Today marks the fourth anniversary of PlayStation 4 classic God of War — happy birthday to Kratos, Atreus, and co! We imagine the father and son are currently blowing out some candles and wishing for their battle with Thor to hurry up. It has been quite the wait, but that showdown will finally take place in this year's God of War Ragnarok. But before we get to that, it's time to celebrate what was one of the PS4's crowning achievements.
Back in 2018, God of War won the Push Square Game of the Year award and was also voted the year's best title in the site's forum vote, beating out competition from incredible titles like Red Dead Redemption 2 and Marvel's Spider-Man.
However, four years later, do you still agree with those accolades? Is God of War still a 10/10 experience that should be considered one of the Best PS4 Games or has your opinion changed a little? As Kratos puts on his party hat, we want to hear your thoughts. Place your votes in our polls and share your overall thoughts on the game in the comments below.
Comments 103
A tad overrated in my book as I've never had the desire to go back and play it again, and it didn't quite resonate with me as much as it seemed to with others. Still a solid 8/10 though
This has to be the most overrated PlayStation studios game. A good game, but by no means the best or even up there with the best PS4 games.
It's a 10/10 for me but if I had to choose one Sony game to call "the best", it would be TLOU2. Definitely up there though.
There are only two other games that I loved as much as GOW and both of them are The Last of Us remaster and two.
It’s still an amazing game. The fact that the whole game is one shot still blows my tiny little mind.
It’s right up there with the best of the best.
Still a 10/10 for me. I've played through 6 times since launch and I know I will again before Ragnarök lands. I think it's not only the best PS4 game but the best Playstation game ever.
I don't care. Where's state of play Sony?
10/10 and still bloody fantastic, bring on the Ragnarök!!!
A fantastic game but having played through it three times since its release, I do think there's room for improvement in Ragnarok.
Some of the RPG mechanics — like Kratos having a level — add nothing to the game. I also think some of the boss battles are a bit flat, and the enemy variety in general isn't very good.
Minor flaws in the grand scheme of things, though. One of the PS4's best games, for me, but definitely not perfect.
I give it 9.8.
It needed more enemy variety and it would have been the second perfect game I have played. Best game from last gen.
I rate it a solid "Boi".
One of those game that pass the test of time. Played the game last year no a ps4 pro. Masterpiece.
I'd rate it M for blood and gore, intense violence and strong language.
8/10 for me, fantastic game but not one I've had the desire to return to. TLOU 2 was the best game of the PS4 generation for me.
It's fine. I platinumed it. The game is fun when it lets you off the leash during the campaign, and then when you're cleaning up the rest of the content at the end, since I'm not a fan of being herded through setpieces.
With that said, the collectibles don't mesh well with the linear world design, which makes some items a royal pain to go back and collect, and it was extremely irritating tracking down all of the birds for that one trophy.
The combat is fun when it fully opens up, but, IMO, it takes too long to get to that point. Also don't think the pulled-in, cinematic camera is ideal for a game where you're often surrounded by enemies. I'm also, sorry to say, not terribly impressed with that particular feature in general like so many others seem to be.
It's technically impressive, but I'm not hugely wowed by grittier and more realistic art-styles in games, so that aspect did little for me. I'd be lying if I said it didn't look good, though.
Also not a huge fan of Norse mythology, but that's not really the game's fault. They did a good job not overloading it with an excess of mythological figures, which might have distracted from the storytelling.
It's a good game. Probably an 8/10, as it had some really strong boss battles, and the experience does come together very well at the end. Also really like some of the dungeon-crawling and exploration. With that said, I probably won't be playing Ragnarok for a long time, as I'm not itching to get back into that world.
9/10. I had never played a GOW game before, and went into this blind and was blown away. They need to fix some of the small things though like quick travel or balancing in a few areas, but in terms of story a 10/10.
When I played and beat it on release, I gave it a 10/10.
But now? I'd say it went down to a 8/10.
The game is still great but there's a few things that kinda drag it down, especially years later.
