God of War: Sons of Sparta Review – An Amazing, Down-to-Earth Reimagining of a Classic Franchise

God of War: Sons of Sparta took us all by surprise. When it was suddenly announced at Sony’s State of Play presentation, I was immediately intrigued. God of War: Sons of Sparta seemingly came out of nowhere and offered an insight into a widely lesser-known part of Kratos’ history, his childhood.

Developed by Santa Monica Studio and Mega Cat Studios, God of War: Sons of Sparta takes a bold turn away from the hack’n’slash gameplay of the original trilogy as well as the more modern role-playing genre of the Norse saga. It’s a quieter, more down-to-earth rendition of Kratos and a coming-of-age story. All in all, it was quite the experience, and one that I found myself enjoying the more I played. Here’s everything you need to know about God of War: Sons of Sparta.

TL;DR

God of War: Sons of Sparta is a 2D Metroidvania spin-off that explores young Kratos and Deimos, with a strong focus on character exploration and telling of a coming-of-age story. Combat and progression are solid, the soundtrack stands out, and the graphics are pleasant. It does, however, struggle to define itself as a God of War game and works best as a smaller character-driven side story than a franchise-defining entry.

The Sons of Sparta – Brothers Before Gods

The story focuses on a younger Kratos and his brother Deimos during their Spartan training years. It gives us an insight into the foundations of what created the God of War we know today, or rather, what we would have gotten without the involvement of Ares. It starts out with a grown-up Kratos talking to his daughter Calliope before the events of the first God of War. As an amazing side note, TC Carson reprises his role as Kratos in his adult version and as he narrates the game.

As the game starts, Kratos and his brother Deimos are facing down a cyclops after they’ve just received their Eiren’s Pass, a special pass that grants young Spartan recruits the opportunity to leave Sparta and explore lands. As you progress through the game, you start by running errands for “The Carpenter” and eventually follow the main plot of searching for a missing classmate, Vasilis. This journey has you running across Laconia, following clues and whatever trail you can find.

Over the course of God of War: Sons of Sparta, I was curious to see how they would develop not only Kratos and Deimos, but also how they would interact and affect each other and how they would affect the world around them. Kratos is very duty-bound and honor-bound to the Spartan code, but clearly struggles with some of the morality of what must be done.

However, while it may not show at the start, Kratos begins to show progress on becoming a compassionate and charismatic character, one capable of clearly loving his family and showing affection. This is a far cry from what we get in the original God of War Trilogy and leaves you wondering what could have been had Ares not intervened.

Deimos, on the other hand, is the perfect foil for Kratos. Where Kratos embodies duty and responsibility, Deimos represents curiosity, compassion, and inquisitiveness. Likely aspects that recruits lose through the rigorous training. Kratos often worries about how Deimos isn’t ready for the life of a Spartan. And it’s these opposites that create a realistic sibling relationship between them.

Throughout Sons of Sparta, the banter between the brothers showcases how they’re different characters and still learning how the world works. There are wholesome moments and jokes between the two, all the while showing that while Kratos is the older, more experienced warrior, he also has much to learn from Deimos. And watching them grow together through the course of the game kept me interested in the story despite knowing how it unfortunately ends in the later installments of the series chronologically. There were moments where I genuinely smiled to myself, and that’s where I praise the writing the most.

The rest of the plot does its job of bringing you across Laconia and does introduce you to interesting characters. You get small side missions to accomplish and tasks to unlock features, abilities, and upgrades. Progressing through the side content, you learn more about the supporting cast of characters, and while interesting, it’s never more than a few lines of dialogue every now and then. I wish they could have been more in-depth, but for the genre, it’s quite hard to do.

Ultimately, I think the character development in Sons of Sparta works best when not compared to the depth of the later games, but as a brief window into how a young Spartan boy could become the God of War we know today. The bond between Kratos and Deimos isn’t perfect, and it doesn’t always grip you instantly, but it shows effort and care.

