10 Things You Learn Replaying God of War (2018)

One aspect of the reboot that hasn't aged so well is the head-scratching decision to keep Odin and Thor off-screen for the entire duration of the game (no, Thor's unvoiced post-credits cameo doesn't count). 

One of the most basic rules of storytelling is to show, don't tell, and it's a rule God of War constantly flouts in its treatment of Norse mythology's most famous father and son. The game endlessly regales us with tales of the pair's cruelty, but without ever seeing them in action it's hard to form an emotional response to it. It's like if the first Star Wars had kept Darth Vader entirely off-screen, and instead simply had C-3PO tell us how awful he was every five minutes. 

Worse, when Thor does show up in the sequel it's clear all his most important character development happened between games. Rather than the genocidal berserker implied in the reboot, Ragnarok's God of Thunder is a morose, tired alcoholic who regrets the life he's lived under his father's thumb. If we'd actually seen this evolution of Thor's character occur across the two games, as opposed to having it dumped in our lap in the sequel, Thor's story arc would have carried a lot more emotional heft. 

And while we're on the subject of God of War's villains...