So this is really the game people are always saying is so amazing, huh?

[hammerstar]

I'm seven hours in and I just don't see it, and it's mainly because the combat is just such a boring slog to me. I'm not commenting on the story because I don't feel I'm far enough to do so yet.

I am biased, I won't deny it. Devil May Cry, Bayonetta, etc, those kinds of games are my bread and butter when it comes to beat em ups. Even the OG GoW trilogy, as much as I hated Kratos as a character, was focused on making elaborate combos that gave bigger rewards for taking down enemies without getting hit or spamming the same moves constantly. Like you can go a couple ground hits into a launch into an air-juggle into a throw into a slam and back into juggle, etc.

This one, the moveset feels so limited that's just not an option, plus with no jumping of any description, the closest it has to juggles is getting two or three hits on an enemy before it's knocked away.

Also feels like Kratos, this demi-god with Herculean strength, has a lot of swings that feel like slaps in a schoolyard fight. And on tougher enemies that don't stagger, I feel it's just a better approach to just time RT charge-ups for the i-frames so other enemies don't hit me in the process. Some of the unlockable special moves do feel better, as do the grapples, but the basic combat just feels so weak.

And then there's the freaking camera. This is a camera style for a third-person shooter, not a melee focused combat game, and nothing will change my mind on that. I get they were going for an "in your face" kind of feeling, but I feel the warning arrows for enemy positions are imprecise, especially when it comes to ranged enemies, and I'd rather just have the camera zoomed out and unlocked from Kratos' shoulder so I can just see everything.

I'm not saying it's unplayable, because it's not. If people really like this, more power to them. It's functional, which is a lot more praise than I can give some games I've played, but it just doesn't feel good to me.

[shoelessbob]

Different strokes for different folks I guess. But one thing I'll say, when I started playing I was really disappointed in the game, I didn't like the combat, the moves weren't great, sure as I was unlocking new skills it was getting better, but it didn't feel right, I was used to smashing things and now with the axe I always feel on the back foot, I'll keeping my distance, throwing it at guys to kill them, really didn't feel like God of War. I was telling a friend at work and he said "I don't want to say anything, but keep playing" and yeah, that's all I can really say, you'll know it when you're there.

[Negra Jesus El Savior Christ!]

The gameplay gradually ramps into being fun, finally hitting the "sweet" spot around.. I'd say 6-7ish hours in, but about when you go to Hell(heim) for the first time.

That said, it's definitely different from previous GoW games. Previous entries in the series were spectacle fighters / arcade fighters. The player is an unstoppable blender who tears ass through the world, juggling small armies and murderizing them without much more than the occasional dodge required.

2018 gets is combat from the Soulslike spectrum, and the game it reminds me most of is Witcher 3. Enemies are tough, dangerous, and even when winning you're only a couple of mistakes from death. This leaders to a slower and more precise combat loop, especially earlier on. The idea is that, eventually, you'll master the last-second dodge I-frames and parry mechanics the game offers, letting you blenderize the tougher fights without taking a hit via split-second damage avoidance rather than just massively AoE stunlocks.

[Slava Ukraini]

Originally posted by hammerstar:

I'm seven hours in and I just don't see it, and it's mainly because the combat is just such a boring slog to me. I'm not commenting on the story because I don't feel I'm far enough to do so yet.

I am biased, I won't deny it. Devil May Cry, Bayonetta, etc, those kinds of games are my bread and butter when it comes to beat em ups. Even the OG GoW trilogy, as much as I hated Kratos as a character, was focused on making elaborate combos that gave bigger rewards for taking down enemies without getting hit or spamming the same moves constantly. Like you can go a couple ground hits into a launch into an air-juggle into a throw into a slam and back into juggle, etc.

This one, the moveset feels so limited that's just not an option, plus with no jumping of any description, the closest it has to juggles is getting two or three hits on an enemy before it's knocked away.

Also feels like Kratos, this demi-god with Herculean strength, has a lot of swings that feel like slaps in a schoolyard fight. And on tougher enemies that don't stagger, I feel it's just a better approach to just time RT charge-ups for the i-frames so other enemies don't hit me in the process. Some of the unlockable special moves do feel better, as do the grapples, but the basic combat just feels so weak.