I've never played it. But since its free when you buy a PS5, I'll probably try it out once I'm able to get mine someday.
God of war is on my backlog so looking forward to playing at some stage ,ah maybe I'll start it this weekend or something, sds like a great game based on people's reviews etc
I played it in 2018 (I know it was a reboot but they really should have called it GO4 as people who played all the others get so much more out of it than those going blind in this series) and thought it was a masterpiece, I played it in 2021 after playing through and obtaining the platinum of every other entry in a row and still think it's a masterpiece. My current tier list of the games are as follows:
S: God of War (2018), God of war 3
A: God of War 2, Ghost of Sparta
B: God of War Ascension
C:God of War (O.G)
F:Chains of Olympus
God of War is my favourite Playstation exclusive series, as I played through them all in a span of a month, I just couldn't get enough. I think God of War 2018 is an absolute masterpiece and has the best platinum experience out of all the games in the series (screw the trials in God of War 1, completely RNG reliant and BS and you have to beat all 10 in one gaming session) minus the area that drains your health constantly in that mist area! I beat the Valkyrie Queen on my literal first try and don't understand why so many people had so much trouble with her, she's literally a rehash of all the other Valkyries and only has 1 new attack from my remembrance, my main tip is to be patient and learn when you can get hits in when it is safe and block and dodge when needed, mind you by the time I got to GOW 2018 I was a hardened veteran of the series. If anyone is on the ropes for trying the OG style of combat, God of War 3 is by far the best and most refined overall, as you get multiple weapons and get to kill all the big boy Greek Gods.
Edit: Also has the best axe in all of gaming, a charged R2 attack into a Draugr or ripping the Warewolves in half with an execution just feels😱 😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱
What was so special about God of War was how good it was in basically ALL areas.
Gameplay was visceral, exciting and a lot of fun. Story and narrative were fantastic. Graphics, music, voice acting all top tier. Difficulty was well balanced, puzzles were quick yet interesting. Exploring the world was exciting, plenty to see but nothing outstayed it's welcome, it was a perfect length imo.
Many other games excel in SOME of these areas but almost none excel in them all. Yet there is still room to improve in each, I look forward to Ragnarok.
Ten of ten, it don’t matter how long you wait
12/10, masterpiece!
I rated it 10 on release but now I would rate it about 8. It's a great game but I enjoy other games more than God of War now.
God of War 2018 is the very definition of 10 out of 10 game. Anyone who claims the game is overrated probably thinks Hooters Road Trip is a masterpiece.
It's a great game with just a few flaws that hold it back for me. The biggest issue I had was enemy variety. The example I always go back to is when you're getting ready to go to Helheim and they are talking about the guardian of the gates of Helheim. I remember getting so pumped to see this guy thinking an awesome boss fight was coming only to be greeted by yet another troll with a column...only difference was he can telaport around. Very deflating part for me.
Combat is great even if I also wish there was a bigger variety of weapons to use. Also the armor upgrade system was a little tedious to engage with.
Again still a great game but overall could improve in some areas. Still looking forward to the next one.
It’s a 10/10, but not the best first party because Bloodborne which is technically first party.
9/10 for me, one of the best experiences on the PS4. I can't wait for Ragnarok.
@themightyant Most of the game was great like you said. I really wonder if I was in the wrong frame of mind because I found the game a bit bloated with the worlds blending into one. It was a pain to get around, the game was too long, and there was a whole loot system that felt tacked on and superfluous.
I'm going to have to play it again, because I do remember really enjoying the father and Son aspect and Freya. The main villain was annoying and the opening fight was incredibly dull because the guy is invincible.
If I don't enjoy it enough, I'll just skip Ragnarok, or wait for it to be free on PS+.
Played it on the ps4 when it was released and i loved it..have since replayed it on the ps5 and it is an exceptional experience especially running in 60fps and in 4k (ok checkerboard 4k but still awesome.) A solid 9/10 for me..
@lolwhatno do you have a ps5? If so there is no excuse for not playing this as its free with the ps+ collection..get on it bud..
