God of War (PS4): Kratos and the Dad-feels

Spoiler:

Yes I did only after hearing about it on a podcast. Amazing.

Aaaaand finished! Phew! I’m so glad to have focused on playing this game, such a great story. Sitting here waiting for the credits to end and had to come and check out everyone else’s thoughts. Playing on Hard/“Give Me A Challenge” or whatever from start to end credits was daunting, but I heard too much about how the combat was great and also that Normal got to be too much of a cakewalk. I’m glad I did it, but wow! The beginning hours of the game will make you question that decision! The combat starts out really rough! Anyways, that’s enough of me rambling! The story was great and now I want to go listen to the audiobook of Neil Gaiman’s Norse Mythology!

Higgledy wrote:
Spoiler:

Yes I did only after hearing about it on a podcast. Amazing.

Yeah same here, I was watching either the Kinda Funny or Easy Allies spoilercast & was like "what the hell!"

I beat this last night! Verdict: that was great!

I don't have any accurate count of how long that took me, but it felt quicker than I'd expected. Maybe 25 hours? I did not do a ton of side content (probably like 3 side quests, and I picked up any reasonably obvious and achievable gear). I've left it installed and may still go back and do more, but I dunno, it kind of feels like a pretty perfect experience to me as it is. Given my backlog (and my penchant for adding new things to it) I think I'm pretty likely to just move on, but I do like the combat a lot, so who knows.

A few spoiler thoughts on the end:

Spoiler:

I really like how compact the story ended up feeling. There were plenty of big set pieces and grand moments, but still, it wasn't nearly as bombastic as I might've expected. I only ended up killing what, 3 gods? I was waiting for confrontations with Thor and Odin. Best of all, I was particularly keeping an eye out for Loki--what a great reveal at the end, I did not see that coming.

I think the weakest element of the story was the Freya/Baldur relationship. Do I understand correctly that, basically, Baldur was going to die but Freya resurrected him in a way that deadened him to pain and injury, but also to any kind of positive feelings too, and thus he wanted to kill her in punishment? And she just wanted him to be alive no matter what because she's his mother but is also incapable of caring about any of his feelings or wishes as long as he was alive? It struck me as a pretty thin justification for the whole situation. And although I get why Kratos wouldn't let Baldur kill her and let her leave, it does leave me with some dread about the possibility that the next game will just be "uh oh, Freya is mad and now she's coming to get Kratos!" which just doesn't seem that interesting to me.

Even if every bit of the story didn't work for me, I really liked the cinematic presentation and colorful world and (in most cases) fairly deep characterization. My experience with this felt a lot like Uncharted with ancient gods. The handful of semi-cinematic partially-playable not-quite-quick time events did a great job of blending the feel of playing a game and watching a movie. If this team next makes a God of War game, I'll definitely play it, though I'd love to see them try to create something new.

mrlogical wrote:

A few spoiler thoughts on the end:

Spoiler:

I really like how compact the story ended up feeling. There were plenty of big set pieces and grand moments, but still, it wasn't nearly as bombastic as I might've expected. I only ended up killing what, 3 gods? I was waiting for confrontations with Thor and Odin. Best of all, I was particularly keeping an eye out for Loki--what a great reveal at the end, I did not see that coming.

I think the weakest element of the story was the Freya/Baldur relationship. Do I understand correctly that, basically, Baldur was going to die but Freya resurrected him in a way that deadened him to pain and injury, but also to any kind of positive feelings too, and thus he wanted to kill her in punishment? And she just wanted him to be alive no matter what because she's his mother but is also incapable of caring about any of his feelings or wishes as long as he was alive? It struck me as a pretty thin justification for the whole situation. And although I get why Kratos wouldn't let Baldur kill her and let her leave, it does leave me with some dread about the possibility that the next game will just be "uh oh, Freya is mad and now she's coming to get Kratos!" which just doesn't seem that interesting to me.

Re: Your Spoiler:

Spoiler:

In actual Norse myth, Freya went around to everything in the world and made it promise that it wouldn't harm Baldur. However, one thing, mistletoe, refused to promise. In the end, Loki found that out, crafted a dart out of mistletoe, and guided one of the other gods, who was blind, into throwing the dart at Baldur, killing him. (The other gods had been amusing themselves by throwing various objects at Baldur and watching them turn aside instead of hitting him). Incidentally, that's more or less what sets off the events that leads to Ragnarok.