And then there's the freaking camera. This is a camera style for a third-person shooter, not a melee focused combat game, and nothing will change my mind on that. I get they were going for an "in your face" kind of feeling, but I feel the warning arrows for enemy positions are imprecise, especially when it comes to ranged enemies, and I'd rather just have the camera zoomed out and unlocked from Kratos' shoulder so I can just see everything.

I'm not saying it's unplayable, because it's not. If people really like this, more power to them. It's functional, which is a lot more praise than I can give some games I've played, but it just doesn't feel good to me.

exactly a normal game soem are overrated.... but if you ask kids 12 years old them hyped... same as boy ingame....

[Lynfinity]

Originally posted by hammerstar:

I am biased, I won't deny it.

You just answered your own question. It feels boring you to you because you don't accept anything slower than DMC, Bayonetta, etc.

Originally posted by hammerstar:

This one, the moveset feels so limited that's just not an option

Funny you say that, because some folks who are notoriously good at hack'n'slash games can combine everything - melee combat, bare-handed combat, Runic attacks and evades/blocks/parries - to create some pretty dynamic fights that reward precise timings and split-second decisions.
https://youtu.be/MH_8v9pYF4o
https://youtu.be/pEVhODJKYJk

Originally posted by hammerstar:

Also feels like Kratos, this demi-god with Herculean strength, has a lot of swings that feel like slaps in a schoolyard fight.

They feel like slaps in a schoolyard fight because Kratos is constantly holding himself back. One of the major plot points is that Kratos wants to abandon his old ways of killing everything in sight and being filled with nothing but rage and vengeance. He wants to become a better person. As such, he lets out as much strength as needed in this particular instance, and only shows signs of his old self when Atreus is in danger.

He still has the same killing potential. It's just that it would require Atreus to be killed for him to unleash it.

[hammerstar]

Originally posted by N0REGARD4LIFE:

Congrats for being in the minority. I hear it's lonely there and no one cares about you.

Wow, after reading reasonable responses, I'm surprised it took this long to get a fanboy.

Originally posted by Bully Maguire:

Originally posted by hammerstar:

I am biased, I won't deny it.

You just answered your own question. It feels boring you to you because you don't accept anything slower than DMC, Bayonetta, etc.

Originally posted by hammerstar:

This one, the moveset feels so limited that's just not an option

Funny you say that, because some folks who are notoriously good at hack'n'slash games can combine everything - melee combat, bare-handed combat, Runic attacks and evades/blocks/parries - to create some pretty dynamic fights that reward precise timings and split-second decisions.
https://youtu.be/MH_8v9pYF4o
https://youtu.be/pEVhODJKYJk

Originally posted by hammerstar:

Also feels like Kratos, this demi-god with Herculean strength, has a lot of swings that feel like slaps in a schoolyard fight.

They feel like slaps in a schoolyard fight because Kratos is constantly holding himself back. One of the major plot points is that Kratos wants to abandon his old ways of killing everything in sight and being filled with nothing but rage and vengeance. He wants to become a better person. As such, he lets out as much strength as needed in this particular instance, and only shows signs of his old self when Atreus is in danger.

He still has the same killing potential. It's just that it would require Atreus to be killed for him to unleash it.

And I'm going to say no to you, because I can and do play "slower" games than DMC and Bayonetta and can enjoy them, if they feel good to play. What I mean is those games are as far as I'm concerned, the pinnicle of character-action games and will be the bar I measure everything else against.

What I mean is this straight up feels bad, because of the more limited kind of moveset and the godawful camera. I'veseen it compared to a Souls-like setup, but Souls-likes, include the main Dark Souls series, do not have locked cameras, point is moot.

[Peelsepuuppi]

Originally posted by hammerstar:

I'm seven hours in and I just don't see it, and it's mainly because the combat is just such a boring slog to me. I'm not commenting on the story because I don't feel I'm far enough to do so yet.

I am biased, I won't deny it. Devil May Cry, Bayonetta, etc, those kinds of games are my bread and butter when it comes to beat em ups. Even the OG GoW trilogy, as much as I hated Kratos as a character, was focused on making elaborate combos that gave bigger rewards for taking down enemies without getting hit or spamming the same moves constantly. Like you can go a couple ground hits into a launch into an air-juggle into a throw into a slam and back into juggle, etc.

This one, the moveset feels so limited that's just not an option, plus with no jumping of any description, the closest it has to juggles is getting two or three hits on an enemy before it's knocked away.

