r/videogames • u/leftnodan • Jun 02 '26

News / Trailers / Articles 2016 vs. 2026. Santa Monica Never Misses.

Post image
2.7k Upvotes

81% Upvoted

846 comments sorted by

View all comments

138

u/localsexpot2117 Jun 02 '26

Didn't realize the Norse GoW games were so hated until now I guess lol. I thought it looked pretty good too though!

136

u/kingkellogg Jun 02 '26

There's a large part of the og gow fans who really dislike the new games and the new fanbase even, and a lot of the new fans insult the old games when they didn't even play them

It's very odd

86

u/phamtomhaunter6 Jun 02 '26

Played both, loved both. I really don’t get the hate for either.

19

u/freetotebag Jun 03 '26

Same I like both eras. I sometimes miss the old style though. The Norse games have def followed the Sony AAA structure but that’s not always a bad thing.

19

u/DragonFangGangBang Jun 03 '26

This. There was something special about that hack-n-slash gameplay that the new games really lack, but the new ones more than make up for it with a fantastic narrative IMO. I love both.

5

u/BeansWereHere Jun 03 '26

My biggest issue with the newer games is hit reactions and the lack of verticality. When you hit enemies with light attacks they barely flinch, the impact does not feel good. Also, the camera was so close to Kratos which felt very claustrophobic.

However, in Laufey it looks like they’ve fixed all my issues. Enemies react to hits much better, you’ve got air combos back and the camera is pulled by slightly. Pretty excited.

2

u/DaLegend82 Jun 03 '26

My guess is that this is a test for the OG remakes.

1

u/Happy_Lee_Chillin Jun 03 '26

I don’t understand the impact thing, there’s hit stop and smaller enemies are completely staggered, and the bigger enemies’ body parts react where you hit them. To me it’s super crunchy and tactile.

1

u/BeansWereHere Jun 03 '26

It definitely tries to make it feel impactful, but just doesn’t pull it off for me. Walk up to any draugr and just use light attacks, feels weak. And on top of that, basic enemies will randomly get hyper armor which further adds to the low impact feeling.

The minute you tap R2, everything changes and you get that weird sort of air juggle thing. Glad we have actual aerial combos and juggling now, just like the og games, DMC, Bayonetta, etc.

0

u/Grungelives_ Jun 03 '26

Yes the ps2 style hack n slash was awesome but they definitely received criticism back then for the gameplay getting stale.
The modern games have slowly been getting back to what a modern AAA hack n slash has to offer. Each new GOW game has gotten progressively more polished,varied and fast paced and Laufey is looking much more akin to a proper full blown hack n slash. It looks great

0

u/Pitiful_Option_108 Jun 03 '26

Yeah the hack and slash genre kinda died out in late 2010s. They seem to slightly coming back DMC5 is the last one I played and it was great minus the V sections. But Dante and Nero were fun to play.

3

u/Mastotron Jun 03 '26

Played every single game. Partial to the OG’s. 2018 was good but Ragnarok felt like a sequel for sequels sake, was not feeling it.

-2

u/HuntResponsible2259 Jun 03 '26

Ragnarok is bad, I'm sorry for all the fans... But the story, which is its main compelling point for me, sucked so hard it was unbelievable.

Plot twists were either obvious or not at all hinted at. The whole plot was about the fear of Krato's death in the future... Even AFTER he changed the death of his son... Which hadn't killed him yet, all in all, meaning his death moment had already passed in the prophecy.

1

u/ghdkkgfxjd Jun 03 '26

I’m not sure why you are being downvoted. The story of the second game was incredibly weak. They just pushed aside the Kratos/Freya storyline they set up in the first game; this plot point should have been a much bigger part of the story. Then, they recreated the Baldur dynamic with Freya and immediately did it again with Thor why?! What’s the point of all that buildup just to throw it away in an hour? The whole giant plotline felt unnecessary and went nowhere. Worst of all, they redeem Kratos at the end of the game?! The monster Kratos can never be redeemed and that was why Norse storyline was interesting in the first place. His effort to be better, while knowing he could never truly be redeemed.

1

u/HuntResponsible2259 Jun 03 '26

Exactly! Personally I am more annoyed that they kept their head strong on a plot point that should already have been dealt with... Yet they didn't.

7

u/KingCarbon1807 Jun 03 '26

Tribalism for the L. New games weren't my vibe but I still respect the series.

