GOW 2018 vs Old GOW

[Jokerthefoolio]

I had my high school buddy play the first bit of GOW 2018 the other day. He played the older ones and was pretty receptive to what he played of the new ones. I only played the new GOW since I had the 360, Wii and Gamecube when the old Gow games came out. Has the franchised changed for the better or worse in your opinion?

[Flubbbs]

God of War 2018 is what the franchise needed. The formula had grown stale after 6 games and I wasn't interested in another GoW after Ascension. Kratos was a terrible 1 dimensional character imo and Cory Barlog actually made him interesting.

[Liptn]

After the initial hype settled down I came across this vid and can't disagree. Still like them all, though. (Ascension least tbh)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFmjUkKs768

[Jokerthefoolio]

I watched that and it was a well made video to me. I think the premise of Kratos is interesting and Jaffe and Barlog and their teams were both competent.

[Musou Tensei]

I don't really care about the new God of War, Kratos can't even jump anymore, what is that? The new one is also heavily neutered.

[Doubledip]

The old God of War games will always be great; but the new version was the change of pace is what the series needed.

[tejotl (Polish Bear)]

I re-played and re-platinumed God of War III after I finished GoW2018. New God of War is good but for me it is barely a God of War game. I really disliked the character progression and fighting mechanics. When I went back to GoW III I had a huge smile on my face throughout the entire playthrough - the game was just fun to play and you felt like a badass all the time. Hell there is a trophy for soaking Kratos in buckets of blood while you can barely see any blood in new GoW. I liked old games better but I'm happy for Santa Monica to try something else and find success. Pretty sure studio would be done for if they didn't

[isturbo1984]

I voted "Both are good in their own way," because I feel that is the truth. But the idea that GoW 4 is better in every way and is a perfect 10 is far from the truth. First of all, the narrative... the retards at Sony really have a knack (har!) for the misuse of the word. A narrative is a decisive means of character development told verbally through observed banter of characters in between story plotlines.--Case and point, it isn't supposed to be the ONLY form of story telling. It's just bad story...

And gameplay-wise, There is a lot left to be desired, as you have a fake giant open world that looks much bigger than it actually is. Entire realms are a single, tiny, loaded area with an aesthetic change. Just lazy game design

I can rip into the game more, but I've made my point. What saddens me the most is I would actually have to give this game my personal GOTY by default simply because I haven't played many other new releases that came out in 2018, lol.

[nmlss]

This one has been my first God of War and I was interested in it mostly because it seemed like it had a good depiction of norse mythology. And it did!! It takes some liberties, but overall the documentation work is absolutely impressive and "norse mythology geeks" will enjoy it a lot.

Gameplay wise, it starts simple, but once you get used to Atreus (first secondary character in a game that not only doesn't suck but it's helpful as hell) and seeing how his skills match with Kratos', it turns out very fun to play. The axe is really versatile and you can kill enemies in a million ways really. I hope they keep expanding the franchise like this, with more norse stories (I was very happy they took Baldr's, because it's my favorite one), because there are plenty interesting ones that would make for great sequels.

[xMobilemux]

I used to love the God of War franchise and I hate GoW 2018 with a burning passion and the dangerous precedent it sets for action games in the future.

I got as far as that part where there was that giant corpse in the snow level who was killed by Thor I think, can't remember exactly, I stopped playing out of boredom when I got there and haven't touched it since.

My main problems with the game are:
- Walking
- Unskippable Cutscenes
- Walking
- Poor Combat
- Walking
- Did I mention walking?

Seriously what in the fuck is up with walking in games nowadays? God of War 1 through Ascension always threw you straight into the combat the moment you took control of Kratos.
In God of War 4 I have to walk for like 30 minutes or so listening to dialog and putting up with unskippable cutscenes before I even get to the action.

It's not what I want out of my action games and especially not from a series as chaotic as God of War.