Also feels like Kratos, this demi-god with Herculean strength, has a lot of swings that feel like slaps in a schoolyard fight. And on tougher enemies that don't stagger, I feel it's just a better approach to just time RT charge-ups for the i-frames so other enemies don't hit me in the process. Some of the unlockable special moves do feel better, as do the grapples, but the basic combat just feels so weak.

And then there's the freaking camera. This is a camera style for a third-person shooter, not a melee focused combat game, and nothing will change my mind on that. I get they were going for an "in your face" kind of feeling, but I feel the warning arrows for enemy positions are imprecise, especially when it comes to ranged enemies, and I'd rather just have the camera zoomed out and unlocked from Kratos' shoulder so I can just see everything.

I'm not saying it's unplayable, because it's not. If people really like this, more power to them. It's functional, which is a lot more praise than I can give some games I've played, but it just doesn't feel good to me.

The God of War games were never up to snuff when it came to Devil May Cry/Bayonetta/Ninja Gaiden. Those games are the absolute top of the genre and some of my favorite type of games of all time (as you can see from my profile).

GoW 4 Is liked by a lot of people because it doesn't try to be or beat DMC at it's own genre, it tries something different. GoW4 goes for the Sony interactive story type of thing, but also has above average action game combat. It's a very enjoyable one time experience, but not something that you can grind for hours upon hours just to master the mechanics. It doesn't even try to be that.

GoW 1-3(+ side titles) catered to the DMC audience, but failed to meet their expectations. GoW 4 caters to a completely different audience and succeeds at what it attempts to do.

[darrren]

i was realy looking forward to playing this game after hearing all the hype about it from ps players,i was realy disapointed with the game and couldn't understand why the game got so much hype about it.
I found the combat just meehh,the story was dissapointing the only good thing about it was the graplhics.
I thought this was going to be on par with the witcher 3 but it wasnt anywhere near as good
after aprox 40 hours of game play i was glad to put it down and never look back at it.

[Adanu]

I finished the game, and I have to agree. I find the combat system to be boring and repetitive compared to the original games. I only really played it through for the story.

[germality]

The combat while badass is also the worst thing about the game especially in comparison to the previous games in the series. Overall the game is impressive and an easy 10 but definitely wish the combat wasn't so limited. Previous games in the series had massive combos and this one is like "here's 4 attacks."

[Dark Fox]

I'd rather have a simpler hack and slash like this than Bayonetta or DMC, In those games you have like 100 combos but you only use whichever ones deal the most damage, In this game nearly every combo or attack serves a specific purpose.

[onomastikon]

I find the game compelling in almost all regards.

[wyrtt6]

Ok let me explain.
1. Gow is an interactive movie like Last of us and not action like DMC.
2. Combat is your tipical 3rd person shooter (they REALLY want you to throw axe all the time). Melee part is awful and rigid. Its not very good and not ballanced.
But it servicable. Just tolerate it.
3. Dont try difficulties above easy or normal. Enemies are spoonges and stagger doesnt work. I finished it on hardest difficulty and it was tedious and grindy. Nothing like DMC.
Combat is simply not that deep.

GoW simply forced itself in the corner with previous trilogy not having a main character and being worse dmc clone. They needed a fresh start. While its rough and not 12 out of 10. Its a solid 7-8 game based on presentation and story alone. Its actually a better Last of us clone with more interesting father and son dynamic and fantasy setting.

[MaxxGold]

Same for me. I put in about 7 hours and the combat is beyond boring. Maybe I have my red tinted glasses on, but the Original God of War games were amazing. I also don't like what they have done with Kratos. Some of his actions were out of character. This is definitely my last GOW.

I'm playing on my PS5, just for the inevitable, "you don't own the game" comment.

[Raz'Hikel]

I've played the game to completion.
I enjoy aspects of it but to me, it doesn't feel like god of war. The game feels like it's trying to make its own story. Not enough callbacks to the old games, this is the first game where Lysandra and Calliope aren't mentioned once.

What I really don't like about this game's story is that it never shows you the transformation of Kratos from the raging greek barbarian, to the quiet, stoic loner. The time jump is incredibly jarring and expects us to accept that kratos has ANOTHER dead wife and a son now that we never got to see before.

[Silver]

The older games are much better.