God of War : Ascension - A huge step back from the series with only a handful but moments of pure brilliance!

Completed : God of War - Ascension

My Vengeance ends now.
All platinums of the original God of War series done with the last and definitely the least favorite Ascension.

Ascension shows how even the worst combination of the God of War formula can still net a game which is still worth it : arguably being the most difficult God of War platinum and it doesn't even have the challenge of the gods. I feel lucky to have done lubed up and trail of archimedes in a few tries.


On to the game, as I said the worst combination of the God of War formula with :

Kratos's back story which isn't bad but is presented unevenly and adds little to the epic tale.

And the combat that has been changed just for the sake of doing something different (when its basically the same which is not a bad thing) but none of the changes seem a way forward.

Combat doesn't feel as fluid with a slight delay in response time of block.
Interrupting enemy attacks also seems less viable, thus having to play more defensively than I would like to in a God of War game.
Even the most basic God of war combos are only available in rage mode which is unlikely to be maintained for long on higher difficulties.

Parry mechanics have also been changed to make it more risky without increasing its rewards.

The traditional multiple weapon system to complement the chains has been replaced by different  elemental power choices on the blades, it does add a bit of strategic factor to combat but not enough variety.
The additional side weapons made available over the course of the game are neither fun nor effective enough compared to the chains.


To be fair, nothing is truly bad apart from the occasional glitches and zoomed out camera angles ,it just fails to rise under the immense shadow the series has set.
And there are a few positives that make it worth a go on hard at least.

The time control mechanism in God of war 2 has been somewhat recreated with the heal and decay mechanism which does feel good for a change.
The clone ability is also a welcome addition but feels a bit under used as it is obtained quit late in the game.

Brutal Finishing kills return too now with mid evasion feature.


The major redeeming factors of the game are its as godly as ever boss fights with one of the best finishes in the entire series and lively action sequences with a few quality puzzles to fill in between.

Definitely, a huge step back from the God of War series we have played over the many years where you aren't missing much from its lackluster story but still a decent game with only a handful but moments of pure brilliance.