A Thorough Look At God of War [Spoilers]
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- Опубліковано 2 жов 2019
- This is a video retrospective and critique of the seven major God of War games for Playstations 2-4. It looks at what made them so remarkable at the time, how much of that feeling still comes through, and how the 2018 reboot fits in with their legacy. TOTAL SPOILERS THROUGHOUT.
_____TABLE OF CONTENTS_____
God of War (2005)-- 0:20
God of War 2-- 28:55
Chains of Olympus-- 46:52
God of War 3-- 57:05
Ghost of Sparta-- 1:25:20
Ascension-- 1:37:28
God of War (2018)-- 1:51:19
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If you enjoyed this video and want to contribute to the production of others like it, please consider donating through the crowdfunding website Patreon: / noahcaldwellgervais - Ігри
The absolute beauty of Noah Caldwell-Gervais:
First Watch: Keeps me up all night
Second Watch: Gently luls me to sleep
Dude this is a 3 hour video twice, what sleep are you getting?
@@Skullkan6 the videos are relaxing to listen to while drifting off to sleep
@@xanaxodgrindcorelover9191 I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who does that. I love the video's content. I don't want to imply otherwise. I'll do the same as @kyle smith does. I'll watch it once all the way through. Then I'll play it as I am trying to go to sleep. The relaxing tone, plus I am not gaining "new" information to grab my brain's attention, and the fact you don't need the visuals to follow what he's saying makes it really great for falling asleep to. He makes multipurpose content. lol
I LOVE NOAH but he can't be the G.O.A.T till he breaks down METAL GEAR
xanaxODgrindcoreLover UA-cam, or more importantly, some of its amazing content creators, such as this man, have been helping me sleep for years and years now and every night before bed I get excited to pick my next lullaby. Idgaf what that says about my soundness of mind, I enjoy the company and it makes me feel safe and keeps my brittle mind in check and focused.
Videgames are crazy expensive in Brazil so, back in the day, my dad bought me a PS2 and rented God of War, but told me to wait until his next paycheck before buying a memory card. So I call my cousin to come and see the game. We spent that entire night finishing God of War in one sit. The awesomeness of the linear levels, the fact that there is no time skip after the boat level, hit us with full force. It was glorious
Lucky choice since it can be done fairly easy in one sit (not the first time ofc 😂) im just saying you where lucky it wasn't a FF game or something..
Rent é o caralho GoW pirateado 5 pila mermão
Thanks for telling us that story. I love hearing the circumstances people experience films/games/shows/books etc thru & if that affects their memories of playing/watching.
I’m a sucky fighter but a good puzzler & really excited to explore environments but I hate strategizing Or managing inventories. Some of my best memories from my 1st marriage are of us playing video games together on PS 2-3. Bc we enjoyed different gameplay but the same types of games, we really were ideal Players 1 together. We also enjoyed a couple P1 vs P2 racing games-SSX Tricky etc-but it’s weird how even our racing styles could be so different.
I can’t believe you did GOW in a night tho! Without saving! I can see why that’s an epic memory. Thanks for making me smile.
@@picahudsoniaunflocked5426 mejmmmmmnmnmåååvåååbq
@@marxist-leninist-protagonist bruh
*Noah writes an essay*
Kratos: Read it boi
Atreus: *becomes English professor midway though*
It must be the fear of Kratos killing him making Noah flub so many lines lol
@bigevilworldwide1 bruh if you think thats a angry joe meme then a broken marriage out of ten is a ign meme
"So he decides to kill em all and uh, let uh... well, let them lie unsorted where they lay." Genius writing.
"Angry Greek Gallagher and the Watermelon Museum" is easily the most succinct description for God of War I have ever heard
succinct*
@@MyVash12349 It looks like a typo more than ignorance. He had 7 out of the 8 letters in the there, all in the right order too. I don't feel it was misspelled enough to even point it out. That makes me feel you weren't correcting them for their sake but so you would feel/look smart. Everyone else knew what they meant and didn't care and the ones who didn't know the word probably Googled it and found the suggested result.
It was wholly unnecessary to point out the typo, is what I'm saying.
@@fictionmyth IT'S BEEN MONTHS YOU ABSOLUTE LOON
@@aidenconley3378 suck-sinked*
@@aidenconley3378 hello from a year later
I like the simple parallel in 4 of climbing a mountain: You're not doing it for revenge to kill whoever the fuck lives there in an act of war, you're doing it to find peace.
Something I love about the Blades of Chaos in 4 is that, with the over the shoulder camera, we see them how Kratos sees them. In that it's genuinely hard to see anything at all while using them, you don't see the environment and you can barely see the enemy. Everything is fire and death and that's what he was seeing in every previous game up until now
Oh wow, that's actually a pretty interesting way of thinking about the blades !
Excellent insight, I love that.
I'm a huge fan of the over the shoulder camera, makes me feel more connected to the character.
The combat in 4 is flat out awfull
@@KneeCapHill no it isn't
Biggest cope for a horrible camera in an action game, I get it in RE4 and last of us because it forces you to be aware of your surroundings, adding to the horror. In the new reboots, the camera is so close for the actions your doing that you need red sign cones and constant annoying npc callouts to let you know you're getting attacked off screen. Say you personally like it but don't twist lack of enemy visuals for, "that's totally what he always saw so it's good" you sound desperate to excuse what you describe as "you don't see the environment and you can barely see the enemy" as a positive.
*sees title*
Me: Oh he's doing the reboot
*sees footage of GoW1*
Me:Oh, I guess it's the first game?
