Game is definitely growing on me. The starting levels were uninspired tutorials. I was getting a little worried the game was going to be a let down. But it’s picked up a lot. It’s a story driven/linear game with some minor exploration and customization. (A lot like the first one). This time the story focuses more on Atreus. And he is a playable character and much more useful as an AI companion too. Switching between the ranged and melee styles of Atreus and Kratos levels is a nice change of pace. They included a great practice arena so you can get used to all the attack skills. It’s really useful. So far the enemies are fairly easy except for the occasional boss that can be tough, Many of the puzzles have been challenging but easily figured out after just a short amount of trial and error. It’s a forgiving game so you can definitely play it casually. I still haven’t had the issue of the combat helper being annoying. Most of the time they yell: “Behind you” and things like “We got this”. Which is actually helpful. Not sure what was going on in that video. It probably was because the player was fully sucking and the AI turned up the advice. The customization is interesting. The skills, if you play a lot of the side content, are easy to level up. But the different mods and attachment are fun to play with. You can customize runic attacks, special skills and weapon attributes. Even though Kratos only has 2 weapons, it still gives you a good set of customization options. And the shields have different uses and are customizable as well. Be sure and do ALL the optional side content. Early in the game, the rewards are totally worth it! Here is my mini-critique so far:
1) Story is basic be expertly told, Solid cut-scenes and animations. Top notch voice talent and writing overall.
2) Basic but fun. The axe return is still one of the most satisfying combat moves in all gaming. Especially with a dual sense controller
3) Graphics and presentation is also very nice. Although, other than the silky smooth 60FPS, I really don’t see a lot of “next-gen” graphics in the game.
4) Open world it is not. It’s a purely linear game with a few side paths and a couple of open exploration areas. Not a bad thing as long as the story is compelling which it is starting to be.
Overall, I give it an 8/10 and the more I play that score might improve. This type of linear game needs to nail the story telling. If not, my score isn’t going to improve.. Let’s see. The game started out at around 6.5 for me but has really picked up steam. if you like a story driven action game with linear progression, I’d try it.