GAME CLEAR No. 113 -- God of War (2005)

God of War (2005, PS2)

Compilation: God of War Collection (2009, PS3)
Compilation Developer: Bluepoint Games
Original Developer: Santa Monica Studio
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Clear Date: 12/27/22

Morpheus must be held accountable

The rave reviews of God of War (2018) and God of War Ragnarök have motivated me to finally try this series. Despite insistence from friends that the 2018 game is a perfectly good jumping-in point, I wanted to go all the way back to 2005. That’s just my nature.

While I don’t regret that decision, I can’t say I loved the game. In fact, I found it pretty boring! Maybe it’s because I’m still not so far separated from my run through the Devil May Cry games, which became some of my very favorites, but I was super unimpressed with the combat in this game. The combos just really have nothing on DMC. Even setting that aside, I found the puzzles and platforming pretty dull too. Generally speaking, the game never feels bad or unpolished, it just never excites.

The story and characters, meanwhile, are dripping with mid-2000s edginess. That’s fine and almost charming in a way. A bit of a trip back in time. But I can see how those things might bother someone who’s used to the higher quality voice acting and production values of modern AAA games.

There’s not a lot else I want to say about this game. It didn’t leave much of an impression on me, so I don’t have a lot to share. I’ve been assured that subsequent games get better fast, so I’m hoping I agree with that! I will power through them regardless, but it would be preferable to have a good time doing so.