Good god, lots of thoughts here.
I loved a lot of the game but I couldn't help but feel like the last couple hours fell flat. It just didn't effectively use the finale of the game, in my opinion as much as I would have hoped.
It's been hard for me to figure out the words to write this here, and I don't know if I'll be able to. It's taken me years to finish this game because just something about it was so challenging to force myself to play, even if it was pretty fun when I was playing.
I think the Valkyries are a great example, where I'd get so frustrated I'd throw my hands up in the air and not back down to get better gear. The way I interacted with the more challenging material definitely didn't make the experience easier, but may have diminished my experience there.
I didn't feel a need to grind for the best gear, because past that, I felt content with what I could achieve -- and the challenge from my current 'level'.
Although the RPG elements didn't work as well for me, the level design (especially for puzzles) was absolutely brilliant. Instinctively I understood a lot of the winding labyrinthine puzzle layouts and knew where I short cut would lead me which I think is just a testament to how well these sections were designed. The gorgeous multi-layered puzzles just worked so well for me and I can't imagine what they'll do next there.
We can't talk about the acting without talking about the amazing Christopher Judge as Kratos. His voice work here wholly embodies at least what I think of when I'm thinking about Kratos and how he's evolved over the years. His work here is definitely not something to be slept on, though I'm sure most people realize that by now.
Sunny Suljic is good in the way of, I hate this kid and want him to shut up, kind of way, which feels on point for some of the moments in the game. I'd bop Atreus on the head a couple of times if I could. Trust me.
Past that, I think the game did a great job overall and a lot of my shortcomings with the game came from personal experience and the vastness of material that was here. Going into it, I definitely didn't expect it to be a thirty-ish hour brute of a story where I couldn't help but feel like the actual narrative events didn't usually effect one another.
I almost feel like this would have worked better as more episodic in nature, akin to a Cartoon Network television show for the 'non' main quest chapters of the story. Maybe just figuring out a better way to incorporate them would have helped me, rather than having to always loop in an injury, or a magic item or a deus ex machina to continue.
I loved a lot of the game but I couldn't help but feel like the last couple hours fell flat. It just didn't effectively use the finale of the game, in my opinion as much as I would have hoped.
It's been hard for me to figure out the words to write this here, and I don't know if I'll be able to. It's taken me years to finish this game because just something about it was so challenging to force myself to play, even if it was pretty fun when I was playing.
I think the Valkyries are a great example, where I'd get so frustrated I'd throw my hands up in the air and not back down to get better gear. The way I interacted with the more challenging material definitely didn't make the experience easier, but may have diminished my experience there.
I didn't feel a need to grind for the best gear, because past that, I felt content with what I could achieve -- and the challenge from my current 'level'.
Although the RPG elements didn't work as well for me, the level design (especially for puzzles) was absolutely brilliant. Instinctively I understood a lot of the winding labyrinthine puzzle layouts and knew where I short cut would lead me which I think is just a testament to how well these sections were designed. The gorgeous multi-layered puzzles just worked so well for me and I can't imagine what they'll do next there.
We can't talk about the acting without talking about the amazing Christopher Judge as Kratos. His voice work here wholly embodies at least what I think of when I'm thinking about Kratos and how he's evolved over the years. His work here is definitely not something to be slept on, though I'm sure most people realize that by now.
Sunny Suljic is good in the way of, I hate this kid and want him to shut up, kind of way, which feels on point for some of the moments in the game. I'd bop Atreus on the head a couple of times if I could. Trust me.
Past that, I think the game did a great job overall and a lot of my shortcomings with the game came from personal experience and the vastness of material that was here. Going into it, I definitely didn't expect it to be a thirty-ish hour brute of a story where I couldn't help but feel like the actual narrative events didn't usually effect one another.
I almost feel like this would have worked better as more episodic in nature, akin to a Cartoon Network television show for the 'non' main quest chapters of the story. Maybe just figuring out a better way to incorporate them would have helped me, rather than having to always loop in an injury, or a magic item or a deus ex machina to continue.