RaptorChrist said:
That's part of the problem, though. How could I have known that it's best to wait until the end game to do that stuff? Up until reading this comment I've been under the impression that there are missables in the game, based on the fact that the water level changes, which affects areas you can explore. Usually after beating a game, I move on to another game, so I try and complete all side content before the main quest for that reason. As a result, I have actually never beaten games like Skyrim or Fallout, despite putting in hundreds of hours on the former. God of War is an amazing game, no doubt about it, but in the interest of debate, I'd like to challenge you on a few points that I disagree with. The devs created a fantastic, immersive experience, possibly the best ever done. I'm maybe two-thirds of the way through the game (just found out that Freya was a God after climbing the mountain), so I can't comment on the story, but so far it's compelling enough, but not amazing. The voice acting is top notch, and the environments are freaking "holy crap" amazing. So much detail in the environments, it blows me away. I play with a Pro on performance mode as I don't have a 4K TV, so I get a smooth 45 FPS maybe (estimating based on what it feels like). I love the idea of there being a single camera that takes you through the whole game. They didn't even break it for loading screens, and instead transport you to a realm between realms, of sorts. I love this. As I said before, I haven't beaten the game yet, but based on what I've experienced so far, I can't imagine there being much replay value. I'm curious if you agree with this or not, but I'm thinking that this is a game meant to be played through once, and then put down, and returned to maybe a few years later after you get another desire to play. But here's why I personally don't think it's on par with the best games of all time. It may seem like I'm grasping for straws, because I partially am. I love this game, and I love showing up for work in the morning to talk with my co-workers about how far we got, and how awesome it is, but... Because the game is designed in such a "narrative" way, the gameplay is limited: There are many occasions where your character is prevented from using weapons and slowed down to a max speed of walking while characters interact with each other. I'm pretty sure there isn't a way to skip these cutscenes, but even if there were, the point is that it interrupts the pacing. Animations are too slow: When thoroughly exploring an area, navigating around can be painstakingly tedious at times. They do a good job of creating shortcuts, but the developers focused far more on immersion than quality of life. The canoe: I have probably spent 2 or 3 hours in the canoe at this point, driving clockwise around the Isle of Nine to stop at every island, each time I get a new upgrade, just to make sure I didn't miss anything. In summary, the game is epic and impressive. I'm a programmer by profession, and I can appreciate the work the devs put into this game. This game breaths pure talent, and was well-directed, all good stuff, but I'm not having *as much fun* with this game as I did with Zelda or Mario, or many other games. As a piece of art, however, it's amazing. |
God of War doesn't have the replay value of a create your character RPG. I haven't played Fallout and Skyrim but God of War is no 100 hour game in 1 playthrough its like 50 hours at the most. That isn't what the quality of a game should be based on. God of War 3 was an 11 hour game and its one of my favourite games ever made. Its aabout the experience and variety, like you yourself stated the environments are incredible, they are varied, enemy types are varied, boss fights and different routes and thaat Batman Arkham like exploration makes it a real treat.
The walking sections make the game come to a halt and I don't know if you've played the previous God of War games but that's a problem the series never had. I see it this way, SSM has taken a page from Naughty Dog's games seeing as Uncharted and TLOU are never criticised for taking player control away at moments and this as well as the climbing are my 2 problems with the game. The story was captivating for me because I've been with this character for 11 years and I know everything that Kratos ever encountered. I have a graeter bond with Kratos than a newcomer to the God of War series. Many of the references will go over your head because you haven't played the 6 God of War games. Its not needed to enjoy the story which is pretty good by itself but its incredible for those who have played all the games.
I can't argue with you about fun. SMO and BOTW are really fun games! BOTW had an impression on me but SMO I don't remember much of my time with it. God of War gives me fun above what BOTW and SMO did because the combat and boss fights are really good. It left a bigger impression than BOTW and I think about it when I'm not playing. The Nordic realms are inviting for me to explore them more than any game on Switch and PS4. That's the hallmark of a classic.
