God of War

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Game Verbs - what do you actually do in God of War?

Attack enemies using weapons and fists. The two modes offer advantages in battles, one demolishing health, while fist-fighting staggers enemies to the point of Kratos ripping them to shreds.

Boost Atreus, Kratos's son and helpful gaming companion, up to hard-to-reach places. You'll then order him to open up pathways or translate optional language and lore spots across the game's vast map.

Recall Kratos's axe using Triangle, a move that at first feels different enough to require some muscle training but which soon becomes second nature. The sound and animation of the axe returning to Kratos's waiting hand is art.

Upgrade all manner of things, using XP and money earned through exploration, battle and story progression.

Explore a large, semi-open map, with some side content that feels as fully developed and engaging as the main game itself. It is an incredibly generous and expansive title.

Order Atreus to use his bow during battle. This is not an optional thing, you will need him to survive! He will gain different types of arrows across the story, too, which you'll need to find everything there is to discover.

Fight Norse gods in semi-scripted sequences that are exciting, though not particularly difficult, to play.

Timeline - how long to beat, any trophy/achievement issues, how much is left after passing?

The single player adventure is long, real long. Even with minimal exploration and side quests, it will take around 20 hours to complete. Trophies require as much time again upon (or during) completion, with many post-game challenges in the form of boss battles. Platinum possible by playing on easy difficulty.

Saving Frustration - any issues with the save system for parents/players with regular interruptions?

The game can be saved at any point manually and it employs auto-save. I experienced no issues with check-pointing. One caveat is the single-cut structure of the game, which makes it hard to pull away as there are no chapters, levels or noticeable breaks. However, gameplay does tend to follow a predictable pace, so you can feel safe to save and pause gameplay after most large action moments and/or story scenes (which pause when you press the PS Home button).

Patchwork - how is the game being supported with updates?

Well supported with patches, the first quite large at around 6GB. One added a photo mode, which is slightly awkward to activate but produces nice results with some effort. Some players experiences screen-edge issues both before and after the patch, with the game either appearing in a box or pushing past the screen space, requiring manual calibration via the PS4 system options.

Subsequent patches have smoothed out gameplay and tweaked the effectiveness of items and armour.

Online - any online details and population trends

This one's all about the single-player experience.

Summary - an elevator pitch to sum up the experience

God of War is an impressive, story-driven action title in a half-open world. It is full of upgrades and armour and weapons and chests, tied together with challenging combat and massive beast battles. Double-kotted with a unique and satisfying interpretation of Norse mythology.

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