God of War PC review: A pillar of its era, a masterpiece arrives on Windows

God Of War Review 2022 Source: Windows Cardinal

Sony has been gradually opening upward its coffers to Windows PC gaming over the past few years, starting time with Horizon Zero Dawn and Days Gone. Now, we have another PlayStation 4 classic hitting gaming rigs everywhere on Jan. 14, 2022 — God of State of war.

A reimagining of the classic PS2 franchise, God of State of war masterfully reforges the classic hack 'northward' slash action into a surprisingly thoughtful activeness-adventure, set in a fantastical Viking-era Nordic setting. Mythological behemoths roam the country, while a band of Æsir gods chase the eponymous Kratos for reasons unknown.

You already know God of War is hailed as a masterpiece, with tiptop-shelf acting and writing, next-level art direction, and varied and satisfying combat. A question emerges of any console to PC port: Is information technology true-blue to the platform? That reply is a resounding yes.

God Of War Pc

God of War (PC)

Bottom line: With a surprisingly heartfelt story, witty and memorable characters, restlessly satisfying combat, in an expansive and well-optimized hand-crafted world — simply put, God of War is a must-play game.

The Good

Incredible story with a large cast of interesting characters
An expansive and varied world full of secrets
Infectious combat that rewards thoughtful play
A well-optimized port with truly stunning visuals

The Bad

Pretty much zilch

Disclaimer: This review was made possible by a review lawmaking provided past Sony Interactive Entertainment. The company did not encounter the contents of the review earlier publishing.

God of War for PC: Graphics, sound, and performance

God Of War Review 2022 Source: Windows Central

Sony continues its streak of true-blue PC ports with God of War. While Horizon Null Dawn and Days Gone had issues for some users at launch, Sony and its partners worked hard to bring them upwards to speed. Information technology seems they may accept taken some of that learning to God of State of war, since fifty-fifty on this build I've had for a month, I've had nothing short of an utterly flawless experience.

I am running God of War on a Razer Blade 17, with an RTX 2070 Max-Q, 16 GB of RAM, and Intel i7-10875H CPU, with Windows xi. It'southward by no means the all-time gaming laptop out at that place, simply it's handled near of what I've thrown at it at 1080p or 1440p. While performance naturally varies from system to organization, I've been utterly impressed with God of State of war's functioning on my system, although it took me a fleck of tweaking to remainder the game's stunning visuals and effects with a frame rate that didn't produce fierce or performance degradation. In the end, I settled on 1440p with a 50 FPS limiter to create a consequent experience on my 4K monitor. At 1080p I could easily accomplish for a higher frame rate, merely God of War is such a detailed and cinematically crisp game, I wanted to actually see how far I could push the visuals without settling for a middlingly low frame rate. Of course, you can too leverage both SuperFX from AMD and NVIDIA DLSS also, which is squeamish to see. Naturally, more powerful systems than mine will produce better results, simply the game performs exactly every bit I would've expected given my hardware, given its overall presentation density.

God Of War Review 2022 Source: Windows Fundamental

God of War gives you a mount of brandish settings to tweak and accessibility options to configure, showcasing Sony's efforts to brand full use of the benefits of Windows and PC gaming. Of course, I tin can't test God of War on every possible PC configuration out there, but the fact it works equally well as I can look on my hardware, despite not having a "day i" update, I'd say it bodes well for general functioning (hopefully).

God of State of war is an audiovisual work of fine art, and the quality of its PC port bodes well for future Sony games.

Beyond operation, God of War is a simple curiosity on the art management department too. The music is majestic and varied, cut deep in the game'southward most emotional moments, and ascending with cinematic intensity during setpiece dominate events. Every axe hit, os split, and skull smash can exist felt with delicious backlog.

