The God of War PC version is finally here, and it is the best PlayStation port game to date. This is a third-person hack and slash, action-adventure game that was awarded Game of the Year by numerous media outlets and award shows. To this date, it is the most popular and most sold PlayStation 4 game, and oh boy, now the PC players can enjoy the game in full glory with Nvidia DLSS for smoother frames, Reflex for system latency, and enhanced graphical features like occlusion effects, along with 21:9 panoramic ultra-widescreen.
So if you have already played this game on a PlayStation console, but also own a powerful gaming rig, then there is no reason to skip this PC version for the ultimate experience. But if you have always been a PC gamer, and never experienced this franchise, then this review will help you in picking this game right away. So without any further ado, let’s jump right into the God of War PC version review.
The Plot – “I Am a God, Boy, From Another Land.”
Apart from previous versions, well this one envelopes the Norse mythology and features Kratos with his son Atreus midst the realm of Midgard. Even if you have no previous understanding of Kratos’ backstory, you may enjoy this newest God of War. If nothing else, for the average gamer, this will be a terrific place to start. Following the cremation of his beloved wife, Faye, Kratos and Atreus set off on a mission to fulfill Faye’s final request of sprinkling her remains at the tallest mountain in the nine realms.
Along the journey, they visit six of Yggdrasil’s nine worlds, which are home to a slew of terrifying creatures, elves, dwarves, giants, and soldiers who won’t go down without a good fight. So the journey begins when Kratos is approached by a stranger possessing incomprehensible strength and healing abilities who seeks to slay him. Throughout this epic journey, Kratos must uncover a plot involving Norse Gods attempting to assassinate the father-son duo, and this Greek God of war must now accept his new-found duty as a parent and teacher in order to educate his son importance of being able to stay alive in such a cruel world.
Kratos is among the greatest video game characters, and this storyline brings a touch of complexity to a very fantastic protagonist. The connection between both Kratos and Atreus is very well-written. After being misled into killing his last family, accompanied by infinite bloodshed, devastation, and agony perpetrated in previous games, it’s a true delight to witness the father-son bond grow over their adventure together.
Gameplay – “Don’t Be Sorry. Be Better.”
The new God of War has an over-the-shoulder free camera for the very first time. Like Hellblade Senua’s Sacrifice, the game is delivered in a long take and without any camera cuts and loading screens. Kratos’ weapon of choice this time is Leviathan, a one-handed war axe with freezing magical abilities. It may not be as formidable as Thor’s Mjolnir, however, it’s a similar idea. Kratos uses his knuckles anytime the axe is wedged anywhere, adding layers to fight with both – the axe’s throwing as well as recalling abilities. It’s undoubtedly demanding, and it requires you to combine various button pairings and a lot of smashing to get the best out of the combat system. Nonetheless, it’s amazing to use your axe to tear apart an adversary, throw it at another, rush towards another enemy with fists, recall the axe, and do it all over again.
For those unfamiliar with the prior God of War games, Quick Time Events played a significant role in winning boss encounters, in between sequences, or sometimes even executing weak monsters. They exist throughout every game and were a crucial aspect in activating brutal automated action sequences. If the sequence is not executed correctly, Kratos’ assault will be nullified, causing him to be injured and, on extreme occasions, brutally murdered. QTEs have mostly been nearly eliminated throughout typical close quarter combats and no specific enemy type will require QTEs anymore. This means you’ll waste less time pressing certain button combs for pre-renders sequences and far more time engaging in the new tactile interactive battle system.
Everywhere in realms, you’ll come across the weapon’s original creators, Huldra dwarves Brok and Sindri, who can help you upgrade it, give it more power, and give it the capability to stun and deteriorate monsters with correct talents, as well as forge special armor. Coupled with the progression tree and the opportunity to earn additional equipment, the gameplay now has a bit more variety. You’ll earn XP to access new techniques and skills, and there’ll be lots of stuff sprinkled across the area. Kratos’ different choices of weapons are brilliant since they can be utilized to solve a variety of in-game puzzle challenges. Also, a nice new addition is the weapon runes since they offer strong skills and can be mixed in your gameplay with the option to switch them at any time. The primary problem would be that upgrading every component of armor requires numerous resources, something you must get from specific enemy types.
Additional activities you’ll be capable of accomplishing within every realm include side quests, secret locations, and treasure hunts. The best interactions, on the other hand, are unquestionably boss encounters. Most of these boss fights are incredible, but because they are among hidden optional side activities, you may also just miss them in your first playthrough. But this doesn’t mean that these interactions might become predictable and monotonous after a while.
