Prolific film director Guillermo del Toro is a big fan of video games, and it sounds like the modern God of War titles rank among his absolute favourites.
Speaking on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, he's asked what the best game he's ever played is, and he names several classics in his long answer, but lingers longest on Santa Monica Studio's action series.
"Some of the God of War [games] are just some of the most cinematic experiences I've ever had," del Toro says.
"When [Kratos] fights Odin [we think he might actually be referring to Baldur], and he keeps coming back and he looks like a Peaky Blinders brawler, and he beats the crap out of Kratos. What a great video game."
He continues, praising the cinematic qualities of the modern games.
"The way they use the budget of data on the console to create atmospheric dispersion and light — that [game] is lit like a film," del Toro says.
God of War (2018) and it's sequel, God of War Ragnarok, aimed for a more grounded, cinematic approach, even going so far as to use a one-shot camera to keep players engaged, and it seems it's resonated strongly with del Toro.
Some other bangers he brings up are BioShock, Death Stranding, Metal Gear Solid, Left4Dead, Red Dead Redemption, and Shadow of the Colossus, which he calls a "masterpiece".
It seems he has great taste. What do you think about del Toro's comments on God of War? Tell us in the comments section below.
Comments 31
He's right. God of War and its sequel are truly something. I'd say the closest thing to a masterpiece I've experienced in my life as a gamer.
@BrownOwl GoW 3 will always be the peak of the series.
Kratos the g.o.a.t. 🐐 👑. Word up son
I get so frustrated with this game's combat in higher difficulty modes but i always come back to it (2018) no matter what. There's something about it that just tickles my brain in the right way: the presentation, level design, story, sound design, puzzles, exploration, graphics, menu, combat (even when I'm pissed at the game because of it)...this game is pretty much my autistic repetitive behavior firing at all cylinders
@Frmknst really? i've heard really good things about it
When I was a little kid I was obsessed with Clash of the Titans in the 80s. Getting to fight and destroy Perseus in God of War 2 with voice acting from the actor in the movie I think is my favorite epic gaming moment of all time. I had no idea he would be in the game so it was an awesome surprise.
It was actually the cinematography in Ragnarok that put me off it. Felt like they were trying hard to make it film-like and the gameplay was interrupted too many times. Especially with the amount of pointless “squeezing through tight spaces” type situations.
This might have been good for the actor but wasn’t so much for me as a gamer and end user. Not everyone has to be naughty dog and I wonder if there’s internal competition within Sony studios that think they have to make things even more cinematic when to me I just want to play the game, not watch it.
@wildcat_kickz it has some great cinematography throughout. I could see pacing complaints but not cinematography. This guy just comments something negative on anything that isn’t Uncharted.
Excellent taste. His list of favorite games is spot on. Although I’ll admit that Left4Dead is a blind spot for me, but the others are among my favorites as well.
Guilermo probably one of the few Hollywood director who really knows what's he talking about when comes to video games, anime, and manga.
But i'm surprised that Sony never try to hire him to handle one of their game to movie adaptation.
@IamJT cinematography, sets and costumes where all superb , didn't think much of the creature design , looked like the engineer from prometheus , which was quite fitting i suppose , mia goth was wasted didn't see the point of her , christoph waltz was superb as always, I enjoyed it for the most part , wasn't a fan of the Wolverine super powers though.
I think these new ones - 2018 and Ragnarok are excellent. The graphics and design of assets is incredible. Kratos is more likable in the latter because he agrees to go on exploration and do side quests, angry man!
@Oram77 agreed. I usually put the reboots after the first three games w ragnarok being last. They’re great games mind you… just not on the level of 1-3.
Isn't that exactly the problem with Sony's few actual games nowadays? That they're movies rather than games?
The reboot showed me just how unpopular the original was/is & how many people disliked it. New GoW is more for those that didn’t like the series originally
When i google or see anything GoW related these days , the new era reboot shows up, not the greek originals. makes me sad.
