God of War 2018 General Discussion

6 day rental.

I'm installing it now and will post anything interesting regarding the combat here.

Edit: Just messing around with the first enemies in the game. I'm playing the hardest mode.

They don't take hit-stun from lighter attacks for the most part. The final hit of the light string will work as well as heavy attacks. When they lose enough HP they will start glowing blue like they're charging energy. Once complete they will be glowing permanently and become stronger, get some HP back, and be even more resistant to attacks. They can't be launched in this state. Hitting them with a heavy attack or throwing the axe will cancel their power up though.

Guarding cancels attack animations. I've had some success relaunching enemies with it, but the way the shield fans out makes it a difficult to time. I don't doubt some cool stuff could be done with this though. This is just initial observation at this point.

When you do the first hit of the heavy strong, it launches, then a second input makes them bounce off the ground. Both cases cause the enemy to remain in the air briefly. If you start pressing light here, Kratos will start hacking at them in the air finishing with a knockback.

I was trying to guard cancel to just use the first hit of the heavy string over and over. It works, but I think more due to the fact that these enemies don't recover and can be relaunched while they are down. You can throw the axe at them in the air but it sends them miles away.

I froze one and while barehanded using the heavy attack which is a front kick. This sends them flying back quite far, and the guy I kicked smashed into another and froze him too.

There's wall damage. Freeze a guy and kick them into a wall does huge damage, though that instantly is enough to trigger their transformation so you need to be prepared to chase them cancel it with a heavy.

Parrying is so easy that I can't describe it. It requires no timing.

That's all I got for now.

Incredibly boring combat so far.

Birdman wrote:Incredibly boring combat so far.

Doing god's work Birdman. What exactly makes it so boring?

That kick into wall on frozen enemies doesn't always work. Not sure why they sometimes take huge damage.

Maybe it seems boring because I selected the hardest mode. Enemies are damage sponges so it's just parry/dodge, get in a few hits, repeat. You have to be really careful because on this mode they take little hit-stun and can attack right through your attacks.

If you want to grab, you have to fill their stun meter, but on this mode that isn't going to happen often, or at least not on a new game with no upgrades.

I'm starting to think I should have chosen the mode just under this one, because each encounter takes way too long. More upgrades should solve that I guess. We'll see.

I can now make Atreus attack. You press square and he'll fire an arrow at the enemy you're looking at. He'll fire as fast as you tap the button, and it functions like a special move really.

So far the areas have branching paths that lead to goodies. I found a cave with a chest guarded by wolves who were kinda annoying to fight. They took hit-stun but also had an attack that could guardbreak. I didn't know what it was at first, but you see this yellow ring of light when an incoming attack has this property. Red means unblockable.

So far lots of forced walking and talking. Can't skip cut-scenes or speed up anything. I guess it's ok for the first playthrough but if it doesn't allow skipping on the second playthrough, well...fuck that.

Really bored.

Encounters with like only 4-5 enemies take so long I fall asleep. The hardest mode just boosts their HP and you have to dodge and parry non stop and kill you in 2-3 hits. I might lower the difficulty because I'm barely progressing and I want to actually see what you can unlock before I have to return it.

Quit.

*auto climbing (Horizon/Tomb Raider/Uncharted/10000 others)
*Opening large wall mural that tells a story (TR)
*Opening treasure box and fishing through it for goodies (TR)
*Skill trees, forced walking (everything in recent years)
*Unskippable scenes even if you died and have seen them.

Combat has some stuff to it, but not enough to motivate me. To be fair, I haven't upgraded everything but looking through the trees it sounds thoroughly uninteresting. There are runes you can find that offer specials with cooldowns but I only have one.

Not saying the game is total garbage, but just isn't anything new. Doesn't deserve this level of praise at all and it's really sad that the devs decided to copy ALL existing bland trends. The game offers nothing new or interesting at all. Not a single thing. Totally average, but this is the gaming landscape these days.

Exploration is good though. No open world nonsense. More like TR where you go off to the side and find other areas.

"Deep, nuanced combat"



edit: grrr, I spent $20 to rent this for 6 days. Might as well try to get as far as I can. Maybe there's something cool to unlock that will make the combat more fun.

