From the Top: God of War (2018)

Just under a year ago, I started my own little Heraclean task of playing through the whole of the God of War series — at least the ones I could get my hands on— all to prepare myself for the soft reboot of the series, God of War (2018).

- Martin Heath

Martin is getting closer to the latest entry

This is a bad habit of mine; I find myself uncomfortable starting a new series in the middle of things and like to take things From the Top. After four titles (and five articles worth of rambling), we’re finally here. So, what is the answer to the ultimate question: “Do I need to play the originals in order to play the reboot?” Stick around and find out! If this is your first time joining me, I recommend reading through the series, as we’ll touch on a few points here and there.

So, first things first, what's the game all about? Well, I won’t go into heavy detail, but there are some spoilers to come. If you do not want key plot points spoiled, stop here. In God of War (2018) we find the ever-angry Kratos in a small hut in the northern wilderness. Things seem to be going as well as one can imagine, as his wife (a new one) has passed and he must now gather wood to build a pyre. Joining the weirdly solemn, and much older, Spartan is Atreus, his son. The two go about the morose business and collect their beloved’s ashes. Apparently, the wife, Faye, wanted her ashes to be spread atop the “highest peak”, which is quite a ways away and little Atreus is a bit sickly, so Daddos begins testing and training the young chatterbox in hunting and survival. What should be a simple trip up a hill is, of course, made difficult by the emergence of Draugr, basically Viking zombies, and other threats, throwing the Spartan and son into a whirlwind of danger of happenstance. During this fateful trip, father and son slowly learn about each other, repairing bonds fractured by Kratos’ “hands off and miles away” style of parenting.