Sony wants everyone to love “God of War.” On the one hand, they are hopeful that the in-production Amazon Prime Video series will make the same waves as both that company’s “Fallout” and HBO’s “The Last of Us” did. (“Sons of Anarchy” star Ryan Hurst, who actually voiced Thor in 2022’s “God of War: Ragnarok,” was recently cast as Kratos in the show, by the way.) On the video game front, while we wait for the inevitable next proper game in the hit series, Sony recently announced that they’re remaking the original “God of War” trilogy that really changed gaming in the mid-aughts.
On the day they announced those games are being fully remade (not just technically polished remasters but top-down remakes) at State of Play, they stunned fans and shadow-dropped an entirely new game in “God of War: Sons of Sparta,” now available on the PS5. As a huge “GoW” fan and an even bigger Metroidvania fan (a genre having a moment right now with both “Hollow Knight: Silksong” and the announcement of the return of “Castlevania” from the creators of “Dead Cells”), I was thrilled to play “Sparta.” The excitement wore off pretty quickly.
Let’s get one thing out of the way: “Sons of Sparta” isn’t a horrible game. But it is a game I kept finding myself making excuses to enjoy, because I really wanted to. Even fans of “Sparta” have agreed that it starts remarkably clunky, with several slow hours of what is basically a tutorial as young Kratos gets his powers. The enjoyment of “Sparta” seems to come from whether or not one thinks it ever fully escapes those early growing pains. Yes, some of the gameplay gets smoother largely through repetition, but there are elements of “Sparta” that never reach beyond frustrating, including a story that’s difficult to care about, inconsistent physics, dull combat, and shallow gameplay design. It’s a game with moments that never add up to a sum as interesting as its parts.
“God of War: Sons of Sparta” is an origin story for one of the most famous characters in video game history. It takes place before the previous prequel, 2013’s “God of War: Ascension,” and draws on Greek mythology as its basis (the two acclaimed modern titles drew on Norse mythology instead). It is the story of a young Kratos and his brother Deimos, both living in Sparta. When one of their allies goes missing, they venture out of the city walls to find him, discovering that Laconia is filled with brutal enemies waiting to be stabbed by Kratos’ trusty spear.
Like all Metroidvanias, “Sons of Sparta” is built on a foundation of repetition and backtracking as one gains access to different areas of the map as their powers and tools develop. This is a tougher bit of gaming development than it looks, as games like “Silksong” have so brilliantly embedded upgrades in their storytelling that the player doesn’t feel like they’re just doing something they’ve already done with a bit more power. The world opens up in the “Hollow Knight” games in a manner that makes them masterpieces. On the other hand, “Sons of Sparta” felt like one of the most repetitive experiences of major gaming in years. You’re constantly just doing the same thing over and over again, especially for a large chunk of the game when fast travelling isn’t an option, meaning you literally have to go through the same sections, often from one end of the map to the other, just to progress the story.
The “God of War” games are known for explosive, addictive action. That’s not the case with “Sons of Sparta.” Even boss battles feel more like obligations than the epic, earth-shaking combat for which Kratos is known. Yes, it’s an origin story, but it’s still Kratos, and so being more of a spear-poking kid instead of a Blades of Chaos-swinging killing machine just feels a bit wrong. It’s antithetical to what this series is known for, given how rarely one actually feels like a legend while playing “Sons of Sparta.” No one wants a “God of War” game with low stakes.
It doesn’t help that Deimos is hanging around in most of the battles, doing basically nothing. Why give Kratos a partner when said partner has no real impact on the gameplay? Sure, it looks like he’s swinging away at enemies, but health meters never go down. It’s an example of several places where it feels like “Sons of Sparta” had an interesting idea that never developed into interesting gameplay.
Of course, all of this would have been more tolerable with better mechanics. Worst of all, the upgrades and half of the combat dynamics feel shallow. You can upgrade your gear—the spear, shield, and some random stat-enhancing stuff found throughout the game—but none of it ever feels like it does much. And as much as I kept upgrading my combat skills, it’s basically a button masher where you do the same things over and over again: strike, dodge, parry, strike, repeat. Enemies will glow different colors based on their current attack, indicating if some can be blocked, dodged, etc., and it gives the combat a weird flavor, more like memorizing a pattern over fluid action.
Visually, “Sons of Sparta” is a mixed bag, too. Some of the backgrounds, done in a pixel style, can be gorgeous. And the regions that you unlock have some unique aesthetics, including cold mountains near the top of the map and poisoned swamps near the bottom. While the environments can be engaging, the enemies are often hideous on a design level. Most of them are repetitive and uninspired, and even the bosses can feel half-hearted—there’s one that’s basically just a glowing, green ball of light.
Like most Metroidvanias, some of the repetitive combat of “Sons of Sparta” reaches that addictive spot for fans of the genre, in that I did find myself pushing through what the game does wrong just to open a new region or find a new temple to get a new power. It’s the draw of these games that keeps those of us who love them pushing through, whether it’s to reach that part of the map that remains unopened or get just enough resources to upgrade your favorite weapon. I just wish this one didn’t feel so much like work.
The Publisher provided a review copy of this title. It’s now on PS5.