*sees time stamps*
Me: OH THE WHOLE SERIES, HERE WE GO
Noah says thorough and he means what he says.
God of war 4 is not a reboot
@@thedeadguy2456 It's a soft reboot
@@DanielSantosAnalysis big difference between the two
@@thedeadguy2456 it's just a UA-cam comment my guy, not worth fretting ovet
There's an interesting moment in God of War 4 in the middle of Atreus' "I'm becoming a little shit about my god hood" and things are getting very tense between him and Kratos, and I'm not sure is intentional or not but it stood out to me. After a recent argument between Atreus and Kratos, you have to return to the dwarves, and when you open the menu there is a new armor upgrade available for Atreus. It makes sense gameplay-wise to upgrade his armor, but narratively I almost didn't want to buy it for him because he was pissing me off. But then I felt guilty because narratively he's just a kid, and logistically I needed to upgrade his armor. So in Kratos-like fashion I begrudgingly bought it for him, and it kind of made me feel like I was Kratos in that moment, loving his son. I thought it was a wonderful coincidence but then I saw Angry Joe review the game, and in the middle of the review he vocalizes the same distaste for upgrading Atreus' armor at like the exact same point of the game. Joe even yells "No! He doesn't deserve it! He's been giving us sass!" So I'm inclined to believe that they did it on purpose. But it's so subtle, I might be giving them too much credit.
@@kakroom3407 Pathetic fanboy spotted.
BINARYGOD pathetic ignorant hater spotted
Given how GOW 2018 is filled with carefully chosen moments of gameplay and dialogue throughout, I doubt it’s just a happy accident.
That thing is not God Of War 4
Wow I personally didn't have that moment, but that it was something that resonated with you and you felt so strongly about it is really a testament to the quality of GOW(2018).
Correction: Cory Barlog didn't direct God of War 3, Stig Asmussen did. After God of War 2 Barlog actually left Santa Monica to take on much smaller roles, like being an animator on the first Tomb Raider reboot game. He was then asked back by Santa Monica, because they felt he was their best bet at bringing back the franchise.
Was just about to make this correction myself. Regardless, excellent video Noah!
He called Poseidon Neptune aswell
@@kyleedwards6026 I mean, that’s the Roman name for Poseidon. I wouldn’t say that’s an error.
@@chambeet no, the Romans gods were different, they believed their gods and their realms were on the 8 other planets, Neptune and Poseidon are separate from each other
@@kyleedwards6026well, they syncretised the Hellenistic pantheon and gave them new names, adding some deific traits and removing others. Technically, Neptune is the Roman name for Poseidon, but their respective roles differ slightly
I can't express how much I love your videos!
Yooooo
You guys always showing up in the most unexpected places. That said, love your videos
1
I have a feeling this guy is jewish.
@@Zeus17x ya
almost 3 hours? Inject it straight into my veins.
THE SEXUAL THRILL
Man, you're one of the best guys on this whole stinkin site. You really explore the depths and nuances of these games to a degree very few others do, and you articulate those discoveries both clearly and with a unique wit. Your writing is utterly devoid of the typical UA-camr ego and vanity, and comes off completely sincere, which is also reflected in your decision not to edit out flubs. It creates the feeling that you're more concerned with getting your point across than wasting time trying to get everything perfect. It comes off like you care so much about getting your tribute/critique of this art out there as quickly as possible, that you just do one take of the entire script so you can start editing video to it as quickly as possible. While your delivery is just fine, it's clear that you put the most time and care into your writing, as opposed to your delivery of it, which if one must choose is the better and more respectable way to divide one's time by far.
I hope to someday be able to put my focus into something critically to the degree of depth and thoroughness that you do. I've done so maybe a few times in the past, but the scope, depth, and time given to those projects tends to burn me out so bad that i attempt it sparingly, I admire the dedication and singular focus it takes to keep doing such long form critiques for as long and consistently as you have.
Also, on the subject of this video specifically, i'm really impressed. You're one of the very few well-known voices willing to give the older games their proper due and explore the series beyond the most recent one. There's a clear open-mindedness and respect for the art that shows in your choosing to not gloss over a single one of the 7 God of War games. It proves that you're the kind of critic who actually cares about broadening his perspective and gathering all possible context before sounding off on something, which in itself is something increasingly, sadly rare.
Rather than just repeatedly insisting on the newest God of War's impressive depth based on the most surface-level observations and talking points about maturity or the vague notion of the series "growing up", like the vast majority of others, you actually took the time to articulate what that depth is. You describe the nuances of the storytelling and themes in a way few others bother to, or are unable to. Most admirably of all you did so with the proper understanding of context and perspective on the series' history to lend credibility to those observations. I just happened to have that perspective due to having already played the games in order of release, but you chose to put the time into doing so now, making the effort to experience all of something you missed out on the first time. I'm just really impressed by the dedication and passion that shows. You have respect for your job, and you make sure to do it right.
That's all, I guess. I really like your videos.
I wonder what Noah is thinking while reading your comment. Must fill his heart.
Hey Endless Jess while youre here Ill just say 'Chicken and Tea' is a masterpiece
As much as I like Noah, I was worried this was going to be a moralistic analysis critiquing the "edginess" or "juvenile" approach to the series, but if Endless Jess enjoys this I can't imagine it being that scolding.
Interestingly enough he has actually mentioned that he spends a ton of time on the audio section, it's just really hard for him. I don't remember why though, check his twitter if you don't believe me !! :)
Oh hey it’s Endless Jess. And I just listened to Butt Chugger this morning
You talked about the sort of "eyes glaze over", "can't put it down" experience of games or books. Every time I open one of your videos, your writing and insight thoroughly engross me in the same way. Thank you again for being the most intelligent and eloquent game critic out there.
