Topic: God of War OT

@Th3solution

I’m really glad you’re enjoying it Th3o... and I do get where you’re coming from but it does all start to come together into a great denouement at the end... and don’t forget to stick around for the post-credit scene 😉.

For me, as the world serpent began to emerge further and further out’ve the water as the game wore on and more and more of the world became explorative as a result , it just started to click. And then that finish (denouement/Uber-tease)... as an avid student of ancient mythology (& Marvel) it hit home hard (both of ‘em did ). Great game..., playable-blockbuster... system-seller par-excellence... enjoy the rest!

@ralphdibny

I accidentally stumbled upon your post about ‘not implying Dark Souls was uninteresting as you had never played them’ by accident while replying to @Th3solution’s post... try them tho (only a select few ‘works’, be they books, graphic novels, film, TV or games have had as a profound influence on me... and Souls ‘might’ just have been the most profound of the lot)

@colonelkilgore nice, cheers for the recommendation! May I ask what the profound influence was? Everyone who plays them really recommends them so there must be something special about them. My mate used to praise them too and insist I play them. Not too long a go he wanted me to play Dragon Quest 11 for similar reasons I guess but I don't think I can afford to invest in a new series when I'm so heavily invested in other series and games. I've heard DQ11 is like 100+ hours long. Im sort of considering it now it's on game pass but I'm still apprehensive. Same with Bloodborne (coming back to the souls games), I have it from PS Plus but I just don't know if I'll get in the "mood" to try it before my sub runs out. There's just too much stuff vying for my attention and my backlog will attest to that. Thankfully the lack of new games (that interest me) in 2020 combined with the lack of work has meant I've been able to tick huge amounts off the back log though

It really is just a matter of time and priority for me, it's not exactly comparable but I would like to watch the Chicago shared universe of shows (Hope, PD, Fire, Legal etc) but I'll never do it because I can't see myself dedicating 100+ hours of my time to it

@Th3solution I think the game has a nice balance between giving you the chance to explore a bit but also pushing the plot along.

It’s not quite Uncharted linearity but most of the game is to some degree. I quite liked having a bit of time to do other stuff though. Interesting that you feel the single camera shot may be playing a part though.

@ralphdibny

Yeah no problem but your’e gonna have to excuse my overly long explanation... I could speak about Souls all day (& do so, regularly) Its gonna sound overly dramatic... but it changed me as a person (in a good way). I’m not proud to admit that I used to be quite the quitter, not just in gaming but in most aspects of life. I had a short attention span and would generally (there are exceptions) just give up if things got tough or if I got bored. Then I ‘forced’ myself through Demon’s Souls back in around 2010. I don’t know why exactly, probably a mixture of nothing else to play at the time, a good friends infatuation with it... and maybe I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it (you’ve obviously heard that Souls games are difficult... they do ‘seem’ that initially but that does change as you ‘push’ through). I remember thinking it was a huge relief when I’d finished it and had no intention in playing another Souls-like... if there ever was to be another one. Anyway long story short, I eventually stumbled on to Bloodborne in 2015, not knowing it was a Souls-like... and when (about 10 minutes in) it occurred to me that it was the evolution of Demons Souls, I was surprised that it was not disappointment I felt at realising this but massive excitement. An inner, subconscious part of me had been craving more of it for 5 years and I didn’t even know it. As I was explaining on another thread, it then opened my eyes to all genres as previously I was a very ‘blinkered’ gamer in the genre’s I would play... now I’ll play anything. I also now have a more ‘stick-to-it-iveness’ in all aspects of life and pretty much always see things through to completion. Anywho, nothing else quite manages to scratch that Souls itch when I fancy one... and when I do start a new Souls-like (particularly a From Soft one of course) I can actually feel the thanks my brain is feeling (it sounds crazy but I’m sure it is ‘releasing’ extra serotonin or something). The mixture of maze-like adventure and thrilling real-time & deliberate combat is just so satisfying.