I liked GOW but I did not love it. I did not enjoy the default control layout and there were times I found myself bored travelling throughout the game despite being able to appreciate some absolutely gorgeous landscapes. The game had a really strong opening and then gradually fizzled out for me. Something just didn’t click and the kid annoyed the crap out of me. To be honest I was relieved it finished when it did and have never felt compelled to go back to it. Ragnarok looks like a very solid sequel but I won’t be in a hurry to play it.
It's still a 10/10 as far as I'm concerned. One of the best games I've ever played. Succeeds on basically every level a game could hope to succeed in. Actual masterpiece.
10/10 and up there with my favourite games of all time.
To be honest, it bored me. Got a little past the first boss to when it opened up a bit and just couldn’t be bothered. Went back to playing a Yakuza game I think, which is much less po-faced.
It's the best game I've ever played. Period.
It's not my favorite, mind you, but it is objectively the best imo.
@astro911 I didn't mind the kid, but you kind of summed up my thoughts otherwise.
God of War games are solid games, but nothing that’s ever blown me away or gotten me excited, honestly. I can see how it could be a 10/10 for some gamers, but for me it’s a 7/10, maybe 8/10. It’s the best in the series, most certainly, but definitely not the game that sells me on the PlayStation ecosystem.
@thefourfoldroot The final boss felt like a Yakuza boss. That was actually really cool, just a shame that it was necessary to slog through to get there.
God of war best ps4 games ever.and the best games ever made. 🐐. 👑.word up son
10/10... Story is King. Gameplay may age, but if the story is good a game becomes timeless.
@lolwhatno I got the last of us remastered with my PS4 without knowing anything about it. It was a pleasant surprise, whereas my experience with God of War was the opposite. It was hyped up so much that it was a major disappointment. I'm really not that interested in hearing people talk about games once they are out. It's so much better to experience them myself. Once I'm done with them, I love going back to the spoilercasts.
8/10, very good game, well polished, decent story and crisp gameplay.
Only downside is replayability, no desire to go back, I sold it.
I would rate it the same when it came out, 7.5/10 maybe 8 when I'm super good mood!
Probably the best game although TLOU runs it close, I preferred the ending of TLOU but the overall gameplay of GOW was more enjoyable plus in the axe it has arguably the best melee weapon feel in any game! Throwing that thing never got boring.
Its a good game, just not as good as Knack.
Going by the Push Square scale, I'd give it a 7.5. It's really good, but I definitely have my issues with it.
Great game but still not even close to RDR2, and didn't deserve the GOTY. 🙄
Fantastic game. But a few shortcomings such as repeated enemy design, lacklustre boss battles (especially in comparison to the series' earlier fights, Poseidon) and mostly boring puzzles make it not quite outstanding tier.
Edit: also, Kratos' massive fingers.
I must admit to my shame that although I picked it up early on I never really got around to playing it thanks to circumstances at the time. It is something i intend to remedy but you know time, family, work and all that lot.
Still a 10 for me. Hoping to see much better boss fights in the sequel. Can not wait!
@ShogunRok I totally agree with you about levelling being redundant. I never even looked once at what level I was. Difficulty was just about right at all times.
@lolwhatno I enjoy hearing opinions and reading about it once I'm done with it. I hate even hearing little details, especially the cool little details that I would enjoy discovering myself, before I have finished with it.
I just played it for the first time a few months ago and was really blown away. It's definitely up there with my favorites.
Hands up: Who is the divvy who gave it a 1?
Still a real classic and right up there with the best.
The fact its not a shoe in for best title is simply because the catalogue was SO strong.
@Apfelschteiner we all like what we like, there are no wrong answers, but hope you enjoy it on round 2. If not there’s plenty of other good stuff to play.
I’ve only ever played and completed it once (original PS4 release). If it had a separate trophy list for PS5, it would have been one of the first games I replayed when I got my PS5 last Christmas. I probably will give it another whirl though before the sequel comes out, next year…
If I had to rate it from memory then 9/10. I preferred the older GOW games tbh but it was still very good.