What you describe really confirms my worst fears. So you started on Give me God of War? Heard a lot of bad stuff on that mode that it just ignores the base-mechanics and gives enemies bloated HP bars, without giving you tools to deal with it propper. Saw a few end-game players play and it was mostly keep-away gameplay with them throwing the axe and shooting with the kid while running away. Not very exciting.

The walking and talking cannot be skipped because it's a "Single camera shot" game, which apparently is really cool and all. But honestly, it will ruin replays. Older God of War titles also had this problem (unskippable muck), but at least they were short.

> praise
Currently, on average, it is the best reviewed title ever made even beating out classics like Ocarina of Time. This is absolutely insane. Like you said, it is the safest title ever in terms of what it does.

I almost want to fly you over, sit you down and play the original games together haha. There is so much to love.

You do eventually get a secondary weapon, but it only has 5 real moves from what I know.

Yeah I started on the hardest. I had to lower it to the next one down because the devil trigger enemies were just too annoying. Everything has way too much HP. The actual enemies are not hard . Everyone is making them out to be these super intelligent AI but they're totally normal.

I found an optional fight with two level 6 axe heavies, and you can't do a thing but hit once then roll away. Everything they do is unblockable and one hit kill. If I come back later with upgrades I win. If I lower the difficulty I win. What's the point?

The point, sadly, is that this game just isn't for us. It's stuff like that (bloated numbers) that really irks me and rubs me the wrong way.

Yeah pretty much. I would still call it an ok game though. I've barely progressed, but I'd say it's worth a playthrough if you can get it cheap.

The exploration is really nice though. It reminds me of RE4. Probably because I got on a boat in a cave that lead to a huge lake. This part is quite open with half submerged buildings that have docks so you can get off and explore them.

Probably won't get much further because I only have today, then back to work on Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday is a public holiday though. It's due back then.

Finally beat these axe guys. Damn that was scary. I think it recorded so I might upload it later.

“Gutter Trash”-Dudley from 3rd Strike...

All we can hope for is if the series goes on long enough, a future entry will meet the standards of the originals.

Ok.

It's not bad. Combat is decent. Nothing new but decent. It's kinda scary that many are praising it as the best combat system ever and raising the bar on action games.

It hasnt brought a single new thing to the table. I firmly believe this genre is done now. I wonder if Bayo 3 is going to be the same. Why not? This cinematic formula is guaranteed their precious 95 meta score and crazy sales.

Good news. Dodge offset is in this.

You have two types of dodges. A quick step or a roll. You can continue strings after the step.

I've been avoiding strings and stepping because hard mode is so dangerous and I didn't even consider that such a mechanic would be in this.

Talismans are proving interesting as well. I got one that activates witch time on last second side steps. Runes are cool too though I only have a few.

Some equipment and attachments boost certain attributes. It seems you can actually create builds to an extent. You may be able to boost stun and make a grabby Kratos, or maybe focus on ranged. I'm messing around with ranged stuff and I can see it working if I can get some more upgrades.

For Atreus, I got a spell that lets him summon an energy wolf that runs around smashing into enemies.

It really is looking at least better than we thought, though again, it's not doing anything new. Graphics are pretty insane though. These locations look amazing.

The map is quite unique. Its like a mini 3d model of the area but aside from your main goal or side stuff you've activated, it doesn't litter the screen with markers or where other areas are. Like in these larger areas where you're on the boat, you look at the geography or structures then go investigate if it looks like there's a path or somewhere you can dock.

All moves and skills.

Guys I might actually buy this. Not saying it's better then old GoW but on its own it's decent.

I've read there is some kind of arena post game, and I'm interested in builds like using this talisman that grants witch time on last second dodges (actually kind of hard to do). I need to upgrade it and the materials seem rare. #Kratonetta

Heresy Birdman, heresy. Jokes aside, get it used if you can.

In terms of the combat, as I said before, if it was a standalone new IP I wouldn't mind, but as it stands it is just such a step back in each and every way. I will get it too eventually, if only to see what the fuss is about and so that I can form an argumented opinion about it if nothing else.

