With the hype of the God of War sequel underway, fans have taken to playing the earlier games once again as a way to build up the anticipation. This has resulted in many gamers realizing that the original games have striking differences to the style that God of War PS4 brings.
Both the original and reboot have their strength, as the series has received massive praise regardless of which entry is concerned. Still, it’s worth separating the strong points from one to the other as a way of analyzing where each performed better. The final result is a split between the two, although where one trumps the other is interesting to see.
10 Original: Mobility Of The Character
Controlling Kratos is a far simpler process in the original games, despite the fact that the camera isn’t controllable. Kratos has more mobility here, being capable of jumps and leaps, greater feats of strength and endurance, and covering more ground.
The reboot series employs an over-the-shoulder camera, which hinders one’s viewpoint of Kratos since his back is always turned. Kratos is also much grounded, in that jumping isn’t really an option, nor can he be maneuvered with the kind of freedom the original games offer.
9 Reboot: Character Development
A big criticism of the original games was how one-note Kratos was in characterization. He started off as an angry guy and ended the series just like that. God of War PS4 subverted this practice beautifully, with Kratos a far more layered person.
It wasn’t just restricted to Kratos, as Atreus developed from a hapless boy to an evil-being-in-the-making, and eventually someone who accepted the power he had with grace. It’s due to this change in characterizations that the protagonists remained so engaging throughout.
8 Original: Boss Fights
No matter how the gameplay was, boss fights were guaranteed to be a hit in the original series. What’s remarkable is how these fights could even be repeated with the same boss, yet brought something original within each sequence.
Even better is how these fights employed the theme behind the character, with Hades being a scary boss who went after Kratos’ soul, Poseidon fought in the sea, among other examples. The reboot lacked considerably in the boss fights section, making this a no contest between the two.
7 Reboot: Cinematography
God of War PS4 is a feast for the eyes for sure, with several moments that capture the wow factor. The lead-up towards Ragnarok would never have been communicated to the player had the game’s sequences not appeared so larger-than-life.
The camera, which remains in a single shot in the entire story, has a way of making one fully invested in the events -- be it a conversation scene or an all-out fight. The original series’ movie-like camera work was good, but not original like the reboot.
6 Original: Variety Of Weapons
A recurring factor in the originals was Kratos receiving weapons and powers from his allies. It was always fun to attain these abilities, even more so due to these being so diverse in quality. It bolstered the gameplay since there would now be a new way toward combat.
The reboot did bring in weapons of its own, but these were hindered due to the camera. The original games empowered the player to the max, as weapons could be used freely, and boosting them up only added to the creativity they provided in combat.
5 Reboot: Side Missions
The original games offered side missions independent of the main story, but were linear in nature and weren’t in abundance. The reboot has some of the best side missions for open-world games, as Kratos and Atreus can traverse the realms at will.
This provides players a reason to keep playing even after the main storyline is over, as the side missions are engaging enough. Moreover, these are extremely difficult, which brings in a level of challenge the God of War series previously didn’t provide.
4 Original: Engaging Gameplay
Even if you’re bemused by the unresolved storylines in the series, the original games give more than enough reasons to return. This comes down to the gameplay, which is high-octane and incredible in scale to warrant multiple playthroughs.
The reboot steers toward the storytelling aspect of things, lacking in the way the original can win someone over purely through the execution of fight sequences. No matter how many times one plays these games, it’s always an experience to battle the enemies.
3 Reboot: Open-World Aspects
God of War PS4 is far from a one-and-done game, in that the open-world offers a lot of room to cover. While the sequel needs to avoid spreading areas out far too apart from one another, the fact remains that uncovering new areas in the Nordic realms has a charm of its own.
The original series was entirely linear, as areas could only be navigated one. In the event of backtracking, there wasn’t anything else to do but access other areas. God of War PS4’s penchant for surprises across the Nordic world is a thing of its own.
2 Original: Music
There’s no better way to set the scene than through the use of music. The original God of War games remain unparalleled in this regard, as the incredible soundtrack remains a thing of beauty. Every scene is tailored to the event that takes place, ranging from emotional moments to epicness.
The reboot series has been on the down-low where this area is concerned, placing emphasis on the dialogue rather than enabling the music to set the scene. The original series didn’t rely on conversational quality mainly because the soundtrack covered all the bases.
1 Reboot: Deeper Storyline
There are a lot of sequel hooks that fans have in mind, all of which are a result of the storyline running so deep. An issue with the original series was that the theme of vengeance was everything, with no real room for more.
Meanwhile, the reboot has themes of redemption, growth, love, and tenacity of spirit. The storylines concern the incoming Ragnarok, yet we’re given elements of familial bonds and mysterious schemes that uncover as the plot progresses. These combine to make for a multifaceted story that’s hard to miss.