God of War III takes a fundamentally damaged character, and twists him even more into the “monster” he’s described to be in the rebooted series.
A man who killed his family. Killed dozens of innocent people, including ones who beg for their lives. The game forces you, the player, to often take these lives. And in the final stretch… the last act… Kratos the irredeemable Ghost of Sparta has an idea planted within him. One that not even he considered possible.
The idea that even he is capable of changing after all he’s become. That what he’s done doesn’t have to define him forever. An idea planted by a young girl… similar to that of his daughter. He’s reminded of his humanity. He’s reminded of hope. And in his final moments in the game, he does the first selfless thing in all of the series. He gives a bit of hope to the world he’s destroyed along his path for vengeance.
His first selfless act while on a new path. A fresh start Pandora suggested possible. One that we would later embark on with him. Kratos is not forgiven for what he’s done. He’s not justified in it either. But maybe with the rest of the life, he can continue to make better choices.
…This game dials up the storytelling another notch over the previous two entries. Pandora often reminded me of Atreus in the time I spent with her- shaping Kratos into a gentler soul, while giving him something to care about other than vengeance.
The boss battles were more frequent, yet they never lost the epic scale I’ve come to love about them throughout the series. Each was exciting, and revealed something new about the world and its story. Though the gameplay is distinctly similar to the first to games, maybe to a fault, there were still plenty new mechanics that allowed the experience to feel fresh and satisfying. The level design is at least just as mesmerizing as the first two… yet somehow they do it even better here.
The graphics were nicely improved, which feels really rewarding for the last entry in the franchise. And having more cutscenes allowed for more storytelling, which was more payoff I wasn’t expecting. It’s the perfect follow up to the incredible cliffhanger the second game leaves things on. I couldn’t imagine how this could succeed things in a satisfying way… and yet it did at every turn. It has all of the elements I was hoping for and plenty of elements I love that I wasn’t expecting.
Then of course, by that same token… an element I absolutely hate that hurts the experience significantly… though it’s not reflected in my rating because in all fairness, it isn’t in the game very long. There is an over abundance of sexuality and eroticism in one portion of the game that became incredibly obnoxious remarkably fast. It also goes hand in hand with the over-sexualization, and treatment of women in the game.
If you’ve played it, then you already know that there’s an entire quick-time sex mini game randomly thrown in and completely out of place. I’m positive it was to appeal to male gamer incels who never leave their basement… but I think just about every other type of person who’s played this can agree that we can do without it. I genuinely can’t believe it’s in this game. The first game in the series had some similar issues… but not this bad.
However, if you’re able to move past this and continue playing, the storytelling does make up for it tenfold. It is the definitive experience in the trilogy, and it’s given me memories I won’t forget.
A man who killed his family. Killed dozens of innocent people, including ones who beg for their lives. The game forces you, the player, to often take these lives. And in the final stretch… the last act… Kratos the irredeemable Ghost of Sparta has an idea planted within him. One that not even he considered possible.
The idea that even he is capable of changing after all he’s become. That what he’s done doesn’t have to define him forever. An idea planted by a young girl… similar to that of his daughter. He’s reminded of his humanity. He’s reminded of hope. And in his final moments in the game, he does the first selfless thing in all of the series. He gives a bit of hope to the world he’s destroyed along his path for vengeance.
His first selfless act while on a new path. A fresh start Pandora suggested possible. One that we would later embark on with him. Kratos is not forgiven for what he’s done. He’s not justified in it either. But maybe with the rest of the life, he can continue to make better choices.
…This game dials up the storytelling another notch over the previous two entries. Pandora often reminded me of Atreus in the time I spent with her- shaping Kratos into a gentler soul, while giving him something to care about other than vengeance.
The boss battles were more frequent, yet they never lost the epic scale I’ve come to love about them throughout the series. Each was exciting, and revealed something new about the world and its story. Though the gameplay is distinctly similar to the first to games, maybe to a fault, there were still plenty new mechanics that allowed the experience to feel fresh and satisfying. The level design is at least just as mesmerizing as the first two… yet somehow they do it even better here.
The graphics were nicely improved, which feels really rewarding for the last entry in the franchise. And having more cutscenes allowed for more storytelling, which was more payoff I wasn’t expecting. It’s the perfect follow up to the incredible cliffhanger the second game leaves things on. I couldn’t imagine how this could succeed things in a satisfying way… and yet it did at every turn. It has all of the elements I was hoping for and plenty of elements I love that I wasn’t expecting.
Then of course, by that same token… an element I absolutely hate that hurts the experience significantly… though it’s not reflected in my rating because in all fairness, it isn’t in the game very long. There is an over abundance of sexuality and eroticism in one portion of the game that became incredibly obnoxious remarkably fast. It also goes hand in hand with the over-sexualization, and treatment of women in the game.
If you’ve played it, then you already know that there’s an entire quick-time sex mini game randomly thrown in and completely out of place. I’m positive it was to appeal to male gamer incels who never leave their basement… but I think just about every other type of person who’s played this can agree that we can do without it. I genuinely can’t believe it’s in this game. The first game in the series had some similar issues… but not this bad.
However, if you’re able to move past this and continue playing, the storytelling does make up for it tenfold. It is the definitive experience in the trilogy, and it’s given me memories I won’t forget.