Except sons of Sparta, wtf even was that.

5

u/kingkellogg Jun 03 '26

I know next to nothing if sons to sparda lol

Just saw the one trailer

3

u/_soap666 Jun 03 '26

I'm an og fan from ps2 era. I played through the first new God of war on the hardest difficulty. Played the hell out of it It was a good game, but not really what I wanted from God of war. It kinda feels like a marvel movie and I hate that style of writing. The new fan base turns me off as well. The whole forced kratos is a wholesome dad chungus BOY BOY BOY BOY BOY shit is annoying. I wasn't interested when the second one came out and haven't played it.

2

u/kingkellogg Jun 03 '26

Ok I totally get that, and yeah the new fanbase is...odd and can be really toxic

5

u/TheRealDripBentley Jun 03 '26

What is odd about people disliking a product? That doesn't make any sense? Original fans preferring the original and the criticisms ragnarok got from the new fans about it's hand-holdy nature just seem like mundane, normal opinions.

What is even remotely odd about this?

5

u/kingkellogg Jun 03 '26

I meany the disliking the originals without playing them is odd

4

u/kingkellogg Jun 03 '26

I meany the disliking the originals without playing them is odd

2

u/TheRealDripBentley Jun 03 '26

You're right, I read too quickly - new fans disliking the old games without playing them is odd, my bad mate.

1

u/kingkellogg Jun 03 '26

No problem , it's fair to assume people are a.bit dumb on the Internet so I getcha

1

u/Lanky_Marionberry_36 Jun 03 '26

What's a "large part" of the og gow fans nowadays ? A couple dozen persons ?

1

u/kingkellogg Jun 03 '26

Like at least 3

1

u/JamieFromStreets Jun 03 '26

Most people I know that are into the new games, are og fans

I know very few people who became fans just with the new ones

1

u/TrickySavings2506 Jun 03 '26

Played both loved both. Fandoms are so often toxic, best to enjoy something and only engage with a few limited others 

1

u/MyStationIsAbandoned Jun 03 '26

It's just like with Fallout. You have the boomers who love the old isometric games and hate the new 3D games. I don't really see much hate for the old games from fans of the new ones though. But I'm sure they exist.

It's also somewhat like that with Saints Row. A ton of people love 1 and 2, tolerate 3, and are confused by 4. Everyone with a brain cell hates the reboot though

1

u/SayerofNothing Jun 03 '26

They mostly hate themselves and it leaks into the comments, hard to ignore but we should try harder, they're just thirsty for attention.

1

u/remifasomidore Jun 06 '26

I have played every God of War game and they are all awesome.

1

u/Quanathan_Chi Jun 03 '26

Resident Evil has had the same problem for years now. Some people will always try to find some way to feel superior.

1

u/rufusbot Jun 03 '26

Played a few hours of the first of the new ones, it was mid, kid was annoying.

1

u/Dragon_Tiger752 Jun 03 '26

Og fans got no right to complain, they've got 9 god of war games and a free dlc for ragnarok, all starring Kratos as the main character. They're also getting 3 remakes of the og trilogy. God forbid we follow someone else who's still part of the god of war universe for one game.

If these guys looked at the director interview, they would know that they still plan on making more main line games with Kratos. Santa Monica just finds that Faye has an interesting story to tell to be a main line title, let them cook.

2

u/kingkellogg Jun 03 '26

They aren't complaining about the newest one , they just didn't like the direction the other two took the game

-11

u/Jmonkey77 Jun 02 '26

Played every god of war game, I hated both new games so much I sold my PlayStation 5 and got a pc, do not regret it at all

8

u/kingkellogg Jun 02 '26

That's fair , the new ones are definitely different from the previous ones

13

u/The_Border_Bandit Jun 03 '26

If you're selling a whole ass console because of two games, you might have some deeper emotional issue you should sort out.

5

u/asphalt_licker Jun 03 '26 edited Jun 04 '26

They’re not making any sense. Why play Ragnarok if they hated 2018 so much?

0

u/Jmonkey77 Jun 03 '26

I played ragnarok because since it was a sequel I expected improvements from the first, but nope they didn’t change a fucking thing, but don’t worry I won’t be playing the pointless dead wife game

3

u/asphalt_licker Jun 03 '26

Well I just personally wouldn’t play the sequel to a game I actively didn’t like.

