God of War - The Official Novelization

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In-game, this NEVER seems to be the case, as Mimir is honestly grateful for Kratos rescuing him from Odin and his torture, and helps the pair along in any way he can. The book offers fans of the game something extra in the form of a worthy companion piece that sits beside the game as a welcome addition to the God of War franchise evoking the spirit of the game. I started reading this book in the hopes that it will provide a more nuanced and detailed telling of the game's story, maybe expand it a little.

Where’s the noise, the smashing, the ice breaking, the coldness, the thump of falling, Atreus yelling as they fall? If luck becomes your unwavering companion, no matter if the whole world stands up against you, what belongs to you will come to you in the end. God of War is one of my all time favorite videogames and I've replayed it a couple of times since it released last April.Kratos agrees to do so after he is promised by the goddess that he would finally be freed from the nightmarish acts he commited. It all boils down to one thing: where the game had the approach of "show, don't tell", the novel was simply about "just telling" everything. The event that happened next never happened in he game; After Kratos slew the ogre, a dozen Hel-Walkers appeared, forcing the duo to retreat. When I take your hand, nothing in this world from the depth of the ocean to the zenith of the sky can dare to hurt you,” he says.

I can’t give the author credit for any dialogue because it’s all taken straight out of the game (and as far as I’m concerned, this Barlog didn’t take part in the writing of this installment). Aside from a few (and far between) additional story-building paragraphs, the novel feels like a word-for-word copy of its original source, inferior at that. The serpent speaks to them in the ancient tongue and reading about that part still gave me some chills.Along with the main story, there is a whole plethora of other content available with plenty of lore and a variety of side quests to discover throughout the world. The best parts of the book are by and large the parts that contain information not in the game--Faye's pet hawk, more translations for what the World Serpent (whose name I cannot spell, sorry, big guy) says, better descriptions of the wall murals, finding out what Atreus was doing while Kratos was in the light of Alfheim, that kind of thing. The novelization manages to visit most of the main moments from the game all while sapping the life and magic from it.

of this book is made up of dialogues, sometimes not connected accordingly, because in the videogame you would have some gameplay in between the lines, whereas here the information is thrown up against the reader’s face. Plagued by the nightmares of his past and yearning for freedom, the Ghost of Sparta would do anything to be free of his debt to the gods. For those who've played the game: The Audiobook does an amazing job at retelling the story of the game while giving greater context and character motivations.

For those who don’t play video games (I know, the horror but alas, some people don’t) and have no prior knowledge of Kratos and the God of War gaming series then you will also still find a good adventure and story inside the pages of the book. My only complaint is that there is a lot of information missing from the game including lore, side quests, maybe Mr Barlog cut it because it the core story is long enough, but still I would have liked more information into this brilliantly crafted world. This startling reimagining of God of War deconstructs the core elements that defined the series—satisfying combat, breathtaking scale, and a powerful narrative—and fuses them anew.

In the novel, Kratos and Atreus' encounter with Dauði Kaupmaðr took place in a different manner, unlike in the game; After the duo successfully hunted down the deer, the Death Merchant, having smelled the blood of the now-dead animal, appears after slamming his hand over a nearby bridge in an attempt to grab their carcass and then eat it. If you listen closely to the game (ignoring the fact Mimir obviously has a Scottish accent), every character you encounter speaks in a way that flows, very naturally, very compact, using the I've, you're, we're, etc. Whereas, with Kratos, apart from the anger shown he is very stoic, grieving in his own way and mourning silently but the grief, for the pair is palpable on the pages. The simple story that turns into an epic journey spanning various realms and the fraught relationship between the father and son who have never really bonded is a testament to the power of storytelling in the video game medium with some amazing voice acting by Christopher Judge (Teal’c from Stargate SG1) as Kratos. Compare to the game, where Kratos's immediate concerned reaction is a) notably soft for a guy who curb stomps draugr and b) one of many small signs that he truly cares for his son, he's just bad at expressing it.

It also doesn't make sense character-wise, because if Mimir doesn't like Kratos, why would he offer himself up to Baldur to spare him and the kid? Literally robs the entire death of any emotional impact (save what impact is left from Baldur's final words, which still get me a bit). The character arcs, the traveling, the general pace of the story, the worldbuilding and the fighting scenes work really well together and flow over into eachother to create a really good story.