I couldn't have put it better myself.
Literally same. I saw someone mention this video in a reddit comment almost 3 hours ago, clicked it to add to watch later.
..and I just didn't turn it off. I kept watching because it stayed interesting.
And here I was thinking "I wanna watch something good, but I've got nothing"... And then my sub box exploded with something not just good, but the Pinnacle Of Greatness: another one of Noah's nearly 3 hour videos.
2:07:23 "They don't understand eachother, but they have so much to teach eachother." feels like a takeaway that the sequel agrees with, and ran with as a main theme, and I kinda dig that.
I think Kratos has one of the most interesting character arcs in all of fictional story telling, he starts as a hero, a tenacious and brutal hero but still a Hero to the Spartans, becomes a savage, revenge hungry god, becomes an even more revered and feared monster in the eyes of the Greek people before ultimately killing ALL of them then settling down into a wise and sorrowful Anti-hero.
@@BobExcalibur Hmmm well I actually haven't played the original games I've only read up on Krato's story, I will be playing the originals the same way Noah did but I'm sure a lot of the Spartans saw Kratos as a hero, remember Spartans were a warrior tribe who were all about strength, Kratos waging war would have been seen by many as a heroic thing.
You speak wisely boy and that is good to hear.
Dude gets so angry he destroys all of Greek Mythology, then regrets it.
@@smarty1268 I instinctively read that in Kratos voice
His character arc from 1 to GoW 2018 makes no sense to be honest. 2018 Kratos is clearly a whole new character with Kratos' history shoehorned in. Ascension's more gentle Kratos made far more sense. They got cold feet and ruined Kratos in recent times.
I love the ending of God of War 4. Despite doing the "right" thing this time around, Kratos still ends off starting Ragnarok, the end of the world ... once again. Its kinda poetic, but really fitting.
And as i understand the mythos it's based on (admitedly that isn't well), Ragnarok is and always was inevitable, so I really liked that you can't 'god' your way out of the issue at hand like Kratos did/tried to do in previous titles.
teronism yes, no one can prevent it, even though Odin tried. In GoW Kratos just started it earlier (its basically his hobby anyways)
I love that you have no choice but to break the heart of the best npc, which serves as Atreus introduction to the consequences of violence, showing him just how complicated and painful this shit can be.
I think a massive misunderstanding is that Ragnarok is not the end of the world. It is explicitly the end of Asgard, which in the GoW universe is an objective force for evil, but for Midgard Ragnarok is a new beginning. Which may not be a bad thing considering that the vast majority of non-dwarf survivors in Midgard are starving cannibal reavers.
Kratos left the Greek plane of existence in an apocalyptic mess because he acted of rage and hatred, but the Norse plane of existence will be reborn into a beautiful fresh start because Kratos initiated Ragnarok out of his desire to break the cycle of hatred and revenge.
@@DavidADII Not necessarily, Norse mythology and all indo-european polytheistic religions are very symbolic. Norse, especially so. If you look at the Gods, they're all personifications of certain human characteristics, Tyr, the God of Justice, Law, Fairness, Odin, the God of Knowledge, Poetry and Wisdom, Thor, the God of Protection of Humankind, protection of family and friends, Loki, albeit not really a God, more Jotunn, is a "God" of Chaos, Lies, Mischief.
Baldur, is considered the most beautiful God. In Norse mythology, the only real way Ragnarok happens, is when Loki kills Baldur. Poetically, this is a societal and symbolic way through spirituality and religion to say "When chaos, darkness and dysfunction is allowed to triumph over beauty, the light and order, the world ends." So symbolically, Loki kills Baldur, this starts Fimbulwinter, which is an eternal winter that drives people mad, people starve to death, Hel can no longer control the amount of dead souls, those dying by fighting are no longer being lifted to Valhalla or Freyja's Hall by the Valkyries because unlike warriors dying honorably fighting for their tribe, glory, honor... etc they're brothers killing brothers.... etc and eventually the Gods lose control over their own creations, go to war and then have to rebuild.
And technically, Ragnarok is not the end. Many Gods actually live, however, they're all children of current Gods, like Vidarr, the God of Silence and Revenge, Hoenir, the daughter of Sol, Sol being the Sun Goddess and her daughter was seen as just a smaller but very bright star, it's a poetic way of saying, even when things get shitty, it can always be restarted. Much like God of War has.
That being said, Magni and Modi, Thor's sons were supposed to survive Ragnarok so I'm not too sure how accurate to the mythos they are gonna take this. But Vidarr being a God of Revenge would lead to a pretty sick final installment trying to perpetually hunt an old and dying Kratos with nothing left to live for because Loki aka Atreus is also supposed to die during Ragnarok.
SPEAKING OF, Fenrir and Jormungandr are two of Loki's children, Atreus isn't even old enough to reproduce yet. So that just further complicates the retelling of the myth. But Barlog certainly has enough content to really create a trilogy of unbridled beauty here, I hope they have the passion to really go through with it.
I Imagine what Noah could say on Metal Gear if this is what he can pull out of God of War!
It's a shame he's expressed having zero interest in metal gear and the majority of eastern titles :((
Aionios he’s like the anti-Matthewmatosis
It's all been said at this point
Yeah I don't think even Noah could really add much to the exhaustive discourse around MGS at this point, much as I'd watch it anyway.
ppl give him side-eye for not really touching Japanese games, but tbh it seems more like he's just staying in his lane than turning up his nose. From his travelogues & whatnot, guy seems about as American as Americans get, & he relies on cultural & even marketplace context for a lot of his insights.
