Thanks to these detours from the objective, God of War is just too damn long. It outlives its visual splendor, its enemy variety, and the time it takes for players to fall into a comfortable groove with the combat. Worse yet, it lays the groundwork for fascinating character arcs only to settle for a single, underwhelming twist and the promise of a new trilogy. I enjoyed the game, but there’s nothing so groundbreaking about it as to justify all of the wheel-spinning it does.
It’s ironic that a story about the value of discipline and restraint would feel like it needs more time in the editing room, but that’s the new God of War – promising but aimless. I like the new Kratos, but I hope his next adventure is more focused than this, and I pray that it actually gives him something interesting to do.