Anyway, that last part was about how the games ‘fundementals’ effected me, the Souls games also have great artistry in pretty much all of their aspects. The atmosphere of each game is ‘thick’ and there is a depth to each world that makes it feel like a real place. There is just another level of ‘darkness’ too... it’s like any 80’s metal band could take any screenshot at random (from any Souls game) and it would make a great t-shirt for their fans... I mean the game itself feels more ‘classical’ (if macabre) than ‘metal’ in musical tone but I have heard people (Metal-heads) exclaim many times on viewing a bit of the game “Wow, that is so Metal!”. They feature harsh, unforgiving and nightmarish worlds that still manages to look beautiful.

Then there is the subtlety of storytelling. This is the biggest schism between Souls-fans and non Souls-fans. Non Souls-fans will say there is no story... and in a way they are correct. Souls fans will tell you that there is a phenomenal, deep narrative hidden beneath the surface of each Souls game... and they are also right. When I first play a Souls game (particularly when I first played DeS and BB) there was something about the scant pieces of information dolled out by the odd NPC, or in a document found along the way... or even just the ‘why’ of EVERYTHING that Miyazaki had authored within the game and game-world’. It just ‘feels’ like there is a reason for everything but you have absolutely no idea what it is... but if you drill down to it, it’ll all make sense. I have spent hours... like HOURS-hours researching the From Soft games. From wiki’s, to message boards, to YouTube videos and you slowly put the story together like a cross between some Private-Eye crossed with an Archeologist. As an example, imagine Sauron had actually won in Lords of the Rings and doomed Middle-earth to become an almost uninhabitable wasteland for the rest of time. Purely as an analogy, each Souls game starts around 2 or 3 years after that initial devastation. Then you can either just ‘play’ the game, which is absolutely fine... or you can delve beneath the surface and try to gain an understanding of not only the world and its players before the cataclysm but also why the cataclysm happened. There is no other story-telling like it and it derived from a young Miyazaki who knew a ‘little’ English but not much, trying to read/understand fantasy books written in English. He would know the odd word here and there and as a result would get a very high-level understanding of what’s going on but have to fill in the blanks himself. Now this probably sounds incredibly arduous for someone to play an already notoriously difficult game and then do all the leg work narratively speaking too... but its all there for you if you choose to dive in. There is literally a reason for everything... and when you dive down that rabbit-hole you could be down there for years.

Anyway, I will bore you no further but needless to say, Souls games are not for everyone... but if they are for you (& there is only one way to find out) you will be very glad you took the plunge.

@Th3solution Yeah, I can see where you're coming from. The whole game is one long chapter in that regard. But it's pretty cool, and not too many games do it. It does help giving the game a distinct feeling. You just have to accept the fact that you're always making progress when you do something, the game is just not crossing it off a big checkmark list.

@Octane Very good points, it made a refreshing change from all the games that handle game progression in the more traditional sense (especially more recent times) and never saw it as a negative thing really. Just a different way to do it.

@colonelkilgore it's ok! It was very interesting to read your points. I think normally a recommendation for SoulsBorne comes across as an instruction to play it because you don't know what you're missing. Then people are apprehensive to share what's so good about it because I assume they would think that it would spoil experiencing it for the first time. So the main descriptions end up being it's hard and there's lore. I do get it though, like if I recommend a game, I try not to say too much about what is good about it because I don't want to spoil it. I just normally accept that I can't do it justice and people may not play it based on my thin recommendation. So thank you for going in to more detail about it!

I like that it made you more persistent in other areas of life. That sounds quite good. I think I'm generally quite persistent (if appropriate) in most aspects of my life (naturally at work I have to play the "game" which I hate doing but sometimes it's not wise or appropriate to push something that I think is right), I'm quite persistent in my chores and DIY nowadays even if I sometimes procrastinate things to the point where it can take a year or more to do it, but it does get done eventually! I think the area I'm least persistent in is my creative endeavours, I normally get so far and give up or lose interest. I never go the final mile and that kind of makes me sad so could definitely do with a boost in that area.

I think I'm quite blinkered with games too tbh, but I am totally OK with that. I like certain series that I've played since I was a kid like Donkey Kong Country, Mortal Kombat, Doom, Mario, Metal Gear etc and there is often enough games released in those series that it keeps me busy. I do branch out a bit if there is an associated developer, I also go for platform exclusives even if they're not necessarily my cup of tea just to try them, which is why I've played through the gears of war series this (last!) year and am now going through the god of war games. I'm probably Gona push through the batman Arkham games too at some point even though I really don't get on with them.

