God of War PC review: A pillar of its era, a masterpiece arrives on Windows

Source: Windows Key

Sony has been gradually opening up its coffers to Windows PC gaming over the past few years, first with Horizon Zero Dawn and Days Gone. Now, we have another PlayStation 4 classic hitting gaming rigs everywhere on Jan. 14, 2022 — God of War.

A reimagining of the classic PS2 franchise, God of State of war masterfully reforges the classic hack 'northward' slash action into a surprisingly thoughtful activity-hazard, fix in a fantastical Viking-era Nordic setting. Mythological behemoths roam the land, while a band of Æsir gods hunt the eponymous Kratos for reasons unknown.

You already know God of War is hailed as a masterpiece, with summit-shelf interim and writing, adjacent-level art direction, and varied and satisfying gainsay. A question emerges of any console to PC port: Is it faithful to the platform? That answer is a resounding yes.

God of War (PC)

Lesser line: With a surprisingly heartfelt story, witty and memorable characters, restlessly satisfying gainsay, in an expansive and well-optimized hand-crafted world — just put, God of War is a must-play game.

The Good

• Incredible story with a big bandage of interesting characters
• An expansive and varied world full of secrets
• Infectious combat that rewards thoughtful play
• A well-optimized port with truly stunning visuals

The Bad

• Pretty much nothing

Disclaimer: This review was fabricated possible by a review code provided by Sony Interactive Entertainment. The visitor did not see the contents of the review before publishing.

God of War for PC: Graphics, sound, and performance

Source: Windows Central

Sony continues its streak of true-blue PC ports with God of War. While Horizon Zero Dawn and Days Gone had problems for some users at launch, Sony and its partners worked hard to bring them up to speed. It seems they may take taken some of that learning to God of State of war, since even on this build I've had for a month, I've had nothing short of an utterly flawless experience.

I am running God of War on a Razer Blade 17, with an RTX 2070 Max-Q, 16 GB of RAM, and Intel i7-10875H CPU, with Windows 11. It'due south by no means the best gaming laptop out there, simply information technology'south handled most of what I've thrown at it at 1080p or 1440p. While functioning naturally varies from system to system, I've been utterly impressed with God of State of war's performance on my system, although information technology took me a bit of tweaking to rest the game's stunning visuals and furnishings with a frame rate that didn't produce tearing or functioning degradation. In the end, I settled on 1440p with a 50 FPS limiter to create a consistent experience on my 4K monitor. At 1080p I could easily reach for a higher frame rate, but God of State of war is such a detailed and cinematically crisp game, I wanted to really see how far I could push button the visuals without settling for a middlingly low frame rate. Of class, yous can also leverage both SuperFX from AMD and NVIDIA DLSS also, which is nice to see. Naturally, more than powerful systems than mine will produce better results, merely the game performs exactly every bit I would've expected given my hardware, given its overall presentation density.

Source: Windows Central

Source: Windows Central

God of State of war gives y'all a mountain of display settings to tweak and accessibility options to configure, showcasing Sony's efforts to brand total use of the benefits of Windows and PC gaming. Of course, I can't test God of War on every possible PC configuration out in that location, but the fact it works too as I tin await on my hardware, despite non having a "24-hour interval one" update, I'd say it bodes well for general functioning (hopefully).

God of War is an audiovisual piece of work of fine art, and the quality of its PC port bodes well for time to come Sony games.

Beyond performance, God of War is a simple curiosity on the art management department too. The music is purple and varied, cutting deep in the game'due south virtually emotional moments, and ascending with cinematic intensity during setpiece dominate events. Every axe striking, bone split, and skull blast can be felt with delicious backlog.

Midgard is surprisingly varied in its environmental blueprint too. Information technology goes beyond the typical real-earth landscapes of the Nordics you'd expect, although fifty-fifty these look incredible, with snowfall tessellation, stunning lighting and weather, and crisp details. Where God of War shines is in its more alien climbs, the elf realm of Alfheim shines with otherworldly fleshy coral structures, and ancient ruins aggress by civil war. The fashion the opposing elvish factions are depicted is unlike anything I've seen in modernistic takes too, with Night Elves appearing almost insectoid in their presentation. God of State of war takes well-traversed tropes and subverts them, much like its predecessors did, usurping the ancient mythos of Greece to tell a wholly new tale. It exemplifies Kratos himself, rebelling against what's expected of him, often violently.

God of State of war is an audiovisual work of art, and the quality of its PC port bodes well for future Sony games making their manner from PlayStation to Windows. God of War is a rare game that very effortlessly marries its art management with its story and gameplay delivery also, which likewise defy expectations.

God of State of war for PC: Story and gameplay

Source: Windows Cardinal

God of War has plenty of nods to the history of the franchise, but as its title suggests, it's something of a reboot. In the original games, Kratos is something of an anti-hero, victimized by a Greek pantheon of Gods depicted as corrupted past vanity and greed. Kratos ultimately spells their demise, usurping the role of God of War for himself. Post-obit the events of God of War Iii, it appears from the outset that Kratos fled ancient Hellenic republic and headed north, to the frozen mountains and evergreen forests of the Norse lands.

Settling down with a wife and fathering a sickly human being son, Kratos resigns himself to simple wilderness living. The game begins with Kratos and his son, Atreus, tending to the last rites of Faye, who has sadly passed on. Faye'south last wish for her husband and son was for her ashes to exist scattered at the realm's highest acme, setting Kratos and Atreus on a lengthy journeying fraught with perils and mysterious godly conspiracy, that unravels into several impressive twists and turns throughout the plot. Right at the very showtime of the game, Kratos does battle with a scrawny-looking man who sports godlike strength, in a battle that splits the very ground in twain.

