God of War - Was it better before...?

The first thing I should mention is that this article is not a review, but rather a reflection on a topic or, if you will, an author's essay. The relaunch of God of War came out in 2018 and everyone who wanted to play it has already played it. God of War was for many the main motivator to buy the PlayStation 4, just as The Last of Us was the main reason to buy the PlayStation 3. I really want to believe that S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chernobyl will be the first jewel in the collection of Xbox Series S/X exclusives. Or in reference to all the well-known events - Heart of ChOrnobyl, but let's dispense with the chorus and political arguments. The main impetus for writing the sketch was the porting of God of War to PC.

Old Kratos

In the good old days Kratos was quite different: he was young, unbridled, with an exorbitant libido. The developers told us a story about revenge for the lost relatives and treachery of Gods in the Greek mythology. At the time God of War was famous for epic battles and spectacular, subtly hitting the needs and interests of players. Only God of War skillfully played with the gods, which many of us studied only in the lessons of world literature: Poseidon, Hercules, and even Hades.

God of War was a pure slasher without a hint of current trends: there were no metroidvania elements, no RPG elements, and not even the now-fashionable loot-boxes. God of War was a blockbuster with no underlying themes, no character development, and no unexpected plot twists. There was no hint of non-linearity - young Kratos was whizzing through locations and whirling like a whirligig, shredding mythological creatures into cabbage.

Kratos dealt with his enemies in such subtle ways that it was even pathetic at times. It is impossible to put into words all the emotions that the original God of War series gave us.

Our world works inside out. The more the world goes crazy, the more all the industries try to hide it behind a screen of tolerance and toleration. All current events are like a loud teenage party, and the unexpected arrival of a mother in the morning is public opinion. Our props "teenagers" didn't have time to clean up all the trash by the time the "parent" arrived and decided to shove all the mess into the closet. Bottles, empty tin cans, and boxes were left in that closet. All that junk didn't go anywhere, it's locked in the closet and it stinks. So this "garbage" is this chaos that goes on in the world, the "teenager" is the industry, and the "parents" are us, the end consumers. In the good old days, violence on the screen offended no one, for it remained only on the screen...

Even now, in 2023, the misadventures of bald Kratos look spectacular. Either the players before were younger, or the industry was based on completely different whales, but the game better than God of War in the market simply did not exist.

New Kratos

The new God of War is God of War IV, but without the numbering. There were rave cries in the direction of the new God of War, but is everything so good? Yes, this is a completely different game: the platforming elements were removed, the camera was moved behind Kratos' back, and there are fewer weapons. If Kratos used to get the trophy from every encountered boss, now 90% of the game player uses the boomerang axe.

The combat stepped in the direction of Soul-like: in the old God of War the combat system could be exaggerated to "circle", "cross", "circle", then in the new God of War - it is "weak blow", "weak blow", "strong blow", "roll", "dodge".

The very dynamics of fighting has become noticeably slower, but not more thoughtful. But the battle with bosses - perhaps the weakest part of God of War 2018. There are only 4 of them, there are almost no memorable opponents, and the passing crowd is made as if by copying.

Another questionable point is the bolted-on RPG system. Previously, the series managed without changing clothes and all sorts of runes, which you had to insert into the weapon. Now the strength of Kratos directly depends on the level and equipment.

For some reason they added a semi-open world with a hint of metroidvania elements: in some locations the player can enter, but the opponents at a level higher than Kratos is a sure death.

But what saddens most is not that God of War has turned into albeit a wonderful, but still an RPG, but that the game no longer brings the former feelings. There is no more brutality for the sake of age ratings, and the blood has been replaced by incomprehensible slop. The cinematic nature of the game has lost its emphasis on gigantomania, and the epicness has been replaced by soulfulness and drama.

The problem is something else: the Scandinavian setting. The Scandinavian setting is all too common in movies and games these days. When something comes out of the cracks, that "something" becomes a pop. One gets tired of hearing stories about Odin, Loki, and Thor time after time, and they're all getting old...