The short version: God of War 2018 is one of the most polished action games ever made. Every axe throw feels like it was designed by someone who really thought about dopamine. If you want spectacle with substance, this is it.
Yes, actually. A lot of “prestige” games make you sit through 45 minutes of walking before anything happens. God of War skips that. You’re in a high-stakes boss fight early, and the game uses that moment to show you exactly what it is: heavy, cinematic, and intense.
The Leviathan Axe is the star of the show. Throwing it, watching it crack into an enemy, and recalling it back to your hand never stops feeling satisfying. The audio and haptic feedback on that mechanic alone is worth the price of admission.
The combat has real weight. This isn’t button-mashing chaos. Every hit lands with purpose. The rhythmic feel of axe combat keeps you locked in even during the quieter stretches.
The camera trick works. The whole game is one continuous shot with no cuts. It sounds gimmicky, but it genuinely keeps you immersed in a way that most games don’t manage.
It doesn’t waste your time. The transitions between exploration, puzzle-solving, and combat are smooth. You rarely hit a dead zone where nothing interesting is happening.
The “dad game” pacing. If you played the original trilogy for pure adrenaline, some of the boat rides and emotional conversations will feel like speed bumps. The game wants you to feel things, and that means slowing down occasionally. Whether that’s a flaw or a feature depends on what you’re looking for.
The RPG layer adds friction. Gear levels, crafting menus, upgrade trees: none of it is overwhelming, but it does chip away at the pick-up-and-play simplicity the older games had. It’s a minor complaint, but it’s there.
Here’s the honest take: the 2005 God of War is a 10/10 for raw, zero-friction arcade fun. No menus, no crafting, just violence and spectacle on rails. The 2018 version is technically the better game by almost every measure, but it trades some of that pure adrenaline for narrative depth.
If you want the most fun God of War game in the oldest sense of the word, play the 2005 original. If you want the most impressive God of War game, play the 2018 reboot.
God of War 2018 earns its 8/10. It hooks you fast, keeps the spectacle going, and delivers one of the best-feeling combat systems in the genre. The slower moments exist by design, not by accident. Whether you enjoy them is a matter of taste.
What it’s not is the nonstop chaos machine the original was. And that’s okay. It’s trying to be something different, and it mostly succeeds.
God of War scores 8/10 on immediate fun. A heavy-hitting action game that almost perfects the Dad-Sim loop, though it slows down for boat chats.
Fatigue after 20 hours. Boredom in quiet moments.
One question: did it deliver immediate fun? Graphics, story depth, difficulty and critical acclaim are ignored. Pick-up-and-play accessibility is rewarded; anything that makes you wait for the fun to start is penalized.
How we score: We don't care about graphics, story depth, or critical acclaim. One question — did it deliver immediate fun? We reward pick-up-and-play accessibility and penalize anything that makes you wait for the fun to start.