Starting on the back of Titan scaling Mount Olympus to attack the entire Greek pantheon, including Zeus, is still one of the most epic openings in video game history. Even as God of War III nears its 15th anniversary, Kratos’ vengeful assault on Olympus shows few signs of aging, despite newer entries in the series offering different gameplay directions.
The remastered version of God of War III for PlayStation 4, then, holds its own against more modern titles. While Kratos’ last adventure in Greek mythology showed the PS3’s impressive capabilities in 2010, the remaster benefits from a smoother 60 frames per second at a 1080p resolution on PS4, improving the fluidity of the experience.
Although the PS3-era visuals show their age in places, God of War III Remastered has generally done well to update the graphics with sharper textures and enhanced lighting. Nevertheless, some scenes, like the encounter with Hephaestus, feel underwhelming, as his character lacks detail and looks dated. However, these shortfals don’t detract much from the brutal, fast-paced gameplay.
In comparison to the 2018 God of War reboot and the PS5 sequel God of War: Ragnarök, both set in Norse mythology, Kratos’ final adventure in the Greek world feels somewhat thin in terms of storytelling. Revenge and anger drive the narrative, with Kratos losing much of the self-reflection and nuance seen in earlier games. As a result, the plot of God of War III often feels secondary, its purpose largely to justify the carnage.
Despire its narrative weaknesses, the game’s pacing is sharp, belding puzzle sections, colossal boss fights, and waves of cannon fodder seamlessly. On lower difficulty settings, God of War III isn’t particularly challenging, but it does suffer from occasional difficulty spikes that can feel jarring.
For those seeking a greater challenge, the Titan and Chaos difficulty levels provide a real test of endurance. While God of War III is generally fair, the higher difficulties feel punishing and quickly result in an exercise in patience, with some encounters bordering on unbalanced and unfair, as already mentioned, and featuring cheap deaths.
Where God of War III truly shines is in its over-the-top boss battles. Kratos frequently scales massive Titans and takes down Olympian gods in the most brutal ways imagineable. These battles, along with the game’s unflinchlingly gory segments, emphasize Krato’s relentless thirst for revenge and make victory feel deeply satisfying.
Combat offers flexibility, with four different distinct weapon sets that each provide unique combat styles, supplemented by items that stun or ignite enemies. Players on higher difficulty levels will definitely need to master the different weapon combinations and movesets to survive the assault on Olympus.
The fixed camera, a relic of earlier God of War titles, feels outdated compared to the free-movement camera in the newer Norse games. While it generally works well to showcase the scale and intensity of battles, it occasionally hinders gameplay, particularly in large fights where Kratos is obscured by massive enemies like Minotarus.
Although puzzles are not the focus of God of War games, they offer enjoyable breaks between combat. Most are reasonably intuitive, though a few solutions, like sacrificing an innocent woman to block a crank mechanism, feel far-fetched if unnecessary brutal.
Another criticism of Kratos’ final Greek adventure is its relatively short length. Experienced players can complete the game in around 10 hours only, and the final section feels rushed, leaving some of the Greek saga’s questions unresolved. Additionally, the lack of significant replay value beyond a few extra challenges makes the game feel somwehat limited after the first playthrough.
In conclusion, God of War III remains one of the best third-person action games on the PlayStation platform, even after 15 years. The Remastered PS4 version offers improved performance and fidelity, but doesn’t address some of the original game’s story and design flaws. Despite these issues, Krato’s final confrontation with Zeus and, by extension, the entire Greek pantheon, is a must-play for fans of over-the-top action.
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