God of War (2005)

The very first God of War is a brutal, cinematic action-adventure that redefined the Hack'N Slash genre, the MC is Kratos, a rage-fueled Spartan warrior on a quest to kill Ares, the Greek god of war. The game blends fast-paced, combo-heavy combat with epic mythological storytelling and larger-than-life boss battles. Its fixed camera angles, fluid controls, and immersive level design still hold up remarkably well. While some platforming sections can feel dated, the game’s visceral tone, mature narrative, and unforgettable moments make it a PlayStation 2 classic and a must-play for fans of action games. This is truly one of the best games of all time, it set a lot of standards that are followed even for today's game development in general.

Not just when it comes to it's genre, but also when it comes to story-telling and such. This is especially true if we talk about it's reboot, which I'll review in the future, and the first entry is absolutely a not skippable title, play it any way you can, OG, re-releases, remasters, you name it, this is one of gaming's best titles of all time. And it is also one of the most challenging ones, almost feeling unbalanced at this, since this was a very ambitious first entry that tried to do a lot, but at least it failed very rarely. I also recommend trying to 100% this since it's challenges are very fun, but brutally difficult at times.

Another standout aspect of the original title is its presentation, which was nothing short of groundbreaking for its time. The seamless transitions between gameplay and cinematic cutscenes made the experience feel like an interactive Greek tragedy, something rarely achieved so effectively on the PlayStation 2. The orchestral OST, combined with powerful voice acting, elevated every encounter, making even standard battles feel epic. Boss fights against iconic figures like the Hydra or Pandora’s Guardian were not just tests of skill, but memorable set pieces that showcased the game’s ambition and technical prowess.

Despite its age, the first this title remains remarkably relevant today because of how confidently it established its identity. It introduced a protagonist who was flawed, violent, and tragic, setting the foundation for one of gaming’s most compelling character arcs. While later entries would refine and evolve many of its ideas, this original title deserves recognition for taking bold risks and largely succeeding. It may show a few rough edges, but those imperfections only highlight how daring and influential the game was, cementing its legacy as a cornerstone of action-adventure gaming history.

Un precursor en el género hakkan Slash, god of war es un juego inmersivo ambientado en la antigua Grecia, añadiendo toda su mitología cómo método de un buen lore,una jugabilidad exquisita para ser un juego de Playstation 2, continuidad excelente y un apartado gráfico que para su época fue un gran avance , recalcar que este tipo de juegos tan "gore" no eran tan bien resividos cómo lo es hoy en día, por lo que hay que otorgarle mérito a estos juegos que cambiaron la forma de mirar la industria de los videojuegos.

I had never played a God of War game, but I am looking to do a run of the whole series, which of course means I needed to start here. What I knew going in was the following: very action heavy, lots of on screen combat, and no camera control. I was correct, but also met with some unexpected challenges.

First off, I played this on the PS Plus streaming, which gave me no issues. I don't know if the controls weren't as tight as if I had played it on a native PS3, but I did not have any issues. That said, I was impressed this PS2 game had such tight controls. The game looked quite nice and I could tell I was definitely playing an HD PS2 game. I have no issues with the graphics knowing that it is older, but it was funny going from HD to the low resolution cutscenes. All of that said, the game looked and played totally fine the way I experienced it.

The combat gameplay was great. It felt quick, and I really needed to learn what I could do well in order to overcome the next combat challenges. This game did have the "throw new challenging enemy at player, then give player new ability to counter enemy after you fight one or two" formula which meant I could see new things coming. I did need to make myself learn multiple forms of combat to overcome different enemies and different amount of enemies on screen. I also enjoyed the ability to choose which weapons or powers to buff up, customizing the gameplay to my preferred combat as I played. This, in addition to exploring for more health or magic, made a lot of the down time between action enjoyable. My issue with the combat became two parts. The first is that it is not uncommon to get stun locked where you take a hit from one enemy, then the next, then the next without getting chance to defend or evade. This became irritating, especially when the later enemies became far more difficult. The other problem I had with combat was with later enemies and how the successful strategy pretty much became "block, then counter, then hold block until attacked again." It became less about pulling off flashy moves at the right time and more about patiently waiting for a turn to hit, including the final boss which made that fight anti-climactic and tedious.

