What a phenomenal adventure! I've picked up this game three different times and stopped before getting to the likes of the first realm and am so glad I gave it another chance. The gameplay starts off limited but slowly starts to open up with different skill trees and surprise twists that really make the combat fun and engaging.

Side quests can be hit or miss, and the RPG mechanics can get a bit convoluted by the end of the game, but the real star of the show is the story between Kratos and Atreus. Lots of time and development went into fleshing out the relationship between the two protagonists and it definitely pays off.

There are definitely some pacing issues towards the end, but it doesn't come close to spoiling the highs this game achieves. I can't wait to move onto Ragnarok!