God Of War GOTY Prospect, Solving One Of Gaming’s Greatest Hang-ups

God of War has yet to officially release but publications are already hyping it up for players, with its prospect of being an obvious Game of the Year contender getting plenty of attention. Many have also commented on how the reboot of one of the video game industry’s most beloved franchises has come close to perfecting one of its greatest sources of player anxiety.

The God of War franchise has enjoyed its fair share of praise from players and publications alike. With the new iteration, which is set in Norse mythology, a lot of changes were made to the series’ overall structure. As Forbes notes, there are still plenty of things to do aside from the main mission, with the game’s mechanics allowing for side quests and even customization.

All of this and more are what makes an already excellent game with an amazing story and an inspiring premise even more worth the wait. To that end, the publication declared it a no-brainer in terms of contending for the title of Game of the Year.

Last year’s title went to Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wilds. Although Horizon: Zero Dawn also enjoyed quite a bit of prestige, it seems Nintendo seized the day in 2017. This year, if nothing that comes even remotely close to the excellence that is God of War is released, the PlayStation 4 exclusive pretty much has this in the bag.

One of the biggest contributors to the game’s value is also about how it fixes the biggest problems in escort missions, as GQ points out. Unlike companions or NPCs in other games, the son of Kratos, Atreus is a cut above the rest in terms of how much he contributes to not only the narrative but also to the gameplay.

The adolescent companion is quite the asset for most of the game. He is basically like Ellie from The Last of Us or BioShock: Infinite’s Elizabeth. God of War simply takes these concepts further by giving Atreus his own Skill Tree and even making him a huge component in solving puzzles.