I believe he could do it well, but if he wants to play it safe by sticking to stuff he knows, fair enough. Fuck knows we aren't short of pasty-white weebs sounding off about the significance of Japanese entertainment products anyway.
Have you checked out Super Bunnyhop's review of the series yet? Might be just right up your alley.
This was a bit of a surprise, I was a bit nervous NCG was going to trash the older God of War games for the same beefs people had with them, but he seemed to step above it and see the games for what they really were. That's a real gift of analysis and I really appreciate it. I may not always agree with NCG's opinions or perspectives but nevertheless always keeps me watching out of respect and absolute interest in the long essay format of video game franchises. I envy the work, and if I ever get off my ass and make content, it would be shamelessly an imitation to Noah's. Thanks again.
Sweet comment, but I think it's okay to just write "Noah", NCG does seem a little silly, but it's always nice someone else is enjoying his things 😊
Hearing you say “Bloodborne” awoke a need in me to experience a SoulsBorne essay by you
Also, fantastic work! Every video is better than the last!
The day Noah does a video on games made by a Japanese studio is I'm pretty sure a coming sign of the apocalypse.
Noah has admitted he's not fantastic at action games and I'm not sure he could get through them enough to give the same analysis.
@@BungleJoogie68 No matter how bad at them you are, everyone can beat a Souls game and that's the beauty of them.
@@zlodrim9284 Perhaps, but I could easily see it being kind of a miserable experience for a lot of people.
I remember Noah saying he kind of hated Bloodborne, which makes sense to me for his tastes. He bounced off the first level. Noah likes adjustable difficulty levels so that the game can be tuned for the player and for him super high difficulty doesn't make the game more satisfying but rather just makes it more of a slog. You can even see that in this video with the Medusa segment in Ascension.
edit: glad to have been at least somewhat wrong after seeing Noah tackle the souls series.
I imagine many fans are returning to this video this week. Something I really appreciate about Noah's writing is how i always hear something new I glazed over the last time I listened to it.
My dad is a marine and after discharge from marines worked contracts at different airbases accross the us working on aircraft, then became a civilian contractor with the department of defense and department of state in iraq and afghanistan.
I rarely saw my father growing up, i wanted with my entire being to be like him, but adhd kept me from being able to enlist, and felt lost, never having felt that id made my father proud, and for awhile questioning if he loved me.
I played the og god of war games when they released like everyone else and had anger issues always picking fights, and other things im not proud of, and then picked up gow2018 because its a new god of war and i had to see what they do with it. What i didnt expect, was that at 25 this game would help me with things i had internalized as a kid with my father through atreus, while also connecting while kratos and the journey he went on to put his past behind him and not let his anger define him for a new start.
If kratos can get a new start why cant I.
Damn.
You're a good storyteller.
Good luck Hovek the artist, I believe in you.
We can all have a fresh start.
*ringing a giant bell* NOAH IS BACK, EVERYONE
I got the sound of Hector's bell off breaking bad when you did that
I'm coming, no need to shout. I'll put on some tea, and be right down.
omgomgomg
He never went anywhere... he always takes a while to put out videos. These kind of long form essay reviews take a lot of work and a lot of time. It's what makes his videos so special
morpheus_is_fighting_neo.gif
"The leviathan is like a fusion of crab, horse, spider, Gary Busey. Its weird, its mean..."
That IS mean alright, and hilarious!
@JohnnyTheWolf My guess is it's the way he smiles. You know, brings comfort to kids all around the globe
"Kratos is the Elephant Seal" was not a comparison I was expecting, but what a good one it is.
When he mentioned that it brought to mind that episode of Futurama where the cast play animals in a nature documentary. There's a scene where they're Elephant seals and the bender seal crushes kif flat.
Given the move to Norse mythology, you may enjoy this: ua-cam.com/video/e37S38LSg_s/v-deo.html
I think there's two people on youtube that can trick me into caring about something I really don't care about at all, Noah and Super Eyepatch Wolf. Its pretty impressive, honestly.
also this makes me want to finally try the god of war games.
and making me remember how impressive the psp was at the time. Some people don't like PSP dithering (the pixelly shading method it used so it could pull off ps2 level graphics) but i fucking love psp and ps1 dithering. Astral Chain made me feel nostalgic for that shit in a major way. I am a huge nerd.
liberdead you're in for a major treat if you give the God of War games a try :)
Agree with everything.
Super eyepatch wolf got me into the yakuza games and I've already lost 200 hours to the first two, I'm scared to watch more in case he steals anymore of my life.
Both are wonderful fellows, and produce EXTREMELY high-quality stuff. I'd say Eyepatch's stuff is *technically* better, but Noah is very good at keeping me interested in what he has to say for like... 4 hours.
And joseph anderson of course.
Not convincing but pure sheer quality critique.
His videos on weaker games (ie. What remains of edith finch) are (I believe) better than the games themself.
Is Kratos just literally invincible? Every time he's killed he just climbs back out of hell. Death is nothing but minor inconvenience for this guy.
Brock English canonically he’s only been to Hell three times in the video games before the Reboot God of War 4.
Have you eve seen the meme that goes "Man literally too angry to die"? It's that.
@@RoronoaZoro-ur6hr god of war 4 isnt a reboot sort of its still a continuation and plus you're making it seem that god of war is entirely rebooted and that what happened with kratos in the original games isnt canon.
well death is nothing but minor inconvenience for kratos especially since he killed death itself.
