Screenshots & trailers
What players say
Why the number is what it is: aspect mentions counted across 388 sampled Steam reviews (358 positive / 30 negative), recent and most-helpful. Plain keyword counting, fully reproducible; nothing here is written by a machine.
What positive reviews talk about
- Story & writing37% mention it
- Combat15% mention it
- Visuals & art12% mention it
- World & exploration6% mention it
- Music & audio6% mention it
What negative reviews complain about
- Combat33% mention it
- Story & writing27% mention it
- Grind & repetition20% mention it
- World & exploration17% mention it
- Visuals & art13% mention it
Satisfaction by hours played
Same score, different games: see how sentiment holds up the longer people play.
Under 5h
80%
25 reviews
5-15h
86%
58 reviews
15-40h
92%
159 reviews
40-100h
96%
133 reviews
100h+
100%
13 reviews
Review sentiment over time
Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.
How this score was computed
The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.
| Component | Positive | Quality (0-100) | Weight (pseudo-reviews) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Press reviews (OpenCritic) | – | 94 | 86 |
| Creator reviews (6 tracked) | – | 97 | 5 |
| All-time Steam reviews | 96% | 91 | 1265 |
| Metacritic user ratings | – | 94 | 324 |
| Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted) | 93% | 88 | 321 |
| Calibration prior (typical game) | – | 72 | 50 |
Scoring window: last 30 days (no significant patch detected) · 300 reviews sampled · 918 total reviews in window · weighted 220.9 up / 14.6 down · computed 1h ago · full methodology →
Press & Creators reviews (249)
Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.
- 70
“God of War is not only a fun game itself, but runs flawlessly on PC and with some really nice visual and performance upgrades that make it now the definitive way to play.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“The fact that God of War still holds up after its release in 2018 speaks volumes about the great work Santa Monica Studio have done with this “not really a reboot but not really a sequel” game. When it dropped on Playstation as an exclusive, it rightly received critical and fan acclaim the world over. Fast forward to 2022 and that same experience is now available to PC users, in a port that’s just as good, if not better, than its Playstation counterpart.”
read full review ↗ - 100
“God of War has a great story and sets a new level in almost everything: from epic boss battles to the world building. And if you haven't bought a PlayStation 4 Pro with a 4K TV yet, now it's the right time to do it, if you want to see the peak of what entertainment industry of the 2018 can offer.”
read full review ↗ - 75
“God of War is undoubtedly a technical masterpiece. The idea with one camera executed brilliantly, nobody ever done something like that, and nobody will in the nearest couple of years. Or decades. Besides, Kratos is written into the North mythology with love to both the spartan and the myths. But in terms of gameplay God of War strongly reminds Darksiders series, with kind of boring combat sequences, repetitive boss fights, awful camera position during the battles where you can't see what's going on behind you, and not so necessary RPG elements.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“In crafting a thoughtful fable about a man contending with surpassing his sins to keep them from his child, the new God of War has already transcended its bloody roots.”
read full review ↗ - 100
“The PC version of God of War is flawless and a must-play for every gamer. Flawless optimization, perfect gameplay, Norse mythology, a cinematic experience, and a brilliantly written story about a father and son. I tried to find a flaw or a negative aspect. I put in 50 hours of playtime and found nothing. I played through the game in detail and became even more convinced, this is a true masterpiece in the gaming world. I proudly rank it among the TOP 10 games I’ve ever played.”
read full review ↗ - 100
“God of War showcases what can be done when time is taken with the periphery as well as the main story. By taking the time to weave the strong foundation that is the Norse Mythology with that of the Kratos' history with Greek Mythology, Santa Monica Studio have crafted a truly intriguing world to inhabit. ”
read full review ↗ - 100
“All said and done, Kratos' PS4 debut is, if you'd excuse the pun, a god tier affair. Fan boys may deride the lack of spectacle and its nuanced take on a well-loved protagonist may not be for everyone, but its rare to see a reimagining to a series handled as deftly and with such polish and care.”
read full review ↗ - 95
“God of War is the fourth "main" game in the franchise, but in so many aspects is also a first and by far a better game than the rest of them. Good story, great gameplay and fantastic voice acting make GoW something really special.”
read full review ↗ - 95
“The new God of War brings back Kratos in a superb fashion. Santa Monica studio should do the same for a potential sequel and I won’t be able to worry about my favorite hero. The game is bold in introducing some radical changes to the series’ formula but if you stop looking back you’ll know, this is an excellent game in every way.”
read full review ↗ - 75
“The story's biggest problem is that it attempts something that can't really be done. It tries to rehabilitate that which cannot be rehabilitated. This Kratos is the same Kratos who was pure animal lust for a half-dozen games, driven solely to kill or sleep with every living creature he came across.”
read full review ↗ - 100
“If you own a PS4 and are a fan of narrative driven single player experiences God Of War is an absolute must play title. It’s action packed main narrative and extensive side quests will keep you addicted for around 40 hours. The highly developed world and characters backed by incredible writing cements the team at Sony Santa Monica as one of Sony’s top first party studio’s. This game could easily be the best first party game released this generation. It’s likely pretty far away but I can not wait to see what they have in store for us next.”
read full review ↗
cublikefoot
TheReviewGeek
GameMAG
3DNews
Slant Magazine
Gaming Professors
Jump Dash Roll
Gadgets 360
PLAY Zine
GRYOnline.pl
Paste Magazine
ani-game.com…and 237 more tracked reviews.
Patch history
- Patch v01.0.13 Released [Change to Credits Only]May 22, 2023
- Patch v1.0.12 ReleasedMay 31, 2022
- Patch v1.0.11 ReleasedMar 25, 2022
- Patch v1.0.10 ReleasedMar 24, 2022
- Patch v1.0.9 ReleasedMar 23, 2022significant · resets scoring window
- Patch v1.0.8 ReleasedFeb 17, 2022
- Patch v1.0.7 ReleasedFeb 11, 2022
- Experimental Build - Test Fix for CrashesFeb 10, 2022significant · resets scoring window
- Patch v1.0.6.1 ReleasedFeb 9, 2022
- Patch v1.0.6 ReleasedFeb 8, 2022significant · resets scoring window
- Patch v1.0.5 ReleasedFeb 4, 2022significant · resets scoring window
- Patch v1.0.4 ReleasedJan 28, 2022
- Patch v1.0.3 ReleasedJan 24, 2022significant · resets scoring window
- Patch v1.0.2 ReleasedJan 19, 2022significant · resets scoring window
- Experimental Branch – Test Fix for Out of Memory ErrorsJan 16, 2022significant · resets scoring window
- Patch v1.0.1 ReleasedJan 14, 2022significant · resets scoring window