God of War Sons of Sparta review

This may sound funny, especially as the person reviewing this particular game, but I'm not much of a Metroidvania guy. That said, when God of War Sons of Sparta was revealed and shadowdropped during the recent PlayStation State of Play, I was intrigued. Could this be the one to spark my interest in the genre? After rolling credits, I don't know that my overall view of Metroidvanias has changed, but Sons of Sparta is a great introduction for someone like me, not to mention a good God of War title.

Sons of Sparta has you listening to Kratos telling a tale to his daughter Calliope. TC Carson does an incredible job each time he's on the screen, and in general if we're going back to the original works here. This tale involves both Kratos and his brother Deimos, tasked with looking for a missing Spartan boy named Vasillis.

Throughout the seventeen or so hours I spent with Sons of Sparta, that mission never changes, even if the parameters around it do. My biggest qualm is the beginning, as it's dreadfully slow. There's a mundane nature to the search, lacking impact.

Even so, this story evolves tremendously over time, with both your adventure and the camaraderie between Kratos and Deimos capturing your attention. Kratos is wholly Kratos, all business and hard-nosed, while Deimos is properly delivered as the younger brother. He's charismatic and sociable, hoping that an eventual rescue will come with glory and the affection of a local girl, Amara. The back and forth between them is enjoyable, especially as an older brother myself watching their relationship unfold.

Unexpectedly, the second half of the narrative is tremendously emotional, landing with aplomb. The themes of duty and desire, familial bonds, and more that are explored are done admirably, even if it takes a while to get there. It's worth the wait, and keeps you invested as the gameplay mechanics emerge alongside it.

Speaking of gameplay, this grows more steadily than the story does. As with most Metroidvanias, the side-scrolling action will have you running, jumping, and fighting (with a spear and shield) through each frame. Platforming feels excellent, especially as you earn new abilities. You'll travel to one area, find out you can't progress, and go somewhere else to find the tools to advance past your obstacle. Thankfully, it comes across as organic for the most part, a natural progression where you aren't just hunting McGuffins.

Although it might seem easiest to simply button mash your way to victory, combat is most satisfying when you take it slow. There are certainly moments where you'll need to slash away, but playing deliberately, timing your attacks, and liberally dodging and jumping to avoid damage is key to succeeding versus tough foes. The difficulty is real – even playing on Cadet wasn't a cake walk. I do have to give a lot of credit to Mega Cat Studios on several stupendous boss fights; you've done the God of War brand proud in that regard.

Most of your aforementioned capabilities for opening new pathways come from visiting temples along the way. Each temple contains an item that will help you on your journey, outside of the initial Lycurgus bust you receive from your master at the start of the game. Most of these can be used offensively, bringing new moves and attacks with them. But, their most important function is giving you newfound abilities to get past obstructions.

For instance, Nike's sandals (yes, they used Nike) allow you to run faster, which brings with it a long jump that can assist you in reaching areas once thought impervious. Later, you can even upgrade them to receive a sprinting, diving, or jumping attack, which can help you in either assaulting an enemy or breaking through specific barriers. Given there are four other tools/weapons to use, Sons of Sparta has a decent amount of variety.

That said, it doesn't always teach you the use cases very well. I spent several minutes moving through one section, getting annoyed, and trying a different route, only to find out I needed to use the Lycurgus bust to suck up a gas to enable me to open a gate. Until I accidentally figured it out, I was hard stuck. Similarly, I had no clue the temple's arsenal had "ultimate" attacks. I was halfway through the game before stumbling upon someone's YouTube boss fight and seeing one used, which had me sprinting to the menus for clarity. If you're going to give me skills, make sure I don't miss them.

I really like the method to upgrading your kit in Sons of Sparta. Instead of earning as many blood orbs as possible (a staple in the God of War games), you'll complete different objectives around the map to bring offerings back to the temples. Some are simply bowing to a statue, others completing a small enemy wave. It's nothing taxing, but worth the investment.

Beyond just those additional weapons are skill trees (here are where the blood orbs come in) and spear and shield parts (where random materials come in).These are relatively simple, especially compared to upgrading your kit. Most are just boosts to what you're already doing, alongside a few extra moves like a ground slam with your spear.

While I don't mind a lack of depth, I didn't even bother with most of these upgrades until the last few hours when I had so many orbs I figured I might as well spend them. With my gear, I chose a spear and shield I liked and stuck with it. This made the multiple spear tips, grips, tails, and shield rims, on the other hand, feel pointless, especially with more effort required to upgrade them, which had already gone into the ones I had originally chosen. The worst part was finding out completing the skill trees unlocks another set that can upgrade your health, spirit, magic, and blood orbs absorbed – something you'd never know if you didn't unlock things. A tad annoying if you ask me.

Something I never tired of was the world around me. Laconia is dangerous, but incredibly varied. The pixel-art stylings are a bit subdued, lacking the pop in color I've found elsewhere, but they more than make up for it with the environmental changes that occur quickly. One of my biggest issues in getting into a Metroidvania is how bland and repetitive the world can be; I didn't feel that way with Sons of Sparta. The enemies could become tedious as well, but Mega Cat Studios at least makes sure to add variation in their types (i.e. fire abilities or poison). While they occasionally become wearisome to fight, you can simply dodge-roll past and just not bother with them, which is what I chose to do.

If you want more to do after finishing the game, you're covered. There are a ton of collectibles to find and sell for more blood orbs, and a trials area if you want to try your hand at a few challenges. There's a lot more to do throughout, as is the case with many Metroidvanias, but I'll let you discover it for yourself.

Co-op might be the biggest rug pull for this game. Sadly, it's not even a part of the main story, instead relegated to a specific mode: Pit of Agonies. You can't even access it until beating the main story, and even then, it's only local. It's a shame really; I'd have clarified this feature much better in the launch messaging.

As for technical issues, I only found a few, and mainly related to rest mode. There are occasional frame rate stutters, but not enough to be a problem. Even so, I started my final hour of the game out of rest mode, and could hear the soundtrack skipping badly in the background. The dialogue also did the same in those moments. My final annoyance was the game black screening in a transition during the final cutscene, requiring me to restart the game and beat the final boss again. It wasn't too tough, but I wasn't thrilled to have to repeat the process.