10/10 in my book, finished it on PS4 Pro, then again on PS5, then Platinumed the PC version.
Worth mentioning that the PC port is one of the best ever made... the graphics alone are outstanding, and it's full of useful options, including DLSS.
A solid 7
I completed the game in the first week, got the Platinum and have had absolutely NO desire to go back. Its certainly good and Solid game. Its also the best God of War game I have ever played, but its not 'perfect', has numerous things that 'irritated' me (and some that linger on in memory far more than the 'positive' memories) and like I said, no desire to replay - even if they remastered it for PS5.
So like I said at the start, its a 'solid 7'. Its worth playing if you haven't, is well made and the visual quality is great.
I'd give it 7/10
Pros:
Cons:
All in all it was good, but I prefer the older GoW games.
Initially fell into the hype and thought for sure it was a 10 but after some re-evaluating have to drop it to 9.
It turns out there were quite a few things that bothered me:
I did really enjoy the game overall, it certainly had the best story in the franchise's history and made the right evolution from a gameplay standpoint. However I must admit my interest in Ragnarok has waned quite a bit seeing as it's continuing with the Norse setting, bringing back the boat for traversal and possibly adding even more RPG elements with NPC filled towns.
It’s an extremely well designed game.
I’ll admit that it took four tries to actually go all the way through it.
To be fair, I don’t blame the game so much as I blame my tastes. I don’t like Norse mythology. Never have and never will. So I wasn’t able to get involved in the game world as much as I wanted to.
That said, once I finally got further than 10 hours in the relationship between Kratos and “Atreus starts hitting its multi hour long high points, it turned into a stellar story about father and son learning about each other, their mutual relationship with a departed wife/mother, and their own fears and insecurities. That was played out perfectly and was 2018’s God of War’s crowning achievement. Like the original Last of Us, it really makes you care for the two people involved because it’s actually realistic about human interactions.
It ain’t no ghost of sparta
God of War is probably my favorite franchise. I platinumed this when it first came out. I thought it was real good but for me it's ranked 4 or 5 when it comes to God of War games. I much prefer the gameplay of older GoW games, I find them to be way more fun. I missed the combos and quick time events. And the boss battles felt a bit flat to me in comparison to older GoWs.
I also wasn't a big fan of the fact this is, along with a lot of Sony exclusives feel like it's a part of the Naughty Dog Cinematic Universe. I love Uncharted but I don't need God of War and Days Gone to look like they're apart of the NDCU. Also very unpopular opinion, I actually enjoyed Days Gone more than the newest God of War.
I went a 9/10. Bloodh good game but i was itching for those epic, over the top, colossal boss fights seen in the old games. The dragon was probarbly the best battle imo.
It's a very pretty game. I just don't think it's an exceptionally fun game. I feel like the incredible production value hides the fact that it's just a very okay action game.
An outstanding game. What a story driven game should be.
And as a 2022 PC release - GOW has an "Overwhelmingly Positive" score on Steam and runs/looks amazing as a handheld game on SteamDeck (even set to 10W max)... Sony studios are just amazing.
GOW is still a must play today.
Never could get it into GoW or horizon for that matter. Now it seems Sony is leaning heavily into these IPs and making live services a bigger priority. Really starting to regret buying a ps5
I thought gamplay was a bit tedious at times and the re-used bosses and enemies didn't help either. Story was great though. 7 minus for me.
I really loved it when it first came out but as times gone on and my tastes in games have altered a bit I’ve mellowed out on it quite a lot. I’m even preferring the originals these day, especially 1, 3, and the PSP ones.
I did enjoy the endgame a lot though, and story time with mimir was always a blast, but I didn’t feel the story (particularly Kratos’s story arc) gelled that well and ended very anti climatically for me (the arc, not so much the game). The axe was awesome but was really under utilised. And the world had way to much slow walking and climbing. Would have rathered the visuals take a hit than all the hidden loading. Once the cinematics faded away (the one shot camera was a gimmick!) and the world opened up in the endgame things got much better. The valkarie fights where a highlight.