I think metal and classical/gothic/renaissance has a lot of crossover in terms of music, depictions and scenes anyway! So I can see how something could be described as both things. Something like castlevania would be exemplary of this!

I just finished God of War 3. I think it was quite a good ending to Kratos' story. I do wonder how they will explain the obvious between this game and God of War 2018.

I did wonder how they'd stretch out the ending of God of War 2 into a full blown sequel before Kratos finally got his revenge. I think the Kill Bill-esque nature of taking down the gods one by one satisfied that curiosity sufficiently.

I did get a little bored in the first few hours. I was kind of having a bad week anyway so I feel a bit bad if I bagged on the game too much for being boring. My favourite bit of the early part of the game was where you brutalise Poseidon but see it from his point of view.

I had a bit of a break and came back to it this week and made some good progress in the game which I interpreted as better pacing on the part of the developer. It was also quite interesting hearing so many famous voices in this game like Rip Torn and Kevin Sorbo.

Generally I quite enjoyed the act of brutalising the various gods in the game. They are so holier-than-thou and they really lord it over you. Quite appropriate I suppose for gods! But it was quite satisfying to knock them off their pedestals and put them in their place.

Next up are two prequels, Ghost of Sparta first which is set before this game and Ascension which I believe is set before the whole series. I'll probably knock out Ghost of Sparta next week some time and Ascension not too long after that. I might take a break though once I've finished the Ancient Greece era and before I move onto the Norse era.

Edit; oh yeah the other thing I liked were Hercules' gauntlets. The power glove item from Chains of Olympus was one of the best items in the whole series so I was glad to see something similar return for this installment!

@ralphdibny I honestly found the last couple of hours really boring too. 3 isn’t a great game which was only emphasised by me playing 2 immediately beforehand which actually is a fantastic game and stands up.

@nessisonett I had to re read my thoughts on GoW2 to refresh my memory. I feel a bit bad playing all the games and then coming here and being all negative about it 😅. At least I am making an informed opinion I suppose. I think the key thing I don't enjoy about the longer games is the pacing. The combat is just a bit too repetitive for a 9-12 hour game of which God of War 2 is the longest.

I think GoW 3 mixed it up a bit better. Also having the special moves attached to each weapon instead of being separate encouraged me to use more of my arsenal which broke it up a bit. I think I just used one weapon in some of the earlier games because it worked, was just a little boring.

I am looking forward to ghost of Sparta though because it's another 6-hourer

I can’t believe I’m realizing this so late as I’m probably halfway through or more (just got the chisel piece) — but I just noticed that even though I’ve been upgrading my combat moves, some of them are not functional because I don’t have the required attribute leveled up enough to take advantage of the new move. Some of the attribute requirements are very high. Maybe I’m just playing the game wrong, but I seem to not have very high attributes.

@Th3solution It's been a while..! But if I remember correctly, you can level up by equipping different armour, or by upgrading your current armour. You can also increase the level by adding runes I think.

@Octane Okay, thanks. I’ve been a little hesitant to pour resources into equipment upgrades, as I worry about spending a bunch on something that becomes obsolete once the next level of stuff is opened up. I guess I need to just pick something and go with it.

I have defeated my first two Valkyries though. The first one wasn’t too bad. But I still had to use a resurrection stone to beat her. Since I had success, I took on the next one I came across and got killed pretty handily. She was calling a never-ending army of minions and it just overpowered me. But after restarting from the checkpoint about 3 times I was able to take her down.
Beating the Helheim bridge keeper was pretty tough too. But once I got his move set down, it became easier toward the end of the fight.

Really, really great game. I can’t believe you can buy this game for $10 on sale. It’s an absolute classic, intricately polished, runs perfectly, and has a boatload of content. I think I’ve been playing for 20-30 hours and I think I’m far from near the end and there is so much to explore. I do wish that the map marked some of the places and chests that you are locked out of due to not having the skill or equipment yet. I can’t remember where I’ve seen all those Hel’s wind glowing balls that I need to return to now. I like how Jedi Fallen Order had markings on the map so you knew where you were blocked off and need to return to later.