Then there’s a shield you can bring out anytime in combat for blocking & parrying. You can combine both light and strong strikes for all the weapon types, during close combat. You may also use Atreus to shoot arrows at the enemies in combat, with his Talon Bow. Atreus is indeed a formidable fighter. Atreus assists in battle, wayfinding, exploring, and puzzle solving throughout the game. He additionally unlocks new Talon Bow attributes, armor, and runic abilities. These runic strikes call out many ghostly creatures with various powers. He can also upgrade his arrow collection with unique lighting and stunning arrows.
These arrows have limited impact over an opponent’s hp, but they really do raise the Stun bar, allowing Kratos to slay them instantly. Due to the inherent qualities of certain of the arrows, it also causes foes to be stunned faster along with other new special abilities. Atreus can be temporarily stunned when too many monsters surround him, but you have to save him from their grasp pretty quickly. He delays the minor foes while Kratos battles the bigger ones when there are a lot of them.
Since this is a linear game with few alternative pathways, exploring can be tedious and repetitive. The pacing of God of War is substantially slower than those of its previous generation games. However, this is precisely how the developers would like you to experience it. You’re not only discovering a large semi-open environment; you’re also embarking on an amazing adventure to a particular location (highest peak in nine realms).
Nonetheless, it is a huge experience, and the steady and steady progression is likewise remarkable. Following the main story arc will unlock more additional secondary tasks within every realm, and also provide regions with difficult foes to challenge your skills. Don’t even get me started on the plethora of side missions and end-game content available to put your newfound talents to the strain. This is high – intensity significant shift for the series.
Graphics – “These Tunnels Are a Bit Small for Giants.”
You may assume that because this is a 2018 release, the graphic quality might be diminished slightly, but you’d be wrong. In terms of graphics, God of War is a wonderful game. Experiencing God of War in 2022 on current PC technology is equivalent to enjoying it on a PS5 that just devoured a Ferrari. At 4K, NVIDIA DLSS enhances performance by up to 40-50% percent more frames per second. NVIDIA’s ground-breaking DLSS AI-rendering technology uses specialized Tensor Core AI processors on GeForce RTX GPUs to boost graphics performance. This game also gives a stunning jaw-dropping cinematic immersion experience, when paired with a high-end PC with the 2560x1440p 21:9 ultrawide monitor and smooth performance that supports the superb action thanks to NVIDIA Reflex.
There are several minor graphic improvements, such as stronger real-time shadows. This game makes extensive use of PC technology for visual enhancements such as better models, high-resolution texturing, particle fx, and a variety of other options. The aesthetic sophistication is incredible, along with all the numerous effects and techniques combine to make God of War stand among the most unique and gorgeous games ever made. The only big issue while enjoying the game in 2560x1440p 21:9 resolution (even with an RTX 3080), is sometimes it causes inconsistent frame drops, and minor screen tearing. Hopefully, an update in near future can fix them. Apart from that, I really dig the 21:9 experience.
Verdict – “Ready Yourself, Boy.”
Simply told, God of War PC is a phenomenal version of one of the greatest games ever released for PS platforms. Overall, despite there being no fresh material for veteran players, this is primarily a port for PC players. However, you will be capable of pushing your settings to the highest ‘Ultra’ quality, resulting in a crisper and more beautiful image than before while running on a PS4 Pro or even the latest PS5.
This is mostly owing to two useful quality features, Nvidia’s DLSS and NVIDIA Reflex, that are only available on RTX GPUs. The PC edition gains from graphical options that enhance better texturing, high-poly well-detailed models, and environmental effects, however, the PC version’s stronger vivid real-time shadows seem to be the largest notable upgrade.
Plus if you possess an ultra-wide display to go with your RTX card, you will be continuously astonished and impressed by the degree of richness and refinement in practically every part of the nine realms. Even if you’ve experienced it on PS4, PS4 Pro, or PS5, you should still consider picking it up if you have a machine equipped to handle it.
And if you’re a PC-only player and new to the series, then, in short, God of War is a really huge and unforgettable cinematic visual piece of art based on the beautiful setting of Norse myths and legends, with an astonishingly deep storyline blended with totally engaging fighting animations, jaw-dropping graphics, and visual effects. So considering all the factors, in this God of War PC Review, there is no reason for you to skip on this one. There might be major games upcoming this year with really good visual quality, but let me tell you, the God of War PC version is already right there on top of that list.
If you liked this God of War PC review, don’t miss my other reviews on Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy and Far Cry 6!