In the game, Baldur is not dead, and Freya did not resurrect him. She, when he was younger, used her magic to make him invulnerable, not wanting him to die, because he was the one good thing to come out of her relationship with Odin, but it made him numb to everything, he literally couldn't feel anything (because, I guess, in theory anything could bring him pain). However, "there's always a loophole" (that's about how they explain it), and mistletoe was the one thing that would break the spell, if it pierced him, apparently.

I rolled credits on the game yesterday afternoon. I'm definitely going for the platinum trophy because I love the gameplay and the world so much. What an experience!

I finished over the weekend. Overall I loved the game, well worth my time. I did turn down the difficulty of the final battle which is annoying because overall the main stuff wasn't that hard but like usual they felt a final boss had to have much different powers than the rest of the game.

Anyway it was a fun ride and I hope they are working furiously on the sequel.

So I finished the game, went home, and have all but two trophies (and the plat).

Some thoughts

-The combat is amazing, and this is one of the most beautiful games I've ever played.
-I thought the story really fell flat at the end

Spoiler:

Kratos spends the entire game trying to hide his monstrous past from Atreus, and the very end he is goaded into telling it to Atreus by Freya, and the exchange is this

Kratos: I am a monster, and I killed my dad.
Atreus: Cool
Kratos: We cool.
Atreus: Yep.

There was never enough build-up to feel that the relationship between the two blossomed to a point to earn this.

-Also odd, where are the women?

Spoiler:

It seems like a real mistake to have a series that is grossly mysoginistic for 6 games, to try to tell a redemption story, and to have it be about the death of a wife and mother, only to have one female character who represents what the game views as an overbearing mother. Where are the women? Where is Faye? I mean, they were in Hel, and never saw her? Seems like at best a missed opportunity.

-Also, why are there no humans in Midgard, the land where the humans are?

Spoiler:

We only see a few cannibals early on, and then there are literally no humans in the game other than them. Isn't part of Kratos redeeming himself dealing with the collateral damage of war?

-Why does Baldur need to

Spoiler:

die? Why can't he have the same redemption that Kratos is seeking?
What right does Kratos have to Kill Baldur against Freya's wishes?

-I love game stories, and I love this game, but I feel the story is the weakest part of the game. I love exploring the world, I love the combat, and I am a few Niflheim runs and a Valkrye kill away from a platinum trophy. I just wish I liked the story more.

nm

To me it feels clear that the staff at the developer are not good with women characters. none of the games have had them. Also they have some serious issues with their fathers. Problems with dad run through all the games.

The latest episode of the DLC podcast has an interview with two level designers.

The Game informer podcast has an interview with two writers.

It's all fascinating stuff.

Edit: On a separate note, a visual niggle:

Spoiler:

I thought the lightning in the game was quite weak. Hard to do I know. The threads of electricity were too thin for me. I wonder if it would be possible to have a lightening strike or arc that cast it's own light like a stretched out fluorescent tube. That would be amazing.

I've almost completed everything except the Ravens, killed all the Valkyries but

Spoiler:

I'm struggling with the Queen

I've almost completed everything in the mist too. I don't complete many games and virtually never continue after completing the main story. I love the combat so much and I'm impressed by the number of stories Mimir has to tell.

I rented this expecting to finish in a weekend and return it. Instead I returned it on the second day and bought it. I've lost track of how many hours I've put in but for the first time in many years I spent the entire afternoon and evening last night, skipping dinner to keep playing even though I completed the main story almost two weeks ago.

I am watching Christopher Odd play this right now and I have to say I am not sorry I turned down the difficulty. It doesn't feel like the fights are more interesting but just that the enemies have tons more health. In some games the enemies are smarter which can make it feel exciting to play on higher difficulties but I think in this they are just harder to kill.

Between the camera and the somewhat clunky controls I had zero problems turning down the difficulty. The fights were the least interesting aspect to me of the game. I'm not sorry I played it to the end but I'm certainly not going to bother getting more trophies. Towards the end I just wanted to finish it as fast as I could.. certainly felt like the designers got there as well.. 3 of the Realms you can visit are barely fleshed out... I was completely dumbfounded by the last and final Realm.. given the build up and what was actually delivered I was scratching my head thinking I must be getting the "bad" ending since it just was a complete letdown.