0

u/Jmonkey77 Jun 03 '26

Two games that every future Sony game wants to copy? Why would I keep a console that is only going to produce slop?

2

u/The_Border_Bandit Jun 03 '26

Name another Sony game since 2018 that has copied God of War. Cause Astrobot didn't copy GoW, nor did the Spiderman games, or the Horizon games, Racthet and Clank, Last of Us, Hell Divers, Marathon, Concord, the Ghost games, Returnal, Saros, Wolverine. So which games exactly have Sony released or are releasing that copied or are copying the GoW playbook? Give me an example.

3

u/Jmonkey77 Jun 03 '26 edited Jun 03 '26

Not including the multiplayer games, but aside from astrobot, Returnal, Saros, and horizon, every single player game you mentioned saw the minimalist effort that god of war put into its mechanics, and the fact that it was praised for it, and now Sony knows that they don’t have to put in 100% effort and they will deliver games with the shallowest mechanics and they know they will get praise and defense from the tik tok generation. Spider-Man? The swinging is fun for about an hour, the combat is shit. Ratchet and clank? That should’ve ended with A Crack in Time on the ps3. Last of us? God of war literally copied this, and part two is complete shit. Ghosts? Fluid, boring, uninspired combat, people for some reason say Tsushima is the best samurai game but it wasn’t even the best samurai game released that year, Nioh 2 was. Haven’t even watched the Wolverine trailer

1

u/Environmental_Can370 Jun 03 '26

You sound really fun to be around

1

u/D1DOx Jun 03 '26

Every game you listed except Astro Bot is either a third person action game or a shooter. That's the actual issue with Sony. There's barely any genre variety.

2

u/WorthBase919 Jun 03 '26

Okay that’s fine, I’ll continue loving the series as someone who has every platinum from the series! And I don’t usually care about trophies either tbh!

-1

u/Jmonkey77 Jun 03 '26

This is what Stockholm syndrome looks like

3

u/WorthBase919 Jun 03 '26

Is it? Am I trapped in cage right now? Will you help me escape!!!!!?????

3

u/AlterMyStateOfMind Jun 03 '26

Despite all his rage you are still just a rat in a cage 😔

0

u/timey_wimeyy Jun 03 '26

I played both sets at release and the modern games are so much better it’s crazy (except for the excruciatingly long section of Ragnarok where you only play as Atreus in the middle of the game).

And I mean in every aspect. Storytelling, gameplay, replayability.

That doesn’t mean the old games weren’t fun at the time and don’t have their place. The modern games are just exactly what the franchise needed to take the step to being a top single player series.

0

u/MeCritic Jun 05 '26

Let them cry, they are minority and didn’t bother anyone. Always, follow the money. These two games are way more successful for Sony, which is also the reason why they are the ones being turned into a TV Show, this entry will also probably help to expand the next seasons of the prepared show.

Some folks just lives in the past, when grass was greener and they were younger… it happens to everyone.

10

u/ResearchNo9431 Jun 02 '26

I think it’s mostly from GoW “traditionalists.” I believe the Norse saga has been broadly appealing in the age of narrative-heavy, emotional storytelling games. I think they’re still generally well liked within the series fandom

E: “more” broadly appealing is probably inaccurate. I’d guess about equal

1

u/unnuageorange Jun 04 '26

I am one of those “traditionalists”. It works with the Witcher, cause there were many witchers. God of War, however, was the one and only. If anything, logically it should be about Ares at most. But that’s just my opinion. The game looks stunning and I have trust in Santa Monica, so the game must be great

30

u/Dhenn004 Jun 02 '26

They really arent in the grand scheme of things. General reception is well recieved. I wouldn't take the loud minority of complainers on reddit as an indication of its reception.

13

u/AssDiddler69 Jun 02 '26

If we're being honest, the last person you wanna listen to over anything is a redditor.

5

u/Dhenn004 Jun 02 '26

Yea... absolutely true lmao

1

u/This-Shape2193 Jun 03 '26

I would consider listening to you, but...ya know...

1

u/WorthBase919 Jun 03 '26

Idk, there is a lot of good advice and discussion on Reddit.

1

u/AssDiddler69 Jun 03 '26

The relationship subs would disagree with you on that one 😭 I'm sure there's good advice elsewhere though.