The combat is awful and the camera is the biggest reason as to why, so much so that even the game itself agrees, the camera being stuck so far up Krato's ass that there has to be arrow indicators showing up to tell you when an attack is coming.
Past games always zoomed out showing all the enemies you were fighting so you could manage the battle better, in GoW 4 it's just borderline frustrating to not being able to see all the enemies blind siding you from behind 90% of the time, especially those ranged enemies that just keep throwing projectiles at you while your busy fighting a guy in front of you, it's just not fun.
The boss battles are just insulting, they're literally the exact same troll boss over and over, the only way they mix it up is by throwing a bunch of projectile based enemies in the mix, making combat all the more worse cause they keep spamming you with projectiles that you can't see coming and that dark elf boss is just made worse later on by just having 2 of them, pathetic.
The boss battles in past games weren't challenging or anything, but they were a hell of a spectacle with their colossal sizes and exciting fights, not to mention they were all different.
Also color coded enemies, I wish a slow painful death to which ever dipshit who thought that mechanic up.

The RPG elements make the game even more of a chore for me, past GoW games were far more skill based than one would think, especially on higher difficulties, I beat past games by ramping my skills up, learning the enemies attack patterns, learning how to parry/dodge and what not.
In GoW4 it's pretty much numbers based. Can't beat a higher level monster? Come back later with higher stats, better gear and wreck him, no skill required.
You're telling me that the Kratos who destroyed the Olympian Gods and Titans while being shirtless, needs some armor to take on some rock elemental?

As for story it was a failure right from the start, I became a God of War fan for how chaotic and over the top it was, God of War was about, blood, guts, colossal boss fights, boobs, sex mini games and such, it was as video game as a video game could get.
But a cinematic walkie talkie feels-a-thon? Why is this a universal 10/10, game of the year all years worthy game?

I'm terrified of the effect this sack of shit game will have on other action games out there, with Devil May Cry 5 rumored to be Hideaki Itsuno's final ride as the director of the series, I'm worried that the next director will just make DMC6 a clone of GoW4 and the gullible gamers and braindead gaming media will eat it up as a masterpiece.
Same goes for a potential Ninja Gaiden 4 and such.

[Dub-Z]

"Even the f***in trees walked in those movies!"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmuT8UeTk4s

[Dub-Z]

I really was mostly blown away by the new one, but don't really see myself replaying it much, if ever. It's just less fun for me, more of a time requirement and the meat of the game is thorough exploration + a certain kind of cinematic story that feels like a one time experience reliant on seeing where it goes - much like a long TV series where you can't wait to see what's next vs a film that you can always get something from. I can't be surprised by it a second time, would feel like I'm wasting time that could be used on other games if I engage with the world in a meaningful way as intended by fully exploring areas to make use of the upgrade system, game economy or try to hear the boat stories again.

Not to mention how repetitive everything gets with recycled trolls and valkyrie variants. Or how underdeveloped all the realms feel both aesthetically and structurally beyond Midgard and Alfheim. I kept waiting to run on the world snake like it was Kronos, but nah... we just go in it's mouth about 100 yards, do something really mundane, and sail right back out.

Even the core concept of Atreus... the "Boy!" meme is golden, the too-real-for-comfort parenting feel moments were incredible... but part of me just sees the whole thing as some lame Captain America and Bucky, Batman and Robin the boy wonder sidekick, Comics Code Authority era moment for games. For me, comics were best before and after all that stuff, and the 80's profoundly deconstructed it.

The combat is pretty satisfying, but tbh I feel like I'm playing Resident Evil 4 with an axe and fists instead of guns, and that may serve the game's cinematic direction but doesn't necessarily benefit the genre, themes and brawler gameplay in the way spectacle fighter and a pseudo-aerial camera did.

For me, the original trilogy just has more momentum, joy and sheer spectacle in it. Pure adrenaline, fun and satisfaction. Something I can consume in full in a day or two, feel entirely entertained by without feeling monopolized and or needing to feel emotionally invested in to enjoy. I replayed them many, many times, and still would, any time.

Also, as great as Kratos character development and new direction was, as an experience, I've always rejected the idea that the character was an unjustifiable temper tantrum. Nah... the Gods subjugated all realms of reality to create an absolute hell for mortals full of war, concubinal enslavement, to sit atop it all in lavish opulence and petty in fighting while architects and slaves spent generations of their lifeblood to build testaments to their power and facilitate their wills. A world full of Promethean suffering and eternal torture. A world where nobody can even die and rest in peace without being eviscerated and torn asunder for eternity in the afterlife. Kratos was everything they were and more, without the pretense, and tore it all asunder with the required fury and rage. Reset the world. No less justified than anyone he contended with and no less righteous. No less wrathful, aggressive and incensed than was necessary. He was reckoning. There was no rejection of diplomacy as there never was such a thing. All the mopey self-loathing in the new game would have only impeded his success with weakness, and serve the ends of the powers that be rather than his own self interest.

