Topic: God of War OT

@Th3solution hunting down and freeing the Valkyries remains one of my favourite and most exciting video game moments of my life. I had no guide or help and no idea what exactly they were or what I would unlock. I left them till the very end as they terrified me, so I also earned my platinum when I freed the final one. It was a series of moments that I will never forget, and an affirmation of my passion for the hobby that is games.

I’m happy for you! It’s one of my favourite games, I’m sorry I showed up late for your journey. I can’t wait to see what they do with the sequel. Have a good one!

@Th3solution I think the Valkyries are worthwhile as they’re a great test of all the combat skills you’ve built up to that point. The collectibles are annoying but once I had everything else I felt obliged to mop up the last few bits.

As for the story itself, I thought the ending was great and built up perfectly. The reveal of Atreus as Loki was really well done but also cleverly hinted at as in the Norse mythology Loki does cause Baldur’s death with mistletoe just as Atreus does.

Have you been back to Kratos’ house since finishing the game? If not, you should...

@Jimmer-jammer Thanks, I went ahead and polished off Niflheim and fought the Valkyrie there and she was the easiest one so far. Either that or I’m getting better/have better equipment. Or all of the above. That’s cool that hunting and freeing the Valkyries is among your paramount gaming experiences. I do very much like it too. Six down so far.

@Thrillho I didn’t know that about Loki being the one to kill Baldur in the mythology legends. And I agree that Atreus and his mom’s identity was a fantastic reveal and very well handled
Given the previous entries, I’m actually quite surprised at how well done this game’s narrative was done. It was extremely relatable and touching, without losing connection to the previous entries backstory.
I’ll be sure to go to the house. I’m in this for the long haul platinum, I think now. I want to at least do the Valkyries and by so doing I’ll do the 2 optional areas anyways and those will give me all the trophies minus the collectibles, so I’ll just bite the bullet on those. At least the menu gives you the counts on where I lack each one.

@Thrillho Yeah, just went back home and that was pretty awesome. It gave me chills. I can’t wait for Ragnarok. It’s impressive how the game has portrayed Thor and Odin in a completely different light, as antagonistic, as opposed to the Marvel interpretation of Thor being a semi-benevolent leader. But the image there at the end of him is just so spectacularly foreboding.

So I’ve got all the artifact collectibles. I have 7/9 Valkyries. Just need to do Muspelheim trials and the Valkyrie there. Then find all the Ravens; I’m missing 5. The problem is — as far as I can tell, the map only shows I missed one in Konunsgard. Where are the other four? Urgh... this is going to be annoying.

@Th3solution sounds like you’re enjoying it as much as I hoped you would... and that end game content though (Niflheim, Muspelheim and the Valkyries are just the cherry on top). Pretty much the game that has everything.

@colonelkilgore Yes, it does. I know most people point to the smooth action combat as the highlight, but I actually like the exploration and discovery with the well balanced environmental puzzles. That and the story.

@Th3solution why not both (or all)? It all worked for me personally. The scale... the first time you unlock the ability to travel between realms (SO much more epic than any Marvel Thor movie... and I love the MCU), the exploration... the metroidvania nature of acquired skills opening up previously locked areas etc. but also more of the world being revealed as more and more of Jormungandr emerges from the waters. The acting, how can so much be said with so little words... the script writers and Christopher Judge combined to create absolute magic. The narrative through in-game mechanics (just one example of which is the section where Atreus becomes an absolute brat but there are many more). But also, the combat... beautiful simplicity with layer after layer after layer if the player has the inclination to peel back the onion. I feel the harder the difficulty level played, the more the player has to invest in the various techniques available (and the right time for each).

I genuinely struggle to rank it as only my second favourite game of all time because I somehow feel I’m doing it a disservice... even though by the sheer fact that I have played thousands of games it is an incredibly lofty statement.

Edit. just re-read your post... forgot about the puzzles but totally agree. Pretty much perfect! Very logical, not overly taxing but just taxing enough... hits the Goldilocks-zone time after time. Satisfying to solve but never outstays their welcome.

@Th3solution This is an interesting read now you’ve finished the game.

https://norse-mythology.org/tales/the-death-of-baldur/

And a favourite moment of mine from the game;

@Th3solution

Don't you mean Valhalla?

Glad you enjoyed it though! Definitely my game of the generation which ticked all the right boxes for me. It was one of those games that I didn't want it to end and was in my mindset for long after, and it took me a long time to settle into a game properly after I had finished it.

@colonelkilgore Well said. I don’t know exactly where I’ll place it on my all-time list, but it’s certainly top 10 for this generation at least. I’m still working my way through post-game content too, so I’m still open for influence if the final Valkyrie Queen is as awesome as everyone says.
And I’m with you, I am a big fan of the MCU, but God of War gives the Norse mythology an edge that is definitely missing from the fairy tale like depictions of Odin, Freya, Thor, etc. and yes, once you get your head wrapped around it, the way to travel the Nine Realms it’s quite spectacular and each realm had a wonderful beautiful and unique aesthetic. Helheim was such a horrible place to visit and I disliked going there, which is a testament to how well they designed the atmosphere of the place. Here’s hoping we get to visit the other realms we were locked out of in the next game.
I’ll be interested in how you feel about Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice. It’s Norse based as well and has references to these legends and myths and also has a wonderful environmental impact to the game design and especially sound design. The combat is much more simple but still enjoyable.