The gameplay became okay to terrible when it came to anything outside of the combat. I don't think majority of the puzzles in this game were intuitive or fun. Some were, and I enjoyed those, for example the rock wall when it came up. Other puzzles though, like put two things on top of each other in this specific, non obvious spot to make a platform above you was kind of annoying. They didn't feel like they really contributed much to most of the game story wise except for the middle act which overstayed its welcome (get to that later).

The really bad comes when talking about the platforming. This is a case of a game that doesn't need platforming then putting in some bad platforming. The beam walking is slow, not fun, and annoying. This becomes especially true when you introduce spinning blades. The rope walking is tedious and a simple way to just siphon out some health from Kratos. And the wall climbing is slow, not difficult, and not enjoyable. Climbing involves nothing exciting happening, just slowly shimmying your body along a surface, and occasionally distance attacking some dumb enemies. This comes to a climax in the last act with the spinning wall with blades (if you've played this game, you know exactly what I am talking about). This section genuinely made me ask if I even wanted to finish this game because I could not stand going through it and failed so many times because the patience needed is absurd. Overall, I think platforming could have been cut and puzzle solving a little more refined and the game would have been much better for it.

This brings me to the story. Kratos' story and its unraveling is exciting and interesting. Learning how he came about, and what motivates him to strive to kill Ares is intriguing (which I pretty much knew already from just being in the gaming space for so long,). The problem is this is an age where video games were about gameplay and set pieces, and story was just in the background to justify what you're doing. The opening and the first act are exciting. I enjoyed fighting the Hydra, I enjoyed making my way through Athens. The problems come in Act 2, where you are searching for Pandora's box. Once you are in the temple, it just never seems to end. I like the idea, and the puzzles here are justified in the story, however I was sick and tired of this temple by the time I was halfway through it. I know the story wasn't the focus, but it really could have used a bit more here. The third act happens all too fast, unless you die a million times on spinning blades. This quickly leads to the final boss fight and resolution to the game and the opening cutscene. This is followed by a final story section and resolution to the game that is sort of retconned now that the series continued past the first game. I liked the ending and the scenario it setup for the games going forward, but I just needed a bit more in the middle.

Overall, this game has some growing pains that I hope to see shaken off by the second entry. As the foundation for the series going forward until the PS4 'reboot', I think this game is very good but having played it 17 years late I don't know if I will want to revisit it.

7/10

It's been a minute since I played this, so my review won't be as thorough and in-depth as if I just played it.

God of War is the first game in the goried franchise and it definitely holds up in my opinion. I never played any of the God of War games until a year or two before the latest one, God of War (2018) came out, so I am not clouded by nostalgia. The gameplay is just simple enough and good enough that it stands the test of time to still being a good game in 2020.

Graphics: For a PS2 game? Good, though I wouldn't say great, not when God of War 2 exists. They work, the environments look good, the models aren't nauseating, and upscaled to 1080p or whatever on the PS3 (Or through various other means) it honestly doesn't look half bad. Art style holds up.

Sound: The dialogue mixing is pretty tinny, the sound effects are there, but the music is classic. Nothing makes me feel like a powerful psychopath more than the God of War OST. The voice acting is pretty hammy, though Kratos' voice actor does pretty well for what he's been given.

Story: Haha you really shouldn't play the original God of War saga for the story. #1 has the best story in the series pre 2018 though. It's a tale of revenge, with a lot of killing. This is the first time Kratos went on a murder spree, everything was fresh.The whole original series is dumb male chest beating but this one is probably the least dumb.

Gameplay: For the most part, it holds up very well. Some small issues. some of the button mashing QTEs on regular enemies late game are almost impossible and not worth it for the damage you will do to your controller and fingers. Also QTEs in general are kind of annoying but not a deal breaker for me. There is a section mid-game that just feels broken and not play tested Hades' tower climbs. Beam Balances are garbage.

Overall, if you want a good hack and slash game, God of War as a series is a great choice. Just don't expect the same story quality as the new one. It's a dumb game with some questionable design choices from a modern lens (the sex minigame is pure cringe. It's hilarious). But it's fun and arcadey. Kill things in Greece.

