10 Reasons God Of War Is The PS4's Best Exclusive

4. Side Content Is Meaningful & Addictive

While it's hard to find AAA games with truly compelling side content that doesn't just feel like rote filler, God of War's litany of peripheral quests are a ton of fun for the most part.

Sure, you can just plough through the critical path, but you'd be missing out on experiencing the vast world that unfolds before the player, cleverly unveiled as the World Serpent emerges and progressively lowers the water level throughout the game.

Perhaps the most significant side content challenges the player to battle the eight Valkyries placed throughout the realms, which boast an extremely high level of difficulty and aren't worth tackling until you're well into the late stages of the main quest-line. They will punish those who aren't prepared, and require players to make extensive use of their entire combat set.

That's to say nothing of the addictive trials-by-fire in Muspelheim and the punishing, anxiety-inducing, fog-laced challenges of Nifelheim. While not every single side quest in the game is an absolute cracker, there's little here that feels overtly like filler. For the overwhelming majority, there's enormous care put into even those moments few players may experience.