God of War (PS4) Has Shit Combat (Raw Thoughts)

Alright, this might take a while, but I need this shit off my chest
We'll start with context
I'm a huge fan of Character Action Games (Also called Hyper Action games) and have been playing them since Devil May Cry 1 first came out on PS2
I play any one that comes out minus a few (still have yet to play Automata or that TMNT game) and one of my favorites of this genre are the God of War games
while GoW3 isn't as demanding as say DMC4 or Bayonetta 1, the combat had a feel to it that emphasized the brutal nature of Kratos and giving Kratos power without making him feel slow
and this game has been on my radar for a while
and while the the first showings and interviews had me concerned, I decided to just ignore any press around it and try the game myself when it came out
today was my first day playing with only minor things known about it, mostly one spoiler-esc possible sequel bait and that everyone and their mother was giving it a perfect score
I put three hours into the game and played on the highest difficulty (which in this game is called "I want to play God of War"... Stupid, I know)
and the reason I chose that difficulty was to put this "Deep and engaging combat system" to the test
Other games like DMC and Bayonetta are a blast to play on their highest difficulty and feel so good to play
So TL;DR, I'm a fan of the originals and I like a challenge
whelp, this "modern reimagined masterpiece" might just have the worst combat system I've ever played
So first off, by default, the game gives you SoulsBorne controls
meaning light attack and heavy attack are tied to shoulder buttons
that's fine in those games because it's a slower game that rewards timing and circle strafing around dudes
SoulsBorne combat is very grounded and more about good timing and not really about aggressive twitch based commands
basically, DMC/Bayonetta is the offensive rush in game while SoulsBorne is more defensive patient style of combat
OG God of War was very much DMC inspired, since juggling and high combo counts emphasizing stylish (or in this case, gruesome) finishers to make the player feel like a bad ass god slayer
and this game wants to be both
and it can't be both
you can't have a twitch based combat system that wants juggling enemies in the air when you attacks are stuck on the shoulder buttons and DON'T HAVE A JUMP BUTTON!
Lucky for us, their is an option to set the controls to have light attack as Square and heavy attack as Triangle, so points for that
but the controls look like this
I mean, having the option to swap evade to circle for those that grew up with KH games is cool
but not having evade be say a shoulder button is just strange
Also why do games hate allowing fully custom rebindable controls?
Anyways, time to get back to the combat
so the first enemy shows up and already, there are problems
First off, Camera is zoomed and locked onto the Kratos' shoulder
and the lock on is the SoulsBorne lock on that just has you circle strafing around the dude
that tiny dot on the middle enemy
That's your lock on
and the game really doesn't like you trying to switch it to another enemy
you have to fucken slap and hold your right analog stick hard to get it to MAYBE go to enemy you want
and it actually limits your movement
because you don't really have free movement at that point since it's tied to the R3 (Clicking in the right analog stick)
which is why I prefer say lock on being tied to the shoulder buttons and being hold instead of set
this is also why I hate the lock on in SoulsBorne games
and because of these restrictions in combat
instinct tells me to play like SoulsBorne
you have shield tied L1 that if timed right when the enemy attacks (which is super forgiving with the timing btw), you will stun the enemies around you
aka, it's a parry
so the best tactic, I thought, was parry and then attack
and this would be fine
if I wasn't on the highest difficulty
See, highest difficulty has Kratos die in 3 hits
and it's 3 hits in general
and when I say in general, I mean in general
their are no invincibility frames or hit stun for Kratos
so let's say, for example, 3 enemies hit you at the same time
it's a insta death
nothing you can do about it
or if a enemy 3 hit combos you fast
like say a boss?
it's a one shot
Zero fucken forsight
clearly not really tested at all
Which would emphasis defensively play
means you really need to get that parry and play patient
except you can't
because this is when the game tries to be cute
On the highest difficulty of DMC (called Dante Must Die mode), all enemies and bosses gain access to your super form called Devil Trigger
each enemy has it's own timer upon spawn based on enemy class/type and if activated, gains attributes like regenerating health, super armor from almost all attacks minus combo finishers, and they take half damage/ do double damage
It works really well in DMC
because if forces you to prioritize enemies based on the timer, which is predicable since it's based on when they spawn in / what type of enemy they are and it encourages you to play aggressive to kill them before they activate it
so what does God of War do?
The new game gives enemies that very same Enraged mode
but their are a few key differences
first off, the activation is random
It can happen at the beginning of the fight
it can happen towards the end of the fight
it can happen after a few hits
or sometimes, it doesn't happen at all
there is no way to predict when and if it will happen
meaning it's just a guessing game
and it punishes you for playing to passively
meaning you need to be aggressive in order to stop them from going into the state
and this game is not meant to be played aggressively
because while 1 v 1 is fine
anytime you are outnumbered, shit goes sound really fast
the engraged state gives enemies Super Armor AND double damage / half damage taken
so if say 3 enemies go into it, you are fucked
So you are forced to be aggressive
cool, how does one play aggressively in this game
whelp, you stun lock
you stun lock EVERYTHING
you don't even let the enemies attack
you just mash square / light attack, right?
NOPE
because enemies also have Revenge values straight out of Kingdom Hearts
meaning that after so many hits, they'll just shrug it off and attack you through your light attacks
So how does one stun lock in a game with set revenge values?
you juggle
Yes, you juggle enemies
in a game with no jump button
the heavy attack (triangle) launches enemies off the ground and suspends for a short second
you can then mash light attack to juggle them as they helplessly flail around like a fish until a combo finisher occurs
so the best combo in the game is light, light, light, heavy, light, light, light
rinse and repeat and you kill stuff
and this works on every enemy
even boss
and you have to spam it
because allowing them anytime on the ground risks them going enraged, meaning you can't stun them
and while the parry stuns enemies attacking you, their isn't a counter attack you can do to retaliate afterwords or push enemies away
but if you do get an enemy enraged
don't worry
all you have to do is alter your combo and you kill them through stun lock
now you do is wait for them to attack you
parry, then go heavy, heavy, light, light
rinse and repeat till they dead
because for some stupid reason heavy heavy light light has two finishers
one in the middle and one in the end
meaning it stuns enraged enemies just long enough for you to counter attack
any more, you run the risk of being hit, which you only need two of to die when they are enraged
Now this is great for 1v1s, but what about anytime you are outnumbered?
