I remember the skepticism back in 2016. When Sony first showed off a bearded, somber Kratos wandering through a snowy forest with a young boy, the collective "Wait, what?" from the gaming community was deafening. This wasn't the screaming, chain-swinging, god-pulverizing maniac we knew from the PS2 era. It looked slow. It looked... emotional. Honestly, a lot of us thought Santa Monica Studio was making a massive mistake by messing with a winning formula.
But then God of War PS4 actually launched in 2018, and everything shifted.
The game didn't just reboot a franchise; it fundamentally changed how we look at "legacy" characters in gaming. It’s been years since that release, and people are still dissecting how Cory Barlog and his team managed to turn the angriest man in Greece into a grieving father trying to do better. If you haven't played it recently, or you're looking back on it after finishing Ragnarök, there’s a lot to unpack about why this specific entry remains a masterclass in game design.
The Leviathan Axe changed everything about the feel of God of War PS4
In the original trilogy, combat was all about range and speed. You had the Blades of Chaos, and you basically turned into a blender of fire and metal. It was great, but it was also a bit detached. When the developers switched to the Leviathan Axe for the God of War PS4 game, they weren't just changing a weapon. They were changing the physics of the entire experience.
The axe has "heft." You feel it when it hits a Draugr's shield.
The most brilliant mechanic—and I’ll fight anyone on this—is the recall. Pressing that triangle button and hearing the thwack as the axe flies back into Kratos' hand never gets old. It’s tactile. It's satisfying. More importantly, it forces you to stay present in the fight. You aren't just mashing square; you're throwing your weapon, using bare-fisted combat to build up stun meters, and then calling the blade back at the exact right moment to catch an enemy in the rear.
It wasn't just about the hitting; it was about the waiting
There’s a subtle tension in being "unarmed" while your axe is stuck in a wall across the arena. This created a flow state that the older games lacked. You had to think.
📖 Related: Why Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy is the Best Game You Probably Skipped
Atreus isn't an escort mission—he's a mechanic
We’ve all played games with annoying AI companions. You know the ones. They get stuck in doorways, they trigger stealth alarms, and they basically make you wish the protagonist was an only child. Atreus could have been that. Instead, he’s probably the most useful tool in Kratos’ arsenal.
In the God of War PS4 ecosystem, Atreus (or "Boy," as the memes correctly noted) acts as your crowd control. His arrows interrupt enemy unblockable attacks. He provides stuns that allow for those brutal finishers. If you ignore Atreus during a high-level Valkyrie fight, you’re basically playing on "Impossible" mode. It’s a rare example of a story beat—father and son learning to work together—being perfectly mirrored in the gameplay loop.
The "One-Shot" camera trick was more than a gimmick
You probably noticed that there are no camera cuts in the game. From the moment the title screen fades until the final credits roll, the camera never blinks. No loading screens (hidden behind crawling through tight gaps, sure), no cinematic jump-cuts, and no perspective shifts away from Kratos.
Why does this matter?
Because it makes the journey feel intimate. In the old games, the camera was often zoomed way out to show the scale of a titan. It made Kratos look small. In God of War PS4, the camera is tight over his shoulder. You’re right there in the dirt with him. When he struggles to put his hand on Atreus' shoulder to comfort him, you see the micro-tremors in his fingers. You can't look away. It’s a claustrophobic level of storytelling that makes the quieter moments hit way harder than the giant boss fights.
The technical wizardry involved here is honestly insane
Sony Santa Monica had to rebuild their engine to handle this. Most games use cuts to hide asset loading or to skip time. By committing to the "no-cut" rule, the developers forced themselves to make every transition natural. If Kratos travels to a different realm, he has to walk through the Yggdrasil bridge. It keeps you grounded in the world's logic.
👉 See also: Why Mario Odyssey for the Nintendo Switch Still Beats Every Other Platformer
A Norse world that feels lived-in (and dying)
The move from Greek mythology to Norse was a stroke of genius, but not for the reasons people think. It wasn't just about "new monsters." It was about the atmosphere. Midgard in God of War PS4 feels empty, but in a deliberate way. There’s a sense of "post-apocalypse" about it. The giants are gone, the gods are paranoid, and the World Serpent is literally the only thing keeping the lake from overflowing.
