I love the God of War games, particularly the recent entries set within Norse mythology. Santa Monica Studio and PlayStation’s signature franchise has always prided itself on telling grand stories that balance spectacle and character-driven action. The games are the zenith of PlayStation’s iconic cinematic story-driven AAA titles. And then they had to release a 2D Metroidvania spinoff prequel that barely meets the quality standards set by smaller indie companies. God of War: Sons of Sparta might be a perfectly serviceable game by itself, but as a chapter in Kratos’ life, it devalues the franchise to something that we make fun of Disney for, especially with its writing. Fair warning: anyone who has listened to me rant about the game’s reveal on the Day Zero podcast may not be surprised by my words below.
Sons of Sparta is set years earlier in Kratos’ life, following him and his brother Deimos as young cadets in the Spartan army. It peels back the layer on the angry god-slayer we know Kratos to be, revealing an ambitious young warrior dedicated to serving the Spartan way of life and the Greek pantheon. It’s interesting to see how Kratos conducted himself in his early years, but the writing makes him, and especially his brother, out to be equivalent to heroes of a Disney Channel original – toned down, patronising, and completely bland to the point of indifference, worse than boredom.
Technically, the game is primarily developed by Mega Cat Studios with support from Santa Monica. I’m torn against criticising the project’s scope coming from a smaller developer, and what it represents for the larger franchise. For a franchise with almost a dozen games across home consoles, handhelds, and mobile, it’s impressive that it hasn’t been tainted by a truly bad release. The closest we got to it was God of War Ascension, and even that got a positive reception. Conversely, Sons of Sparta’s reception has been mixed, and I’m in the negative camp.
It’s unfortunate because in another timeline, Sons of Sparta would have done well with the ideas it has. Exploring more of Kratos & Deimos’ relationship could have harboured a goldmine of character drama, as touched upon in Ghost of Sparta. Instead, Deimos exists solely to soothe Kratos’ anger and duty-bound nature, and to throw quips that sound straight out of an MCU movie. Deimos’ kind nature stands in stark contrast to most of the Greek saga’s characters, a side that could have stood out more positively had his writing not been catered towards pre-pubescents watching a Saturday morning cartoon.
As a 2D Metroidvania, expect most of the genre’s signature gameplay elements here. Lots of vertical movement, gated treasure points, and an interconnected map that rewards you for learning its layout and mastering light traversal puzzles. For combat, Kratos uses a pointy spear and a trusty shield, iconic weapons for a Spartan warrior. In typical God of War fashion, various mystical abilities are also unlocked while progressing through the story. Melee combat sees Kratos also get access to a handy parry and long-range weapons, but they barely require more strategy than mashing the attack and dash buttons.
Sons of Sparta’s first impressions with its visual design aren’t much to write about. The game looks weirdly flat in most scenes, with not enough spatial contrast between the foreground and background. Things get better in movement, but Kratos’ awkward and inconsistent speed during traversal and combat always feels like driving on a highway with speed bumps every 50 metres. The lack of spatial contrast also hurt key moments in combat. It can be hard to tell when an enemy is readying up an attack that can be parried. Even the Java-based mobile title, God of War Betrayal, packed more punch in its hits than this game, with clearer visual design and a well-translated combat move set that matched that of the original games.
There is some context also required to parse through why my feelings are mixed toward its visual design. The game was revealed in the same fantastic State of Play that included the reveal of an infinitely cooler Metroidvania in Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse. Sony is charging Rs. 2,499/$29.99 for the standard edition of the game. For that price, you can pick up better games in the genre in a bundle. Other 3D franchises (see: Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown) have successfully made the jump to the Metroidvania genre without skimping on mechanical depth or visual flourish.
Fortunately, there is a decent amount of special abilities that add flavour to the combat. What sucks, though, is that they are few and far between. The franchise is also known for its bombastic boss fights, and thankfully, the game delivers on that. However, when it comes to balance, I found Kratos’ movement clunky and attacks too weak to move at the same pace as said bosses, half of whom spent most of the encounter airborne, with repetitive attack patterns that tired me instead of making me want to persevere through the struggle.
I’ve spoken to players who have put in well over two dozen hours into Sons of Sparta before hitting the credits. It’s impressive the breadth of content Mega Cat has put into a game of this scope. If only it had maintained my interest along the way. What’s also baffling is the game being chained to the PS5. This is a perfect title for Sony to port to Steam, allowing new players to explore Kratos’ early days, with graphics and mechanics that would find a perfect home on the Steam Deck.
VERDICT
God of War: Sons of Sparta is a disappointing entry in a franchise with god-killing, character-driven spectacle, failing to deliver either with the same standard of quality as the mainline titles, dragging the prestige storytelling of the recent entries to a pedestrian level.
REVIEW COPY PROVIDED BY SONY PLAYSTATION.
God of War: Sons of Sparta is available on PlayStation 5.