8/10 from me. PS4 Sony games I’d put above are Resogun, Bloodborne, Gravity Rush 2, The Last Guardian and Uncharted 4
I think it's Sony's best offering and one of the best games ever made. Just my opinion.
Removed - trolling/baiting
I don’t give bs scores.
It’s great but Sony had other games just as great or even better. I still think the plot was lacking and uninspired. (And thinking of all the crap Days Gone got about supposedly ‘cheesy’ dialogue 🙄) After the intro you already knew everything about it and what the final boss and final goal was already set with no real surprise except for some gameplay elements. Gameplay was awesome.
9/10. I’ve never played a 10 game and don’t think one even exists. But I do give it my highest possible rating. Story-driven games with hands on gameplay and combat are my cup of tea. See The Witcher 3, Horizon: Zero Dawn, Uncharted, etc. And I generally prefer a character who comes along with the story than creating a character myself and getting the generic name from NPCs in the world.
I have yet to play it but it's free for PS5 PS Plus users. Maybe I should add it to my list of games to play?
Game is boring. I miss classic God of War.
@RonCorleone
I think the Last of Us Part I caused that phenomenon.
That game cleared ten out of tens across the board and moved 8 million units alone on PS3, a system that was on the way out. The PS4 version increased that to around 19 million I think? It was basically lightening in a bottle and the culmination of what the entire PS3 was building up to. It was the one game that no one could deny made the PS3’s trials and tribulations worth every second of the pain Sony went through with that system.
Sony probably saw that success and softly hinted at their other studios that TLOU was the path forward. I agree with you, a lot of Sony exclusives feel like they were built off of TLOU in both camera angles (over the shoulder third person dominated Sony’s PS4 exclusive library) and story ideas and development. I don’t think they ever mandated it, but considering the fierce yet always friendly competition between Sony’s first party studios it didn’t take much convincing. I kind of feel like every Sony studio wanted to try and one up Naughty Dog.
@meistergeister
Certainly better than anything Microsoft has put out (and Microsoft has put out some great games since 2001; I think Halo 3 gets the closest to God of War’s overall quality and impact) but I disagree about Nintendo.
God of War 2018 is great, but it’s not Metroid Prime. Or A Link to the Past. Or Super Mario Brothers 3. Or Donkey Kong Country 2.
I don’t even think it’s Sony’s best game. I think The Last of Us Part 1 takes that honor.
@Ilovecoffee
I wasn’t the biggest fan of classic God of War.
As an enemy hell combo driven third person action game I considered Devil May Cry to be the much superior series and Ninja Gaiden Black was the best single game out of that entire game type for years. Not that I disliked GOW classic; I love God of War 3 and that was the pinnacle of the classic series. And I though 1 and 2 were both very good games in their own right. They just weren’t up to Ninia Gaiden Black or Devil May Cry 3.
That said, Bayonetta is hands down the best game ever made with that design flow. Bayonetta blew all three franchises (classic GOW, DMC, and NG) out of the water when it released. It was the perfection of that gameplay archetype.
@Flaming_Kaiser Sorry to hear that. I had the main spoiler (I think) spoiled for me. It pissed me off, not because of the story choice, but because I didn't get to experience it. Actually, that story was a mess even though it was aiming for the stars, it even had me thinking that it might actually pull it off. It was a game of great set pieces that didn't add up to a coherent whole.
It’s 10/10 as a powerful experience, but can easily use some big improvements. The mandatory side puzzles and RPG mechanics drug the game down. It focused too much on having content instead of just being focused on what makes it a 10/10. But down the fluff and it will be amazing.
7/10 Good not great.
10/10 for me. Great story, action, characters, humour with twists and turns and a rich world to explore. Bring on Ragnarok
@buckp25 I looked at some of the gameplay vids. I'll try it in the next year.
@ShogunRok
My major criticism of GoW 2018 is the enemy variety. Perhaps Norse mythology just has less creatures to go off of compared to Greek mythology, bit I certainly hope we get a mogger roster of unique enemies in GoW Ragnarök.
