Is God of War hard for beginners?
No, God of War is highly accessible for those new to the series thanks to its range of difficulty options catering to different skill levels. While offering substantial challenge at higher settings, starting on lower difficulties lets beginners find their feet.
God of War Difficulty Settings
God of War provides four difficulty modes plus accessibility tweaks:
| Difficulty | Enemy Damage | Player Health | Comparison |
|---|---|---|---|
| Give Me Story | Extremely Low | Extremely High | Very Easy |
| Give Me Grace | Low | High | Easy |
| Give Me Balance | Moderate | Moderate | Normal |
| Give Me Challenge | High | Low | Hard |
| Give Me God of War | Extremely High | Extremely Low | Very Hard |
As this illustrates, God of War lets you fine-tune combat difficulty and damage scaling to suit your level. "Give Me Grace" equivalent to Easy is perfect for total newcomers.
Learning Curve
Many cite the initial hours as the hardest while absorbing God of War‘s RPG-lite mechanics:
- Upgrading weapons and armor
- Unlocking skills
- Managing cooldowns
- Using Rage mode
It takes time adjusting to the owe game‘s more intimate, over-the-shoulder camera compared to past entries too. Fights can seem chaotic at first, especially against mobs of enemies.
However, Atreus helps ease this phase significantly. His arrows stun-lock foes, letting you focus targets down. Once you grasp enemy attack patterns and experiment unlocking powerful combos, the system clicks extremely well.
Overall, expect a manageable yet rewarding climb that sets you up to really master Kratos‘ tools of war by the closing hours.
Comparable Games
In terms of base difficulty, God of War lands firmly in the standard action-adventure bracket along peers like:
- Horizon: Zero Dawn
- Spider-Man
- Batman: Arkham Series
It never reaches the ultra-punishment territory of "Souls-likes" such as Bloodborne or Nioh – unless you specifically demand that level of sadism!
Accessibility Options
For those needing an extra assist, handy accessibility options in God of War include:
- High Contrast Display: Improved visibility.
- Auto-Sprint: Removed button mashing.
- Navigation/Exploration Assist: Objective pathing.
So if the standard lower difficulties still don‘t quite cut it, tweaking these can smooth the ride.
Average Clear Times
To give context around length and pacing, completing the main story quests takes most players:
- 20-30 hours on Give Me Grace/Story
- 25-35 hours on Give Me Balance
- 30-40+ hours on Give Me Challenge
Factor in side content and you‘re looking at 40+ hours for completionist runs even on base difficulty. That reflects a meaty but very manageable first playthrough for most.
While God of War offers plenty of satisfying challenge for experienced gamers, beginners need not fear Ragnarok. Tailoring the difficulty down lets you become fully engrossed in the epic, emotional narrative while mastering gameplay at your own pace.
You can then crank things up over repeat runs to truly test your limits. Ultimately, God of War delivers a polished action experience welcoming for all.
