steam-lens

← all reports

God of War

analyzed 2026-08-18 · sample of 437 English reviews across the whole review history

Players most often single out the story, with 20.8% of sampled reviews mentioning it, and nearly all of those are positive. They describe it as "perfectly written storyline" and note that "Every scene is like a movie". Combat follows at 12.8%, praised as "intricate and challenging" and for requiring "quick decision making, timing and reaction speed". Graphics and gameplay also draw strong approval, with 44 of 46 graphics mentions positive and 40 of 43 gameplay mentions positive. Characters, voice acting, worldbuilding, lore, music, and exploration are consistently praised, though mentioned by smaller shares of reviews. The clearest split concerns platform access, where 12 of 23 mentions are negative, including complaints that "No solutions being offered on how to get the game to launch" and a warning about "Spyware". Stability is similarly divided, with 6 negative mentions against 5 positive, including "the game crashes every 30 minutes". Pacing draws more criticism than praise, with 6 negative mentions citing that "side content and puzzles slow down the pacing". Level design is also contentious, with 5 negative mentions against 4 positive, referencing "Some tunnel running though in some places". A recurring theme players bring up is grind, though it is not tied to any specific aspect in the sample.

numbers checked against this report's stored data · quotes copied verbatim from reviews · plain text is the language model's own wording

Aspects

share of sample, axis to 30% · ± is the sampling uncertainty around each share

  • positive
  • mixed / neutral
  • negative
  • story

    86 positive · 3 negative · 2 mixed · 0 neutral

    • Great story, I want more of it!
      positive · Jan 31, 2022 · review 109198782
    • At the time of its original release on PS4, I had followed the story through videos that went through the main story arc as well as the background mythology via the oral storytelling of one of the characters.
      positive · Jan 31, 2022 · review 109200156
    • Breathtaking story, good combat, challenging at times.
      positive · Jan 31, 2022 · review 109200747
  • combat

    45 positive · 8 negative · 3 mixed · 0 neutral

    • Breathtaking story, good combat, challenging at times.
      positive · Jan 31, 2022 · review 109200747
    • fighting is intricate and challenging
      positive · Jan 31, 2022 · review 109201168
    • Great story, visuals, progression, and combat.
      positive · Jan 31, 2022 · review 109203899
  • graphics

    44 positive · 2 negative · 0 mixed · 0 neutral

    • While this isn't a perfect game with it's odd combat difficulty, it sure does a great job keeping you in with the graphics, set pieces, story, and voice acting.
      positive · Jan 31, 2022 · review 109200156
    • Great story, visuals, progression, and combat.
      positive · Jan 31, 2022 · review 109203899
    • Very beautiful game.
      positive · Jan 31, 2022 · review 109204075
  • gameplay

    40 positive · 2 negative · 0 mixed · 1 neutral

    • some of the best story and gameplay.
      positive · Jan 31, 2022 · review 109201168
    • High quality and atmosphere game with interesting story and gameplay 10/10.
      positive · Jan 31, 2022 · review 109205056
    • I enjoyed this game from start to finish, and now I`m on my NG+ and I hope to clean out the whole map, cause it`s just fun to play.
      positive · Jan 31, 2022 · review 109205770
  • characters

    23 positive · 1 negative · 0 mixed · 0 neutral

    • Looks great, fighting is fun and the characters are entertaining.
      positive · Jan 31, 2022 · review 109205117
    • The romance between Kratos and Mimir makes it all worth it.
      positive · Jan 31, 2022 · review 109205676
    • From the camera perspective, story, characters and overall mood of the game.
      positive · Jan 31, 2022 · review 109205770
  • performance

    17 positive · 6 negative · 0 mixed · 0 neutral

    • Zero crashes, no bugs encountered yet, extremely well polished and optimized.
      positive · Jan 31, 2022 · review 109198352
    • It is just great to experience this journey again in 60+ fps and better resolution.
      positive · Jan 31, 2022 · review 109202812
    • Runs extremely well, looks amazing and the game play is solid.
      positive · Jan 31, 2022 · review 109209995
  • platform access