The Lake of Nine acts as your hub, and as the water level drops throughout the game, new areas open up. It’s a "metroidvania" style of world design that rewards exploration without feeling like a checklist of icons on a map. You find a cryptic rune, you learn to read it later, and suddenly a new island is accessible.
Don't skip the side quests (The Favors)
Usually, side quests are filler. Not here. The "Favors" for the dwarven brothers, Brok and Sindri, provide some of the best character development in the game. They aren't just giving you fetch quests; they’re telling a story about their own fractured relationship that mirrors Kratos and Atreus. Plus, the armor you get from these missions is actually essential for the endgame.
Addressing the "Missing" Boss Fights
If there is one valid criticism of the God of War PS4 game, it's the lack of boss variety compared to God of War III. You fight a lot of trolls. Like, a lot of trolls. They have different elements, sure, but the move sets are largely the same.
However, the "main" bosses—The Stranger (Baldur), Magni, and Modi—are some of the most choreographed and intense encounters in modern gaming. The first fight with Baldur in the backyard of Kratos’ house is still a "holy crap" moment. It sets the stakes perfectly: Kratos is strong, but these new gods are different. They don't die just because you hit them with a rock.
The Valkyries are the true endgame
If you think the game is too easy, go find Sigrun. The Valkyrie Queen is a brutal test of everything you’ve learned. These optional bosses require frame-perfect dodging and an intimate knowledge of your runic attacks. They represent the "pure" combat challenge that long-time fans were craving, and beating them feels like a genuine achievement.
✨ Don't miss: Why BioShock Explained Matters More Than Ever in 2026
The narrative weight of a "God of War"
The central theme isn't just "Kratos is a dad." It’s "Kratos is terrified of his own nature."
Throughout the God of War PS4 narrative, we see a man who is desperately trying to suppress the rage that defined his youth. He knows that if he lets the monster out, he might save Atreus in the short term, but he'll lose his soul (and his son’s respect) in the long term. This tension drives every dialogue choice. When he finally tells Atreus, "I am a god, boy, from another land," it’s not a boast. It’s a confession.
It’s heavy stuff for a game that started out with a guy ripping the head off a sun god.
Making the most of your God of War PS4 playthrough
If you're jumping back into Midgard or playing for the first time on a PS5 (where it runs at a silky smooth 60fps), here is how you should actually approach the game to get the full experience.
- Listen to Mimir: Don't fast travel the second you get the chance. Let Mimir finish his stories while you're rowing the boat. The lore he drops isn't just flavor text; it sets up the entire backstory of Odin’s cruelty and the coming of Fimbulwinter.
- Invest in the "Amulet of Kvasir": If you're a fan of Bayonetta or Sekiro, this enchantment is a game-changer. It slows down time on a perfect dodge. It completely shifts the combat rhythm from defensive to aggressive.
- Don't rush the main story: The game "ends," but the world stays open. However, some of the dialogue changes depending on when you complete certain side tasks. Doing the exploration as it opens up feels much more natural than clearing the map after the credits.
- Experiment with Runic Attacks: It’s easy to find two attacks you like and stick with them for 40 hours. Don't do that. Some attacks are better for "stun," while others are for "area of effect." Switching these based on the enemy type (like those annoying Nightmares) makes life way easier.
The transition from a pure hack-and-slash to an over-the-shoulder action-RPG was a massive risk. It could have been pretentious. It could have been boring. Instead, God of War PS4 proved that characters can grow up alongside their audience. Kratos isn't just a vehicle for violence anymore; he's a person dealing with the consequences of it.
To get started on your own journey through the realms, focus first on upgrading your Atreus's bow skills early in the skill tree. It provides the most immediate "bang for your buck" in combat encounters. Once you have the light arrows, prioritize exploring the optional areas around the Lake of Nine before heading to the Mountain. This ensures you have the crafting materials needed to keep Kratos's stats high enough to survive the sudden difficulty spikes in the mid-game. For those playing on higher difficulties, mastering the parry timing with the Guardian Shield is non-negotiable, as it’s the only reliable way to create openings against the faster Revenant enemies.