1

u/TheMessyChef Jun 03 '26

I think Twitter users take the cake on that front. The game's announcement has been completely brigaded by all the weird far-right incel/misogynist dorks. It's every fucking day with them 😭

0

u/yaranzo1 Jun 03 '26

*the last person you wanna listen to over anything is a redditor... unless they agree with you.

is what you meant, I think.

1

u/AssDiddler69 Jun 03 '26

No, I meant that the average readitor gives piss poor advice, which is why you avoid the relationship subs, and on average they judge games and movies before they're even released, which makes their opinion unreliable and invalid to begin with. That's just a couple of examples though.

1

u/yaranzo1 Jun 03 '26

personally I don't think criticizing a game based on a 20 minute gameplay trailer makes someone's opinion invalid.

16

u/Calamity-Vanity Jun 02 '26

Theres a fringe group of people who dont like that Kratos had any character development at all and want him to remain an enraged power fantasy because forbid any character has even a speck of self reflection or personal growth.

I love the original trilogy, I really do, I grew up with them just like a ton of people did. But I was really glad to see the direction of the new games and really enjoy seeing kratos struggle to be better and finding a soft place to land after years of struggle.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 03 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

2

u/CertainGrade7937 Jun 03 '26

Both people exist. There are people that just don't like the new combat system much, and there are people that really dislike the story direction

Spend some time in the fandom, you'll see people obsessed with the idea of turning Kratos back into an uncontrollable rage monster who fucks

1

u/Kalde666 Jun 03 '26

I still don't get why is a bad thing to like the ogs and dislike the news. Listen, Kratos isn't a real person, and ppl like ultra violence power fantasy, not all games have to be philosophical moral trips, plus they're totally different games, ppl like more new gameplay and some prefer olds

1

u/CertainGrade7937 Jun 03 '26

It's not inherently bad to prefer the OGs over the new ones. I loved the originals back in the day.

The question is why you prefer them. If it's because you like the gameplay better, I don't think (almost) anyone would question that. If it's because you really liked the part where you drag a sex slave to her death as she begs you to stop, I think everyone should have a problem with that.

And there's a ton of nuance between those two points

3

u/richtofin819 Jun 03 '26

See I personally like the new games but I'm pretty pissed with this direction.

We were told that the reason Ragnarok was pretty much rushing what was originally a trilogy was because they didn't want to keep making games in the norse saga and wanted to move on. But now it turns out that was a lie because they did want to make another game of the Norse saga but with a completely different main character because reasons.

1

u/Snoo-52922 Jun 04 '26

It seems pretty obvious from the trailer that this isn't a Norse game, really. It's a mythology mashup in an original setting.

7

u/Easy_Entertainer6932 Jun 02 '26

They're not, the sales show it, they're vastly successful even more than greek saga. It's just that average redditor has to feel he is different than other people so they have to be contrarians, it is what it is.

3

u/Rikora12 Jun 02 '26

Gow 2018 was masterful. Liked Ragnarok but didnt love it as I found atreus sections to be super sluggish in pacing and nowhere near as diverse in regards to combat compared to his pops. Still interested in this, always wanted to see more faye

1

u/NevesLF Jun 03 '26

Personally, I don't have any strong feelings about either the old or the new games. We couldn't afford the ps2 onward so I skipped the first ones, then tried the 2018 one but something never really clicked for me, so I ended up dropping it and accepted it's just not for me. But I like the premise of this one though, I'll probably give it another shot when it releases.

1

u/KodakStele Jun 03 '26

Ive played every title as they were released even the 2 psp ones. Ive been hyped by them all, and they all delivered a great memorable experience, even the ps3 one which people didnt like. All just internet chatter, this IP is golden and delving into norse mythology was a genius and graceful transition that I think was perfectly executed especially when you think about the fact that this IP and its story is almost 2 decades old.

1

u/Pearson94 Jun 03 '26

I'm mostly excited to see mythology that isn't Norse, Greek, or Japanese. What I'd give for some AAA games based on MesoAmerican mythology and imagery.

1

u/D-Ursuul Jun 03 '26

They aren't, it's a weird vocal minority made up of Asmongold fans who don't like that Kratos isn't unrepentantly murdering and raping his way through Norse mythology

1

u/Rowvan Jun 03 '26

I feel like thats just one of those loud reddit things. When you look at actual sales the newer games sold 4 to 5 times the amount any of the older ones did. I'm sure they are all good though.

