God of War (2018)

Article: God of War Live-Action Series Casts Callum Vinson as Atreus

Callum Vinson has been cast as the young god, with the actor set to star opposite Ryan Hurst as Atreus’ father, Kratos. Additional cast members include Max Parker as Heimdall, Ólafur Darri Ólafsson as Thor, Mandy Patinkin as Odin, Alastair Duncan as Mimir, and Danny Woodburn and Jeff Gulka as as brothers Brok and Sindri.

God of War 2018 was such an emotionally gripping game from the start, and as it fully unfolds you'll be feeling that sad Dad single player feel that first party Sony games have made themselves known for. Regardless, the game is stunning at 4K with HDR, the controls handle satisfyingly well and the music is really something to behold -- I've tossed on the God of War 2018 soundtrack many many times since beating the game. The game was jaw-dropping in parts, and at times a little frustrating with some of the puzzle aspects (throwing your axe to hit a bell, with really tight timing on some of it will take some effort).

The characters in the game are nothing short of amazing, hitting that Norse mythology vibe well, but I won't spoil it for anyone (just play it). Could I have done without the QTE to finish fights, sure, but the finishers were pretty badass. Some of the fights are pretty damn tough as well, and there's a decent amount of builds you can go for -- or you can just toss on whatever the game presents to you and make it work. I'd imagine New Game+ is decent, as there's more to acquire and tougher optional fights (Valkyries) you will likely struggle with on a first playthrough.

I mostly completed the main story and spent some time doing the Niflheim rogue-lite area for currency to buy certain armor / weapons before completing the game in 44 hours.

I'll probably return to the series for the sequel God of War: Ragnarok in 2024 -- I own it on PS5, but I may play it on PC.

So the Flying Dark Elves enemies are really badly designed. Valkyries can be stunned by a combo, but this particular enemy can apparently suddenly fly during the middle of the combo and drop a bomb that blinds me. The bomb rapidly explodes and I am in the middle of my combo, so no way can I get out of it. In the meantime, the flying elf summons two additional enemies which surround me and attack from behind. I am really struggling to have fun with this game, which is a shame, because I like the setting and the spectacle it offers.

Oh, and the enemies feel very spongey on the normal setting.

Loud half baked hot take:

GOD OF WAR (2018) IS THE GORDON RAMSAY OF VIDEO GAMES.

I'm supposed to learn how to cook an egg before making a soufflé but I'm a cocky dink who thinks I could beat the original GoW with a spoon, so how bad could god difficulty be?

I was stuck for an hour on the fight that introduced projectile enemies. My ass succinctly handed to me. A mistake of a boy.

Returning two days later, after licking my wounded pride, I somehow, via my subconscious backburner threading the learning curve or universal luck, bested the fight in the first try and immediately became full of salt.

Why isn't this a Thor game? I don't want to slap around damage sponges, pick up all collectibles, read all glyphs, craft whatnots or fiddle with runes. Kratos with a stats page feels pandering. His damage output is 5? Fuck off.

By all accounts, GoW 2018 is a full plate meal and yes, I'm stupid for the difficulty setting. Its a well crafted, expertly presented, undeniable talent but I feel like a fucking donkey eating fist fulls of butter on the vegas strip.