@Apfelschteiner I hate that why do people do that you want to talk about ending go in a forum instead of being a ass and spoiling it for others. I had the same with MGS2 i told the guy i dont want to hear it and he told me the plot. It was the first time i wanted to punch someone in the face.
I feel like I need to play through it again before the new game launches.
I wasn’t clamoring to play the game initially, and finally played it in early 2021 and was really blown away by it. It exceeding all expectations.
I gave it 9/10. Which for the record is about the highest I give, bar maybe my top 4 or 5 games of all time. But GoW is definitely top 20.
Best PS first party game? That’s a tough one. My instinct is Uncharted 4/Lost Legacy (those are basically one game in my mind), but I really need to play those again to see. It’s on my list for this year.
If you include second party games then it’s an even tougher question with the likes of Shadow of the Colossus and Bloodborne.
That year was great for me for PS4. Between God of War and Spider-Man I played so much.
I think GoW might be the best first party PS4 game, but it's definitely not my favorite.
Currently replaying it on PC - with an XBox controller no less. It's holding up brilliantly though some of the action cutscenes are a tad too gimmicky for me now. Art direction and gameplay execution remain top notch however, and the raw power of my PC definitely gave the game several additional years to its youth.
@Flaming_Kaiser We all have the power to be awful, but being like that only brings bad things. They probably don't have anything good in their lives. It's worse when people are being malicious, but however you find out spoilers it's still the same result.
I skipped PS4 but played it last year on PS5 and I have it's a great game. Not the greatest of all time but still one of the best.
God Of War 10/10 but it can't beat the GOAT Bloodborne 11/10 imho.
I'd say a 9.5/10. My only critique is to the lack of enemy variation. But I absolutely love this game! The story, the characters and voice acting, game pacing, challenge, the graphics, the music and sound design. Truly a piece of art.
What I dislike about GoW4 is how video game journalists pretend it's the only good GoW game when past games have already been as good or better than this one
A game with superfluous systems like GOW's loot and RPG-style levels cannot be a 10/10.
Also, a game based around combat where the camera is at odds with the action, and where you don't have full control over your character (see the "'magnetism" towards enemies Kratos has when attacking) is not a great action game.
To sum up, it suffers from exactly the same flaws other PS exclusives like TLOU or UC do: it's a good experience, certainly super well-made from a presentation standpoint, but not a great game, as mechanics are secondary and not that well considered, which is the reason why I'm baffled when I hear people tout these games as the pinnacle of gaming.
Still a 10/10 for me.
I'm happy to see other Pushers echo something I've felt about the game for a long time, that it's overrated. Even if the poll shows that's a minority. It's a decent game. Combat is tight. The world is beautiful, and the characters/story are great. But I've never understood the extreme praise it gets. It's a long corridor game circa PS2 designs with branching hallways at best, with very little enemy variety, where each area seems to drag on too long and overstay its welcome (again, PS2 design), and the Leviathan, while cool, kind of gets old after a while where with the limited enemy variety it's pretty much wash, rinse, repeat down endless long hallways.
I have to admit I never finished the game. HzD I haven't finished yet, because I just haven't got back to it with enough time to sink into it. GoW I haven't finished because I just remember having been so bored after the second return to the lake that I just couldn't compel myself to continue. I want and intend to go back to it, bit I never seem to actually drag myself back.
I don't think it's bad, but I think it's a well presented game with decidedly average gameplay and above average combat that lacks in scope in variety a bit for the length it tries to drag out of it. Personally, I like GoW III better for it's pacing and action. Even if it does happen to lack Chris Judge which is a big minus, indeed.
I absolutely adored it and would happily rate it 10/10 over and over again. The only slight blemish for is that there wasn't a way to track those damn ravens for the trophy once you'd beaten the game.
Best on PS4? Close, but not quite for me. That would be The Last Guardian and/or The Last of Us Pt. 2. Definitely in the top 5 though.
I'll always keep saying this, Krato's son looks like he plays FIFA!
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