Hello to you and how you be? Dan Ryan here, you… there. Thank you so much for checking in and if you like what you see please comment and share. The long rumored God of War spinoff, Sons of Sparta, was a surprise shadow drop during Sony’s most recent State of Play. Developed by Mega Cat Studios (Wrestlequest/Five Nights at Freddy's Into the Pit) and published by Sony Santa Monica, Sons of Sparta is a wildly different take on the God of War franchise. Set during Kratos’ teenage years, the game drops players into a metroidvania adventure, complete with all of the tropes one has come to expect of the genre. And honestly, it works, mostly. Fans have been begging Sony to invest in more AA titles, especially ones set within the worlds of their most popular franchises, for quite some time, a plea amplified by the success of Astro Bot. Sony said they were listening. Sons of Sparta is the first of hopefully many smaller releases that try something different with characters major, like Kratos, and minor, like Blasto (please…). Submitted for your approval this is the Stone Age Game Review for God of War: Sons of Sparta.  As with all reviews here on the blog I will be using the wholly original, not copied at all from any defunct gaming magazine, SAG Pod ranking system, which is explained below.

Set long before the events of the original trilogy, Sons of Sparta tells the story of Kratos and his younger brother Deimos as they search for lost Spartan Vasilis. Having recently received their Eiren’s Pass, the boys are free to explore the world at large, fight monsters, complete quests, and generally bring glory to Sparta. Along the way they run into a handful of characters that help them on their journey by giving them items such as daggers that allow Kratos to scale certain sections of wall as well as temples where they receive gifts from the gods, like the hilariously named, to me at least, Victory Sandals from the goddess Nike which abilities like a double jump. Most items can be upgraded at the temples by collecting and delivering gifts scattered throughout the game's many areas. And there are many, many areas! Sons of Sparta is certainly not lacking in diverse environments. From towns to temples, cursed undergrounds to slimy bogs, forests to peaks, Mega Cat Studios renders the world of Sons of Sparta in beautiful pixelesque graphics. This is a game that looks much better in motion than in screenshots. The backgrounds in particular are fantastic with some being downright fierce… I thank you. Characters, human and monster alike, animate well if not a bit silly at times, Kratos’ and Deimos’ running animation is certainly a choice, and the gameplay feels smooth particularly in combat.

Just how much you enjoy that combat though is heavily dependent on your expectations. If you expect Blades of Chaos style insanity, you’re going to be disappointed. The Kratos in Sons of Sparta is a proud Spartan soldier and as such, fights primarily with a spear and shield. Your spear can be upgraded in three areas, tip/grip/tail, with different components offering different buffs. Attacks can be either normal which do more damage and generate spirit orbs, or spirit based which consume said orbs, do less damage overall, but generate health and stun which can lead to some very cool, very grisly executions. Your shield can block strikes and projectiles in addition to providing a parry when timed right. Kratos also has a few dodge moves in his arsenal to keep combat fluid. It’s fine but a bit one note. With so many component options, including a belt that gives additional buff slots, all needing to be upgraded with the same consumables, it's likely most players will find something early on that’s good enough and stick with that build throughout their playthrough. The overall system works well but doesn’t offer nearly the same visceral thrill of either the original or Norse games. It does, however, sound just as good. The soundtrack in Sons of Sparta is composed by series regular Bear McCreary and it is every bit as good as a proper, triple A release. It's an eclectic mix of traditional, epic God of War instrumentation and old school, chiptune sounds. On the surface it seems like those two ideas should clash but man if they don't really work. The OST clocks in at close to an hour and a half and is honestly one of the main highlights of the entire package.

HD Video Capture Card - Old Skool

$17.99

Stream or record you game play with the Old Skool HD Video Capture Card. Run your console or other device through this capture card to...… read more

The voice acting on the other hand is well, a mixed bag I think to put it nicely. TC Carson returns as Kratos for the voiceover narration and his performance is of course, great. The premise of the game is that we are playing through a story Kratos is telling his daughter Calliope. And while his lines are few and far between, they feel right. The younger Kratos is fine as are most of the other characters. Nothing great, but nothing so bad it ruins the game. My main issue is with the performance of Deimos. Scott Menville provides the voice and he does very little to differentiate Deimos from his performance as Robin in Teen Titans Go!. It's jarring if you're familiar with his work and comes off as much sillier than probably intended. Those not familiar with his Teen Titans work, or things like Mission Hill, might not have the same experience though. 

The only real negatives I found in my time with Sons of Sparta are with the controls. They work exactly as intended and feel good. There are some unnecessary choices however that leave me puzzled. Movement is handled with the left analog stick only. There is no option to switch to d-pad control which is my preferred way to play 2-D games, especially metroidvania games. Dodging is done with the circle button and can be changed to a roll with a directional press. I would've liked the option to use the right analog stick for rolling at least. And sure, those are just personal preferences really that I understand but don't love. The egregious decision to have the player push triangle to grab onto ladders or ropes before climbing up every single time is just nuts. It's annoying to do while platforming and makes the controls needlessly complicated. It’s such a strange decision that adds nothing to the overall feel of the game. I suppose the argument can be made that Kratos can attack upwards with his spear but the amount of times a player would be attacking upwards and accidentally grab a ladder are so small as to be nonfactors. 

Graphics: Sound:

Control: FunFactor:

Overall, Sons of Sparta is a welcome addition to the God of War stable. It is the, if you count the mobile only title Betrayal, tenth release in the franchise. The original trilogy gave us angry, destructive Kratos. The Norse games gave us a Kratos who was deeply introspective and viewed his violence as a necessary but unwelcome tool. Sons of Sparta shows us how both of those men came to be. It’s an important addition to the story. But I want to know what you think. Join the Stone Age Gamer discord, or you can find me on Bluesky to let me know your thoughts. In the immortal words of Billy Joel, “Life is a series of hellos and goodbyes; I'm afraid it's time for goodbye again.” See you soon.