God of War (2018): How to reinvent a beloved series without ruining what works

Hey, remember Kratos? You know, Kratos… the bloodthirsty Greek god in the God of War series who slaughtered thousands upon thousands of victims, both mortal and immortal, with an icy cold heart largely devoid of mercy?

Well… get this. What if Kratos had a kid sidekick? And what if that kid was a sickly, sensitive weakling? Wouldn’t that just be crazy?

This concept drives the new God of War reboot for the PS4, and at the start it plays out a lot like the cringe-worthy, sitcom-level twist you’d expect from such a pitch. Kratos is now bearded, slightly more aged, and relocated to the cold and unfamiliar climes of Scandinavia. He’s paying his final respects to a wife we don’t get to see. Left behind with Kratos is a son, the small and frail Atreus, who is over-eager to accompany his dad on a quest to spread his mom’s ashes from “the highest peak in all the realms.” (That’s a welcome respite from the usual “save/destroy the world” impetus driving most action games, at least.)

After a slow and somewhat annoying start, though, Atreus proves to be just the shot in the arm this series needed for a new generation of consoles and players. The addition of a child to play off adds much-needed depth and development to the remorseless revenge machine featured in previous God of War games.

Becoming human

At the beginning of the journey, Atreus alternates between extremely pensive and extremely enthused about his new role as his father’s warrior-helper. One moment he’s puffing out his chest and declaring that “if they try to rob us, I’ll kill them.” The next, he’s on the verge of tears over a recent kill, listening gravely as his father tells him he has to “close his heart to it” to be an effective warrior. When Atreus questions the value of war, Kratos chides him for “seeing with the eyes of a child.” When Atreus loses his knife, Atreus berates himself for being so careless in front of his obviously badass father.

Kratos’ early interactions with Atreus all amount to this kind of monosyllabic, condescending, tough-guy warrior-advice, which really grates after a while. The pair act less like father and son and more like a reluctant teacher with his uncooperative student. There are a few ham-handed early attempts to show that Kratos wants more from the relationship and is simply unable to open himself up to his ward. But for the most part, Kratos seems almost eager to focus on their mission rather than build a relationship with the son he barely knows (thanks to frequent “hunting trips” while Atreus was stuck sick in bed, as he bitterly recalls).

Atreus reacts by closing himself off, muttering under his breath about how Kratos “never cares about anything” and privately musing that maybe the wrong parent died. At the same time, though, Atreus is Kratos’ biggest fan, calling out praise like, “Boy, you’re really strong” and “All right!” when Kratos shows off his strength and agility (he also ends up describing things that just happened in the most annoying, expositional comic-book style; such dialogue goes a long way to wasting any sympathy the kid may have built in the player’s mind). In other words, he’s a hurt kid looking eagerly toward the only father figure available.

Kratos, meanwhile, shows little to no appreciation for Atreus’ ability to read important runes, decipher languages, or point toward the solution to puzzles with “helpful” advice about five seconds after you enter a room. He’s the egghead son that the jock father never wanted, and the God of War doesn’t know how to relate to him.

I get it. Immediately remaking Kratos as a sensitive, caring, modern father would utterly destroy his established character in a way that would be hard to recover from. But it’s still hard to watch Kratos utterly ignore his son’s desperate attempts to forge a connection out of their shared grief. Watching Kratos with a son is like watching an alien try to process human emotions, which makes some sense for a god who’s decided to walk the human realm.

That closed-off setup makes it all the more affecting as Kratos starts to very slowly open up to Atreus about his true power, his history, and his grief. In doing so, Kratos reveals a bit of the self-hatred for his very being that makes him close off all outward signs of emotion. There are even a few well-earned moments between the two that approach actual warmth, and a few other sequences show Kratos flashing very human frailty and emotion over his son’s safety and upbringing.

While all this is happening, Atreus begins to revel in a newfound confidence as he accumulates more skill and power in battle. The young boy starts acting like a petulant teenager with no appreciation for his legacy and responsibility, drawing some strong rebukes from a man who has literally killed gods.

