God of War III Remastered - Review

God of Vengeance

Console: PlayStation 4 game played on a PlayStation 5.

My introduction to Kratos was with the 2018 Norse-focused God of War soft reboot. I met Kratos long after his rage fuelled, bloody tale of vengeance and death through Greece. I learnt that at the same time Mimir did. The only thing I knew about the original games was what I picked up through pop culture osmosis such as its Greek focus and its hack-and-slash gameplay. I also have some vague memories of my history teacher talking about a Greek mythology-based game that I am certain was God of War.

So yeah, while it's my second favourite Sony gaming series, I have never actually played any of the 'originals'. I feel the time has come to correct this with God of War III, the concluding chapter of the Greek saga. More specifically, the remaster made for the PS4. It might be weird to 'start' with the 'end' but it's the only Greek-era game I can play on the PS5. Don’t have much of a choice there, but I don’t mind. It is the game that has the most relevance to its 2018 successor after all.

Without further ado, let's talk about the big concluding chapter of Kratos' quest for vengeance and see if it grabs me like its 2018 sequel did.

Before the age of the twilight set upon the gods of Greece, a legend rose to claim his place among them. And even though Kratos sat on the throne as the new God of War, he was haunted by visions of the death of his family. But the hands of death could not defeat him. The sisters of fate could not control him. And on this day, the man, the legend, Kratos will have his revenge. Together with the ancient Titan Gaia and her army, the Ghost of Sparta ascends Mount Olympus with one goal: to kill Zeus and anyone who stands in his way.

The story of God of War III is perfect for what it needs to be. It's a vengeance filled, bombastic thrill ride across the Greek Pantheon with some more contemplative elements underneath. After a beautifully animated opening credits sequence that recaps Kratos' journey in a gold and black Greek tapestry style, you are immediately thrown in a high-octane situation with the siege on Mount Olympus.  It not only intends to get your blood pumping from the get-go, so to speak, but also sets the tone quite well. This is a revenge quest, through and through.

I'm pretty sure it’s what fans wanted, but I can't help but feel like they could've done more with it. The underlying themes, such as forgiveness, really only rear their head at the end. Beautifully animated and choreographed, these scenes might be I feel like they, and their message, would've been stronger if they had touched on it more across the campaign.

I think Pandora would've been the perfect narrative vehicle for this. I knew she played a role in a God of War game. I just didn't know it was this God of War game. In the end, Pandora gave the story a bit more depth, but not much. She put Kratos in a more sympathetic light, but I feel their connection was rushed. They have one because the plots state they have one, not because the narrative actually earned it.

While I do wish the narrative was a little deeper, I nonetheless very much enjoyed this 'action movie' plot. It was, like intended, a thrilling ride. I also liked the lore bits you can find while exploring. They range from teaching you something about the Greek world to God of War lore. Neat.

The more you know!

The gameplay is the reason why I hesitated to play God of War III. It's a hack-and-slash title with an isometric camera that is all about beating foes with plenty of different weapons and combos. When you're not in combat, you engage in some light platforming and exploration mixed with environmental puzzles. While I felt that in the first few hours, these latter elements were very basic, over time, they became a lot more involved and creative. It went from cinematic, but kind of boring, climbing on the edges of the Olympus under siege to things such things as a garden maze with forced perspective and impossible geometry.

Combat is where the meat of this game, and my reservations, lie. I contemplated playing this game on 'easy' because I'm just not all that great at these hack-and-slash games. I've got poor reflexes and timing, which often make these types of games, such as Bayonetta, frustrating to play. Switching to ‘easy’ would've been a way to make things, well, easier for myself, but I decided against it. Playing on the setting the designers had in mind is the best representation of the intended challenge. I also figured it would force me to learn its combat loop and improve my skills in the most natural way. To actually 'get good'. That it did.

While Zeus did give me plenty of trouble, I managed to beat him at the end. I quickly became familiar with the different weapons and worked out tactics with them that worked for me. True to form for hack-and-slash games, you almost always fight a horde of enemies, and playing crowd control is crucial in earning victory. Dodging, and especially the mid-range grab Kratos can do, made up a lot for my near inability to counter attacks to save my life.

