‘God of War Sons of Sparta’ is a prequel story of one of gaming’s gruffest, most badass figures, but not quite the origin story I expected. Mad Cat Studios takes Santa Monica Studios’ long-running ‘God of War’ series back to Kratos’ time as a trainee Spartan.

It’s quite a departure from the usual adventures of Kratos, but while it’s a unique and fresh take on what at this point is ancient history, being 21 years since God of War’s first game in 2005, his origin story going so far back in his life isn’t necessarily as exciting or badass as his later life. I played the 2D side-scrolling ‘Metroidvania’ on PlayStation 5;  I have some thoughts.

The most recent God of War games have moved on from Ancient Greece and into Norse Mythology, and likely into other mythologies by Santa Monica Studio in their mainline series. God of War: Sons of Sparta returns to Ancient Greece, following the early days of Kratos and his brother Deimos’ Spartan lives.

Naturally, the young Kratos isn’t quite as experienced or battle-hardened as he is later on, which is both an interesting way to see a character we’re accustomed to seeing as a revenge-driven god-killer and as a protective but firm father in later games. Still, I found myself not quite associating the Kratos of this game with the Kratos I’ve grown up with.

Where the story pulls back into the original games is the voice-over, bringing back the voice actor of the original trilogy, TC Carson, who delivers the lines with a distinct “Kratos” style with a little more warmth. He acts as narrator, retelling the story of his early journey to his daughter, for those who are well-versed in the God of War lore will know what’s on the horizon beyond these significantly less dramatic days.  As a seasoned God of War fan, I was curious to see this far back into his past.

While it makes future events much more tragic,  I don’t feel like the building blocks here were enough to really make enough of an impact on the overall picture of Kratos’ character development. There is something different to experience, though, with the 2D Metroidvania bringing God of War back to basics, beyond even its beginnings as a 3D action-adventure game. The scope may not feel as expansive, but there is quite a bit of heft to God of War: Sons of Sparta.

The 2D Metroidvania was a relatively successful capturing of the 90 ’s style 2D platformer. Still, I found myself yearning for the 2D gameplay of classics like ‘Disney’s Hercules’ on the OG PlayStation, a challenging but charming exploration of Ancient Greece with a bit more soul. Since they changed up the traditional God of War style, it would have been a game-changer to make Kratos much more fun, to really contrast with his tragic future.

From the introduction, I was already fighting a cyclops, with Kratos’ brother Deimos assisting when it mattered most. I was eager to be alongside his brother throughout. While he was present during progression cutscenes, he was not particularly crucial in the platforming or combat, which, in being called Sons of Sparta, I expected him to be more involved.

The introduction to God of War: Sons of Sparta wasn’t quite as action-packed as I’m used to. As a 2D side-scroller, one can expect plenty of platforming. The platforming was decent, but not as varied as I would like. Seeing Ancient Greece and various locations like temples, ancient cities, caverns, and even sewers in a pretty detailed pixellated art-style was a nice change to the similarly stylised Metroidvanias of modern times, which often lean more into the sci-fi and dark fantasy elements rather than a little more realism in environments.

The map is surprisingly massive, and involves a lot of backtracking, but with pretty underwhelming level design and lacklustre platforming, I didn’t really love the idea of going back through zones littered with ladders, a platform or two, some boxes on pulleys to gain some height and simplistic lever, obstacle or button-based puzzles.

Combat has some moments harkening back to past games, but instead of donning the Blades of Chaos or the Leviathan Axe, Kratos begins his journey with a simple spear. It takes some time to build up Kratos’ arsenal with a weapon-upgrade mechanic similar to the most recent God of War games, which did make a difference in generating power.

Skills and additional gear, or Gifts of Olympus, provide various benefits, both to solve puzzles and get the upper hand in skirmishes, such as the Solar Sling to hit targets or a disembodied head, the Lycurgus Bust. However, this one is significantly less animated and chatty than Mimir. Learning skills is a slow-burn – needing to collect Blood Orbs to level up involves a lot of fighting and a lot of chest-opening.

There are some moments later on where God of War Sons of Sparta gets more interesting, when more skills are learned, impaling enemies on the spear makes combat much more satisfying. At times, especially with a perfectly timed parry, there was the kind of gameplay feedback that felt like the 2018 ‘God of War’ and ‘God of War Ragnarok’. There’s a good variety of enemies, including varied creatures like hogs, bugs, spectres and undead soldiers.

Coming face-to-face with status effect-inflicting mythological beings like Gorgons and Minotaurs presented enough of a challenge to put the Spartan training to good use. Boss fights can be rather underwhelming with repetitive move-sets, but some creatures were pretty cool to encounter. Difficulties range from “Boy” (Easy/story), to “Cadet” (normal) and “Spartan” (very difficult). There was enough fast-paced combat to make even the lowest difficulty provide at least a little challenge.

Audio was a mixed bag, with Bear McCreary returning as the composer. While the soundtrack did sound quintessentially in line with 2D adventure games, with some moments of retro-chiptune vibes, it wasn’t as epic as I’m used to. In some instances, it amps up, but during exploration, the short song loops tended to get tiresome. Sound effects were great during combat, but the voice acting of the characters, other than the narrator version of Kratos, felt out of place in Ancient Greece.

Kratos and Deimos, in particular, had thick American accents which felt just a little too left-field of Greece. That isn’t to say the performances are bad; they just feel like part of the strange juxtaposition of Kratos’ history against a much more light-hearted tone.

The game runs with no issues. The graphics worked well with the semi-pixelated style, but at times did feel quite washed out, with little of interest to look at in each region. Though there is a nice variety of environments, they could use a little more to appreciate. On the DualSense 5, there was a slight input delay in some instances, which could hinder a dodge that should have been performed with ease or missing a jump to a platform that seemed achievable to reach.

I did enjoy that when Deimos communicates through the old-school version of a walkie-talkie, by using the Lycurgus Bust, the sound would come through the controller, which was a nice immersive touch.

God of War Sons of Sparta is quite different to the God of War I’m familiar with. The DNA of God of War is there, but without as much edge as the original trilogy and not as much heart and depth as God of War (2018) and Ragnarok. Kratos’ character development has been explored through multiple mainline and spin-off games, and God of War Sons of Spart, and I don’t feel like his backstory needed to go back quite this far.

Mad Cat Studios brings something new, which has some thrilling moments, but overall, the story feels inconsequential to the bigger picture. As a surprise drop at PlayStation’s State of Play, it was a good way to get geared up for God of War Trilogy Remake, to be released sometime in the not-too-distant future.

Written by: Yasmin Noble