As I am rewatching the Lets Play I must agree that the developers kind of just wanted to finish the game too. The puzzles at the end are pretty paltry and plain compared to the opening few hours.

Still a great game though.

farley3k wrote:

I am watching Christopher Odd play this right now and I have to say I am not sorry I turned down the difficulty. It doesn't feel like the fights are more interesting but just that the enemies have tons more health. In some games the enemies are smarter which can make it feel exciting to play on higher difficulties but I think in this they are just harder to kill.

That's true, but the increase in health means it is much more difficult to survive between cooldowns, since runic attacks, talisman, summon, and Spartan rage are no longer sufficient to clear every encounter. I bumped it from normal to hard about 15 hours in, and I have had to significantly change my tactics to win encounters that were easy before.

It's tougher, but much more rewarding for me. I love the combat in this game.

mrwynd wrote:

I've almost completed everything except the Ravens, killed all the Valkyries but

Spoiler:

I'm struggling with the Queen

I watched a tutorial and got some tips on the fight—else I was going to bump the difficulty down.

Spoiler:

All of her arial attacks can be countered by throwing the axe at her.

That was the thing that got me my plat.

As I am mulling over the game one thing didn't work for me or just doesn't make sense.

Spoiler:

Atreus gets all angry and rude. Enraged and all. Then he stops but I don't remember why. I think he hurt one of the dwarf's feelings but it didn't seem to be big enough for him to change personality again. Is that really all it was?

Spoiler:

Atreus changes back after the second Baldur fight when he screws up and gets himself, Dad, and Baldur sent to Hel

Fellow Gods,
I’m about three hours into the game and I’m suffering from analysis paralysis on:

What skills to upgrade? I’ve upgraded the kid’s bow usage a bit.

When to buy something?
Not sure how much loot you collect along the way and whether marginal upgrades are worth purchasing.

I’d appreciate any thoughts.

Thank you,
Chad

Yeah, don't sleep on upgrading your kiddo's powers. He upgrades pretty quickly and pretty cheaply. It packs a bang for your buck. I'd also upgrade your light and heavy rune attacks once you find ones that you like. The other stuff, just go with god depending on your play style. I upgraded the parry early on because it because obvious how often I was going to have to block attacks.

I wouldn't spend too much time buying new armor. Instead, upgrade ones that you like. Though I have yet to actually notice much of a difference with the different armors. Maybe buy a new one once you have a higher level of rarity available to you. But I've been wearing the same "purple" rarity armor for ages.

I first focused on Atreus's abilities, and I also upgraded the skills that used the shield, specifically breaking enemy blocks and reflecting projectiles. Eventually, you will be able to buy everything easily.

chooka1 wrote:

Fellow Gods,
I’m about three hours into the game and I’m suffering from analysis paralysis on:

What skills to upgrade? I’ve upgraded the kid’s bow usage a bit.

When to buy something?
Not sure how much loot you collect along the way and whether marginal upgrades are worth purchasing.

I’d appreciate any thoughts.

Thank you,
Chad

You will eventually unlock everything. You got loads of exp

As others have said you get plenty of XP. Go for the pretty in my opinion. Stuff that you thinks cool.

XP is a bit of a slow trickle early on though. I think the bow upgrades are a great early choice, as are skills that increase your ability to stun enemies (ie, shield skills). But yeah, don't worry about it too much as you will eventually drown in XP.

Buying things is a bit trickier -- those resources are a bit scarce at times. At all times be sure you prioritize saving resources for basic weapon upgrades. In particular, there are resources that you use to upgrade the bow that can also be wasted upgrading armor. You will eventually get a ton of those so it won't matter too much, but you'll make your life easier if you get the bow upgrades squared away before wasting resources on upgrading armor.