@Thrillho Thanks for the link. I enjoyed reading that. It makes me wonder if some of those characters or story beats will be used in the God of War sequel. I can see them using Baldur’s death by Atreus/Loki as a means of creating conflict and then that leading to Atreus to struggle internally and turn into the mischievous and disruptive persona that he’s known to be. Atreus being such a timid and obedient little boy makes it hard to see that jump but I can fathom him turning evil if he’s unfairly vilified for Baldur’s death

@JohnnyShoulder Although I don’t want to experience the actual Ragnarok end of the world, I do want to experience the game 😄
And I think this one will stick with me for a while too. I’ve been playing it in concert with Persona 5 and as I got further and further in toward the end, P5 got cast aside and now I have a hard time motivating to go back to it because GoW has ended so impactfully.

@Th3solution well done on beating GoW '18! I knew you'd make it before me!

I beat ghost of Sparta a couple weeks ago and I still have to play Ascension out of the greek era. Not sure if that will be the next game I play though, I've got a few lined up!

@Thrillho Watching that makes me want to play the game again. Epic fights. Runic attacks really are the best cheat code in this game.

@Th3solution I don't know if he needs to turn evil. The gods are generally seen as good 'people', but are depicted as the villains in GOW. Likewise, a character like the World Serpent is seemingly your ally. So from that perspective it makes sense he stays where he is. He's definitely not going to join the gods, and his allies, i.e. the world serpent, is already on your side. I'm certain that certain events will happen that will make him look mischievous from the perspective of the gods, but I don't think he needs to betray Kratos.

@Arugula Fair enough. I can see where the opening few hours could be deemed boring from a narrative and gameplay standpoint. It kinda depends on your approach. The exploration bit between narrative dumps was entertaining for me because each new place you open up is filled with some decent puzzles. The further you get into it the more fun the combat gets. By the end there is just so many runic and melee options to choose from it’s like being at a buffet — you want to try them all but you have so many favorites that you don’t want to veer away from them either! 😄

A lot of the story is also steeped in the Norse mythology, so that may not resonate with everyone. I wasn’t a huge fan of Norse lore before, but I’ll admit that this game got me more interested and I really like GoW’s distinctive portrayal of mythology. They did a similar thing with the Greeks in the other games, but I feel like it was much better here.

@Th3solution I'm glad you got too see the full story of GOW, it is my favourite game of this generation and sits in my top 5 games of all time.

It hit the spot for me on all levels, story, combat, level design and world building, good exploration and well done puzzle elements.

I am a big lover of mythology and norse mythology is my favourite so it does make it a lot easier for me to get invested in it and the writers done a absolutely fantastic job of not only creating a very new and believable aspect of the norse gods but also a great job in making Kratos a very well grounded character.

Odin is often seen as the protector of all norse people but they had him as a power driven mad dictator by simply changing minor details in original norse mythology his ultimate goal to stop ragnarok at any costs is changed for being a hero to a villain just with the way the story is told, Thor is seen as the brute enforcer the writing was just simply brilliant.

I have seen a lot of good theories and have a lot of theories myself but I can't wait for the next one, it's the game I'm looking forward to most.

@Arugula the ‘talking head’ is just great value!

@Arugula well hopefully it’ll click with you at some point but even if it doesn’t, sometimes as a gamer you just ‘have to’ play through a game (whether your into it or not) as it is just such a cultural phenomenon. I did it with Last of Us (& probably a few others that escape me right now).

@Arugula we like what we like dude... hopefully we like more of what we actually play than we don’t like though.

@Arugula I think you’ll be pleased with Mimir (the talking head) and the banter he has with Kratos and Atreus, as well as the explanations and story telling he provides. He is the Norse god of wisdom and knowledge after all. And you’ll be pleased to know that the witch will continue to be significantly involved and in my opinion her character becomes even better through the game.

Edit: I also was a little confused about the story in the early parts and I think it’s due to lack of Norse myth knowledge and how all the realms inter-relate. Much of this becomes more clear as the game progresses. I didn’t really understand how the magic tree temple thing worked until close to the end. It’s a little confusing they they put all the realms on the map there but you really only are able to visit about half of them. Asgard, for example, won’t be a location that will ever open up.

The same is true of the menus and level up systems. It took me a while to realize that the main way to level up, so to speak, is though new armor or improvement of existing armor and talismans, etc. Its quite customizable, but doesn’t make a lot of sense until you fool around with it enough and have the requisite supplies to take to the Dwarves to build stuff. But yeah, the menus need to be a little more intuitive.

The relationship of Kratos and Atreus is one of the big highlights, and yes, Kratos comes across as a cold stone faced bully, but you really see his softer side throughout the game.