2018’s God of War is a bonafide masterpiece for PlayStation 4, and one of my favorite games of
the last decade, or dare I say CENTURY. And it’ll now be available to an entire new group of people:
the PC gaming audience. This may sound shocking at first, but Sony has been porting PlayStation
games to PC for over a year, including titles like Horizon Zero Dawn, Days Gone,
and soon to be Uncharted 4. Unfortunately, not all of these ports were perfect, notably,
Horizon Zero Dawn had a few optimization issues at launch, most of which were fixed later.
So the question is if God of War’s PC edition will be enough to make players with all kinds
of builds happy. To give the best analysis, we tested the game on three different PCs:
mine with a GTX 1660 Ti, my friend’s with an RTX 2070, and Andre’s with an RTX 3090. Yep,
Andre has a beast of a PC, and all he does is stream Mario Party with it.
Anyway, we’ll start off by going over the specific features of the PC port and then we’ll give a
general review of the game itself and how it holds up nearly four years later. And since I imagine
this’ll be many people’s first time playing God of War, we will keep the review spoiler-free.
But first, I have to say that revisiting God of War on PC was an absolute delight,
not just because I was experiencing the game on a new platform, but also because I fell back in
love with it all over again. I haven’t played this game since I beat it nearly four years ago, and in
that time I sort of forgot just how amazing it is. From the story to its gameplay and presentation,
God of War excels in every single field. I’ll get into why this game is amazing later,
but for now, let’s talk about how it runs on Andre’s mostly top-of-the-line PC.
He managed to run the game natively at 4K 60fps with MAX settings, so I compared this footage
to the PS5 version which runs at an upscaled 4K 60fps. It’s essentially the PS4 Pro version
running at a more stable framerate. I first wanted to compare the textures, and I’m honestly shocked
at how well the PS4 Pro version holds up among the Ultra textures on PC. They’re incredibly detailed,
especially when you look at Kratos’s bloodstained bandages and the hair on his beard. Truthfully,
you won’t be able to see a HUGE difference between the two versions unless you’re looking at them
side-by-side and up close. I don’t really notice the differences between textures during actual
gameplay, only in intimate close-up moments like this one. But dang, LOOK AT THOSE SHADOWS. They
absolutely POP when set to Ultra on PC. PS5, not so much. Guess you have to make some compromises
in order to achieve a smooth framerate. When I compared the other elements of each version,
the shadows were the feature that stood out the most to me. Buy and large,
God of War looks very similar on PC compared to the PS5 version, and that’s mostly because
the game already looked amazing to begin with. It’s hard to level up perfection,
but the PC development team still added those higher-resolution textures, reflections,
and shadows to still make it stand out compared to its console counterparts.
There are also PC-specific features that you can’t find on console, such as Nvidia DLSS,
which upscales the game’s resolution using AI rendering in order to improve the framerate. This
was tested on an RTX 2070 by my friend Niji, make sure to check out his Twitch channel linked in the
description below and tell him GameXplain sent ya. He tested God of War’s DLSS features and came away
impressed, noticing the framerate increased by 10-20 fps each time the resolution was lowered and
then upscaled, though the visuals were slightly reduced and he noticed a bit of frame stuttering
and screen tearing. It’s still a great improvement over the console visuals, but he preferred playing
the game at 1440p High settings because he didn’t notice a huge difference between High and Ultra.
Okay, so God of War runs great on high-spec PCs, but what if you only have a mid-range build?
Well, that’s where my PC comes in, packing a 1660 Ti, which is a card great for gaming at 1080p
and 1440p resolutions. Even though I was playing on my 1080p 144Hz monitor, I still had to lower
quite a few settings to Medium, or Original as the game calls it since those settings are closest to
the PS4 version. I didn’t mind since God of War already looked amazing on my launch day PS4,
so if I could get that on my PC but slightly better-looking and at a higher framerate,
I would be more than pleased. So I tweaked those settings to the point where I maintained a steady
60-70 fps across the board, with only major dips happening between transitions in and out
of cutscenes. While it wasn’t absolutely perfect, I was still satisfied with the overall performance
and visuals. Even though my graphics card was unable to utilize the magic of Nvidia DLSS,
it did come with the AMD equivalent: FSR. I tried this out and immediately turned it off. It just
doesn’t look good, as if someone smeared Vaseline all over the screen. It’s possible
that FSR is better used for 4K displays, but it looked absolutely atrocious on my 1080p monitor.
Putting the game at all low settings while keeping the native resolution would
easily look better than this, so I don’t recommend using FSR in the least.
Another feature unique to God of War’s PC version is of course the option to use mouse and keyboard
controls. But after ten minutes with the mouse and keyboard, I decided that the controller was
best for me. Perhaps it’s because I’m already used to playing God of War with a controller,
but I also just wasn’t a fan of the default key bindings, which fortunately are completely
remappable. So I made a key adjustment and increased the mouse sensitivity,
and though I played better, I wasn’t nearly as good as I am with a controller. With that,
I’m faster and more accurate, whereas I’m slower and clunkier on mouse and keyboard, and that’s
probably because I’m not used to playing 3D action games with that setup. Ultimately, it depends on
what peripheral you prefer. Can you tell I’ve been playing console games for most of my life? There
are also a few new accessibility options, such as an always-on aiming reticle and auto sprint.
Ultimately, your mileage on God of War will vary depending on the kind of PC you have.
