If you want better crash stability
Choose The Rogue Prince of Persia. It scores 5.0 vs 1.8 for crash stability, with a 4.0 overall score.
God of War Sons of Sparta Review
Bottom Line
Choose it if you want a character-focused Greek-era prequel, rewarding exploration, strong music, and standout bosses. Skip it if slow pacing, repetitive spear combat, late fast travel, or technical roughness will outweigh the lore.
Best for
God of War fans who want more Greek-era lore, a younger look at Kratos and Deimos, and a traditional ability-gated exploration loop with strong music and environmental art.
Not for
Metroidvania veterans seeking major genre innovation, players who dislike repeated backtracking or slow openings, and anyone expecting the scale and combat impact of the mainline God of War games.
Verdict
Sons of Sparta succeeds most clearly as a smaller character piece: Kratos and Deimos' relationship, the Greek-era lore, detailed environments, soundtrack, and several boss encounters give the spin-off real personality. Its Metroidvania foundation is much less consistent. Exploration can be rewarding once mobility opens up, yet fast travel arrives late, the opening drags, and the spear-heavy combat often feels simpler and less impactful than its abundance of upgrades suggests. Technical reports also vary sharply, from smooth, polished runs to crashes, freezes, broken AI, and lost progress. The result is a meaningful franchise detour for lore-focused fans, but a much harder sell for experienced Metroidvania players expecting genre-leading movement, combat, or innovation.
Feature Scorecards
Summary
80 reviewed features-
Very positive 4.5-5.05 (6%)
-
Positive 3.5-4.425 (31%)
-
Neutral 2.5-3.425 (31%)
-
Negative 1.5-2.421 (26%)
-
Very negative below 1.54 (5%)
Pros highlights
-
Bosses are one of the most divisive features: many reviewers call them the game's highlights, while others find them forgettable, exploitable, overly drawn out, or short on God of War-scale spectacle.
-
Exploration ranges from excellent to tedious: the interconnected map, secrets, and ability gates can be rewarding, but slow movement, late fast travel, and routine backtracking often blunt the sense of discovery.
-
The returning Kratos performances and several leads earn strong praise, but supporting voices, overly casual delivery, uneven direction, and occasional mixing problems create a divided consensus.
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Temple offerings, weapon parts, godly boons, and mobility upgrades give the game substantial progression depth, but many reviewers still find individual upgrades too minor or easy to ignore.
-
Animation impressions vary sharply: several reviewers praise expressive sprites and smooth movement, while others call the character motion stiff, awkward, fuzzy, or lacking impact.
-
The retro pixel-art direction earns praise for detailed backgrounds, lighting, and Greek-inspired environments, but a sizable group finds the character art flat, muddy, or too conservative for God of War.
Cons highlights
-
Combat sits at the center of the split consensus: it can become weighty, tactical, and satisfying after upgrades, but many reviewers still find the spear-heavy system repetitive, basic, or lacking classic God of War impact.
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The story earns praise for its intimate brotherhood focus and late emotional payoff, but many reviewers find the missing-person plot slow, low-stakes, repetitive, or less compelling than the mainline games.
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The 2D presentation is highly polarizing: painterly backgrounds and detailed pixel work can look gorgeous, while critics dislike the flat sprites, visual clashes, fuzziness, and lack of blockbuster flair.
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The Greek setting, familiar enemies, blood orbs, returning voices, and lore callbacks feel authentic to many fans, yet others think the smaller scale and restrained combat barely resemble God of War at all.
-
Slow openings, delayed traversal abilities, repeated backtracking, and an overlong central search make pacing one of the most consistent weaknesses, despite a few reviews praising the tighter sections.
-
Overall enjoyment is mixed: some reviewers settle into the new format and have a genuinely good time, while others describe the same long, repetitive adventure as boring or forgettable.
Compared With Category Average
Compared with other Video Games, this product is above average in checkpoint system, accessibility options, handheld play suitability, near average in upgrade system, narrative quality, below average in innovation, co-op experience, fast travel convenience.
Comparison summary
80 compared features-
Above average 0.4+ pts higher8 (10%)
-
Same as average within 0.3 pts22 (28%)
-
Below average 0.4+ pts lower50 (63%)
Largest category differences
| Attribute | This product | Category average | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| innovation | 1.9 | 3.9 | -2.1 |
| co-op experience | 1.8 | 4.1 | -2.3 |
| fast travel convenience | 1.9 | 3.9 | -1.9 |
| multiplayer design | 1.5 | 3.7 | -2.2 |
| originality | 1.6 | 3.7 | -2.1 |
| quest design | 1.5 | 3.6 | -2.1 |
| economy and resource balance | 1.0 | 3.1 | -2.1 |
| onboarding experience | 1.5 | 3.6 | -2.1 |
Consider This Instead
If you want better fun factor
Choose Saros. It scores 4.9 vs 2.9 for fun factor, with a 4.3 overall score.
If you want better innovation
Choose Crimson Desert. It scores 5.0 vs 1.9 for innovation, with a 3.5 overall score.
If you want better bug frequency
Choose Pragmata. It scores 5.0 vs 1.6 for bug frequency, with a 4.3 overall score.
Compared in Reviews
Products reviewers directly compared with this model, grouped into quick takeaways.
Silksong
- Better: overall Metroidvania quality The reviewer explicitly positions Sons of Sparta below Silksong in the genre.
- Better: level design Its level design is described as blander than Silksong's.
Belmont's Curse
- Better: graphics and effects Belmont's Curse is described as having higher-quality graphics and stronger effects.
Blasphemous
- Better: combat quality Its combat is said to fall short of Blasphemous.
FAQ
Is the story worth playing for?
The story starts slowly, but many reviewers praise the later emotional payoff and the developing relationship between Kratos and Deimos. Others find the missing-Spartan plot too slight or repetitive.
How is the combat?
Spear-and-shield combat grows deeper with parries, boons, gear, and upgrades, and some reviewers find it satisfying. Others say one-button attacking, weak hit impact, and dominant setups make it repetitive.
Is exploration rewarding?
The interconnected map, secrets, puzzles, and ability gates can be very satisfying once mobility expands. Slow early movement and late fast travel make backtracking a frequent complaint.
Are the boss fights good?
Bosses are often singled out as highlights for their challenge and variety, but several reviewers find them forgettable, exploitable, or short on the spectacle expected from God of War.
Does it have technical problems?
Experiences vary widely. Some reviewers report stable performance and quick reloads, while others encountered crashes, freezes, stuck AI, dialogue glitches, soft locks, and lost progress.
Can the campaign be played in co-op?
No. The reviewed co-op offering is local and unlocks after completing the main story, a restriction that several reviewers strongly criticize.
Sample Expert Reviews We Analyzed
These are a few of the reviews included in our analysis.
Video Reviews
YouTube - Tactical Bacon Productions
- Review score
- 2.7
Article Reviews
worthplaying.com
Set while Kratos undergoes the brutal training period Spartan cadets endure at the Agoge, God Of War Sons Of Sparta is a 2D action/adventure...
- Review score
- 3.0
insider-gaming.com
There's plenty of fan service in God of War Sons of Sparta, which adds interesting lore, albeit at the expense of some shortcomings.
- Review score
- 2.8
nag.co.za
God of War Sons of Sparta has charm, strong music and young Kratos, but bland exploration and tedious backtracking make it painfully forgettable.
- Review score
- 2.3
cubed3.com
God of War: Sons of Sparta review for PlayStation 5. Rated 5/10. Before he was the God of War, he was the Boy of Snore.
- Review score
- 1.2
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