God of War PC review: Epic action looks better & more accessible than ever

Not all games age gracefully, but this Cory Barlog-directed God of War title certainly has. Everything that was great about it four years ago is still great now: the blend of Norse and Greek mythology makes for a wonderful world to explore and a unique perspective to experience it from; the Leviathan Axe remains one of the greatest weapons in modern gaming, with the act of throwing and recalling it still feeling absolutely euphoric whether you're in combat, trying to solve a puzzle or simply smashing stuff for fun; and the father-son relationship between lead characters Kratos and Atreus still packs a real emotional wallop as well as teeing up more stories masterfully.

Those are just some of the reasons why this particular God of War game was so well-received on PS4 (and more recently by PS5 owners), and it's not an understatement to say that the upcoming sequel God of War: Ragnarok is being anticipated with huge levels of excitement. Whether you've played 2018's God of War already or not, we'd wager that you'll find plenty to enjoy in the PC port.

• Get God of War on PC with a free gift and 15% off (£33.99 at Fanatical)

Sony has collaborated with the PC gaming experts from NVIDIA for the PC version of God of War, and it shows in the best way. We played using an NVIDA 3070 Ti graphics card and everything felt buttery smooth, which really adds to the experience of guiding Kratos and Atreus through the game's epic journey. If your rig is able to run the game at its Ultra settings, you'll be treated to a 4K display running in 60 frames-per-second, with NVIDIA's Reflex and DLSS technologies offering a decent performance boost (this equates to incredible responsiveness and very low latency). It's pure bliss for fans of this franchise, basically.

Whether you're playing with a controller or a mouse and keyboard, the combat feels visceral and weighty just like it always has. Nothing has been lost in this transition, and it does feel weirdly good to see the Xbox controller button prompts on one of Sony's first-party games. The walls of exclusivity between Microsoft and Sony are gradually falling away, or at least being lightly chipped at, and it's a wonderful thing to see. Everyone should have a chance to play this game, and now a few more people do.

It's not just the combat that is worthy of your attention, either. The game looks visually stunning on PC, and it even supports Ultrawide displays as you can see in the clip below. As you explore the various expertly-crafted realms that the game has to offer, piecing together a twisty narrative and seeing the characters develop before your eyes, don't forget to take a moment every now and then to look around at how gorgeous it all is.

God of War already had its fair share of technological achievements, including its industry-challenging decision to remove the traditional loading screen altogether, but there is something special in seeing the game pushed to its limits and given new life by the capabilities of modern computers.

Another great thing about the God of War PC port is that the developers have used it as an opportunity to rethink their approach to accessibility and add extra support in some previously-tricky areas. For example, holding down the left analogue stick for sprinting is no longer essential - instead, you can activate a setting that means, if Kratos walks in a certain direction for a certain amount of time, he'll automatically start sprinting. For some gamers, changes like that go a long way to making a big game like this a lot more approachable.

Essentially, the God of War PC port makes this already-great game look better than ever before as well as making it more accessible than it once was. Hardcore PC players may wish that Sony and NVIDIA had pushed the limits even harder and added ray-tracing to the mix, but we didn't miss it to be honest. This game looks great as it is, as we keep saying.

One of the best PlayStation games just came to PC, then, and it's 100% worth checking it out if you haven't already. If you have played it already, the only extra content you get here are a few free skins, but this would still be a great way to revisit Kratos and Atreus while you wait for Ragnarok to arrive. Boy, we can't wait.

Read more on God of War:

• God of War Ragnarok review - our final verdict
• God of War Ragnarok cast - all voice actors
• God of War Ragnarok New Game Plus - when could it come?
• God of War Ragnarok chapters - are you near the end?
• God of War Ragnarok trophy guide - get the platinum
• God of War Ragnarok ending explained - is there a secret scene?
• God of War Ragnarok PS4 - how good is the last-gen version?
• God of War Ragnarok play time - how many hours?
• How tall is Thor in God of War Ragnarok?
• How old is Kratos in God of War Ragnarok?
• When will God of War Ragnarok come to PC?
• God of War PC requirements - all the specs you need
• God of War PC controls - full list of key bindings
• God of War games in order - play them all

God of War (2018) launches on PC via Steam and Epic Games Store on Friday 14th January at 4pm BST. We reviewed on Steam using an NVIDIA 3070 Ti GPU.

Follow Radio Times Gaming on Twitter for all the latest insights. Or if you're looking for something to watch, see our TV Guide.

Visit our video game release schedule for all upcoming games on consoles. Swing by our hubs for more Gaming and Technology news.