What can you do?
You bunch them all together and have a stun lock party, that's what
like a Shepard, you gather your sheep to the nearest corner and proceed to spam the same combo you've been spamming
and if one tries to go enraged, it will simply get interrupted and you continue your spam to victory
So what makes this hard?
if all you have to do is crowd them together, why is this combat busted?
Well, remember what I said before
Enemies can start going enraged at random
so while you try to gather them, one might start going enraged
and the only way to stop them is to stun them with a heavy strike or finisher
which forces you to attack them
and risk getting them out of the crowd
while thinking about parrying any incoming attacks from the other 3 dudes you are trying to lead to that corner
who may also be charging up to go enraged
you can't reliably lock on to enemies because again, this is SoulsBorne lock on, meaning you are stuck on one enemy and have to fight to game to focus on another one
and while you have a dodge roll, you are invincible when you do it and the recovery frames means you can get hit while getting up from it
and the enemies usually move way faster then Kratos can, more so when they go enraged
Alternatively, you could have the bow shot an arrow at the enemy going enraged
but the boy won't do it on his own
you have to tell him to do it by hitting R2
so you have to change who you are locked onto and tap R2 while trying to evade damage and focus on grouping the enemies together
and fighting with the lock on usually leads to you getting killed since it's tied to right stick, you know, THE CAMERA?
Also, the boy has Ammo (a max of 3 arrows), meaning you might risk being out of Arrows and he just tells you, "I can't do anything Dad"
But what about your Axe?
You can throw it and stun enemies right? Isn't there that cool freezing mechanic where you can recall your Axe for better crowd control?
Sure, if you want to get killed
While I haven't tried throwing the axe at their feet to trip them, the camera zooms in way more and slows your movement while trying to aim your axe
making you easy pray to anyone that tries to attack you
and since you can't use your shield while aiming your axe, it's free damage for them
and while enraged, the enemies are IMMUNE to the Axe Freeze!
so you can't freeze an enemy you want to wait to deal with them later
and while you might think freezing an enemy that's trying to enraged is a sick idea
it means you'll have to fight with your bare hands
and bare handed combat SUCKS
you do less damage, have less hit stun and you can'd juggle because you get some shitty "this is sparta" kick instead of a launcher move for your heavy attack
so their is very little to zero value in throwing you axe at an enemy
Which means that most effective way to play game is to crowd up enemies, hit stun them, parry, hit stun some more, win
it's not even hard and without the enraged enemies, combat is a snore fest
their is no combo gauge and no reward for say clearing a wave quickly or taking no damage
so whether you completely nuke the enemies is irrelevant
and good luck taking no damage when that camera is so fucken zoomed in, you have to constantly look behind you and randomly side stepping to make sure you won't be getting attacked from behind
and sure, sometimes the boy will say, "father, look out", but it's so inconsistent, that you might just end up taking a sword to the back simply because Boy didn't say anything
and even though I've only seen 3 enemies, I already hate all of them
you have generic zombie dudes that just have on sword swipe and attack you after few seconds that are only tough because they try to attack you in packs
you have wolves that usually go enraged right at the beginning of the fight that are not only fast, but also come with a unblockable attack that two shots you, meaning if you don't dodge it, your dead
and they don't just do that attack once
they can spam it between 3 - 5 times in a row
so it's just this awkward back peddle until you think you can go in for a slow ass heavy attack
with an Axe whose range is fucken garbage and whiffs about 60% of the time
which makes it ironic since the chains from the OG god of war was a way to mitigate that from happening
Imagine that, an iconic weapon that was both powerful and designed around gameplay first instead of just trying to copy Thor's hammer :thinking:
last enemy is a sword zombie that's blue and can only be killed with Hand to Hand
which while only fought 1v1 so far, will for sure come back later crowded with axe-only units and I'll proceed to hate life
But what about the bosses?
God of War has always had cool bosses, right?
I mean, the two boss fights where 1v1 and don't get arranged, so they are slightly better then common enemies
but the first boss is just horrible
this giant troll monster has 3 attacks
a stomp, a hammer attack with this pillar thing he's holding, and a move where he just swings the pillar side to side
guess how you beat him?
Wait for him to attack, dodge, then heavy heavy light light
rinse and repeat until he's dead
which takes about 15 minutes
and these attacks last about 20-30 seconds a piece
they are so telegraphed and so easy to dodge, most of the fight is just standing around waiting
or throwing your axe over and over again while you wait for him to finish
it's incredibly boring and only challenges your ability to wait your turn instead of testing your reflexes
the second boss is a humanoid boss who, while more exciting then the first boss because he's really quick with attacks that must be parried
he can be stun locked -_-
so just light, light, light, heavy, light, light, light while waiting to parry until he dies
... in his three phase boss fight that saves between each phase
which means you just fight the same boss 3 times back to back with minor alterations to his moveset
and the whole time, he's just like, "This doesn't even hurt. Man, you suck"
meanwhile, you are stun locking his ass into infinity and parrying every attack in the book
tl:dr, the combat is a mess
and this is only the first part of the game that most of the press played in the demo
said to be 5% of the total game
... this is going to be a long and painful ride, isn't it