So far from what I've seen this game is a 'best of' collection of all the tropes and development trends of the last generation pooled into one game. Can't lie though, the art design is gorgeous. Some really impressive vistas.

Bought it.

Let me know if you want any specifics on anything.

> is there an arena? If so, how does it work? Does it allow for special types of fights?

> how much of the game is pointless walking and talking?

> can you skip cutscenes on repeat playthroughs?

> how useful is weapon switching?

> is it possible to replay the game with the blades?

> are there Costumes?

> is Freezing useful?

> how are the magic spells (if any)?

> can you avoid leveling?

> what does leveling even do?

> if you don't upgrade/level, will you end up dealing just 1/10000th damage, or doesn't it really matter?

> does the enviroment play a part in the combat? Does throwing enemies into each other deal them damage?

That's it basically.

is there an arena? If so, how does it work? Does it allow for special types of fights?
Yes, an optional realm has an arena with trials. They have various requirements like beating enemies within a time limit, not taking damage, regenerating enemies etc. There aren't that many trials but from what I've read these challenges seems pretty hard.

how much of the game is pointless walking and talking?
During the story, quite a lot so far. Once you get to go exploring there's not much.

can you skip cutscenes on repeat playthroughs?
Haven't beaten the game yet but I've heard you can't.

how useful is weapon switching?
There's no on the fly switching. You have to sheath or throw your axe to get fists and shield. Don't know about the Blades of Chaos.

is it possible to replay the game with the blades?
Not sure yet.

are there Costumes?
Not that I know of.

is Freezing useful?
On lower difficulties yes, but I'm not getting much use on hard. Maybe with more upgrades it might be better. Frost always kicks in though.

how are the magic spells (if any)?
The kid has magic and it's super easy to use though I only have 3 spells. One summons energy wolves that run around tearing into enemies, another summons a flock of ravens I think. I mainly use the wolf one but I just got a squirrel that digs up items, though I think it's just healing or rage boosters. Kratos can equip runes that sort of function like magic. Some are physical attacks while others are more magical like throwing shockwaves, or sending ice spikes along the ground.

can you avoid leveling?
what does leveling even do?
Yes, you can avoid it. It's weird. It's not exp or anything. Your level is determined by your equipment. On hard, many enemies one shot you and have red unblockable attacks, but if your level is higher, their attacks get downgraded to yellow. Oh yeah, enemy attacks have MGR color coding. So, you could unequip everything and your level would go down. No matter how many you kill, nothing will change with Kratos' stats.

if you don't upgrade/level, will you end up dealing just 1/10000th damage, or doesn't it really matter?
Pretty much but only on harder modes. Equipment decides your level, so if you stick with starting stuff you'll always be at that disadvantage. On the other hand, what this means is you can purposely choose weaker equipment and try to balance it out.

does the enviroment play a part in the combat? Does throwing enemies into each other deal them damage?
Yes, but it's not something I'm getting much use out of on hard. You can knock them off ledges/cliffs but I think they have to be light types.

When frozen, you can kick them into others or walls. Not useful on hard in my experience. I've seen a throw but it might have been an enemy specific one. I don't know much about grabs right now, only that you have to full the stun meter to use them.

Ok so I've found there's another piece of equipment that activates realm shift ON HIT. Percentage based though. Not sure if it's an upgradable piece or if you can find stronger versions, but still, on top of the amulet that triggers it after last second dodges, this game is starting to look like TFD lol.

Let's get the terminology straight because I feel the in-game terms make no sense. This build will be known as Kratonetta, and the slow down will be known as Dad Time, unless you guys can come up with something funnier.

I've got, and have read about some equips that boost ranged axe attacks. A ranged build could very well be possible, backed up with ranged runic attacks, The Boy's arrows and spells, and one of the Spartan Rage moves he throws a huge boulder.

I just can't imagine a world where we'll have serious discussions on when to activate Dad Time, and whether or not you should dad-offset that combo! 

I've got, and have read about some equips that boost ranged axe attacks. A ranged build could very well be possible, backed up with ranged runic attacks, The Boy's arrows and spells, and one of the Spartan Rage moves he throws a huge boulder.