Midgard is surprisingly varied in its environmental design too. Information technology goes across the typical real-globe landscapes of the Nordics you'd wait, although even these look incredible, with snow tessellation, stunning lighting and weather, and crisp details. Where God of State of war shines is in its more alien climbs, the elf realm of Alfheim shines with otherworldly fleshy coral structures, and aboriginal ruins beset by ceremonious war. The way the opposing elvish factions are depicted is unlike annihilation I've seen in modern takes too, with Nighttime Elves appearing nigh insectoid in their presentation. God of War takes well-traversed tropes and subverts them, much like its predecessors did, usurping the ancient mythos of Greece to tell a wholly new tale. It exemplifies Kratos himself, rebelling against what's expected of him, oft violently.

God of War is an audiovisual work of fine art, and the quality of its PC port bodes well for future Sony games making their way from PlayStation to Windows. God of War is a rare game that very effortlessly marries its art direction with its story and gameplay delivery too, which also defy expectations.

God of War for PC: Story and gameplay

God Of War Review 2022 Source: Windows Central

God of War has plenty of nods to the history of the franchise, merely equally its title suggests, information technology's something of a reboot. In the original games, Kratos is something of an anti-hero, victimized past a Greek pantheon of Gods depicted as corrupted by vanity and greed. Kratos ultimately spells their demise, usurping the part of God of War for himself. Post-obit the events of God of War III, it appears from the offset that Kratos fled ancient Greece and headed northward, to the frozen mountains and evergreen forests of the Norse lands.

Settling down with a wife and fathering a sickly human being son, Kratos resigns himself to uncomplicated wilderness living. The game begins with Kratos and his son, Atreus, tending to the last rites of Faye, who has sadly passed on. Faye'south final wish for her hubby and son was for her ashes to be scattered at the realm'south highest superlative, setting Kratos and Atreus on a lengthy journey fraught with perils and mysterious godly conspiracy, that unravels into several impressive twists and turns throughout the plot. Right at the very beginning of the game, Kratos does boxing with a scrawny-looking man who sports godlike force, in a boxing that splits the very ground in twain.

God Of War Review 2022 Source: Windows Central

Without giving too much away, God of War weaves a truly masterful story that follows themes laid downwardly past the original games. It showcases a Kratos utterly haunted by his past, and his struggle to forge a new future for himself and his son. Kratos' angry demeanor is gradually softened throughout the game past Atreus, whose childlike curiosity and kind-hearted nature stands wholly in juxtaposition to the anti-heroic Kratos, whose capacity for brutality shines through in every combat segment.

The story delivery alone makes God of War a must-play championship.

God of War examines fatherhood, grief, and ultimately healing in the least likely of settings, creating a strangely human and sobering tale in a world total of gigantic serpents and fantastical magic.

I tin say quite honestly, I was non prepared for just how engrossing God of War turned out to exist. Although it started a trivial slow in the beginning, I would come to find myself utterly transfixed to Kratos' tale, and the unraveling mystery of their quest. Why are unknown godlike beings rising upwards against Kratos? Why are the wilds itch with undead revenants? What happened between God of State of war Three and now? All of these questions and more are answered as you play, told through the eyes of Kratos and Atreus, whose relationship grounds the player in reality amidst all the fantasy. Information technology's masterfully done, and the story delivery alone makes God of War a must-play championship. Thankfully, there are fifty-fifty more than reasons to love this landmark title.

God of War reimagines the hack 'n' slash gameplay the series is known for into a heavier format for the reboot. Kratos of 2022 is less agile, but has a big arsenal of Norse-inspired runic magic, a Thor-like retractable axe, and other tools that keep combat as varied as it is cinematic.

The Leviathan Axe is a marvel of mod video game technology. There's no other weapon actually similar it in whatsoever game I've played, and its use weaves beautifully with Kratos' character animation and the game's physics, like a paintbrush of devastation. Kratos can throw his axe in various ways that get more than complex every bit yous grow in power, using the axe to freeze enemies (or indeed, puzzle elements) in place, or prune flight enemies out of the air. Of course, you can as well use it to butcher enemies into bloody chunks, juggling them in the air dynamically, earlier splitting them in one-half. Once you larn the Leviathan Axe'due south ins and outs, yous'll feel immeasurably powerful, dancing effectually enemy attacks while stripping their flesh from their bones, and every bit soon as it starts getting sometime, the game throws new enemies, epic boss events, and new weaponry your style to keep things persistently fresh.

