God of War [PS4, PC]

[DuckThor Evil]

I think I have close to 30h on the game now, started a little while ago and I'm progressing slowly, doing sidequests and taking time to look around. Loving the game! Looks great and sharp. The HDR implementation is very nice, When a dragon puts out a big blast it lights the room pretty good haha! The gameplay is very solid also and the kid is nice addition to the combat system imo. The axe has really nice heftiness to it.

The game does have quite a bit of restrictions on what you can do and where to go which feels a little artificial at times, but as a whole it's a very solid game and I hope I still have plenty to go. I just entered the ice realm.

I have to say that after playing this and seeing RDR2 on PS4 Pro at my friend's, that I reaaally hope they can patch the image quality and HDR into that game. it was way blurrier than what I expected.

 

[milk]

The art is very The Lord of the Rings ish and certainly not some cheap TV show effect. It's stylized, not plasticky. No matter how original it is the rendering does a superb job of portraying some of the best looking environments and character models in the business.

I agree. The game looks beautiful a lot of the time. But that one part with the witch's forest and a couple others look somewhat fake. But these moments are the minority.

 

[London Geezer]

I really don’t understand the sudden wave of criticism for this game. It looks phenomenal. Artistic choices are just that. It’s art dah’ling!

 

[milk]

I was just making an one-off comment about this one area because of this one screenshot posted, now that I have played the game. And yes, it looks phenomenal, but I have my share of nitpicks about a couple things here and there.

 

[ultragpu]

As contrary to the folks disliking the forest part, I personally adore that area with a passion . I think the use of colors, creature design, foliage layout couldn't be any more magical and organic especially in context to how a Witch's hideout would be. Not mundanely natural as in a real forest but with a heightened sense of mystery and otherworldliness however in foliage appearance or etc.

 

[Rootax]

I really don’t understand the sudden wave of criticism for this game. It looks phenomenal. Artistic choices are just that. It’s art dah’ling!

It's subjective and we have différents opinions ? Like, to me, I'm still finding Witcher 3 the most beautiful game I ever played (on my PC, with custom above max settings files). I know the engine is not at the top of the food chain anymore, but the art and the "world feeling" is really working on me.

GoW4, not so much, even if some scenes are impressive from a tech perspective. To each his own I guess ?

 

[Nesh]

It's subjective and we have différents opinions ? Like, to me, I'm still finding Witcher 3 the most beautiful game I ever played (on my PC, with custom above max settings files). I know the engine is not at the top of the food chain anymore, but the art and the "world feeling" is really working on me.

GoW4, not so much, even if some scenes are impressive from a tech perspective. To each his own I guess ?

Are you sure you are not confusing art with more detail pushed by more capable hardware?

 

[Rootax]

Yes I'm sure. Of course they both count on what we see and feel...

 

[Billy Idol]

I don't speak about that lol, but rather this kind of art :

This area in GOW 3 was impressive from an artistic standpoint to me.

This one too :

On the other hand, i'm not impressed by this kind of art :

I just see a combination of fancy colors. It's easy art. There's a lack of research to me.

But some areas are great in GOW as well. It's just inconsistent artistically imo.

Completely agree with you there. GOW3 resonates much better with me than GOW4 art...I actually got also the feeling with GOW4 in many scenes: seen that already somewhere, not really impressed.

 

[Billy Idol]

The art is very The Lord of the Rings ish and certainly not some cheap TV show effect. It's stylized, not plasticky. No matter how original it is the rendering does a superb job of portraying some of the best looking environments and character models in the business.

Doesn't look Lord of the Rings at all to me. Lord of the Rings has an exciting look to it.

This looks more like Tomb Raider style to me, looks absolute standard. Not impressed, a bit boring to be honest.

I hoped for a more 300 type art style in the new GOW, something along the lines of GOW3 (see pictures above).

 

[DuckThor Evil]

Finally managed to beat a Valkyrie, the one in the fire realm, had to bite my teeth on that one I think some other Valkyries are easier than her, so I should be able to put down a few more. Having fun in Niflheim as well, another challenging place... The game keeps delivering as far as I'm concerned.

 

[Tkumpathenurpahl]

Yeah, the fire realm valkyrie was a twat. Good fight, but still a twat.

It was either her or another that's been the hardest fight. I've fought all but two of them, but it's been a few months now since I've played it, so those remaining 2 would just leather me

 

[ultragpu]

Doesn't look Lord of the Rings at all to me. Lord of the Rings has an exciting look to it.

This looks more like Tomb Raider style to me, looks absolute standard. Not impressed, a bit boring to be honest.

I hoped for a more 300 type art style in the new GOW, something along the lines of GOW3 (see pictures above).

Utterly nonsense. The game has plenty of exciting locales and designs it literally couldn't get more fantastical. And of course it shouldn't be more like 300 style because they're in Norse land not Greece.

 

[DuckThor Evil]

Yeah, the fire realm valkyrie was a twat. Good fight, but still a twat.

It was either her or another that's been the hardest fight. I've fought all but two of them, but it's been a few months now since I've played it, so those remaining 2 would just leather me

Yeah she was definitely above average on the difficulty... I now took down another 4 valkyries, all on my first try (after downing the first one), though I had to use a resurrection stone on one of them. My gear is better now as well of course. It was pretty good already on the first Valkyrie, but now I have Ivaldi's Deadly Mist armour set fully upgraded. I think I still have little bit to go on the story, I am now at the point where

Spoiler

the two dwarfs made peace?

Niflheim is all done, except the Valkyrie there. I would say that place really taught me how to crush the enemies!

I think I'll do some main story now.

 

[DuckThor Evil]

Well I finished the game and put down all the Valkyries as well. The queen was very hard, even with great gear it took probably at least 10 tries, although I got close few times until I finally beat her. She was the only one I beat after the main story. I guess you can't see the game time anywhere? I'm guessing +50h for sure. Very good experience, I wonder how long until we see a sequel. Not sure what to play next...

 

[Nesh]

I strarted playing the game and it's hard to put down. The art is simply amazing and it is also quite impressive how everything is done without a camera cut. How they managed to direct such dynamic cut scenes where environments break without the camera ever cutting says a lot about their craftsmanship.
I am impressed a lot with the character's eyes, how they glow realistically too.
There is something about the graphics though that put me off a bit. I feel that the BPR could have been a lot lot better. I also think that the AA implementation could have been better because it sometimes gives a bit of a rough look at the edges. The initial reveal looked more CGI-ishs, softer and cleaner.
It is still a very impressive game though.

 

[DuckThor Evil]

Haha I thought I was the last one who hadn't played this

 

[Shoujoboy]

I started playing last weekend.
I'm on the ps4 pro with a 1080p screen and my eyes are soaking up
that super sampled goodness.

 

[milk]

I started playing last weekend.
I'm on the ps4 pro with a 1080p screen and my eyes are soaking up
that super sampled goodness.

Ahhh, my dream is playing a well AAed 4k native game on a SD monitor. Hummmm the cleaners...

 

[Shortbread]

Raising Kratos documents the five-year, herculean effort to reinvent one of the greatest stories in gaming, God of War. Facing an unknown future, Santa Monica Studio took a massive risk, fundamentally changing their beloved franchise and re-establishing their rightful place in video game history. More than just a “making of,” this cinematic journey of second chances rooted in family, sacrifice, struggle and doubt follows game director Cory Barlog and those who chase perfection in art and storytelling. Witness the incredible defeats, the unpredictable outcomes and the down-to-the-wire tension on full display in this true-life redemption story.

This was really good and worth the watch.