Hands On: God of War: Sons of Sparta Shows Real Promise with Lovely Pixel Art and Punchy Combat

While the impact and shock of the game's announcement was somewhat robbed by myriad rumours, God of War: Sons of Sparta is still a very welcome side project.

Developed by retro specialist Mega Cat Studios in collaboration with Santa Monica Studio, this is a full-on, side-scrolling Metroidvania action game, taking place long before the events of the original. It's a big departure for the series (quick shoutout to God of War: Betrayal), so how does a God of War game even work in this format, and is it any good?

We've played the first hour or so, and we're here to answer those questions.

As mentioned, Sons of Sparta is a prequel, starring a much younger Kratos, alongside his brother Deimos, long before the events of the other games.

An adult Kratos, voiced by T.C. Carson, narrates the adventure, recounting the game's events in a story told to his daughter Calliope.

Pleasingly, the game begins as all God of War games do — with a boss fight. While not on nearly the same level as some of the inaugural battles in the main titles, you're thrown in the deep end right away before the main rhythms of a Metroidvania settle in.

And this is very much your typical 2D Metroidvania — there's an emphasis on combat and basic platforming, you have a vast map to fill out as you explore, and you gradually gain new equipment and abilities that allow you to progress further and further.

The early goings have you returning to your Spartan village, and the signs are all there. We found several impassable obstacles that we'll clearly be returning to later.

The combat is obviously a big part of God of War, and while it was never going to be a one-to-one with the 3D games, Sons of Sparta makes efforts to mimic past titles.

Equipped with a spear and shield, you begin with a basic three-hit combo, a block/parry, and a dodge. Enemies have both health and stun meters, and after a short while, you unlock Brutal Kills, which finish them off when fully stunned.

Orbs of various colours spill out of enemies when damaged, which is of course very familiar. Yellow orbs fill a Spirit meter, which allows you to execute Spartan Spirit attacks. These do less damage but more stun, and they also draw out green health orbs from enemies.

Parrying foes with your shield feels very similar to the parry from the Norse games, and later skills allow you to counter melee blows as well as projectiles. The timing is fairly tight, but it's very satisfying to pull off.

Combat so far feels pretty simple, but we're still very early on in the adventure.

The animation work is really nice, and while it can look a bit flat in screenshots, the pixel art style works for us. In fact, the presentation is broadly very good; full voice acting helps provide a premium feel, there's an orchestral score, and the UI feels like it's been lifted straight out of God of War Ragnarok.

In many ways, Sons of Sparta feels like it's cherry-picked elements from across the entire franchise and packed it all into a side-scrolling format. There are hidden chests to open, new equipment from the Gods of Olympus, and skills to unlock using red orbs.

We still have a long way to go before we're ready to make our full assessment. There are weapon upgrades we've yet to really delve into and various side missions and collectibles we don't know much about yet. However, God of War: Sons of Sparta's early goings show promise.

It bears many of the series' usual hallmarks, and they all seem to work remarkably well in a 2D Metroidvania structure.

The story doesn't feel like it's really gotten going yet, and we're still settling into the combat, but we're excited to keep playing, which can only be a good sign.

Have you been playing God of War: Sons of Sparta? What are your thoughts on the game so far? Tell us what you think in the comments section below — but no spoilers!