I'll never forget the total vibe of God of War 2, taking its inspiration full circle when you, as Kratos, get to fight Harry Hamlin, as Perseus.
"Crab, horse, spider, Gary Busey..."
Im dead
Gary Busey is actually a repeating motif in a lot of Hellenistic art
I immediately scrolled down as soon as I heard that line to find this comment and slap on a like. If it wasn't here though, my world-view would have shattered violently and gore-ly as if Kratos himself had ripped it apart. It scares me to even imagine it.
"From this day forward, Freya is an enemy for life" crazy with the context looking back on this now. I hope he does a video for Ragnarok
He might, one day. Maybe not, but he might.
damn noah's lookin like Willie Nelson these days
It's weird how much of this series i'd just straight up forgotten about
no its an empty series it will be forgotten in no time
@@krybling i love your enthusiasm
Severin Hagstrøm lol nah
@@krybling yet here we are, still talking about it 14 years later, hmmmm
@@mezajedi3906 oh ok then its a great game lol
this man can turn crimson cool-aid pixels into the sweetest wine, shock value shlock into modern cultural critique, controller destroying eternities into experiential masterpieces
Your summation of the themes of the reboot *within the context of the franchise* actually made me tear up. I knew most of the context already, but hadn't really pieced it together in a meaningful way so that I could understand just how good of a redemption for Kratos, and by extension the franchise, the reboot actually was.
Who else who else in the gaming world can get you to watch a video game review five or 10 years later after the game has been released and make you love it???
I love it when Noah trots out his Vaudevillianisms while exploring what exactly the sex + gore aspects are doing at various points of the series narratives. They just make his observations sublime.
Me: *wakes up and checks notifications*
"Oh cool Noah uploaded, I wonder what game he's reviewing...wait-"
Noah: *"BOY WATCH MY VIDEO."*
SOLID OPENING WITH THE ZEUS SLANDER LOL
I like to compare God of War to movies like RoboCop, Demolition Man or Starship Troopers, that look superficially dumb, needlessly gory and even juvenile (with fairly good reasons) but have some damn good stories and even deep themes merged in the chaos unfolding on screen.
god of war's 2 moral is this: never collaborate with boomers
@Geralt of Trivia God of War 3 is more like "Don't collaborate with the Silent Generation"
@Frankie Basile no don't be daft
Woah! This is out of the left field! As a fan of the latest GoW, this will be a most noteworthy dive back. Thank you for all the love and care you put into these long form reviews. May your viewership rise evermore. Cheers.
Everytime you post, I think "Wow. Noah spoils us." We adore you.
Cool to see Noah covering console gaming, hoping for a deep dive into legacy of kain
exactly
Omg YES! Legacy of Kain is so good and imagining Noah talk about its intricacies and also Soul Reaver is making me weep in anticipation...
Holy shit, I'd give my left testicle for a Noah legacy of kain critique
AKA still one of the best fantasy narratives in any media.
Luckily, all of the Legacy of Kain games are on PC.
My dream is to one day see a 10 hour video featuring Noah Caldwell-Gervais, Racevick, and Joseph Anderson in my subscription feed.
I'd also add Whitelight in there, just for good measure, but I totally agree.
and MatthewMatosis
And Mandalore is there. Not because he has specific input on the collab project, but because he always finds a way to creep into Joseph's videos.
Joseph is a bit too full of himself
@@jazz8000 Dude is committing the cardinal sin of online gaming content creation: listening to his chat.
Never fucking listen to chat.
This video is a fascinating read on these games, I had some thoughts that dovetail with yours:
The stereotypical soldier is trained, fit, and embodies the physical perfection of the society in which they live (as the stereotype goes). The soldier is thus both the perfect breeding partner and the most dangerous member of a society: ideally, their strength is aimed at their society's enemies. Society demands that soldiers kill on the command of their superiors, with the goal being to keep the prevailing order of civilization stable. That, however, costs the soldier their sanity. A soldier is still a living, breathing human being with a survival-oriented brain. Order a soldier into too many dangerous situations, and the brain will rage and sink completely into fight-or-flight mode. Why? Because their mind may never be able to see an end to their trauma. This is the trigger of post-traumatic stress disorder: the brain encounters so much danger and so much stress that it cannot distinguish between true danger and pretend-danger. Thus, if commanding officers treat the soldier as a weapon and not as a human being, the survival instinct over-corrects in the soldier's mind so severely that it takes a herculean (no pun intended) mental effort for the soldier to feel "normal" again. Until that point? The soldier is rage and paranoia incarnate. Brotherhood doesn't matter anymore. Sexual partners don't matter anymore. All that matters is to "restore the balance", so to speak. And that only happens when their over-stressed and traumatic perception finally perceives no further threat. However, the more pain they cause by "removing" perceived threats poses a problem to the soldier lost to their trauma: they become the danger that they guard against. The violent acts they commit while lost to their highly-trained and ingrained violent instincts "teach" them that they are also a threat against any hope of personal peace, that the trauma may never end as long as they live. Thus, the extreme cases of soldiers lost to trauma to the point of severe PTSD can lead to suicide.
In the case of Kratos, the trauma he experiences leads to PTSD, obviously. He can't shake the violence he causes from his mind, and the violence he causes is because the world he inhabits treats him like a weapon, a force of nature that others choose to wield, that he feels unable to control. He MUST destroy the Gods because the Gods don't see him as a person. The Gods see Kratos as a "thing" to be aimed at their enemies, the consequences be damned. Kratos can't stand this: a part of him demands to be left in peace, for war to truly end. But war never truly ends because of the meddling of the Gods and, by the end of God of War 3, because of Kratos himself. He removed the Gods from existence because the Gods refused to let Kratos find peace, refused to simply let him carve out his own place in the world that he could build a stable life on; but in the process, he destroyed the only world he knew at that point. He truly burned all bridges, and at the end of all things, tried to end himself to end the pain and suffering both he and the Gods and the Titans had caused.