I've already seen quite a few people just play the ranged game, there's nothing the game can really do against it from what I've seen. Just keep your shield up, chug that axe and let the son just wreck havoc.

I'm on the mode just below the hardest where a lot of attacks are unblockable. Throwing really isn't that great if it's all you do because many enemies can tank through it. If you're facing a group it's kind of difficult too, though all this will change when you level up. I'm already seeing a big difference.

Some enemies are immune to the axe altogether or have shields.

I've got a few pieces of armor with slots for these relics and I've got two that boost precision throws by 6%. Also have a talisman that slows time and boosts ranged attacks, but I can't have Dad Time at the same time so its going to be a separate build.

The kid is really good. His light arrows inflict a defense down status, and cause a small explosion when upgraded in addition to damage. Shock arrows are OP. They can paralyze and an upgrade links the shock to nearby enemies. Some of his magic is nuts as well.

Heard some very mixed opinions on the highest setting, that it's mostly a numbers game early on and most key mechanics just being pointless. I just finished Yakuza 6 (in tears) so I'll probably get to this game sooner than later. Ordered GOW:A first though, never played that one.

Royta/Raeng wrote:I just finished Yakuza 6 (in tears)

What kind of tears Kuryu-Kun?(you get a sick boss fight with Beat Takeshi no?)

You know what save it for that topic...

Yeah because on the highest difficulty enemies will DT, get their health back, and become resistant to pretty much everything. Can't launch or stun, freeze barely works, one hit kills and you do barely any damage.

I switched to the one before that which is the same but no enemy DT. Still get one shotted all over the place and it still takes a while to kill more powerful enemies.

Wow, just fought my first Valkyrie. That was a pretty intense fight.

From the footage I've seen it's more the camera being an issue there. You can kill them in one hit if you execute a foe closeby and redirect towards the Valkyrie; Kratos will then instead to the QTE kill on her.

haha that's got to be a glitch. But not all Valkyries summon enemies. The one I fought was alone.
Camera was no issue especially in a 1v1 encounter.

She was really aggressive and I died a few times learning her moves. She doesn't have many. Basically just either flies or dashes at you with a blockable attack (I think she had a scythe) which I'd just parry, get in some hits, then she'd backdash and repeat.

She could also do this spinning attack with her wings. First two spins can be blocked normally, then she'll either use a red unblockable punch, or a yellow spin which can be parried. Easy to see both coming.

You spoke of Dad Time strats Roy? Well I think I have one for you.
When she dashes in with her scythe attack, it's actually a two hit attack. The first is a spin followed by a second slash. If you DT the first once, you can get in a basic string before it ends, then parry the second which will stun her for more free attacks. You could also DT the second slash, but I think the parry gives you a little extra. All the while have Atreus shooting the shit out of her.

BullseyeStrider, arguably one of the best action gamers around, made his first GoW video:




Pretty smart setup.

Nice. I didn't know you could attack his weapon like that.

I'm subscribed to this guy. He plays some obscure stuff I love like Oogie's Revenge.

He's a beast when it comes down to most games. Very impressive Vanquish and DMC1 footage too.

I havent watched those yet. Might download this weekend.

Edit: I just got a talisman that activates realm shift on command. I think it works on a cooldown. Problem is you can only equip one talisman at a time which means I'd lose Dad Time.

I believe I'm over halfway, and can either go on with the story or deal with side content. I'm interested in finding more add ons to see what kind of build I can come up with. I want to fight the valkyries so I might go after them.

Then there's the realm that's basically an arena which could be fun.

Just found this.

Found a used copy for 25 euros, good enough. Installing as we speak, curious to see how it will go. I'm actually hoping that I can change the voice-languages, would be a nice way to make it feel like a different IP than God of War.

I think I might be close to the end so I might rush it and forget side content for now. Really want to go back to my older games like Okami and do more research.

So far the only combat I've actually enjoyed is 1v1 valkyries, but overall it's been average.

Some random thoughts:

Let's get the good out of the way first so we can get to the meat of things(lol). The game looks good, no doubt about it. Not just in terms of graphics (that's okay), the art-design is really top notch. Good clear menus, handdrawn artwork with codex entries (not even concept art, just well made illustrations) and the areas are nice and colorful. Framerate (30fps) aside this is a game I think will age very well.