@wildcat_kickz
Pay that comment no mind - as someone who went in really skeptical, being pretty familiar with the source material and its adaptations, I can guarantee that it's grand.
My only genuine criticisms are the CGI and maybe the pacing towards the end, bit otherwise it was class.
@nomither6 I don't really think that's accurate. I loved most if not all the God of War games I've put my hands on & I've been playing em since the original on PS2. I think there's a chance you're not considering how much more popular games are as a whole 20 years later. GoW (2005) eventually reached 4.6 million sales but, the best selling game of that year was Madden 06 at just under 3 million sales. My point is that GoW ended up being one of the best selling games for PS2. Which is particularly impressive for being a mature-rated new IP. Maybe I missed something where everyone suddenly hates the old games now or something but I think that might just be a vocal minority. Actually I usually see people complain about the new ones but the norse GoW games are pretty popular despite that.
@KendoHead @BrownOwl @IamJT Yeah, seems like the general consensus is it's pretty great. I don't have Netflix, but I definitely want to see it and I'm sure I will, sooner or later. I know del Toro has been on record saying that Frankenstein was one of two passion projects that he wanted to make, the other being At the Mountains of Madness. As a huge Lovecraft fan, I would absolutely fall over myself if he made that. It seems nobody makes Lovecraft movies and he definitely has the aesthetic eye to make it work.
@lazarus11 I could see many aspects of the movie not working for people… Del toro has a very particular style of storytelling. Cinematography is the only criticism I would find invalid.
That's all well and good but if I want a cinematic experience I'll watch a damned movie.
I'm old enough to remember a time when video games strove to be cinematic as the industry was young and trying to take after its older, more mature sibling – Hollywood.
This led to all kinds of weird and wonderful games that pushed technology and evolved what video games could be as an art form.
Now games have technology to equal Hollywood it's no longer interesting. They're not pushing boundaries or evolving the artform. They're just doing what Hollywood does and – most egregiously – doing so at the expense of gameplay.
These days I'm far more interested in video games that are, primarily games instead of movies with the odd bit of interactivity thrown in to differentiate it from something I could enjoy for a fraction of the cost using exponentially cheaper hardware.
@wildcat_kickz
Right there with you - his movies have all been great imo, even where there narrative is a bit stock, because his visual style is so striking and unique (despite borrowing a lot of his lighting from Argento).
You can tell this was a position project - it was done so meticulously and you could really get a sense of the care he poured into it. It's a shame it's locked behind Netflix. It's worth a month's membership, easily, or if you avoid Netflix on principle, then you could always sail the seven seas.
If he ever gets around to doing At The Mountains of Madness... Man... I'd be so, so happy.
Kojima must be fuming right now
Both GOWR and GOW2018 are both easy 10/10 games for me, with Ragnarok being the slightly better of the 2. The fact that they are cinematic masterpieces is one crucial part of what elevates them above most other games.
For me, the previous games were just ok, but 2018 is where the series really became special.
@nomither6 personally, I love the original games (played every single one of them), but found the reboot surprisingly even better. The new ones combine incredibly satisfying gameplay with brilliant storytelling.
@TruestoryYep nope. Not even close.
@nomither6 What are you talking about? GoW 1 not just sold really well but it was very popular. I've seen a lot of people included GoW 1 as one of the must have PS2 titles.
@PuppetMaster i’m talking about the greek games all together , not just the very first game in the series
@nomither6 In general they all are very popular with Ascension possibly the least favorite in Greek saga but it still a pretty solid game.
@PuppetMaster Yeah but i still feel like the norse games eclipses the originals. GoW 2018 had a huge impact as a next gen game more than GoW3 on PS3 as a next gen at the time and the series pretty much has never been as big and popular to a bigger audience than now . The norse games revitalize the series and gave it a new & better life
at least from my perspective
The way they made two Norse goddesses, black, in Ragnorok, really rubbed me the wrong way.. I was very insulted for my anscestors
In our house we call him "Big Guillermo!"
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