Metroidvania structure meets god tier combat
By Paul Hunter
God of War Sons of Sparta was a big reveal at the latest PlayStation State of Play, and it's a shadowdrop no less. Developed by Mega Cat Studios with oversight from Sony's Santa Monica Studio, the game is a canon prequel Metroidvania adventure that focuses on a young Kratos and his brother Deimos during their harsh training years in Sparta and the surrounding lands of Laconia.
Sons of Sparta trades the third-person camera we've gotten used to for a retro styled 2D action platformer built around traditional Metroidvania map exploration and ability upgrades. Combat focuses on your trusty spear and shield loadout, and a range of weapon and ability upgrades that powers up your build as you push deeper. With it's $29.99 price tag and 20+ hour campaign (double that time for completionists) this digital release packs a lot of content, and its high-definition pixel art carries a level of polish you'd expect from God of War entry.
What really stands out is the fully voiced cast that brings back TC Carson, the original voice of Kratos, alongside Antony Del Rio (young Kratos) and Scott Menville (Deimos). Legendary God of War composer Bear McCreary is also back and his score blends retro flavour with the big orchestral and choral sound the series is known for. So is this side scrolling Spartan chapter one worthy of the series name? Let’s find out!
Inside these memories you follow a teenage Kratos training beside his younger brother Deimos in Sparta. Both are cadets grinding toward a single goal: proving they have what it takes to join the Vanguard Circle. Their days move between punishing drills inside the city and official duties in Laconia, the wider region around Sparta that feels like a living myth. An early trip to pick up tools for their instructors puts them in the right place to hear that another cadet, Vasilis, has vanished during a field exercise.
From there the story becomes about what the two brothers decide to do. Kratos accepts that the world outside the walls consunes people, while Deimos insists they cannot just stand by and pushes his brother to help search. That choice sends them across Laconia on a string of missions that keep exposing cracks inside Sparta and throwing more monsters in their path. Cyclopes, centaurs, satyrs, undead troops, and other creatures show up as constant reminders of how dangerous the path to that Spartan title really is. Across all of it, the writing keeps coming back to duty, honour, and brotherhood, and by the end you get a clear, detailed look at a piece of Kratos’ past that always sat in the background of the main saga.
As for the combat, you swing a spear and carry a shield, and every fight is about timing your strikes while dodge rolling and performing well timed blocks. The roll gives you short invincibility frames to slide through big enemy swings, and a quick tap of the shield at the right moment turns a block into a parry.
Kratos is governed by a three bars in the game, one for Health (red), Spirit (yellow), and Magic (blue). Normal hits increase your Spirit bar, and holding R1 when you attack spends that Spirit on heavy strikes, which can spit out healing orbs. Every enemy has a stun bar, and once that fills you can trigger an execution that ends them instantly and tops up your Health, Spirit, and Magic, so fights often revolve around setting that moment up.
There are plenty of upgrades to find in the game, so you're not limited to your starting loadout. Spears can be kitted out with different tips and pommels, and the shield gets different rims. You spend red blood orbs and materials pulled from chests and enemies to rank those parts up. Each one pushes you toward a slightly different style, some with elemental damage, while others provide handy passive perks, open up new combos, or has special abilities like a spear slam or a multi thrust. Three skill trees cover offence, defence, and movement, which are also powered up using blood orbs. They unlock moves such as a downward spear slam and make dodge and parry even better or the ability to create sparks with your spear for longer reach and more damage. Gifts of Olympus top it off, giving you divine artefacts that fire projectiles, drop explosions, or unleash short melee combos in exchange for Magic.
Along the way you fight a mix of minotaurs, undead legionnaires, centaurs, flyers, and more. The very first boss is a massive Cyclops is quite the test. I initially went in swinging, got clobber a few times, then realized you have to be very methodical by rolling under its big swings, and taking well time jabs when there's an opening. DualSense integration helps to sell the combat, as does the speaker sound effects, and even the small blow into the mic mini-game was fun. After the main story wraps up, the Pit of Agonies opens as a nasty boss arena mode where you and a friend can tag in together for two player local co-op, and it is a strong way to keep the replayability high once you've seen credits.