The combat is, for a AAA romp, pretty entertaining if shallow. The parry timing is WAY, and I mean WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY too lenient. I could press the button galaxy-systems too late and it will still be a parry. You can also cancel nearly every animation into a parry except the axe throw. The camera is an issue, but there's options to negate it a bit (there's a weird option in the menu that centers the camera on the foe you're fighting, a stupid option, disable it asap). Fights are pretty fun so far. I just throw an axe in a guy, kick another guy into a wall for collision damage, recall the axe and just derp around. If I'm being threatened (never) I just chug the axe for days. 
So yeah, it's above average for a AAA game.

Now to the bad. First, the camera is a nightmare. It is honestly the biggest enemy, they try to give it some help by those little arrows but they are bugged. If an enemy isn't right infront of you it'll give an arrow for him, so often you'll think you're surrounded, while it's only one guy. The controls are a nightmare too, constantly switching to ranged and spamming R2 mid combo. Switching weapons with the d-pad was a mistake as well.

Enemies act like you're in some sort of MMO, just attacking the nearby air when they feel like it. Really hard to read their movements or just how they act in general. Sometimes they'll 'float' for no reason (the juggle is completely bonkers). Their designs are also..pretty baren. Just generic zombie like enemies with a sword. It's a shame, since God of War always had pretty cool enemy designs.

The R3 execute cannot be done until the game wants you to do it, so sometimes it will active, but pressing the button does nothing. Amazing.

The boy is, even at the start, way too powerful. He nukes mooks, nukes bosses and his shots even have high aggro, meaning you can just derp around. If an enemy is high level you can easily just chug the axe and let him deal with things.

The game is surpringly open with exploration, but berates you for even thinking it. Hope you like to hear the boy say "this way" 30 times a second. Exploration is neutered beyond relief because you keep seeing chests closeby, only to be laughed at by lack of a jump button. I saw a chest only a few meters away but no way to get there yet.

The story, it's not as bad as I thought. It is worse haha. Faketos starts the game by chopping down a tree, and then some of his bandages fall off and he starts to look deep and emotionally at his bandages while a chorus starts singing. It is forced to such a degree, it is almost laughable. It feels like a child's idea of a 'deep and meaningful plot'. I switched the voices to German btw. Couldn't stand the English VO.
Kratos is...a sissy. Can't put it any way else. He takes punches from a guy in a cutscene and keeps warning him to 'go away'. The hell is this, he murdered people for even vaguely looking in his direction. Also he is a lot less violent in cutscenes, the most 'brutal' kill being a merciful necksnap. I am also now on my way to collect some flowers to save a pig from dying because he's an endangered species. 

The Stranger boss was...nothing special. They gave him a hit cap, after that he resets to prevent you from locking him down. I can't believe people are saying this is the best boss they ever fought. 

I don't mind the runes, some are pretty nifty and are well done. Its the Strength +9 stuff that worries me immensely and is annoying to no end.

Also love how stats (gear level) determines enemy difficulty. Are they too high level? Then you cannot block or parry their attacks and they will OHKO you. They also won't stagger.

Game becomes an absolute clusterf***  when projectiles enter the mix.

The game, surprisingly, allows you to use traps to your advantage and also has collisions. It's just insanely hard and weird to use. The kick is unreliable and tends to let them fly near the wall instead of against it. Later enemies just ignore knockback and stun, so good luck with that.

hmm Good points.

The Stranger fight is awful. It's actually scary how much praise it gets for being nothing more than a blocking tutorial that is largely automatic and even more cinematic, against one of the most boring and stupid bosses ever. People just don't know what quality gameplay is these days.

Did some testing, makes me wonder if they even bothered. Some skills are absolutely bonkers:

- Guardian Sweep is a true infinite on all enemies, just press ■ once and then hold it. Even Revenants can't handle it.
- Arrow + Cleave = dead everything
- Leviathan's Fury (run + ▲) is great for ringouts and has a huge hitbox.

Is that the shield skill that sweeps? Didnt expect it to work on Revenants.

