God of War is now on the PlayStation 4 and PC, and if you haven’t read our glowing review yet then you know what you need to do. With such a major release, we figured that we’d answer a handful of your most frequently asked questions pertaining to Kratos’ latest and (arguably) greatest adventure. For more, refer to our God of War guide.
God of War: What's Its Release Date?
God of War releases exclusively on the PlayStation 4 from 20th April, 2018. This is a simultaneous worldwide launch date.
God of War: Are There Pre-Order Bonuses?
God of War’s pre-order bonus includes three shield skins which change the cosmetic look of Kratos’ spherical defence mechanism. These don’t alter gameplay at all. Certain retailers (like GameStop or EB Games) are also bundling in the Luck of Ages XP Talisman, which increases XP and Hacksilver gain, as well as your Luck statistic.
God of War: When Will Pre-Loading Begin?
If you pre-ordered God of War digitally, then you’ll be able to download the game a couple of days prior to release. You’ll need to wait until launch day to play, but downloads should begin on 18th April, 2018 according to Sony.
God of War: Do You Need to Play the Previous Games?
The new God of War game has a self-contained storyline which you’ll be able to follow fairly easily without any prior knowledge of the franchise, however there are strong references and call-backs to previous instalments which will lose context without a general understanding of the series’ history. We’d recommend either playing through God of War III Remastered on the PS4 or watching a recap video on YouTube if you want to get the most out of the game.
God of War: How Long Does It Take to Beat?
It’ll take you around 25 to 30 hours to complete God of War’s main storyline, although your mileage will vary depending on how many optional tasks you complete during the journey. To 100 per cent complete the game – including finding all of the collectibles, finishing all of the side-quests, and beating all of the optional bosses – you’ll need to set aside upwards of 50 hours.
God of War: Is There a Day One Patch?
There is a day one patch for God of War, but the details of this are bound by Sony’s embargo. We can say it’s not an enormous one, so you should be fine.
God of War: Does It Have a Photo Mode?
At launch, there is no photo mode option in God of War. However, the team at Sony Santa Monica have confirmed that this feature is in the works, and will be patched in at a later date.
God of War: What Difficulty Options Are Available?
God of War has four different difficulty options, as outlined by the developer:
- Give Me A Story: a light challenge allowing you to focus on the story.
- Give Me A Balanced Experience: the default option allowing for a balanced experience.
- Give Me A Challenge: for fans of action games, this is a challenging option.
- Give Me God of War: re-balanced for maximum challenge, includes unique AI behaviour and enemy placements. Cannot be changed once selected.
Upon changing the difficulty in-game, you'll have to restart at the nearest checkpoint. It's worth reiterating that 'Give Me God of War' cannot be changed, however.
God of War: Is There Multiplayer?
No, God of War is a strictly single player experience. There are no multiplayer features in the game at all, and you can enjoy everything it has to offer offline.
God of War: Is There DLC?
Sony hasn’t confirmed any DLC for God of War at the time of typing. It’s possible that the game may be extended with an expansion pack similar to the one released for Horizon: Zero Dawn, but this is purely speculation on our part, and nothing has been announced.
God of War: Are There Microtransactions?
There are no microtransactions at all in God of War.
God of War: Do You Need a PS4 Pro?
No, you can play God of War on a standard PS4 and have a great experience. On a standard PS4, God of War runs at 30 frames-per-second in 1080p; on a PS4 Pro, the game runs at 30 frames-per-second in checkerboard 2160p. The PS4 Pro also includes an option to lower the resolution to 1080p and run with an unlocked 60 frames-per-second target.
God of War: Is It 4K with HDR?
Yes, God of War includes 4K support on the PS4 Pro. The game renders in checkerboard 2160p at 30 frames-per-second on the PS4 Pro. Both the PS4 Pro and standard PS4 offer HDR support, but only with compatible television screens.
God of War: What Is the Stone Mason Edition?
God of War’s Stone Mason Edition is its primary Collector’s Edition. In addition to including the game in a Steelbook Case, it also features a 9” Kratos and Atreus statue, four 2” carvings, an exclusive lithograph, a cloth map, the Stone Mason’s ring, and a keychain featuring Mimir’s talking head. You’ll also get some in-game content, including the Defender of the Chosen Shield, the Exile’s Guardian Shield, the Death’s Vow Armour set, a God of War digital comic, a God of War digital art book, and a dynamic theme.
You can purchase the God of War Stone Mason Edition through here.
God of War: Is There a PS4 Pro Bundle?
Yes, there is a God of War PS4 Pro bundle which features custom artwork inspired by Kratos’ axe. This can be purchased from Amazon in the United States, but is exclusive to GAME in the UK.
Do you have any other God of War questions? Will you be picking up the game this week on PS4? Scream about Sparta in the comments section below.
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Comments 58
2.5 hours into God of War 3. MUST COMPLETE BY FRIDAY
that great for this game have no multiplayer because multiplayer has very annoying trophies. very exciting to play this on Friday
Save points?