But Kratos had a different path to follow. Somehow, he survived his suicide attempt, and Laufey (or Faye) finally helped him achieve a degree of peace. She helped Kratos see that Kratos didn't need to kill himself in order to end the cycle of violence, of pain and suffering, and that the world wouldn't fall apart if Kratos existed within it. Finally, Kratos could put his trauma to rest, and finally tell the difference between blind rage and survival instinct, and when is best to use either one or the other. He no longer had anyone ordering him around, and he could finally choose when to engage an enemy and when to let a potential enemy go on their way.
Kratos, however, eventually became static. He was terrified at being a father again, terrified that past trauma would destroy all that he had built, despite his hard work to stabilize himself. He was terrified that old habits would resurface if he was ever put in situations similar to his past, that everything would have been for naught. He was faced with the hard truth that people recovering from trauma eventually face: at some point, the traumatized will have to choose to put themselves back in the line of fire once again, to face the world again with the knowledge and skills learned during recovery; if they choose to stay in recovery, then they will never get any better. And that alone is a terrifying prospect to any human with a reasonable amount of trauma; I can only imagine how shaken to his core Kratos became when Faye passed away.
Thankfully, this time Kratos facing his greatest fears finally allowed him to come to terms with his past, and help train his son to not make the same mistakes he made. And, of course, Faye guided her family through that recovery process (even beyond the grave because of her future sight), and helped her family build confidence in their ability to handle the world without destroying it, to truly live in a dangerous, wonderful, beautiful, and tragic world.
In many ways, Baldr embodied sociopathy: unable to feel a thing, and surrounded by people who feel what he did not ever feel. Baldr drove himself towards the one thing he coveted: simply being able to feel, to be normal, to have a connection with someone that he could sense, to feel pain and sorrow and joy and happiness and everything that comes with all those emotions. Why? Because he should have been able to feel those in the first place, in his mind: everybody else can feel these emotions, so why couldn't he feel them? The injustice of his feelings being taken from him turned Baldr into a sociopathic monster just as effectively as the self-serving Gods had traumatized Kratos into a monster. Kratos finally got a respite from constantly being thrown into traumatic event after traumatic event and became a better person for it, so it was fitting that Kratos prevented Baldr from following the path that Kratos once walked. Kratos ended Baldr before Baldr could ever be driven into ending the world Baldr inhabited, and in the process Kratos helped Baldr feel, to finally have emotions, and finally gave Baldr what Baldr so desperately wanted: a connection. A connection built on violence, but a connection nonetheless. Kratos, for once, sympathized with his enemy and gave the enemy what they truly wanted, and in the process redeemed Baldr and demonstrated Kratos' growth not just as a character in a story, but as a human being (as much of a living, breathing human being a character could be).
Baldr was too lost in the rage at the injustice heaped upon himself to let his well-meaning tormentor, Freya, live, so instead of blood turning on blood (which Kratos knows all too well the consequences of) Kratos became the boogeyman that the Norse pantheon could focus on. By doing so, Kratos knew exactly what he was doing. He painted a target on himself that was all too familiar: all the Gods would now want to destroy him for his actions. However, Kratos chose to paint that target on himself; nobody ordered Kratos into being the target of the Gods' wrath, and nobody outright attacked Kratos for no logical reason. Even at the beginning of the game when Baldr first encounters Kratos, Baldr is open and honest about what he is looking for, and only when Kratos doesn't give it does Baldr kick things up a notch. That was a fight between two people who knew exactly what they were doing, duelists in an arena so to speak, not soldiers being ordered into a traumatic situation by superiors trying to accomplish a broader (potentially self-serving) objective.
Make of my thoughts whatever you will. I hope there are nuggets of enlightenment in all that text! I look forward to any rebuttals.
Wow, i read that
This is some Gervais tier writing
I ain't reading that but I'm happy for you or sorry that that happened
@@jerrodshack7610 That's fair lol, thanks for commenting, and I'm doing well here in my armchair :)
yes to all this, the psychologies of the characters in GoW18 are all incredibly realistic and well thought out. wanna add to that… Freya is a classic narcissistic mom archetype, but not a stereotypical one. she’s like, actually got NPD, complete with the mirroring aspect; if you pay attention to her when our bois first meet her, she’s basically splitting the difference between mirroring Kratos and Atreus, when she sends Atreus out to the yard she changes to sterner, more direct, to appeal more directly to Kratos.
her inability to see Baldr as anything other than “hers”, as a source of positive emotion rather than a person in his own right, led to him becoming a monster who wanted to die rather than keep living around her.
that’s like.. classic NPD mom shit
There is a sex QTE mini game in Chains of Olympus, in the first level. I remember playing this as a freshman in high school and showing it to my friends and we thought it was so awesome 😂
I would live to hear your thoughts on the Metal Gear series now that you're a console gamer
That'd be the series. 8 hours?
I feel like watching your old vids, are like breaking out an old album collection and hearing all the unique silly flaws that occurred during recording. You release them, flaws be damned. This, is like you are headed towards your apex production wise. The old ones will always have their charm, but I feel this is a great evolution. Keep on doing what you're doing Noah. This is awesome. Thank you.