Shield Sweep infinites everything under the sun, including Revs. For larger enemies you need that attack where you slam your shield for a little shockwave. Infinites Ogres and the likes.

Bullseye Strider is currently absolutely wrecking the game on his No Damage GMG run. Tons of abuse.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duY2OURlwdQ

Yeah, I agree with most of these points so far. My own biggest gripes about the combat that I can remember right now:

- lock-on is pretty bad and can't handle fast moving enemies OR fast moving Kratos.

- Kratos is bulky and gets stuck on scenery or enemies quite easily.

- color-coded enemies are a bit meh.

- almost all of the fights in the game have projectile enemies in them, which just seems like lazy design to me.

Noticed the colorcoded foes too, saw some frosted guys that just can't be hit by the axe. Pretty surprised how most enemies have a maximum range. There's a fight with a revenant and some mooks early on, you can just run back and jump across a bridge and laugh as the boy nukes them.

I never use the lock-on, only by accident. Really restricts your movement. There's a neat option in the Camera Menu (I think) that disables the 'center camera on enemy you're attacking' option.

Game really is only difficult thanks to its ranged spam. Every fight that is hard is only hard because they suddenly throw some mooks in there to make it a clusterfuck. Such a shame.

Platforming and puzzles also took a deep dive into no-mans land.

And I cannot stress enough how much I hate that we cannot skip non-combat sections.

I just tried to continue but did a few battles and turned it off.

It's weird. When I first started I was bored and hated it, but I pushed forward and found it was ok, but now I'm back to being bored by the combat again. I get into a fight (even with a valkyrie) I just think "This again..."

I think I'm just forcing myself to finish it. I had some interest in using Dad Time, but then it's like wait, I'm just trying to make it like a better game. Why am I even doing this?

Strangely, nothing improved after getting the Blades. I don't like how they work in this game.

Dad Time to me just wasn't worth it. Why should I bother with it if I can just kill everything in one hit by ringing them out? And if you can't ring them out, just hold Square until an arrow blinks red and roll away.

If I could skip cutscenes, I'd reset and play on GMG now. But as it stands, it is just not worth it.

"Not worth it" seems to be a common sentiment in speedrunning and glitching circles. Most runners who tried God of War have stopped already because the game is so heavy on downtime and unskippable cutscene. Meanwhile, at least three renowned glitchers also stopped giving a damn... will I be next, I wonder? >_>

AKheon wrote:"Not worth it" seems to be a common sentiment in speedrunning and glitching circles. Most runners who tried God of War have stopped already because the game is so heavy on downtime and unskippable cutscene. Meanwhile, at least three renowned glitchers also stopped giving a damn... will I be next, I wonder? >_>

Heard that a lot too. I am curious though, how do you 'glitch'. Are there certain methods you use to find them?
Can't blame people dropping the game because of the cutscenes. Honestly I wouldn't mind doing a more focused run with handicaps but the thought of watching some cutscenes again...no thanks.

---

GENERAL IMPRESSIONS

The more I play it, the more I sort of see what they were going for...to a point. But the mechanics just are not there it seems, as are the enemies. Few notes on what I'd like to see change:

• Stats and levels only get in the way. I managed to get to the Musslepheim area which is kind of like a mixture of Bloody Palace and VR Missions. You fight hordes, and sometimes there's a key modifier. The downside is that eventually you are just outleveled. At first you are overleveled, later enemies will take a huge beating. I was stuck for a bit on a boss and noticed I had neglected my gear (I was level 2), I upped my gear a bit and returned as level 4 and won without even breaking a sweat. Moves that were once unblockable, were now even parriable. Foes that couldn't be stunned, could. The leveling system is probably among the worst I've ever seen. It just restricts you. Nothing more.
  
• the game does feature ring outs and 'smart' ways of dealing with enemies, but disables all of them except the 'spam arrow and cleave' approach when foes are higher level. I'd be cool with them being 'harder' but to take away all the smart ways to kill them is just poor design. For instance a higher level foe cannot be launched or ringed out by most conventional means.
  
• enemies that are more 'elite' (in terms of design, not level) tend to have a weird invisible wall preventing them from ringing out, also their stun meter drains really fast.
  
