Whether it’s series fatigue, or the feeling that we’ve been there and done that, it’s easy to overlook just how amazing God of War: Ascension is in the visuals department. The sense of scale, brutality, violence, and beauty have all returned in what might be the best God of War game to date, technically. But make no mistakes about it, while the story might have changed, the staples that fans have come to expect from the franchise are still very much intact. It tells the tale of his broken oath to Ares, and why he’s been imprisoned by the god of war. Kratos is in search of answers in God of War Ascension, and this God of War adventure shows a more human side to the character than we’ve seen in the past. It’s a prequel, a game that tells more of an origin story than anything else. So lets clarify: God of War: Ascension is not that game.
Following the conclusion of that game, it wasn’t clear whether or not Kratos would return for God of War IV. That game will likely go down as one of the best-looking games of this generation, if just because it was an eye-opener as to what is possible on the PlayStation 3. In 2010’s God of War III, the studio delivered the biggest and most epic adventure in the long-running God of War franchise. There isn’t a studio that does spectacle as well as Sony Santa Monica.