Exploring Laconia – Traversing the Map and the Environment

Probably one of the most important aspects of any Metroidvania is the map. Traversability, explorability, and unlockability all play a critical role in how fun and engaging the gameplay is. God of War: Sons of Sparta leans well into the Metroidvania genre. Right from the very first screen, you can walk backwards to discover a hidden chest you can’t access. It goes a step further because after unlocking the ability to pass that locked-off area, there is immediately another obstacle you cannot cross, hinting at further unlocks for puzzle solving.

In fact, as I explored new areas, I was constantly taking note of things I would need to come back for, alternate routes to explore, and puzzles I would have to complete. And these puzzles are where the two types of barriers are created. There are pathways locked behind movement restrictions, and pathways locked behind puzzles and tools to activate them.

God of War: Sons of Sparta leads much more into the puzzle aspect than the movement aspect of Metroidvanias, and this, coupled with the combat I’ll touch on later lead to a much slower-paced game than other Metroidvanias of recent times. It’s not necessarily a good or bad thing, and is very much up to the player’s preference, but at times, I wished I could move across the maps faster and maneuver better. I will say that when you do unlock the mobility-focused upgrades, the game feels a lot smoother.

As I unlocked new traversal tools, I found myself taking the long way to certain objectives, or even just revisiting old areas to try and discover more loot. Several hidden bosses, side quests, and upgrades can be discovered through exploration, and I love that each section of the map felt like it had a purpose. I will say, though, there is a particular unlock I don’t wish to spoil that will make backtracking and exploring much more efficient, and you’ll know it when you get it.

I do appreciate the level of design in Sons of Sparta. There were constantly chests and loot just out of sight, and it had me keeping in mind all the tricks and things I could expect. Shortcuts and pathways also feel intentional and make sense. Areas loop back into each other naturally, and secrets are placed intentionally. I felt that I was following breadcrumbs the entire way, and going back through areas and removing markers off my mini map felt extremely satisfying.

Blades No More – Combat as a Cadet

Combat is likely where opinions will mix, and you’ll either love it or hate it. There is a very clear difference between the boss fights and the regular enemies you’ll find across the map as you explore. But first, let’s break down the basics. In God of War: Sons of Sparta, you’ll find a simpler approach to combat compared to other Metroidvanias. You have one button that you’ll push to attack, and pressing this in a chain will do a small combo. This combo can be modified with equipment and upgrades. You also have variations on whether you attack while in the air, directional attacks, and attacks while running or dodging.

When you land a hit on an enemy, they’ll drop orbs that replenish your spirit bar. Holding R1 on default controls and pressing the attack will change your attack into spirit attacks that fill your opponent’s stun bar as well as generate health orbs.

Later on, you’ll unlock special attacks that can be triggered by using L1 with your attack button, as well as heavy attacks. As you can already tell, the majority of combat is based on one attack button. You are however able to parry and dodge as well, and when you unlock the gifts of the gods, these function as special magic based attacks as well that you can cycle through.

While out and exploring, you’ll find enemies with varying attack patterns, attacks you can only dodge, ones you can only block, some that you have to parry, and some that you just have to run from. This plays more similarly to the Norse God of War games, where instead of long, flashy combos, you can mash your attack button and dodge and parry at opportune times. Simply traversing the map is alright enough, but you’ll find the majority of the combat difficulty comes from the optional combat sections.

That’s not to say the combat doesn’t flow well. Whereas many games of the genre will have both you and the enemy be paper-thin, in Sons of Sparta, everyone has weight, hefty health bars, and decent poise and durability. This leads to a slower combat system compared to other fast-paced Metroidvanias we’ve seen more of recently. And this, coupled with the slow traversal for the first half of the game, makes the game slower paced, and may not be preferential to those coming from games like Hollow Knight or Shinobi.

When the combat flows, it flows well. You can weave through enemies, launch devastating spells, and take advantage of enemy weaknesses. Executing enemies that have their stun bar filled up leads to a gratifying animation and a great splash of orbs reminiscent of the original God of War trilogy. And the larger mini-boss-like enemies were the most satisfying to take down. And I will say, while the combat was slower paced, I did genuinely enjoy the heavier nature of the combat and that I could take a decent amount of hits.