• recalling the axe isn't instant, and slows Kratos down a bunch. The idea of throwing your axe somewhere as a trap, attacking and switching back to it are impossible since the transition animation locks you down. You also cannot retrieve it while running (puts you back to walking by default).
  
• You've got generic 'sword dude', 'axe dude', 'shield dude', 'ranged dude', 'caster' and that's it basically. Add some color coded mooks and you've got it. Really wish there were more interesting enemies to fight, also ones more vested in the lore instead of 'another draugr'. Trend seems to be that if it's a cool mythological creature, it's an ally. Just imagine fighting the Serpant. But nope. He helps you. Enemies by default are just plain uninteresting.
  
• Enemies have weird patterns and attacks. Generally foes have 1 to 3 attacks max and tend to ignore hitstun (especially elites). This makes attacking feel like hitting them with a broken stick. It's pretty telling when the most generic mooks have the most methods of dealing with them and allow for the most creativity while later foes are either loop-food, mash ■ or just have the boy spam arrows. Sad.
  
• Locking most attacks behind storyprogression troubles me. Also same with a lot of special attacks. Some attacks also feel like they should be available by default, like the auto-recall attacks.
  
• camera is way too close on you, making it hard to see things on the ground (lots of enemies and projectiles are small).
  
• the story and everything really gets in the way of progression. You can't level or even use the boy if he's talking, as it disables him. Some animations are a lot slower thanks to this too, having to wait for him.
  
• grabs feel pointless. They are either a quick kill, or do nothing spectacular. I miss their utility, like slamming foes into eachother. Some grabs do have that here, but you can't control their direction or the damage is absolutely pointless.
  
• tying the axe to an aim button isn't good for the gameplay. Would've prefered just a throw-button. Imagine attacking, turning the camera to the right, throw, punching instantly and canceling into a recall that slams the axe down. It's possible now sure, but feels more glitchy than practical and has tons of openings in your defence (since Kratos is standing wide open).
  
• Most of the boy's attacks are random, which is just weird. I know this a game for casuals, but it would've been fun if you could actually direct him to do grabs etc instead of it just being random.
  
• I'd have prefered it if most special attacks were nerfed a significant amount, but have cooldowns be removed. Right now they feel more like 'oh yeah, let me use this overpowered nuke'.
  
• platforming and puzzles are really plain compared to before. GoWIII and GoW:A had a lot of interesting puzzles, and platforming was always interesting, challenging and also dangerous (in terms that there was combat in them). There's a segment here where you climb a wall and some elves attack during it, but it's all in a cutscene. Would've been a cool segment to actually play. Same with fighting off elves while attacking a wall to save the boy, all a cutscene.
  

It's sad since there are some cool ideas here. The game allowing, and even promoting, ring-outs is fun. Recalling the axe midcombat should be a joy (it's not).

Quick discoveries:

- Leviathan's Fury (run + ▲) is completely i.framed, really powerful, and rings out;
- The L1 + ■ called Bear is absolutely bonkers, fully i.framed, high splash damage, frost and rings out heavies;
- Most Heavy Runes give you 50% damage reduction while using them;
- The axe will actually sort of de-spawn at times. I once put it into the ground, attacked a foe infront (axe in the back). Heard a guy come and wanted to recall the axe to trip him up. Axe came from the front instead of the back and I died;
- apparently the game is really picky about what is a 'wall' and what isn't. So if you go for collisions you'd better pick out a really smooth surface to slam them on.
- you can Discord people like in Nioh. Give them two debuffs and they are wrecked.

I think when you overlevel, they should have at least let the enemies retain their unblockable stuff. At least then you'd still have to worry about being hit.

Birdman wrote:I think when you overlevel, they should have at least let the enemies retain their unblockable stuff. At least then you'd still have to worry about being hit.

Aside from that it just shouldn't have been there in the first place, I'd say make higher level enemies hit harder is okay and maybe make the parry timing stricter while having attacks guard break. But removing Juggles, Knockbacks, Stagger, Parry, Block and even your frost build-up (I think) just really makes you forced to level to even play the game properly.