The writing isn’t all that subtle. It can drag thanks to boring exposition about its lore, and it’s not helped by obvious allegories for us humans trying to raise self-confident and respectful children. But the slow emotional arc of the plot eventually had me caring about these characters and their relationship in a way I wasn’t expecting. A few comic-relief side characters occasionally show up to break up all the pathos, rounding out a story that ends up equal parts cheesy and genuinely affecting.

…and my axe!

All this heartstring-plucking happens over the backdrop of a standard action-exploration game, of course, and it takes quite a while for both the gameplay and the story to get going.

Fans of previous God of War games may well be surprised at how stiff and stifling combat feels at first. Kratos’ wild, spinning Blades of Chaos have been replaced with a viking-style axe, which radically changes the way you engage with enemies. The old free-wheeling, button-mashing, whirling dervish style gives way to more calculated, hands-on direct melee combat. Instead of simply swinging your blades with abandon through massive hordes of antagonists, you’ll now find yourself circle-strafing around small groups of tougher enemies, parrying and dodging their attacks with well-timed taps of the face buttons while you sneak in for calculated strikes.

The change will draw immediate comparisons to Dark Souls and its legacy of tough-as-nails dungeon combat. God of War never gets nearly so unforgiving of mistakes as those games, but in the early going, you need to be every bit as careful to watch for counterattacks from the ogres, elves, dragons, and other dressed-up fantasy tropes you fight.

Those who felt the God of War series tended too much toward the button-mashy side of things will appreciate the renewed focus on tactical and strategic planning in combat. Some enemies can be easily dispatched by keeping your distance and slowly hurling your axe across the room, which feels a bit sterile. More often, though, you have to engage at close quarters, watching carefully for counter-attacks and additional enemies coming from the sides and behind, as indicated by flashing arrows.

Slowly but surely, Kratos earns enough experience and silver to unlock new special moves, powers, and weapon upgrades (including one major one I’m not allowed to talk about yet) to let him get a little more mindlessly aggressive with his combat. A few hours in, you’re more able to rush in at a group of enemies, confident you’ll be able to switch up your onslaught with focused, powerful finishers or wide-spread waves that can knock multiple enemies down like ten-pins. Judicious use of enemy-disrupting special abilities and a fists-of-fury, temporary Spartan Rage mode can help you selectively button mash through some of the toughest foes, too. Even then, though, there’s a lot of Dark Souls-style reflexive double-tapping to roll away at the first sign of telegraphed trouble.

Atreus can aid you during battle with his bow, sending arrows at your command to distract—and later damage and stun—enemies during their approach. This offers some welcome flexibility to your strategies, but it also plays well into Atreus’ character development. As the young boy gets stronger and more confident, he improves from warily shooting volleys from the periphery to automatically running in and aiding with melee attacks and bow choke-holds. It’s reminiscent of Ellie’s automated assistance in The Last of Us, though the assistance feels more strictly pre-scripted in this game.

Look around you

Many similar enemies pop up again and again along these travels, but they usually have just enough tweaks to prevent them from wearing out their welcome. And those enemies rarely seem like filler; even the simplest battles end up feeling somewhat dangerous, even when the game throws health items at you. Then there are the massive action set pieces combined with huge boss battles, which often employ expert cinematography to heighten the tension by transitioning seamlessly from fully controllable action to choreographed, real-time cut scenes.

God of War‘s Norse fantasy environments are also a highlight, full of incidental detail and bold use of lighting and color that make seeing what’s coming next a constant motivator. Early on, though, it feels like the game is only pushing you down a small corridor of that large and vibrant world. Aside from a few short tributaries hiding one of thousands of collectible trinkets, there’s only one way to go at many points.

Very slowly, the game opens up a bunch of side missions and urges you to explore its varied magical realms. Completionists will have many dozens of hours to spend hunting down every little bit, while those focused on the story can easily ignore everything but a straight and efficient path to the end.