That, and my frequent input mistakes. Time and time again, i kept switching around  L1 and R1. That could've been amusing had it not cost me a boss fight. Said bosses are a lot of fun to fight, true highlights of the game with cinematic flair and differing tactics, so I guess I shouldn't complain too much.

Nevertheless, with the occasional use of the tools you gather, like Apollo's bow, I found a playstyle that worked for me. One focused on landing quick strikes before getting out of the way of attacks. I never got a high combo, but I managed fine. I found the same level of enjoyment as I did in Bayonetta, slashing up baddies. My play won’t win any beauty contests, but that didn’t make it any less fun for me. 

I gravitated towards Kratos's standard Blades of Chaos Exiles as they are the most balanced. A good reach with good amounts of damage, especially when fully upgraded. The claws you get have the longest reach and best dodge, the gauntlets are slow but deal heavy damage and the last weapon you get is all about extending combos.

I will say that all these 4 weapons, while looking pretty cool, are too similar to each other. 3 out of 4 are 'knife and chain' weapons, with only the giant lion gauntlets being noticeably different. This decision is a double-edged sword. On one hand, it limits the variety of the combat, but it also ensures that new weapons are easier to use.

This title has plenty of weapons for you to play around with, but what this game doesn't have is backtracking. That was a problem for me with the collectables. For the upgrades. I spent the entire back half of the adventure in serious need of Gorgon Eyes to upgrade my health bar. I know that I missed many because of how this game always pushes you forward. That made the game harder for me. Yes, there are more gorgon eyes and such than you need to max out your health bar, but even then I got frustrated by my unfortunate lack of always missing that one collectable I needed most.

The isometric camera also gave me some struggles. God of War III has been praised for its graphics and presentation. Praise I understand. The stiff character models and animations in cutscenes are the only real critique I have in the visual department; the rest is great! For example, the battle against Cronos is magnificent, thanks in large part to the camera work that gets the massive scale across. There is, however, a downside to this camera. It can make it very difficult to see where Kratos is. That led to beatdowns and even one death. I didn't lose sight of Kratos that often, but it happened more than I care for.

David and Goliath

These things made the game harder than I think it could've, should've and perhaps the developers even intended it to be, regardless of what difficulty you play it on. That said I found God of War III to be surprisingly not punishing. Yes, I was annoyed by the faults in the camera and the upgrades, but I never found any deaths unfair. Most of them were even platform-related, not caused by combat.

Sure, there were plenty of fights that I had to repeat, but that never went into the double digits or got to the point that I ended the play session in frustration. I also never had to redo a boss fight, which is kind of funny to me. What are meant to be the biggest challenges across your journey pretty much weren't for me!

What needs to be said is that God of War III is a game designed to be played through more than just once. A first playthrough of the campaign will last you around 10 hours, but there is so much more to play around with afterwards. Aside from the different difficulty settings, which the game implores you to try out to 'become amazing', finishing the game once unlocks a plethora of different modifiers to customize your next replay.

Divine artefact you collect during the campaign, from Hades' helmet to Hera's goblet, do stuff like max out your health from the get-go (goodbye my upgrades problem!) to make the opening hours easier or make the game harder by constantly draining your health instead.

The same goes for the different costumes you can wear, which not only change Kratos' looks but also come with their own modifications as well. From giving and receiving 400% more damage to increasing the value of red orbs, so you can max out your weapons and equipment faster. It gives this game a lot of replay value and a way to potentially make every single playthrough different than the last.

Conclusion

God of War III is an excellent hack-and-slash game that delivers exactly what it sets out to do: a relentless, cinematic power fantasy packed with larger-than-life battles and spectacular set pieces. It’s just a type of game that isn’t quite my cup of tea. For someone not well-suited to this type of fast-paced combat, the title’s flaws, like its unhelpful camera, are more pronounced. Even so, I had more than enough fun playing this game to warrant its purchase. I find it a hard sell for anyone who isn’t already a fan of this type of game, but for those who are, I imagine it’s a very rewarding experience.