@Th3solution I think I rocked the basic set until the end. Because I'm not really a fan of the armour sets. But I can't really remember anymore. I think I just upgraded the basic set, but I honestly can't remember anymore. However, resources aren't too hard to come by. And whatever you upgrade, it all counts towards your level, so even putting high level runs on the axe or your armour increases your level!

Yeah, the Valkyries are something, aren't they? I had to put the back back to easy to beat the last couple of them...

Jedi Fallen Order didn't mark chests either. It would be a lot easier when you interact with inaccessible stuff, that it would mark them on the map. I keep a pen and paper for those moments, or I take a quick photo with my location on the map.

@Octane Oh man, why have I not thought of the photo technique! I’ll have to try that.

I guess I was thinking on Fallen Order about how I seem to recall it did mark (in red I think) barriers where sections of the map were blocked off, then the color changed once you obtained the skill or item. But yeah, it’s been a while for me since JFO. The problem with the JFO map is just how convoluted and labyrinthine it was. Even if you see a newly opened section of the map, good luck getting back there.
My favorite map so far this gen is Resident Evil 2 Remake, which had a brilliant map. Granted, it’s a completely different style of game and setting, but anytime you discover an item and decided to leave it to pick up later it marked it on the map for you for easy reference when you wanted to go back. Locked doors were marked (with even the type of key needed if I recall) as well. So convenient!

God of War’s map is a little of ‘style over function.’ It looked great with the whole 3D appearance (despite the World Serpent having an overt phallic look in it 😂) but it’s hard to tell exactly how to get to a specific spot. Thankfully each little sub-area it fairly linear, I’ve found. I’m just dreading going back to try to track down collectibles and Ravens later. I probably won’t go for the platinum unless I get to the end and see that I’m just a few collectibles shy.

@Th3solution Thinking about it, a screenshot may work just as well. But I find it easier to open the gallery on my phone than you sift through my screenshots on the console.

Yeah, JFO marks barriers which require upgrades, which is neat. There were a few locked red doors that are impossible to open. I discovered that the hard way lol. Like that one where you encounter the second sister for the first time, and you escape by activating one of those red doors. You can't ever open it again, but you can access either side. So it ends up as a stupid dead end from both sides.

God of War has a nice map. But functionally it's quite pointless. It's useful for general directions, but the map lacks any kind of useful detail. Though as you said, most routes are fairly linear, so this isn't a huge issue.

@TheBrandedSwordsman I forgot to tag you as you were interested in how I was getting along with Kratos’s latest adventure.

As you can see above, I’ve just finished my first trip to Helheim and I’ve obtained the Blades of Chaos. That whole sequence was brilliantly done. The way Kratos is reluctant to dig up his past but yet has to pull out the Blades from hidden storage in order to save his son... It was very well executed. Rather than having the Blades be part of his armament purely for fan service, they actually wrote them into the game in a touching and moving narrative way. Then when you start using them to slice through crowds of enemies it’s just pure bliss and you feel so overpowered I love it.

I’ve been making slow progress because I’m splitting time between this and Persona 5, but each time I play I just enjoy it immensely.

@Th3solution That's truly an excellent sequence yes, the final boss battle is truly epic as well and I believe you will be approaching that fairly soon. None of the bosses in that game gave me any significant difficulty once I got past the learning curve of Daddi Kaupr although Magni and Modi were quite challenging as well - I'm not sure if you've faced them yet? If not sorry for the unintentional spoiler but then again not so much because you don't actually know who/what they are yet

@TheBrandedSwordsman Yes I have already defeated Magna and Modi. I think those are Thor’s sons, if I recall. They were pretty tough too. Although one of them got away and then turned up again shortly after, and then got away again, so I’m not sure if I’ll see him again.

Did you go back and do all the collectibles and go for the platinum? I’m wondering if I will do so. I really enjoy the exploration aspect of the game, probably even more than the combat part, but the game is so big that I’m not sure I’ll take the time to revisit all these areas again.