It's been awhile since I played the others, how do save points work again? Can we just save whenever or are there objects in the game like the fires in H:ZD and TR? I feel like there were chests in the other GoW games but that doesn't feel right, that might have been DmC and Onimusha. Autosave in game maybe?
Related - how do respawn's work when you die? I always die.
I'm just not in a mood to play a game that has an hour of game play lost if you die b/c the save points are only after the boss fight thats going to kill me 12 times and I have to slog through an hours worth of minions each time before getting to the boss.
Save points weren't really an issue in 3 as it only lasted 8 hours anyway, if it's a 25 hour game I'm going to be saving a lot, I usually only have about an hour a night to play, kids monopolize the TV the rest of the day. I played 1 and 2 before kids had TV privileges.
I do think this game will have similar DLC to H:ZD. Maybe even a game+ mode added in a few months like H:ZD had, and they already said the photo mode is coming later H:ZD did. So I'm sensing a pattern. But I'm thinking of playing it anyway now, and if it's good enough I can then play the "Complete ed" in a few years on the PS5 in native 4k at 60FPS. Who knows, maybe H:ZD and GoW will let you swap character models on PS5, play H:ZD as Kratos and GoW as Aloy, won't need the kid Aloy can jump.
I'll read this after I finish the game.
hey Sammy, is there checkpoint or we have to save game everytime by ourselves ?
@porhawj2016 @rjejr You can create manual saves at any point in the game. There are checkpoints throughout, however, and the game will autosave when you reach these.
the answer to the new game plus question is interesting.
does that mean the game is fully open world? or is it devided into regions with big open sections?
@get2sammyb thank, is all locations bigger to explore ? i doubt there are alot hidden location like say discovered new location
@jdv95 no, this game is not open world but has open areas to explore like Uncharted 4 and Rise of the Tomb Raider
is there skippable cutscene while playing if i start over again ?
@jdv95 It's similar to Rise of the Tomb Raider.
@porhawj2016 I don't think you can skip the cut-scenes, no. You can speed up some dialogue by skipping lines, though.
@get2sammyb Thanks. Manual saves FTW!!
Best PlayStation fracnchises ever. I already know the god of war faq.before you posted it.word up son
@get2sammyb do you agree Santa Monica Studio doing right thing in new direction : 3rd person camera instead hack n slash camera in older games for God of War ?
@get2sammyb I haven't played Rise of the Tomb Raider, but I thought it was similar to Uncharted; linear levels. Bit since you mentioned Metroidvania, I was under the impression that it was an ''open world'', similar to Metroid Prime, or even the 3D Zelda games.
I wish preload started earlier as the download will take forever for me. Nice FAQ!
@Octane Nah it's much more open than Uncharted. Ocarina of Time is a fine comparison; there's a hub with different areas sprouting off it. And yeah, it has a Metroidvania aspect to it where there are places that you can't access until you have the right abilities.
@porhawj2016 I gave it a 10/10 so I'm very happy with the new direction.
@get2sammyb yeah that why Uncharted 4 don't have map by using touchpad to see things like treasure chests so i am considering this game is like Rise of the Tomb Raider. will i able to continue playing after complete main story for missing any trophies i need ?
@porhawj2016 Yes, you can keep playing after finishing the story.
@sinalefa oh then why not buy this on disc instead digital ? you can pick it up at midnight in Gamestop if download is not finished for you before play
@get2sammyb thank
@get2sammyb Alright, you had me worried! So we probably called it open world had it come out 20 years ago before the go-anywhere open worlds.
That being said, I didn't know Rise of the Tomb Raider was similar to that. I'm looking forward to playing it then!
@get2sammyb Can you say anything about the trophies? Are a lot of them story-related, challenges, etc? I know they leaked a while ago, but since I'm avoiding spoilers, I'm staying away for now. Was hoping you could shed some "spoiler-free" light on the subject
@Rudy_Manchego
I smashed through most of it on Sunday. Final Boss can do one though, just had another try this afternoon. Might have one more go later, but that's it.
In fact it all gets a bit tasty towards the end...
@MrBert i already asked him last week for trophies.. he won't tell me tho so i have to wait for trophies to get revealed soon
@Octane Yeah, we would have called this open world in 1998; not so much now.
@MrBert Do not look at the Trophies if you don't want to be spoiled. The idiots have packed the Trophy list with spoilers. It's an achievable Platinum if you're willing to put in the time.
I will reiterate in a standalone comment here: do NOT look at the Trophies if you don't want to get spoiled. The Trophy list is the biggest spoiler you'll find anywhere. It's absolutely ridiculous how Sony's prevented reviews from mentioning various things in the game, and then the Trophy list is just going to reveal them all anyway.
So stupid.
@get2sammyb lol who are idiots packed trophy list ? yeah some people like me who want know if trophies are easy to get platinum trophy beside each difficulty to play and complete.. Uncharted 4 crushing trophy is kinda pain in the ass because do dual sword against Rafe was pretty hard to dodge at right time
@get2sammyb smh i thought that a company like that would have known to label them as hidden trophies.
are there any trophies related to the difficulty?
