Kratos is a monster. Let's just be honest about that. When you fire up God of War 3 Remastered PlayStation 4, you aren't playing as a misunderstood hero or a noble warrior seeking justice. You are playing as a force of pure, unadulterated spite.
It's been years since this version hit the shelves, yet it remains one of the most visceral experiences you can find on a console. It's weird, actually. You’d think that after the 2018 soft reboot and Ragnarök, this older, angrier Kratos would feel dated. He doesn't. There is a specific kind of magic in how Santa Monica Studio captured lightning in a bottle back in 2010, and how that lightning was sharpened for the PS4.
What actually changed in the transition to PS4?
The jump from PS3 to PS4 wasn't just about making the blood look shinier, though there is plenty of that. The biggest deal—the absolute "make or break" for this remaster—is the frame rate. We went from a stuttery, variable 30-to-40 frames per second on the older hardware to a locked, buttery 60fps on the God of War 3 Remastered PlayStation 4 edition.
It changes the combat entirely.
When you’re swinging the Blades of Exile into a crowd of undead soldiers, the responsiveness matters. You feel the weight. You feel the snap of the parry. On the PS3, things could get muddy when the screen filled with Poseidon’s watery steeds. On the PS4, it's crisp. It’s clinical. The textures got a massive bump too, specifically Kratos’s skin. You can see the pores, the scars, and the individual flakes of ash from his family’s remains that coat his body. It’s gruesome detail, but that’s the point.
The lighting engine also saw a significant overhaul. If you look at the scenes where Helios is trying to blind you with his solar flare, the bloom and HDR-like effects (even before HDR was a standard buzzword) feel more oppressive and realistic. It makes the world feel heavy.
The scale is still unmatched
Most modern games use "smoke and mirrors" to make things look big. They use fog or distant 2D backdrops. God of War 3 Remastered PlayStation 4 does something different. It uses the bodies of Titans as the actual level geometry.
You remember Gaia? That massive earth-mother you're climbing in the opening ten minutes? That's not a cinematic. That is the level. While you are fighting Poseidon, the camera zooms out miles away, showing Kratos as a tiny speck on her shoulder, and you still have full control. It’s a technical flex that many developers today still struggle to replicate without a loading screen.
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Why the bosses feel different here
In the newer games, boss fights are emotional. They are intimate. In this game, they are executions.
- Poseidon: You aren't just hitting a health bar; you are systematically dismantling a god's physical form.
- Hades: This fight is a tug-of-war for a literal soul. It feels claustrophobic and dark.
- Hermes: This one is just petty. Kratos is literally chasing down a middle-manager of Olympus just to take his shoes.
The variety of the weaponry is also a high point. While the Blades of Exile are the bread and butter, the Claws of Hades and the Nemean Cestus offer completely different rhythms. The Cestus, in particular, feels incredible at 60fps. The impact of those giant lion heads hitting stone is tactile. You can almost feel the vibration in your teeth.
The "Age" Problem: Does it feel like a fossil?
Look, we have to talk about the fixed camera.
If you grew up on Elden Ring or The Last of Us, the fixed camera in God of War 3 Remastered PlayStation 4 might feel like a cage at first. You can't move the right stick to look around. The game decides what you see. For some, this is a dealbreaker. For me? It’s a directorial choice. It allows the developers to frame every single shot like a Renaissance painting—albeit a painting covered in entrails.
The platforming can be a bit janky. Sometimes Kratos doesn't double-jump exactly when you want him to, or the perspective makes a ledge look closer than it is. It's a reminder that this game is a relic of a specific era of action-adventure design.
And then there's the story.
It’s thin. Kratos wants to kill Zeus. Why? Because he’s mad. That’s basically it. There isn't the deep, paternal pining of the newer games. There’s no "Boy!" here. Just a man who is too angry to die. Some people find this refreshing. Sometimes you don't want a 40-hour meditation on grief; sometimes you just want to rip the head off a sun god and use it as a flashlight.
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The technical specs you actually care about
If you're playing on a base PS4, you're getting 1080p at 60fps. If you're on a PS4 Pro or a PS5 via backward compatibility, the image is even cleaner, though the game doesn't have a dedicated 4K patch. It relies on the strength of the original assets.
The load times are nearly non-existent compared to the PS3 version. Moving from the pits of Tartarus back up to the mountain is seamless. The audio also got a boost, supporting higher-bitrate surround sound. If you have a decent headset, the roar of the Titans will actually rattle your brain.
The Photo Mode
This was a new addition for the remaster. Honestly, it’s a bit basic by today’s standards. You can’t move the camera as freely as you can in Spider-Man or Horizon Forbidden Blue, but it’s great for capturing the sheer scale of the environments. It’s a fun distraction, but you probably won't spend hours in it.
Is it better than the new ones?
It’s not better or worse. It’s just... different.
The newer games are "Prestige TV." They are The Last of Us with an axe. God of War 3 Remastered PlayStation 4 is a heavy metal album. It’s loud, it’s offensive, and it doesn't care about your feelings. It represents the pinnacle of the "Character Action" genre before the industry shifted toward open-world RPG elements.
There are no skill trees here that fundamentally change the game. There are no loot drops or rarity colors. You find red orbs, you pump them into your favorite weapon, and you get stronger. It’s an honest progression system that respects your time. You can beat the entire game in about 10 to 12 hours. In an age of 100-hour "live service" bloat, a tight 10-hour masterpiece feels like a vacation.
Common misconceptions and things people miss
A lot of people think this game is just a button masher.
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Try playing it on Titan or Chaos difficulty. You will get shredded. The depth comes from the animation canceling. You can use the Golden Fleece to parry almost anything, and learning the timing to cancel a heavy attack into a block is the difference between life and death.
Also, the "Lost" content. People often ask if there are new levels in the remaster. There aren't. This is a 1:1 port of the original content with improved performance. You do get all the DLC costumes, like the Morpheus Armor and the Apollo skin, which were originally pre-order bonuses or separate purchases. They’re fun, but they mostly just change your stats or give you infinite magic.
Final Actionable Steps for the Player
If you are planning to dive back into the chaos, here is how to get the most out of your experience:
Check your display settings. Since this game was mastered before the HDR era, sometimes the "Brightness" slider in-game can wash out the blacks. Lower it slightly to make the shadows in the Underworld feel truly deep.
Don't ignore the secondary weapons. Most players stick to the Blades. Try the Nemesis Whip. It’s fast, it builds combos quickly, and it’s surprisingly effective against the shielded enemies that appear in the final third of the game.
Master the 'Combat Grapple'. By pressing L1 + Circle, you can launch yourself at enemies. In the 60fps environment of the PS4, this is the most effective way to close gaps and keep your combo meter from resetting.
Play it on a PS5 if you can. While it’s a PS4 disc/digital file, the PS5’s boost mode ensures that the 60fps target never drops a single frame, even during the chaotic final fight with Zeus.
This game is a time capsule. It’s a reminder of when Sony was willing to be weird, violent, and incredibly bold with their first-party titles. Whether you're a newcomer who started with the 2018 game or a veteran looking to relive the glory days, the remastered version is the definitive way to experience the end of the Greek era. It’s loud. It’s bloody. It’s exactly what it needs to be.