Though a lot of its details faded from my memory over time, I had a really nice time with God of War's 2018 outing on the PS4, particularly due to its story and characters. The sequel is somehow significantly better in this regard, even making its predecessor feel better in retrospect now that it's part of a greater whole. It has a perfect balance of drama and humor, it's full of mystery, excitement, and suspense, and it takes you to some really cool magical places and events. It has some issues, but is a fantastic conclusion to this era of God of War.
The biggest issue for me early on was poor pacing in some of the main story quests. They tend to send you far away from the start point of a quest, then need you to go all the way back for some story reason. Usually this means sending you back on a slightly different path, where the party talks about what just happened while being constantly interrupted by more enemies and obstacles. I found that the game desperately needed a break from that gameplay loop at some of these times. Putting fast travel points at a few key spots would have really improved the balance between gameplay and story.
It's an unenviable task, though, trying to maintain balances like that while appealing to as wide an audience as possible. While I may complain that the gameplay feels overused, many others would complain that there's too much talking. While some players may find the combat very difficult, others will be annoyed at how much it telegraphs everything.
Where they do nail the wide-ranging appeal is in the huge list of gameplay customization settings and accessibility features. I appreciated being able to heavily tweak controls and other gameplay elements to my liking for a more comfortable experience. The one option they need to add is something to tone down your party members "helping" constantly with combat, puzzles, and exploration. Can get a bit annoying, but at times it's useful too, so just a nudge down would be great.
I said the combat can be overused at times, but make no mistake, it feels great. Your arsenal continually expands over the course of the game, and there are so many satisfying ways to take down enemies. Companion abilities are easy to control and let you set up some pretty nice combos as well. Tougher enemies keep you on your toes, forcing use of a range of different defensive options. It can be pretty intense when lots of them are around. Main bosses spread throughout the game are really exciting, both in gameplay and spectacle, making up some of the most memorable parts of the game.
While early on, you do visit a couple of less exciting areas, it doesn't take long to arrive at some pretty awesome ones. I particularly love the colorful zones that are full of vibrant plant and animal life. Many areas have a strong sense of place and history that you pick up while you're there, and feel very memorable as a result. They're brought to life not just by flora and fauna, but unique characters that give each zone a bit of extra personality. It's a great set of areas, and the game is always taking you to a different one with a different set of companions.
Puzzles and other little environmental obstacles are a bit of a mixed bag here. I do like that these use the exact same abilities you use in combat in a logical way—certainly more interesting mechanically than those I encountered in the otherwise-amazing The Last of Us Part I. I just still found a lot of them really boring both to solve and to execute. The main problem may just be repetition. They have some okay ideas that develop into more complex puzzles, but by the time I got to them, I was rolling my eyes at having yet another case of matching the same weapon to the same corresponding thing it "unlocks". By the end of the game, this is less of an issue because you're mixing up what you're doing a lot.
Last thing I'll note is the voice acting, which by and large is very entertaining and full of personality, while also nailing the emotional side of the story when it needs to. I ran into lines every now and then that were read a bit awkwardly, and I'm left guessing that some of them were recorded remotely or quickly at some point due to COVID, outside the original context of the scene and without proper direction. Not the first game I've seen that in over the last couple years, but not a big problem by any means.
So, yeah, all that taken into account, it's not a perfect experience for sure, at least not for me. But it's nonetheless a really great one, one of the best of this year, and an essential companion to the first game. That is not something you can say about every direct sequel, but it's safe to say that this one overcomes any genre fatigue and loss of novelty like they're nothing.