@get2sammyb I've caught a glimpse of one trophy and it spoiled a big moment for me. Thanks for the answer, Sammy!
@MrBert
damn that sucks.
i feel your pain,i made the same mistake looking at the trophy list for kingdom come when it was published on another site. spoiled an important plot twist.
i think Detroit Become Human will take us to grind alot of times for collect all trophies to get platinum trophy like get all ending, all 3 characters stay alive and died like that. Until Dawn was grinding too much for me to get platinum trophy : need get all characters stay alive and die
@jdv95 do you mind play some playthroughs if some trophies require to play and complete on each difficulty ?
@porhawj2016
still better than MP and co op trophies in a single player focused game.
i HATE those.
@jdv95 same here.. Farcry 5 arcade mode is so annoying as hell. grind to level up to 20.. ughh. COD, Overwatch, Battlefield have amount of insane trophies in MP and co-op. A way Out look cool but co-op trophies is difficulty if any friends who don't want buy it and play it with you
@porhawj2016
as for the difficulty related trophies,i don't mind them,every SP game has them so it's not a big deal.
@jdv95 same here, i prefer SP more than stupid MP and co-op that require for trophies. you want collect platinum, silver and gold trophies for earn Sony reward points to buy PSN gift card right ?
@jdv95 The Trophies are hidden, but sites like PSN Profiles default to showing them anyway. Anyone who seeks out the Trophy list will get spoiled.
@get2sammyb
would it be possible to publish the trophy list on this site but with the spoiler trophies hidden?
@get2sammyb do you like collect trophies on games you played if you want earn Sony reward points to order anything you want in Sony reward store ?
@jdv95 lol i just want know how many trophies does this game have that why i asked Sammy to tell me how many trophies does it have
@porhawj2016 @jdv95 Not allowed to share the Trophy list at all. I think there's 37.
@get2sammyb thanks, is there QTE in this game ? i hate QTE so far
@Rudy_Manchego At least you're in a better spot than me...I'm gonna play through all of them before playing this one, and I haven't even started yet. I'm waiting for them to go on sale. If Sony would just hurry up and start the next flash sale (which I feel certain will include some God of War games) I could get started.
sony missed a chance by not releasing the first 2 games as a ps4 remaster. it always felt pointless to only have 3 be remastered. big bucks would have been made.
@CountFunkula78 I'm hoping I can manage it but not if I have to deal with difficult bosses. Especially if they involve QTE's.
@Giygas_95 Yeah - I managed to get 1 and 2 collection on Vita in a sale over a year ago and 3 on PS4 last month in the EU PS digital sale (went to about £9.99). I think I got two of the PSP games on PS Plus for Vita but haven't had time. I really can't believe these weren't part of a big sale. Maybe because it is so different they wanted it to be their own beast.
@Rudy_Manchego What's an even bigger problem for me is that I tend to play on the hardest difficulty in action games so it'll probably take me even longer.
@Rudy_Manchego
In the final stages the QTEs are like the relief/rest phases. Just going in for round 3 with the big Z 😲😵
I'm not even enjoying it any more, I'm just too close to the end to quit.
Having said that, it was a brilliant game.
@Giygas_95 Oh blimey - God of War at hardest difficulty will take some time!
@CountFunkula78 Hmm I am not looking forward to that.
Dunno if anyone's asked this yet but is their a trophy for completing it on the hardest difficulty
Can't wait for Friday. I wonder how the story will continue for for of war 3 as it looked like kratos didn't make it .
@Dankestdankz There are no difficulty related trophies.
@get2sammyb OK, you already answered my question above, was going to ask about how open world it was. I'm still playing Horizon which I think by any definition would be "open world" even after putting 155 hours into Zelda:BotW. One thing I've liked about GoW is the linearity, like Uncharted. It's the impression of a big world but they drive you forward. Was hoping for that focused linearity here but the feeling of a big world. Haven't played RotTR yet but the reboot was perfect. Well the world was perfect, story was too all over the place, I rarely had any idea what was going on. U:LL was really well done too.
Good job keeping it all spoiler free, can't be easy. And with all this talk of spoilers I'm guessing there must be some, which has me excited for the game. Action is great, but I like an interesting story, Zelda kinda lacked that, it was almost as sandbox as Minecraft.
@rjejr It's not as open world as Horizon; more like Ocarina of Time.
@get2sammyb I missed OoT, but TP seemed like a remake so close enough. It's really more about what my wife likes, she usually watches me play story driven games but skipped Zelda and Horizon b/c after watching me run all over the place doing sidequests in FFXV she got bored. And this GoW seems to have a story around Atreus, so we'll focus on that. If Atreus wasn't in it honestly I wouldn't even be getting it and I'd play RotTR instead. I liked how GoW 3 ended, I was done w/ Kratos, but this seems almost like a TLoU story, so we're in. Though I still haven't told her yet.
Feel free not to reply to this, anything you say will be spoilery somehow.
@rjejr You can just focus on the story.
@porhawj2016
I dont live in the States so digital or bust for me. I can wait though.
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