Ever wanted to kill a god? God of War certainly isn't the first game to open up this kind of possibility, but it is perhaps the most stylish to do so upon its release. Following in the footsteps of the Devil May Cry style of hack and slash goodness, God of War adds to the formula with a mythological flair and magic abilities, while retaining the combo-heavy pounding action of games before it. It's gory, satisfying, and demonstrates a monolithic sense of scale. But it's not all perfect.

The basic gameplay is based around slinging around the blades of chaos Kratos has permanently branded to his forearms. The blades rest on a long chain, meaning you get some pretty serious reach out of them, and the possibilities for flashy combos really elevates above if you were to hold just a regular old sword. Combining light attacks, heavy attacks, and grabs, which usually result in various levels of dismemberment, there are a few different ways to dispatch enemies. Certain enemy types will also counter you in certain ways. If you keep spamming light attack, for instance, you're going to get punished for it. Button mashing can get you through a good portion of the game, but there's going to come a point where it doesn't cut it anymore. Also, there's quick time events. Lots of them. Do with that information what you will.

Combat with the Blades of Chaos is supplemented by four different magic attacks that you get throughout the game, as well as a single secondary weapon with some different strategies. You can inflict an AoE lightning attack, paralyze enemies, create army's of dead souls, or pull a Zeus and chuck lightning. A lot of the time, the magic feels a little bit like a trump card that you're allowed to pull out every now and then, and less like a regular piece of combat. Your magic bar drains pretty quickly, depending on what you're doing, and sometimes the spells have a certain 'too good to use' aura about them.

Combat is broken up with fairly basic, albeit fun to solve puzzles. There was never a point where I felt stuck, and the 'eureka' moments are more of a 'oh, yeah' kind of thing. Basic 'push this block to X' or 'find this object and put it in Y' kind of stuff. The platforming in the game is also pretty fun most of the time, but some of the environmental hazards can go from genuinely fun to horrific really quickly. One specific example of a lowlight includes climbing a spike covered tower that's constantly rotating, and if you happen to get within the spike's hitbox, you fall all the way to the bottom again, forced to start from the beginning. There are a few moments like this, and they can make you want to scream.

The combat itself can have some overall unappealing moments, as well. As a general rule, the game is fun. But some specific enemies are hellish to deal with, and not always in a way that feels fair. Whether you get repeatedly stunlocked, or your dodge is just out of the way of their attack every time, some encounters leave a bad taste in your mouth. Some people may refer to this as an example of a moment that makes you not want to replay a game. I don't think any moments get quite that bad, but by the end of the game, I did have a bit of a feeling of relief. The worst was over.

Visually, the game looks quite good. The sense of scale is great, with huge beings battling in the distance and character models appearing as small specks next to some of the more grandiose set pieces. This is accompanied by a suitably epic music score that knows when to reach a climax and when to mellow out. Some of the quieter pieces are particularly beautiful, often featuring a single voice singing a somber melody. The character models definitely aren't anything to scoff at, and the environments are well done. Admittedly though, they can feel a little samey. The meat of the game takes place in the same temple for a good 2/3rds of the action, and while it does try to change it up, you'll feel like a lot of where you are is...Well, ancient greek interiors.

The story is actually remarkably compelling for a hack and slash action game, too. Kratos as a protagonist is at many times one that is not portrayed heroically at all, only to suddenly have an arc where he gains a bit of sympathetic nature. It's not black and white. The story is told in a fairly nonlinear fashion, with regular flashbacks drawing out the past. These cutscenes are never too long, and they don't overstay their welcome. It's not the most complex story ever, but it's gripping enough to hold your attention and inspire curiosity in what happens next.

Overall, God of War was incredibly well received upon first release, and continues to be a solid game to this day. Hang ups in platforming and combat keep it from being a flawless experience, and the gameplay can at times feel samey, but it's still worth playing. Not in just a 'it's historical' kind of way, but in a 'it's still fun' way. At the end of the day, isn't that all a video game really needs to be? Just genuine fun.

I've been playing through the God of War franchise in chronological order of the game's events, which has already led me through the latest game in the original stretch - God of War: Ascension - and their first foray into PSP gaming - Chains of Olympus. With the third game in this timeline, I finally get to the first game released: the original God of War.