On the audio side, Bear McCreary’s score really amplifies the moment, whether it's a boss bringing in heavy drums and choirs, or quieter stretches with lighter orchestral tunes and brass. Sound effects are also great, you spear hits with a heavy thud and shield parries have a satisfying crack to them.
I also love that every line is fully voiced, with TC Carson once again back as Kratos and delivering his lines to perfection. Antony Del Rio as the younger version of Kratos, and Scott Menville as Deimos both the right mix of energy and attitude. As for the game's performance, on PS5 Pro the game runs smooth even when the screen fills with enemies and effects, and load times after deaths are very short. All in all, the presentation delivers and it's neat seeing Sparta in this new art style.
Final Score: 8/10 - Great
Developer: Santa Monica Studio, Mega Cat Studios
Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment
Genre: Metroidvania
Modes: Single-player
A key was provided by the publisher.
By Paul Hunter
God of War Sons of Sparta was a big reveal at the latest PlayStation State of Play, and it's a shadowdrop no less. Developed by Mega Cat Studios with oversight from Sony's Santa Monica Studio, the game is a canon prequel Metroidvania adventure that focuses on a young Kratos and his brother Deimos during their harsh training years in Sparta and the surrounding lands of Laconia.
Sons of Sparta trades the third-person camera we've gotten used to for a retro styled 2D action platformer built around traditional Metroidvania map exploration and ability upgrades. Combat focuses on your trusty spear and shield loadout, and a range of weapon and ability upgrades that powers up your build as you push deeper. With it's $29.99 price tag and 20+ hour campaign (double that time for completionists) this digital release packs a lot of content, and its high-definition pixel art carries a level of polish you'd expect from God of War entry.
What really stands out is the fully voiced cast that brings back TC Carson, the original voice of Kratos, alongside Antony Del Rio (young Kratos) and Scott Menville (Deimos). Legendary God of War composer Bear McCreary is also back and his score blends retro flavour with the big orchestral and choral sound the series is known for. So is this side scrolling Spartan chapter one worthy of the series name? Let’s find out!
Story and Narrative
Sons of Sparta tells a smaller, more focused story than the mainline God of War games, and it centers on a very specific part of Kratos’ life. The whole experience is framed as a memory that Kratos shares with his daughter Calliope after she clashes with her mother. Instead of raising his voice, he talks her through the reality of his own time in the Agoge, Sparta’s unforgiving training program, and you play those memories while he narrates. It is a simple idea that gives the story a close, family driven feel right from the start.Inside these memories you follow a teenage Kratos training beside his younger brother Deimos in Sparta. Both are cadets grinding toward a single goal: proving they have what it takes to join the Vanguard Circle. Their days move between punishing drills inside the city and official duties in Laconia, the wider region around Sparta that feels like a living myth. An early trip to pick up tools for their instructors puts them in the right place to hear that another cadet, Vasilis, has vanished during a field exercise.
From there the story becomes about what the two brothers decide to do. Kratos accepts that the world outside the walls consunes people, while Deimos insists they cannot just stand by and pushes his brother to help search. That choice sends them across Laconia on a string of missions that keep exposing cracks inside Sparta and throwing more monsters in their path. Cyclopes, centaurs, satyrs, undead troops, and other creatures show up as constant reminders of how dangerous the path to that Spartan title really is. Across all of it, the writing keeps coming back to duty, honour, and brotherhood, and by the end you get a clear, detailed look at a piece of Kratos’ past that always sat in the background of the main saga.
