God of War

After more than 55 hours spent playing, I’m still awed by just how great God of War is. This is the result of a clear, determined vision, its separate elements harmonizing almost perfectly to deliver an experience that understands the series’ blood-soaked origins but is also not afraid to push it into a more mature and nuanced direction. Kratos and Atreus’ relationship develops naturally as does their understanding of the foreign land they’re journeying through. The story takes its time, never rushing its satisfying reveals, and making way for a set of surprisingly personal boss fights, while the continuous camera shot used throughout the game is a masterstroke in terms of presentation. All this is built around a snappy and responsive combat system that has more depth than you’re initially led to believe. There are more jaw-dropping surprises I didn’t touch upon simply because it’s best that you experience them for yourself. Looking back, aside from the port’s few performance flaws, my only real complaint has to do with Sony taking this long to bring the game to PC.