God of War Chains of Olympus (2016)
I considered going back and playing this again but I couldn't bring myself to do it. The story was okay but didn't add much to the legend of Kratos beyond giving him more reasons to hate the Gods. It did setup a cool scene through exposition in the third game however.
God of War 1-2 (2019)
The first two I finished in December, but had already many years ago. This game still holds up, the move set gets tired after a while but the way magic and mythos was mixed was just awesome. Kratos is a brutal, animalistic departure from the heroes we've had and lets the player feel and release that throughout gameplay. I'm not a big fan of puzzle games, but I've always loved them in God of War and how they affect the world. You're not always just unlocking a door, you're complete a puzzle that then moves an island across a sea. I really wanted to feel the rage of Kratos and have that contextualised experience moving into Dad of Boy. The full Kratos experience, and to do that I had to go back and play GoW 1-2.
God of War Ghost of Sparta - Game 1
This installment fell somewhere between Chains of Olympus and the original two for me. The gameplay was fun, but it still felt like it added nothing major to the overall arc beyond giving Kratos more fuel where he already had enough. The side story with Deimos was cool however and at this point now every single iconic detail that marks Kratos has history and meaning. Excited to see if his brother or family is brought up in God of War 4.
God of War 3 - Game 2
This was the big one for two reasons - I played the first 2 on PS2 and had pushed back the final chapter for almost a decade. And I had refused to play the apparent masterpiece of a continuation until I went back and finished 3. And oh boy am I glad I did, this game, ohhhh boy this game. Take God of War 1 and 2 which dialed it up to 10 in the violent savage combat and story, then keep turning around 2 or 3 more times until the dial is broken. That's God of War 3 in a nutshell. The first scene on the back of Gaia and then fighting Poseidon is one of the crowning achievements and examples of video games as art. The sheer spectacle and epic nature of it presents the peak of playing a legendary myth that Kratos, God of War always tried to be. And when it came down to kill the Gods, they were all disturbing and over the top. Cutting off Hermes legs, tearing off chunks of Hades and fighting them. But watching Kratos kill Poseidon from his own POV was something to behold and a truly uncomfortable moment. The art and grandeur of the areas have always been a mainstay of the series, but this one was exceptional. River Styx and Hades were my personal favourite. I can't wait to see how they reinvented and reinvigorated the series in God of War 4!
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