So the creative conceit of the game is that the character should be ashamed of himself. That the game should be ashamed of it's predecessors. Carry the cross and forget what you know. Nah.

The popular games media and forum sentiment that he was just a terrible character should have been as laughable as the ludo narrative dissonance meme that tried to stick to the Uncharted series, but games media propagated it to be in line with their peers, and nobody with a platform ever challenged. It sure made for a good marketing narrative that Kratos and God of War are finally "good" though, didn't it?

Does this mean that God of War 2018 is a bad game and the original trilogy is the GOAT? Hell no. It just means you can slice it however you want.

[Irritablesquid]

All the games are good, the first games will tell you the lore of kratos, you dont need to know it but it helps you understand why he has the tattoo, why hes so white.

I think you should play the first ones before the newer game so you can understand why hes the way he is, kratos does reference the old games which i think is great.
I think GOW 2018 was the best game this year by far, the story is amazing, the first games kratos was justified in killing the gods, now hes older and has a family people can change as they age but at the same time kratos still has the same temperament and so does his son. They both lose there temper but kratos has learned anger doesnt fix everything.

I played the old games years ago and replayed them before playing GOW 2018 and i feel it enhanced my experience. Ive replayed it a couple times and enjoyed it.

[Murray]

I liked both. If push comes to shove, I'd say I liked the old God of War formula more, but that's a personal preference rather than something I'd consider objective truth. The new 2018 game is pretty good either way and I had a great time platinuming it. The Valkyries were challenging but finally beating them felt rewarding.

[fenrif]

All the games are good, the first games will tell you the lore of kratos, you dont need to know it but it helps you understand why he has the tattoo, why hes so white.

I think you should play the first ones before the newer game so you can understand why hes the way he is, kratos does reference the old games which i think is great.
I think GOW 2018 was the best game this year by far, the story is amazing, the first games kratos was justified in killing the gods, now hes older and has a family people can change as they age but at the same time kratos still has the same temperament and so does his son. They both lose there temper but kratos has learned anger doesnt fix everything.

I played the old games years ago and replayed them before playing GOW 2018 and i feel it enhanced my experience. Ive replayed it a couple times and enjoyed it.

Kratos didn't just kill the gods. He murdered everyone and anyone he came across, including many civilians. Also he may have been justified killing some of the gods, but others had done nothing wrong to him and killing them would bring great misfortune to the entire world. He killed them anyway.

The original God Of War games do not present Kratos as a justified anti hero. They present him as a murderous sociopath who kills for fun.

Also anger literally does fix everything for Kratos. Any time he came up against any sort of obstacle, anger was the solution. That was the whole point. He's pissed off all the time at everything.

[RedHawkDirewolf]

I enjoyed the old games for sure, but I think the change of direction was a good call. I was initially a skeptic after GoW 2018's the reveal but once I got my hands on it, I was immediately hooked. The combat was much more intimate and satisfying for me and I prefer the more "mature" approach to story telling.

I think Ascension shined a necessary light on how stale the standard GoW formula had gotten for me. I'll always appreciate my time with the original series, but I'm happy with where things are headed now.

[Dub-Z]

Kratos didn't just kill the gods. He murdered everyone and anyone he came across, including many civilians. Also he may have been justified killing some of the gods, but others had done nothing wrong to him and killing them would bring great misfortune to the entire world. He killed them anyway.

The original God Of War games do not present Kratos as a justified anti hero. They present him as a murderous sociopath who kills for fun.

I think it presents him as someone who doesn't negotiate with terrorists and will often plow right through an already doomed hostage, rather than have his hands tied by a moral conundrum. He never killed any tertiary characters for fun, he killed them to solve his problem and continue to progress toward his goal, in scenarios where whatever great power he was contending with had selfishly placed a living key in a no-win imprisonment situation like they're Jigsaw in the Saw movies. The adversary thinks "gotcha!" but no... no they don't actually. Unstoppable object hits an immovable wall.