It’s a demanding game for sure, but even I, on my mid-range PC, was able to lower some
settings to get an image that still looked great and a performance that was stable. That said,
running the game at 4K with Ultra will really put even the best cards to the test as it is quite
demanding and you might experience some framerate hiccups here and there. Fortunately, you can take
advantage of DLSS to keep the resolution and framerate high. In the end, God of War’s PC port
is well-optimized and you can fully customize it to suit your needs. And regardless of if you have
to turn down some settings, you’re still going to have an amazing experience with God of War.
Like I said earlier, revisiting this game on PC was wonderful, and it solidified my excitement for
the sequel due later this year. I love everything about God of War, starting with the story that
grips you in the first minute. Even though it’s set after God of War 3, it feels like a reboot
in some ways, completely revamping the series’ gameplay and even the main character Kratos,
being a much older and wiser protagonist than he was in the original trilogy. Thankfully,
the previous God of War games are not required to play if you want to jump right into the 2018 game,
as it’s set a long time after Kratos killed Zeus and shook up all of Ancient Greece. Since then,
he’s moved to Midgard, where he got married and had a son named Boy, who’s occasionally
called Atreus. When the game begins, Kratos’s wife is dead, and it’s only him and his son.
Here they’re on a quest to spread her ashes to the highest peak in all the realms, to which they will
encounter resistance in the form of the Norse gods themselves. These games have always been known for
their theatrics. I mean, what do you expect from a series with giant gods and monsters?
God of War 2018 is no exception, as it contains some high-octane fights with some EPIC setpieces,
and I do not use the word “epic” lightly. However, this game does not shy away from taking itself
seriously, and despite the game being called GOD of War, it also tells a human story. Here Kratos
is a father, who despite learning from his dark past, still feels incredible shame for it. He
holds himself back from fully embracing his son, who doesn’t yet know that his father is a God.
All of these conflicts are displayed perfectly by incredible acting and direction, the impact
of which can be felt from the very beginning. So yeah, God of War still has the cinematic
action you’ve come to expect, but it’s these grounded moments that make the story magical. Oh,
and there are some pretty wild twists. Hopefully, nothing’s been spoiled for you yet!
Now having an incredible story is one thing, but it’s rare for a game to completely excel
in both storytelling and gameplay. God of War is one of these games.
In spite of its more serious and grounded tone compared to the original trilogy,
the combat is anything but. Kratos is the God of War, and he proves it by flinging enemies
in the air and slashing them to bits with his Leviathan Axe. He can also go in with his fists,
filling up an enemy’s stun meter, allowing him to activate a brutal killing move. Kratos is
accompanied by his boy, who’ll shoot arrows at his command that also fill up enemy stun meters.
He’ll do things by himself as well, like pin monsters down and stab them with his knife.
The best part is that he’ll never go down in combat, which makes you wonder who the real God of
War is… The development team did a fantastic job creating a combat system that is fluid, easy to
control and satisfying to play. There’s no better feeling than pulling off a successful parry.
It becomes even more fun when you unlock more abilities and level up your gear or craft new
ones at dwarven shops. Although this is kind of where the game starts to lose me, as I find the
number of armor pieces and charms to be a tad bit overwhelming. There are so many to choose
from and they have wildly varying effects, like gaining a ton of defense stats while also losing
a bunch of vitality. Fortunately, the game works around it by telling you which item will level
up Kratos if equipped, so I basically just equip whatever it recommends. Aside from simple armor
and axe handles, Kratos can equip enchantments to use in battle that give him frost powers,
like unleashing a wave of ice or ice explosions. Yeah, there’s a lot of ice in this game. Sometimes
I forget they’re even a thing, but the game REMINDS you they exist by displaying
the buttons you need to press to activate them. It’s like the UI designers KNOW me or something.
While combat is important in God of War, there’s also a great amount of exploration
involved. It’s not an open-world game, but a Metroidvania of sorts. The map is filled with
corridor-based areas, some bigger than others, and getting new powers will open up the map even more.
Light arrows will let Atreus activate bridges of light, and electric arrows blow up crystallized
blockades. It makes the simple task of progressing through the game a rewarding feat,
as you’ll keep unlocking new areas. There are even sidequests to complete that unlock special tools
which will significantly upgrade Kratos. Some serious effort was put into these side missions,
with whole new levels crafted specifically for them. There are even some cutscenes that give
more depth to the father-son relationship, like how Atreus is scared of the Soul Eater and Kratos
makes them fight it to conquer his fear. There aren’t that many side-missions in God of War,
but that actually benefits the quality of the few that are there. The main quest is
pretty long too, so you wouldn’t want to be encumbered by hundreds of sidequests anyway.
I can gush about how great God of War is all day, so I'll continue to do so: and I’ll continue to
do so. The story is impactful and the combat and exploration are fulfilling in their own special
ways. But the question now is if it’s worth getting on PC. And if you already own it on PS4
or heck even PS5, it’s probably not worth shelling out the extra cash to buy it at full price.
Maybe on a sale. That said if you HAVEN’T played God of War and don’t have a PlayStation 4 or 5,
it’s definitely worth buying on PC even if you don’t have the latest or greatest specs.
Obviously, those with the most high-end builds are going to reap the most benefits,
but even I with my 1660 Ti and 1080p display have had a great time with God of War, and I might just
finish my second run of this game on PC. I thought about just starting another new file on my PS5,
but no, I’ll save that for New Game Plus. So with that, I LOVED God of War on PC. It’s the same
amazing game that I played on PS4, but with the freedom of customization that the PC platform
offers. For those who can play this game on MAX settings, I truly am jealous of you.
Bitterness aside, do you plan on picking up God of War on PC? Let us know in the comments below and
check out the videos on the right for more topics you might be interested in. Until next time, BOY!