The boss fights, however, seem to depart from the concept of the regular mobs. While each boss poses their own challenges and is fun, the flow of combat becomes more of a souls-like experience where you dodge out of the way until the enemy has an opening for a few attacks. The early bosses are also not really any form of challenge. Once you hit about the 1/3rd mark of the game, you’ll notice that the boss fights become more challenging and interesting. And trust me, you’ll know this boss when you see it. It was the first of the more challenging fights, and while it still took me about 4 attempts, I did genuinely enjoy it.

God of War: Sons of Sparta sees you upgrading your equipment and improving your skills following the more modern RPG approach that we’ve seen in the Norse-based God of War saga. You can upgrade your shield rim to improve certain defensive capabilities. When it comes to your spear, you can swap out its tip, the shaft, and the pommel. Each of these has its own role, affects your attacks differently, and can be upgraded individually.

To break down Sons of Sparta’s gear system, spear tips affect the type of damage your spear does, generally. One can generate more spirit orbs on attack, and others inflict elemental damage. Your spear shaft affects the combo ender of your attack, and its properties. And finally, your pommel gives Kratos another activated ability that acts like a special attack.

These attacks utilize your spirit bar. I personally liked the flurry of stabs, and in later parts of the game, you can stab endlessly as long as you have spirit meter. Paired with the spear tip that generates spirit orbs, and you have a fun machine gun attack for bosses and mini bosses.

The flashiest and most interesting weapons you get are the gifts of the gods. These are special magical weapons with their own standard attack and special attacks. These are used not only for solving puzzles but also to be used in combat. Different gifts do different things: one fires a ricocheting disc, one lobs a bouncing ball of flame, and there are a lot more. These tools can also be upgraded to deal more damage through collectables you’ll find throughout your journey.

A New Look at Sparta – A New Artistic Take

One of the biggest things I noticed in Sons of Sparta was the level of detail in the background and the environment. God of War: Sons of Sparta does a great job in differentiating each area. The backdrops and settings have such great detail, and I’m so glad we don’t just have “generic field” or “static cave texture”.

The environments are layers, and the art is cohesive and distinct. Even the classic enemies from the original trilogy are recognizable throughout the game. The pixelated images may be a bit jarring from the aesthetic others are used to, but I’m quite a sucker for them.

God of War: Sons of Sparta’s soundtrack is nothing to scoff at either. I genuinely dread going back to the winery, not because of the difficulty or enemies, but because the combination of the soundtrack and the design was so eerie and off-putting. The boss music for many of the fights was captivating, and I felt many scenes were elevated as well. Even the attacks and movements of Kratos had weight behind them because of the sound quality. It’s a subtle thing to notice, but it works really well.

Final Thoughts on God of War: Sons of Sparta

It’s hard to evaluate God of War: Sons of Sparta without acknowledging the expectation attached to the God of War franchise. The modern entries redefined what the series was and improved so much on the narrative, and the older trilogy really defined combat for a generation. Against those two titans, this smaller-scale project will always pale in comparison.

However, looking at this game independently, I felt the game was very thoughtful and intriguing, and I genuinely appreciated the glimpse it gave into Kratos’ childhood. But when I look back to think about the gameplay, how much of it was truly God of War? Could this have been released on its own with unique characters? Would it have changed much? And outside of the names of characters and references to the original God of War trilogy, it could have very well been a game from a completely different franchise.

That’s not a bad thing, however. On its own, God of War: Sons of Sparta was an overall fun experience. The combat has weight, and the graphics and soundtrack are good. Sons of Sparta offers the sincerity of a team that worked hard to bring a game to life, and the quality shows.

When I got to the end credits, I felt I had experienced another part of the God of War history. It may not redefine the legend of Kratos, but it enriches it. And sometimes, that is more than enough. I can thoroughly recommend it to people who enjoy the lore of God of War.

Special thanks to PlayStation Greece for allowing us to review God of War: Sons of Sparta!