1

u/MrNixxxoN Jun 03 '26

Those are xbots or valvedrones, just downvote

Norse GoW games are great and its not even debatable

1

u/Excellent_Print3308 Jun 03 '26

my problem is the overused Norse mythology

1

u/Jaded_Pop_2745 Jun 03 '26

I'm not at all a fan of 4 tbh but I found this interesting (except for the cube... And the weird, random quick time events)

1

u/BeAPo Jun 03 '26

Talked with an old fan and he is basically just mad that it's not just a plain stupid slaughter game. He doesn't like story games.

1

u/Business_Banana1792 Jun 03 '26

Both games sold incredibly well and it won several awards both people’s choice and critical. Everything is hated by someone if the game is that big. It doesn’t mean they aren’t loved.

1

u/skyper_mark Jun 04 '26

I don't hate them but I do think that Ragnarok completely dropped the ball. The first game had an extremely interesting story and writing and Ragnarok just threw it all away

1

u/Casshern_VIII Jun 06 '26

Because the Norse games are so radically different from what GoW started as, that it even goes against the design doc that was at the core of the original game, with Laufye being the crown jewel of how radically changed the series is that if you remove the GoW name you would essentially have white Forspoken.

1

u/localsexpot2117 Jun 07 '26

"Things shouldn't change" is what I'm hearing

1

u/Super7500 Jun 02 '26

It is just the loud minority.

Same thing happens to every franchise that gets a big gameplay change like Zelda for example.

1

u/kah43 Jun 02 '26

There not really. It is just the old school GOW fans who hate it because it isn't the same game they used to play. The mindless hack and slash.

1

u/jerkyunify Jun 03 '26

Never played the old school. Still think God of War 2018 was too boring to play.

1

u/ShakeItLikeIDo Jun 03 '26

I just don’t like the new gameplay, that’s it. I would prefer if they went back to their original style

1

u/Psico_Penguin Jun 03 '26

I think the hate comes from moving to a fast paced hack n slash focused on chaining never-ending combos and brutalizing enemy after enemy to a much slower game, with slower combat, slower traversal, slower exploration and slower everything.

If the games were not called God of War, people would not hate them so much.

1

u/Remarkable_Pen_3639 Jun 03 '26

People dont hate them so much lmao.

They are very successful games.

1

u/Psico_Penguin Jun 03 '26

All successful games are hated.

1

u/D1DOx Jun 03 '26

Yep, I would've been fine with it if it wasn't called God of War and didn't have Kratos in it. They turned it into an RPG with unnecessary loot systems, pointless puzzles, and heavily dumbed-down platforming by removing the jump button altogether. The change is so drastic that it doesn't feel like I am playing a God Of War at all.

1

u/AltGunAccount Jun 02 '26

Reddit already has a hate-boner for anything Sony does, and this is a game series switching from a male to a female lead. The Reddit hive will have issues with that.

Outside of this little bubble? Santa Monica has nailed the last few games and I’m sure this one will be great also.

0

u/nubosis Jun 02 '26

Eh, it’s just usually cultural pushback thing. Everything beloved will suddenly be hated in five years.

0

u/NervousSheSlime Jun 02 '26

They are my absolute favorite games of all time. I’m also not a fan of Greek mythology but adore Norse mythology.

0

u/Solarbro Jun 03 '26

Honestly, I think it’s a bit new. It existed for a while, but for some reason some OG God of War creator was being vocal in disliking Kratos exploring the depth of his character a bit more and maturing. 

I don’t care enough to look more into than that. Just miserable people that decided any semblance of depth and avenues of growth never existed in his character and using that one dude’s shit opinion as validation. 

0

u/IntelligentImbicle Jun 03 '26

They're not. It's just a vocal minority of old school GoW purists that hate either the gameplay, the fact that Kratos has actual character development, or both.

0

u/Wiegarf Jun 03 '26

I didn’t like newest one, felt like a downgrade from a combat perspective. Really liked the first one. Liked the originals too

0

u/GenWorldGaming Jun 03 '26

Ragnarok is my issue, 2018 is fine. I'm just over the Nordic era entirely. I like none of these new characters.

0

u/DaLegend82 Jun 03 '26

They are universally beloved, it's just that the whiners are a really small but a really loud quantity