Players Have Spoken: We Want Unmitigated Gaming Experiences

HacknSlash a Way to My Heart

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I just downloaded the latest God of War this weekend and have already sunk an ungodly (more puns to come) number of hours into this little masterpiece.

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I really debated getting this game the first week of its release. It currently sits at a mythical 9.5 Metacritic rating with 100 reviewers and the User Reviews are only a fraction behind. This type of reception is usually a foolhardy trap set by a small circle of reviewers but the fact that general audience reception is at parity means that something of substance is really there.

And so I’ve already sunk my teeth into several hours and I can see why.

A Beacon in the Fog

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Beyond every shining aspect of the game - story, graphics, gameplay, choice, pacing - I believe what really makes it stand out today and what accounts for its universal acclaim is how it didn’t try to pull the same shit that many hyped games have done in recent past. What should have been knock-out titans such as No Man’s Sky, Mass Effect: Andromeda, LoTR Shadow of War, and Star Wars Battlefront were almost completely ignored after the first few weeks of release. Despite so much going for them, what was obvious was their bottom line: to make as much money as possible. No Man’s Sky and Mass Effect were pushed out months too soon, expected to ride the hype and player base to victory. Shadow of War and Battlefront slashed its own tires by forcing loot boxes into every free space of their gameplay.

Monetization tactics are a growing problem in the industry and general audiences are developing a real disdain for them. According to much criticism, the gameplay of Shadow of War and Battlefront is actually fairly dynamic and noteworthy, but it the loot box system is like eating an expired cheesecake from the back the fridge after a delicate 5-course meal. One bit of bad spoils everything good.

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And this is what God of War does so well in my opinion compared to other games. It is absolutely polished, removing anything that could be considered a compromising speck from the game. For me, it falls in category with instant classics of this generation of consoles like the Last of Us and Horizon: Zero Dawn. They delivered on pure experience and nothing more and as such, the global player base rewarded these development studios with high applause and many millions in sales.

Leaving a Legacy

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One thing that I believe God of War has done that no other game or series has successfully pulled off is a proper “sequel” development that builds on its very robust past. It is tempting to take such a recognizable franchise and just rinse and repeat, knowing that the name value alone is enough to carry it into high profitability. But God of War breaks that mold. It is a true stand-alone that augments the 3-part PS2/3 storyline. Shifting over to Norse mythology was an incredibly brilliant move and you’ll just have to try it out to see what I mean.

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So, have you played it yet? Let me know what you think of these trends in the comments below!