The primary problem I noticed in going chronological order is what skills have been introduced in later games that I can't use in the first game. For example, there are some basic climbing and collision detection issues I had with this first game that I don't feel like I had in those two later games. I also found that God of War hadn't quite nailed the quicktime response moments just yet. I still think there's such a weird choice in these games, where they'll ask you to tap a button over and over, only to switch things up by throwing in quick button pushes that come out of nowhere. At a certain point, I had to rely on memorization to know exactly how to handle each villain.

I think the biggest problem with the original God of War, having now played most of the franchise since last playing this, is that this game has problems with difficulty. There are so many puzzles here that rely on perfection and any slight error will cause death and repetition to an irritating level. There were several moments in God of War where I checked an online guide because I simply couldn't tell if I was doing what the game wanted me to do, or if I just needed to keep at it. They'd get better at handling the difficulty, but at times here, it gets downright ridiculous.

Yet almost thirteen years after this game came out, I still am blown away by the ballsiness of this game. I had completely forgotten that the giant trials section to get Pandora's Box is like half of this game. While I remember also hating this part as much as everyone else, this time around, i found it to be such a well-executed puzzle box of a level that is confounding in its ambition. It's insane to make the first game in a proposed series, only to have half that game as a ridiculously layered puzzle that most of your audience will hate. But in terms of story, that's a smart move, since these are supposed to be puzzles that people have tried to solve for over a thousand years. By the time the puzzles of this area are completed, it leaves the player truly feeling like they've accomplished the impossible.

I've always admired the story in God of War than I feel like most people care about it, but I also forgot that in the first film, we're given Kratos' goal without being told his reasoning. We know he wants to kill Ares, but it isn't explained why until very close to the end of the game. It's as if God of War wants us to enjoy the brutal murders without realizing that's what led him down this path. I also find it tonally perfect that the game is centered around Kratos attempting to get past his killing past by....killing everything in his path, ultimately leading to him becoming the new God of War after dethroning Ares. This ending and story arc feels so much like the mythology that Kratos lives in that it almost feels like Kratos was always a character in this world.

With the first game in this franchise, God of War certainly sets itself apart with some of its brave choices, yet it still has plenty of kinks to work out. I'm glad I still have the rest of this trilogy to play in quick succession, in order to see the evolution from one game to another. But God of War is a strong start to what will become quite an excellent series.

(Warning: I won't discuss the remaster aspect of the game, I will leave that for my God of War Collection review)

God of War is a game with a surprisingly good start, that tries to set the the tone to rest of the game. It shows a brutal hack and slash game with a badass but cold protagonist defeating awesome bosses. And in most of this, it delivers. Except for the boss part. It takes to long to reach the second boss in the game. The game is still good, but starts relying on a formula that can get boring. You defeat enimies and then you solve a puzzle. And when you get to the second boss, you realize that you are at the end of the game and there is only the final boss to fight. This game is also a victim of its age. Backtracking is frequent in this game, and most of the time you don't know what you are trying to accomplish. This was common for PS2 games at the time, but it still is annoying as hell. Now that I have said most of the game flaws, let's get to the good stuff. The story is quite simple, but it leaves you with a goal for the rest of the game. What surprised me however was the way it was told, especially Kratos's story. As you progress in the game, bit by bit you start seeing how Kratos become a slave to the Gods and why he wants to kill Ares. Those moments make playing through the games many pudones worth it. The gameplay is really well done and the upgrades you make to your weapons and magic are worth collectingaorbs for. There are only two main weapons, but they are different enough to make you use the two. One is faster and more versatile, while the other is slower but more powerful. While there are only three boss in the game, they all fell different and they are made for you to use your brain and your brawn (in this case, Kratos's brawn). When I finished this game, I was generally satisfied and wanted to play the sequel right after. It's a good game, but the amount of hard puzzles, that are beatable but still just there for an unknown reason, and the amount of backtracking combined with the lack of more boss, making you fell like you haven't progressed in the game, take it down from what could've been even better. But even with that said, I had a good time playing this game. People new to the franchise should start with this one however. The others are generally better games and if you play any of those when you reach this one you really won't like it. And God of War doesn't deserve that. I give this game a 3/5 stars.