An aging Kratos, his axe, his son, and a Nordic cold that grips you deep.

On gut feeling, God of War sits ahead of 82% of games, on few votes, to be confirmed. And the detail reveals a fine paradox. Controller feel races to the top, ahead of 98% of titles, though that rests on few votes. The soundtrack follows, ahead of 97%, the art style ahead of 91%, rediscovery ahead of 89%. Connection stays solid, ahead of 77%. Then the shock: fun, that game you compulsively relaunch, falls right to the bottom, ahead of barely 2% of games. There lies the real tension. A game you admire, hold dear, love to hold in hand, but do not fire up on a whim. It is a work you cross through, not a daily reflex.

Against other action-adventure games, it is the intensity of the staging and the emotional weight that dominate, less the casual replay value.

So, for whom? For you if you love a gripping epic, combat with heft, a father-son bond that leaves a mark. Much less if you want the game you relaunch quickly, just to clear your head.