Beyond that, I wouldn't recommend buying the basic armor sets pretty much ever. There will be some armor that you will have to "buy" but it will only become available after you've completed at quest, or accessed a specific location, and those often ARE worth buying, but the basic "here's a version of a basic design that looks cooler and has slightly better stats" armors that unlock with story progression are probably not worth your resources

Picking what gear you DO want to upgrade is going to be a bit more preferential based on your play style (and aesthetic taste). I do think a general rule of thumb that would apply to most players is that gear that gets you lots of enhancement slots with only one or two upgrades is probably a good choice, because the value of an enhancement slot is very large, especially if you are doing side quests which often give you very powerful and useful gems to slot in.

And, for what it's worth, here's what I personally used as I went through the game which always had me feeling powerful and in control of my fate:

Spoiler:

Early on, I just used whatever dropped.

Once I got the ability to make ancient gear, I made one piece of that, and upgraded it pretty hard (belt, I think?).

Then I started hunting down the Tyr armor, which looked cool, got a lot of slots early, and was pretty easier to acquire — you just do side quests early and often.

I also started building the Traveller armor, since there wasn't much resource overlap there, but I really didn't use it, instead investing in Tyr/Ancient upgrades which matched my play style and tastes better until I started fighting Valkyries. I think there was maybe one or two pieces I used briefly in between here, but I can't recall.

As soon as I could I did start fighting Valkyries, and got pretty far with that before accessing Niflheim, so the Ivaldi mist armor was mostly an afterthought. It's maybe a slight upgrade from the Valkyrie armor in some ways, but not especially so for my tastes, and I used the Valkyrie armor most of the time for everything after I had earned it.

As for talismans, there's one you can get from a quest early on that can be easily upgraded to two enhancement slots and gives you a castable zone of healing and stagger protection. Very, very worth investing in, and I pretty much used it the rest of the game, only swapping to other things very situationally.

I got the platinum trophy yesterday after many, many failed attempts on the

Spoiler:

Valkyrie Queen

I closed the game and had that same feeling one gets after finishing a great book. What an experience.

Spoilers on late-/post-game optional content:

Spoiler:

I'm trying to do the Valkyries, in the order suggested by the strategy guide. First two (Gunnr, Geirdiful) were a nice challenge, but the third one (Eir) is brutalizing me. (Even with the guide... there is apparently a move I can only block/counter by throwing an axe at her in the air, and I just don't have the reaction speed for it.)

If you've done them, what kind of levels did you hit with your gear and stuff? Did you do the optional realms first? Is there some killer gear or move that makes a big difference? Did you chicken out and drop the difficulty?

I'm not sure I have the skill or patience to platinum this, but I would like to enjoy a little more before setting it aside. Maybe I should explore the other realms a little before going after Valkyries?

beeporama wrote:

Spoilers on late-/post-game optional content:

Spoiler:

I'm trying to do the Valkyries, in the order suggested by the strategy guide. First two (Gunnr, Geirdiful) were a nice challenge, but the third one (Eir) is brutalizing me. (Even with the guide... there is apparently a move I can only block/counter by throwing an axe at her in the air, and I just don't have the reaction speed for it.)

If you've done them, what kind of levels did you hit with your gear and stuff? Did you do the optional realms first? Is there some killer gear or move that makes a big difference? Did you chicken out and drop the difficulty?

I'm not sure I have the skill or patience to platinum this, but I would like to enjoy a little more before setting it aside. Maybe I should explore the other realms a little before going after Valkyries?

Atreus' arrows can also interrupt the ability you're referring to.

dhelor wrote:
beeporama wrote:

Spoilers on late-/post-game optional content:

Spoiler:

I'm trying to do the Valkyries, in the order suggested by the strategy guide. First two (Gunnr, Geirdiful) were a nice challenge, but the third one (Eir) is brutalizing me. (Even with the guide... there is apparently a move I can only block/counter by throwing an axe at her in the air, and I just don't have the reaction speed for it.)

If you've done them, what kind of levels did you hit with your gear and stuff? Did you do the optional realms first? Is there some killer gear or move that makes a big difference? Did you chicken out and drop the difficulty?

I'm not sure I have the skill or patience to platinum this, but I would like to enjoy a little more before setting it aside. Maybe I should explore the other realms a little before going after Valkyries?

Atreus' arrows can also interrupt the ability you're referring to.

This is exactly the way you want to do it for this one and several others. Having his bow skills maxed helps a ton.

Just finished...holy crap....so good.