Kratos’ lust for vengeance reaches its climax…this time in 1080p and at 60fps!
God of War III Remastered finds Kratos raining carnage and destruction upon the Gods who have betrayed him and the entire Ancient Greek world. Armed with his deadly double-chained blades, Kratos will take on mythology’s darkest creatures while solving intricate puzzles on his merciless quest to destroy Olympus and the mighty Zeus himself. Of course, it doesn’t go to plan and just as it seems he is ready to kill Zeus…he gets sent down from Olympus to the River Styx where he has to battle through countless enemies to get his revenge.
It’s a decent story and gives you enough motivation to play through to the climax. The game itself remains unchanged in its design, despite its 1080p visual upgrade and 60fps. Combat is mixed with a number of weapons such as blades; bows and there are plenty of quick time events, all of which work as well as it ever has. Kratos handles well for the most part, except for the platforming sections which are the disappointing moments of the game thanks to many deaths caused; the fixed camera doesn’t help either.
The world of God of War III Remastered looks huge, but it’s actually rather restricted with invisible walls and set paths. The game is entirely linear and besides a few collectibles, it’s almost a straight path from A to B. It feels like they’ve played it a bit safe, which might annoy long-time fans of the series that waited a long 3 years for the epic finale of Kratos’ tale. The level of gore in the game is amazing though and actually, quite disturbing…not that I’m complaining.
In terms of control, combat is pretty simple but can become deep with button combos. Puzzles are basic and there are items that are only used for context-sensitive moments like the Shoes of Hermes. Kratos is a badass with his finishing moves and they really push the power of the PS4. The game lasts about 9-10 hours on Normal, but will take longer on harder difficulties. Kratos feels perhaps too powerful on Easy/Normal, so long-time veterans may want to switch to a harder difficulty for a challenge.
The remastered character models are amazingly detailed, the levels are truly epic in their design and the gore is the best I’ve ever seen in a videogame, period. Perhaps I was more stunned with the visuals than the game itself, but I think that will be the case for most. I’m not a fan of the fixed camera though, which made me die a lot during platforming sections. Voice-acting is superb and the music really catches the atmosphere well.
The Verdict
God of War III Remastered is another great remake for the PS4 with a great climax to the series, epic boss battles and amazing combat. It might have played it a little safe in terms of scale and it’s certainly not perfect, it’s also a bit odd that they chose to only remake God of War III instead of the whole trilogy, but it’s still a great game 5 years on.