peer .

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