Dude your channel is phenomenal, I’m happy there are other gamers out there that can simultaneously revel in brutal action games while simultaneously falling in love with well told stories and characters earning their development. I’m gonna go watch every vid on your channel now, thanks for your work!!
That ending his home hard . Thank you so much for your content. By far best video game study / review channel I’ve ever found . I’m sad because I’ve watch almost all videos . But I feel even closer to understanding gaming on a even deeper level then I have in the past because of the break down and study of these games . Thank you 🙏
Cory didn't direct GOW 3... That was Stig Asmussen (or however you spell his last name) he recently directed Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order... Note to self, gotta get on Fallen Order already 🤣 👍
Easily one of my favorite youtubers. Nobody really does what you do Noah. What are your plans for the future? Any particular game series we can expect to see covered? This video was phenomenal as are all the others. I can’t wait for the next one.
I really like the Pandora and hope part of 3. I like how it takes the "kill the gods for revenge" story and melds it with "the gods suck and the world should be freed from them, at any cost". It turns it kind of humanist.
It definitely points out the misogyny of the game in a very unflattering way too though, they make those parts and then pandora redeeming him so front and center that its odd that Kratos never has to think about why he only likes Pandora cause she reminds him of his daughter. It also shines a light on how Pandora is largely a cheap cliche plot device and dies solely to enrich the character of Kratos. Even she is just there for utility.
I still really felt moved the most by the ending of 3.
Late reply but while I agree with your thought, I don't think it was fully earned. There was no indication of Kratos' change in thought throughout 2/3rds of game and only put towards the climax. It's like writers ran out of material and couldn't figure how to lead to the conclusion.
There was an initial draft made for GoW before it was passed to the new director, so I believe Kratos' death was set but it was not confirmed how Kratos will die.
Just finished and probably going to watch it all over. It's not just the way you reveal the philosophical themes in the games that we may have missed, it's also how you share how you felt in all of these moments that fills us with nostalgia and makes us want to play the games themselves all over again. Thank you for all of your hard work Noah. Glad to have found you.
I’ll watch your stuff even when I’ve never played the games because I always learn something new.
Do you think you could do a video on the Red Dead games?
He has said that he's working on it, but the games are absolutely huge so it's a gradual thing. But he got a ps4 and old Xbox 360 specifically to play them. These other games are just fun byproducts of that.
I think he's in the process of making one, though when it comes out is anyone's guess
It will come, a part of being a Noah fan is being patient because you know the wait will be worth it
bad game with unexpected ending. u welcome
@@Yura-Sensei spoken just like a Noah critique
I really love how you are bod enough to put out these long, deep essays in one piece. It's rare these days to see content going in such depth an I assume that the algorithm isn't exactly kind to this type of non-sensational content. Keep up the good work!
I wonder if Noah knows that Pandora's Box has hope in the mythology too. Makes sense to aim for an ending that isn't a complete, utter hopeless apocalypse
Yeah but it needs to feel EARNED.
Thank you for this retrospective Mr Gervais.
GoW is practically my favourite video game series ever and to have you do such a deep dive into every game was a thorough delight!!
Fantastic work :)
Thank you for making this. It's an excellent description of the change videos have gone trough from plain entertainment with a hint of art. They have evolved an escalated their ability to convey complex stories, emotions, motives and life lessons. I sincerely hope that the personal cost of their art will be recognized by all the players. And in turn, make our world a more tolerating and wonderfull place.
this game was waaaay ahead of its time, look at the impact of kratos hitting enemies. He hits hard and you feel powerful
But at the same time the enemies walk through many of his attacks when you do combos that don't launch.
Anyone who calls the old GOW games button mashers has only ever played them on the easy difficulty.
Was on a kind of UA-cam hiatus since last summer - first my PC broke down, then I just watched where this would take me. Back since yesterday, one of the first things I did was to look up what Noah's been up to. Man, THIS, the insights, the critical empathy, the meticulous and funny phrasing, the breadth and depth paired with accuracy ... I've really missed! I mean, among other things I read a lot of rather good mostly academic articles on a range of interesting topics during my extra spare time this last year. But video essays like yours just can't be replaced. Thanks.
This was such a good video. I haven't played a single God of War game but this analysis was interesting, easy to follow AND it made me want to play them to experience it myself. Your essays are always so easy to listen to and the time flies by, but also manages to examine the different subjects in a solid way. You honestly got some of the best if not the best video game content. Keep it up, can't wait to see more of your stuff in the future!
Play God of War 4 with a good sound system or surround headphones and you're in for some of the best sound design ever
Noah, I've seen everyone of your videos and you are without a doubt the best at what you do. By a country mile. You one of the few people who I think actually deserve to call themselves a videogame critic. Not a "reviewer", something far more difficult and important. I hope as the medium continues to grow and matures that you get the recognition and success you deserve.
I stumbled on your crpg videos and immediately subscribed. It’s not often that a video not only fully explains one of the most complicated game genres ever, but also casually throws, in as an aside, one of the best descriptions of true forgiveness. I’ve been making my way through your content since then, and just wanted to say that I love your work.
Noah your one of my favorite UA-camrs I'v been watching your channel for years. You helped me through some pretty stressful times and continue to do so. You critique games like they are movies and literature. You remind me that video games are an art form.
Suddenly dreaming of Noah's takes on Devil May Cry and Metal Gear Solid.
He said in an earlier video that nothing in Metal Gear Solid appeals to him, at all. Which is a shame and I hope he changes his mind, considering it's my favorite series.