Source: Windows Central

Without giving too much away, God of War weaves a truly masterful story that follows themes laid down by the original games. It showcases a Kratos utterly haunted past his past, and his struggle to forge a new time to come for himself and his son. Kratos' angry demeanor is gradually softened throughout the game by Atreus, whose childlike marvel and kind-hearted nature stands wholly in juxtaposition to the anti-heroic Kratos, whose capacity for brutality shines through in every combat segment.

The story delivery alone makes God of War a must-play championship.

God of State of war examines fatherhood, grief, and ultimately healing in the least probable of settings, creating a strangely human and sobering tale in a world total of gigantic serpents and fantastical magic.

I can say quite honestly, I was not prepared for just how engrossing God of War turned out to exist. Although it started a little slow in the beginning, I would come to find myself utterly transfixed to Kratos' tale, and the unraveling mystery of their quest. Why are unknown godlike beings ascent up against Kratos? Why are the wilds crawling with undead revenants? What happened betwixt God of State of war III and now? All of these questions and more are answered as you play, told through the eyes of Kratos and Atreus, whose relationship grounds the role player in reality amidst all the fantasy. It's masterfully done, and the story delivery alone makes God of War a must-play title. Thankfully, there are even more than reasons to honey this landmark title.

God of War reimagines the hack 'n' slash gameplay the series is known for into a heavier format for the reboot. Kratos of 2022 is less active, but has a big arsenal of Norse-inspired runic magic, a Thor-like retractable axe, and other tools that keep combat as varied as information technology is cinematic.

The Leviathan Axe is a marvel of modern video game engineering. There's no other weapon actually like it in whatsoever game I've played, and its apply weaves beautifully with Kratos' character animation and the game's physics, like a paintbrush of destruction. Kratos tin can throw his axe in diverse ways that get more than complex as you grow in power, using the axe to freeze enemies (or indeed, puzzle elements) in place, or clip flying enemies out of the air. Of grade, y'all can also use it to butcher enemies into bloody chunks, juggling them in the air dynamically, before splitting them in half. One time you learn the Leviathan Axe'due south ins and outs, yous'll feel immeasurably powerful, dancing around enemy attacks while stripping their mankind from their bones, and as soon as it starts getting old, the game throws new enemies, epic boss events, and new weaponry your way to keep things persistently fresh.

If yous've thrown the Leviathan Axe into an enemy, you tin can instantly call it back boomerang-style, etching enemies along its trajectory path forth the mode. You can also leave it still on the battlefield, and use your fists and Sparta-inspired shield to trounce enemies into encarmine chunks, ripping them apart with a badass contextual execution at the finish.

Source: Windows Cardinal

Atreus accompanies Kratos along the manner, and grows in ability and confidence in the game's gainsay dialogue as the story progresses. He also gets more attacks and can accompany Kratos from distant with magical bow shots and acrobatics that make the pair feel increasingly like a unmarried combat unit of measurement. It'due south most lamentable that a second player can't control Atreus, just perhaps in a hereafter installment.

Indeed, there'southward not a huge amount to complain virtually when it comes to God of War's combat, besides things that would be "nice to have," like co-op play. I as well wasn't a huge fan of the Gears of War-like shoulder camera, since information technology can be hard to manage enemies who are attacking from behind or from the side, but information technology's a minor gripe ultimately — and the game does give you indicators if an enemy off-screen is about to attack.

God of State of war also has a layered progression system that ties deeply into the game's exploration elements. Make no mistake, God of War is a beast of a game, easily taking completionists upwards of 30+ hours to fully explore.

All of that is bespoke hand-crafted content, besides, with no pointless and repetitive open up-earth busywork masquerading equally gameplay either. The country of Midgard is meticulous in execution, with incredibly detailed dungeons, filled with puzzle elements and exploration opportunities.

Hidden crafting materials help y'all to build up Kratos' strength and arsenal, allowing yous to construct increasingly powerful armor and gear, helping you undertake farther optional bosses and other challenges. As the story progresses, more than worlds and areas open up upward for exploration too, and additional tools give you the ability to backtrack to previous areas to unlock more content as well. In an age of flat and basic open-globe games, experiencing God of War'southward weaving, handcrafted dungeons, and setpieces was a true delight.

God of War virtually makes me lament how rare these types of experiences seem to be getting at this level of quality. Information technology's a testament to the quality that Sony has go known for. The fact that they're porting their games to PC and so faithfully deserves equally of admiration and praise, and I tin but promise this trend continues.

God of War for PC: An era-defining moment

Source: Windows Central

Source: Windows Central

God of State of war is another wholly expected win from Sony and its teams on PC. Like Days Gone and Horizon Zero Dawn before it, God of War seeks to capitalize on a vibrant PC market eager for high-quality, polished experiences — and God of War for PC utterly delivers.

Polished to a glistening stop, God of War is an instance to be followed for whatever visitor seeking to bring their console-bound titles to the vital PC gaming space. Well optimized with heaps of configuration options, God of War bodes well for time to come titles making their fashion beyond from PlayStation.

As a game, there's little more than to say that hasn't been said already. God of War is a masterpiece, merely put. From when information technology launched originally in 2022, to its PS5 upgrade, to this PC version, regardless of how you lot play, God of War is a landmark feel that publishers outside of Sony itself just seem incapable of achieving. Incredible art meets aggressive storytelling and meticulously precise combat, creating a whole that is greater than its already formidable parts. God of War is utterly incredible.

God of State of war (PC)

Bottom line: God of War for PC is a truly incredible experience that subverts expectations with a surprisingly deep story, flanked past incredible audiovisual direction and relentlessly satisfying combat. God of War is a landmark experience that absolutely everybody should play.

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Source: https://www.windowscentral.com/god-of-war-pc-review

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