If you've thrown the Leviathan Axe into an enemy, you tin can instantly call it back boomerang-style, carving enemies along its trajectory path along the manner. You tin also leave information technology still on the battleground, and use your fists and Sparta-inspired shield to beat enemies into bloody chunks, ripping them apart with a badass contextual execution at the cease.

God Of War Dragon Pc Source: Windows Central

Atreus accompanies Kratos along the manner, and grows in power and confidence in the game'south combat dialogue as the story progresses. He besides gets more than attacks and can accompany Kratos from distant with magical bow shots and acrobatics that make the pair feel increasingly like a single combat unit of measurement. It'southward almost lamentable that a 2d player can't control Atreus, but peradventure in a futurity installment.

Indeed, there's not a huge corporeality to complain near when it comes to God of War's gainsay, as well things that would exist "prissy to have," like co-op play. I as well wasn't a huge fan of the Gears of War-like shoulder photographic camera, since it can exist hard to manage enemies who are attacking from behind or from the side, but it's a pocket-sized gripe ultimately — and the game does give yous indicators if an enemy off-screen is virtually to attack.

God of War as well has a layered progression system that ties deeply into the game'south exploration elements. Brand no error, God of War is a beast of a game, hands taking completionists upwardly of 30+ hours to fully explore.

All of that is bespoke hand-crafted content, likewise, with no pointless and repetitive open up-earth busywork masquerading as gameplay either. The country of Midgard is meticulous in execution, with incredibly detailed dungeons, filled with puzzle elements and exploration opportunities.

Hidden crafting materials assist yous to build up Kratos' forcefulness and arsenal, allowing you to construct increasingly powerful armor and gear, helping you undertake further optional bosses and other challenges. As the story progresses, more worlds and areas open up up for exploration also, and additional tools give you the power to backtrack to previous areas to unlock more content equally well. In an age of flat and basic open-world games, experiencing God of State of war'southward weaving, handcrafted dungeons, and setpieces was a truthful delight.

God of War almost makes me complaining how rare these types of experiences seem to be getting at this level of quality. It's a testament to the quality that Sony has go known for. The fact that they're porting their games to PC and then faithfully deserves as of admiration and praise, and I can only hope this trend continues.

God of War for PC: An era-defining moment

God Of War Review 2022 Source: Windows Central

God of War is another wholly expected win from Sony and its teams on PC. Similar Days Gone and Horizon Zero Dawn earlier it, God of State of war seeks to capitalize on a vibrant PC market eager for loftier-quality, polished experiences — and God of War for PC utterly delivers.

Polished to a glistening end, God of State of war is an example to be followed for any company seeking to bring their panel-leap titles to the vital PC gaming space. Well optimized with heaps of configuration options, God of State of war bodes well for time to come titles making their way across from PlayStation.

As a game, at that place's niggling more than to say that hasn't been said already. God of War is a masterpiece, simply put. From when information technology launched originally in 2022, to its PS5 upgrade, to this PC version, regardless of how you play, God of State of war is a landmark experience that publishers exterior of Sony itself but seem incapable of achieving. Incredible art meets ambitious storytelling and meticulously precise combat, creating a whole that is greater than its already formidable parts. God of State of war is utterly incredible.

God Of War Pc

God of War (PC)

Bottom line: God of War for PC is a truly incredible experience that subverts expectations with a surprisingly deep story, flanked by incredible audiovisual direction and relentlessly satisfying combat. God of War is a landmark feel that absolutely everybody should play.

Jez Corden

Jez Corden is a Senior Editor for Windows Central, focusing primarily on all things Xbox and gaming. Jez is known for breaking sectional news and analysis equally relates to the Microsoft ecosystem while beingness powered by caffeine. Follow on Twitter @JezCorden and heed to his Xbox Two podcast, all about, y'all guessed information technology, Xbox!