Gameplay and Mechanics
For longtime God of War fans used to Kratos' 3D adventures, Sons of Sparta may take a minute to adjust to, but once you get into the groove the structure works really well. As a side-scrolling Metroidvania game, you'll explore the huge 2D map of Laconia where new abilities open older paths. You clear a region, notice blocked routes, then circle back later after picking up movement upgrades that let you climb higher, clear bigger gaps, or use the powers of the gods to unlock new paths.As for the combat, you swing a spear and carry a shield, and every fight is about timing your strikes while dodge rolling and performing well timed blocks. The roll gives you short invincibility frames to slide through big enemy swings, and a quick tap of the shield at the right moment turns a block into a parry.
Kratos is governed by a three bars in the game, one for Health (red), Spirit (yellow), and Magic (blue). Normal hits increase your Spirit bar, and holding R1 when you attack spends that Spirit on heavy strikes, which can spit out healing orbs. Every enemy has a stun bar, and once that fills you can trigger an execution that ends them instantly and tops up your Health, Spirit, and Magic, so fights often revolve around setting that moment up.
There are plenty of upgrades to find in the game, so you're not limited to your starting loadout. Spears can be kitted out with different tips and pommels, and the shield gets different rims. You spend red blood orbs and materials pulled from chests and enemies to rank those parts up. Each one pushes you toward a slightly different style, some with elemental damage, while others provide handy passive perks, open up new combos, or has special abilities like a spear slam or a multi thrust. Three skill trees cover offence, defence, and movement, which are also powered up using blood orbs. They unlock moves such as a downward spear slam and make dodge and parry even better or the ability to create sparks with your spear for longer reach and more damage. Gifts of Olympus top it off, giving you divine artefacts that fire projectiles, drop explosions, or unleash short melee combos in exchange for Magic.
Along the way you fight a mix of minotaurs, undead legionnaires, centaurs, flyers, and more. The very first boss is a massive Cyclops is quite the test. I initially went in swinging, got clobber a few times, then realized you have to be very methodical by rolling under its big swings, and taking well time jabs when there's an opening. DualSense integration helps to sell the combat, as does the speaker sound effects, and even the small blow into the mic mini-game was fun. After the main story wraps up, the Pit of Agonies opens as a nasty boss arena mode where you and a friend can tag in together for two player local co-op, and it is a strong way to keep the replayability high once you've seen credits.
Presentation and Audio
Visually, Sons of Sparta goes all in on high definition pixel art. Characters are built from retro-style pixels but move with a lot of detail, from Kratos’ spear swings to satyrs sprinting across the screen. Backgrounds layer multiple planes to give nice depth to Sparta’s walls and the valleys of Laconia, and the camera often pulls back during big encounters so you can see just how small you are next to a towering Satyr or a crowded battlefield. The classic Greek saga enemies look like they were pulled from the older games then reworked into 2D, and they all contain excellent detail.On the audio side, Bear McCreary’s score really amplifies the moment, whether it's a boss bringing in heavy drums and choirs, or quieter stretches with lighter orchestral tunes and brass. Sound effects are also great, you spear hits with a heavy thud and shield parries have a satisfying crack to them.
I also love that every line is fully voiced, with TC Carson once again back as Kratos and delivering his lines to perfection. Antony Del Rio as the younger version of Kratos, and Scott Menville as Deimos both the right mix of energy and attitude. As for the game's performance, on PS5 Pro the game runs smooth even when the screen fills with enemies and effects, and load times after deaths are very short. All in all, the presentation delivers and it's neat seeing Sparta in this new art style.
The Verdict
God of War Sons of Sparta is polished smaller project that delivers on all fronts. The canon prequel deepens Kratos’ history, while the comat feels freat and gets better the further you get into the adventure. The pixel art presentation has tremendous style and polish, and the voice acting is top-notch headed up by TC Carson. All in all, it's a high-quality package that does justice to the God of War series, delivering a must-play experience for fans, especially given the lower price point.Final Score: 8/10 - Great
God of War Sons of Sparta details
Platform: PS5Developer: Santa Monica Studio, Mega Cat Studios
Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment
Genre: Metroidvania
Modes: Single-player
A key was provided by the publisher.