Those hoping for retooled gameplay elements in God of War: Ascension are going to be disappointed. We’ve seen a God of War game that looks as good as God of War: Ascension. Taking nothing away from Sony Santa Monica’s beautiful game, the sad fact is, that we’ve seen it before. God of War: Ascension is expected to be an impressive looking title after God of War III. Whether it’s the awe of one of the game’s many massive boss encounters, or just a brutal finishing move that you’ve laid on one your opponents, God of War Ascension is an impressive beast of a game in the visual department. From the very beginning, there’s rarely a moment that doesn’t awe in some way. The sheer amount of gore and spectacle spills into nearly every crevice of God of War: Ascension, as it’s intended to. The brutal and visceral combat is still a guilty pleasure, which means you’ll be dismembering foes in ways that you should only see in your nightmares. Is that a bad thing? Not if you like what God of War III delivered, and that is what many consider to be the best looking game of this generation. The use of a few old tricks from previous games combined with that God of War color palette, if you put Ascension side by side with God of War III, you could have a hard time telling the two apart. 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.

God of war ascension