Originally developed by Santa Monica Studio, God of War is being ported to PC by the Canadian developer Jetpack Interactive, the same company that handled the Dark Souls PC port. The final product is a crisp, clean adventure filled with stunning views, breathtaking myths, and heart-pounding combat. God of War initially launched as a PlayStation exclusive, receiving Game of the Year in 2018 at The Game Awards and attracting significant attention for the franchise before porting to PC.
God of War takes place many years after God of War 3. After destroying the Greek Pantheon and leaving his homeland flooded, Kratos made his way to Midgard to create a new life. Before the game starts, Kratos meets a woman named Faye, with whom he marries and has a son. Although she dies before the game begins, the quest to bring her ashes to the highest peak in the realms provides Kratos and his son, Atreus, reasons to bond and grow. Faced with Baldur, Magni, Modi, and other mythological monsters, Kratos must fight to protect himself and his child from the wrath of Asgard.
Like most action-fighting RPGs, God of War allows players to craft gear and upgrade abilities as more hacksilver is collected throughout the world and harvested from enemies. Though Kratos excels at close-quarters combat with his Leviathan Axe and the infamous Blades of Chaos, his skill trees allow players to customize their playstyle in many ways. Additionally, difficulty modifiers create accessibility options for players of all skill levels, ensuring anyone can experience Kratos and Atreus’ story.
Many features of God of War stand out, even in the first few hours of gameplay; one of the most impressive qualities of the game is its graphics. Though Kratos and Atreus battle many enemies and bosses, puzzles and level traversal occupy plenty of gametime. Dynamic graphics in a constantly evolving world ensure the journey is as beautiful as exciting. The minimum GPU requirements listed on God of War’s Steam page are an NVIDIA GTX 960 or AMD R9 290X, which still satisfactorily runs the game. Though players can suffer some visual glitches, it rarely stutters in combat, and the pixels fade after a few seconds.
The God of War PC version is an excellently ported title without noticeable glitches in movement, combat, dialogue, or visuals. Moving around Midgard and beyond is exceptionally receptive on keyboard and mouse, allowing players to take in all their surroundings without stuttering. The default controls are mostly coherent, though players with presets on their mice or keyboards may find themselves adjusting during early gameplay. AI enemies change tactics and abilities as players progress through the Norse realms, utilizing different elements and attacks as Kratos grows stronger.
God of War’s PC port is a must-have for fans of games with seamless combat and gorgeous graphics. Kratos’ story and character development as a father and mourning husband presents players with a heartbreakingly beautiful tale accompanied by vivid depictions of Norse mythology. Its visuals create immersive arenas to battle the living and the undead in over 40 hours of story gameplay. Whether fans are experiencing God of War for the first time or are weathered veterans of the franchise, nearly everyone can enjoy God of War’s PC port.
God of War is available for January 12th, 2021, on PC and is currently available for PlayStation systems. Screen Rant was provided with a PC code for the purpose of this review.