He would probably get frustrated by getting a D on every mission on easy mode in dmc lol
In 2018 I found it rewarding to imagine that I was roleplaying not as Kratos, but as Fey. Unable to speak or make choices, but able to walk alongside them and guide their hands along the way. It made the continuous(ish) and intimate 3rd person perspective more meaningful for me.
That's cool as heck.
That's such a good idea
I, too, hate having agency.
What a great video!
The God of War series is one of my favorites. I'm glad you covered it.
You sir are a benchmark for quality of writing and perspective when it comes to this thing. You are and will continue to be part of the greats!
The Hardest Working Man In UA-cam (tm) strikes again!
God of War 2018 was my introduction to the series because I never really found the hack and slash vibe the previous games had all that interesting. It really shows how well written the reboot was when I could genuinely empathize with Kratos despite knowing almost absolutely nothing about his past other than he was just very angry and killed a bunch of people
"a bunch of people" - yeah, including probably everybody who lived in ancient Greece at the end of GoW3
I listen to these all the time, whether or not I've played the game honestly. But when I have played the game, you always always always hit every point and articulate it accurately. Good shit, bruther.
Easily the best long-form gaming reviews on UA-cam mate, holy shit! You're the first person to ever make me want to play a God of War game.
This is an just an amazing piece of work, such a good, well-thought out material! I can’t even imagine how hard it was to create such a long but consistently good video. Bravo!
Noah Console-Gervais
nailed it
I'm just happy you make videos man. Thanks dude.
A thorough (and thoughtful) look indeed! Kudos for the great job, as always!
Cant wait to hear your thoughts on Ragnarok.
Your insight and careful reflection on the themes and gameplay are a treasure dude.
Don’t listen to the assholes that to this day leave dumb ass comments missing the point by a mile.
I played God of War 3 for the first time not long ago. I knew there were sex scenes in the old ones, but not that they were minigames. When the Aphrodite scene happened, it had me in tears laughing - exactly the effect the scene in 2 had on you. I dont think that the scene in 3 is any less a joke than the one in 2. In fact, Kratos pausing his crusade for it feels even more ridiculous and stupid, I think intentionally.
I loved being able to listen to this while working on my projects. Thank you for posting and I can't wait to watch more!
Every time I see the length of one of these mammoth-sized videos, I just think, "There's no way I'll get a chance to watch that." And then I make the time to watch a little and end up watching the whole thing in one or two sittings. Excellent content as always. Reminds me why God of War (2018) might be my favourite PS4 game.
mercilessly throwing that girl into the grinder while cradling the other girl irked me for so long, i am glad it bothered you too.
I have no idea who thought that was a good idea
The guy was so blood thirsty and chaotic that he didnt make sense. Chaos doesn't have rationality to it. And by GOW 3 kratos was very much Chaos personified.
That said I have no idea if that is what the developers were thinking lol.
@@nathanieldiaz2845
"We need to make Kratos an unmistakable dick"
HeraldOfOblivion3825 the Greek God’s were dicks even before Kratos went on a rampant killing spree.
poseidon's wife married a terrible person and most likely let him at his terrible actions
Pandora was an innocent scared girl
Simple
1:28:05 Where Noah gives the ideal recommended order for playing the GoW games. (for my personal GoW newcomer reference)
As always Noah, you are a unique voice and a true asset within the world of games analysis and criticism. I have consumed almost every piece of media made about God of War 2018, but somehow I knew you'd say more and say it better than others already have-- and I was right.
1:27:55 for recommended playing order. Just in case anyone else was looking for that
Looking forward to your thoughts on Ragnarok!
I cannot wait to hear your thoughts on the character growth in God of War Valhalla
Probably lines up with FatBrett pretty well. It's a good case of Kratos reflecting on the sins and failures of his past.
This is the greatest God of War retrospective on the net. Thank you!
Im about 15 mins in, but jesus I could listen to stuff like this the whole day. Excellent pacing and tangents but always coming back to point, reminds me of Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy.
The series didn't really garner my attention until I heard that Christopher Judge aka Teal'c from Stargate SG1 would be the new voice of Kratos.
Wonderful day when I can settle in to one of these glorious things.
I'd kill to be a fly on the wall watching you do play throughs, honestly I've always called myself a gamer but the happiest memories I have of gaming was watching my dad and brother roll through games like these, my earliest gaming memory is sneaking out of my room to watch my dad play god of war and rather than sending me back to bed, he invited me and my brother out to watch him
that does sound like a really special moment. i didn’t get to play many video games as a kid, so only really got into them as an adult, but something i particularly love now is watching others play games. whether they’re skilled or not doesn’t matter, it just feels sort of…almost intimate in a way? but that’s not quite the right word.
anyway, that just resonated a little with me. this is a six month old comment 😅
What a great video - amazing insights, eloquent and super interesting, I almost couldn't stop watching. Didn't even notice how much time passed! Great job, dude. Pointed out some things I hadn't noticed or couldn't put into words before, and more than once made me go "OH that's RIGHT!". Thanks for this, it was a great watch!
A brilliant surprise, would love to see you tackle the naughty dog games like uncharted and last of us. in fact especially last of us as it would mesh well with your travelogue aspects
Me: "Man, I am bored. UA-cam sucks these days. What a mess."
UA-cam: "Hey look, here is another video from Noah."
Me: "Really? Naisss! Let me have a look."
Looks at the title. God of War. Looks at the timer. 2 Hours 40 Minutes.
Me: "So Noah will talk to me about 3 Hours about greek mythology? OMG, UA-cam is so awesome! What a great time to be alive."
This just showed up in my recommendation queue and it definitely got you a new subscriber.
This is amazing work.
Your content is appreciated with a deepness that most creators cannot evoke.