    11 positive · 12 negative · 0 mixed · 0 neutral

    • Ultrawide support really helps the game shine and feel less claustrophobic.
      positive · Jan 31, 2022 · review 109198352
    • Well done sony with this port.
      positive · Jan 31, 2022 · review 109210605
    • Literally disliked purely so you'd find a review that was negative, there is no reason to not get this, it's a perfect port and the game is fantastic.
      positive · Jan 31, 2022 · review 109210903
  • difficulty

    14 positive · 3 negative · 1 mixed · 0 neutral

    • Breathtaking story, good combat, challenging at times.
      positive · Jan 31, 2022 · review 109200747
    • Also some post-game content that prove challenging and extremely fun to go for all achievements
      positive · Jan 31, 2022 · review 109210007
    • Played the game on its hardest difficulty and being my first God of War experience, was a great challenge.
      positive · Jan 31, 2022 · review 109211024
  • world

    14 positive · 1 negative · 0 mixed · 0 neutral

    • The visuals, the fighting, the worlds.
      positive · Apr 30, 2022 · review 114746117
    • The story is masterful, the gameplay satisfying and dynamic, and the visuals and worldbuilding is expert level.
      positive · Jun 30, 2022 · review 117960473
    • A captivating world, epic combat, interesting characters and very good story with an ok ending.
      positive · Nov 30, 2022 · review 127657788
  • game length

    9 positive · 2 negative · 0 mixed · 3 neutral

    • Took me 36 hours to 100% the game and I do not regret it.
      positive · Jan 31, 2022 · review 109209995
    • Decently long singleplayer game with a perfectly written storyline and characters.
      positive · Jan 31, 2022 · review 109210007
    • It took me about 24 hours to play through the main story with bits of side activity and there is tons more of stuff to do. I guess you can easily spend 80 hours on a 100% casual completion run, which is absolutely worth the money.
      positive · Feb 28, 2022 · review 111264327
see more
  • price value

    9 positive · 0 negative · 2 mixed · 1 neutral

    • Overall, it was worth the money and time I spent.
      positive · Jan 31, 2022 · review 109209990
    • fun and worth every dollar
      positive · Feb 28, 2022 · review 111260585
    • I guess you can easily spend 80 hours on a 100% casual completion run, which is absolutely worth the money.
      positive · Feb 28, 2022 · review 111264327
  • progression

    8 positive · 3 negative · 1 mixed · 0 neutral

    • Great story, visuals, progression, and combat.
      positive · Jan 31, 2022 · review 109203899
    • Many small puzzles, equipment and skill choices made choosing my own path fun and engaging.
      positive · Jan 31, 2022 · review 109211024
    • Game play is smooth like butter, graphics are epic, the RPG element is very well designed to be enough to keep you wanting to get better and better but not so overwhelming that God of War is no longer God of War, if that makes sense.
      positive · Aug 31, 2022 · review 121541225
  • level design

    4 positive · 5 negative · 2 mixed · 0 neutral

    • Some tunnel running though in some places but there's enough to explore.
      negative · Jan 31, 2022 · review 109204075
    • The game has top notch graphics and character motions, but the story line is not interesting, all the fighting and opening chests are very repetitive and boring, plus the meaningless hurdles on the way.
      negative · Dec 31, 2022 · review 129807917
    • Things I hate about this game: Atreus, Revenants, Dark Elves, Niflheim.
      negative · Dec 31, 2023 · review 154931665
  • stability

    5 positive · 6 negative · 0 mixed · 0 neutral

    • Warning, game is unplayable at the moment for gaming laptops.
      negative · Jan 31, 2022 · review 109199132
    • Constant crashing! But I fixed it!
      negative · Feb 28, 2022 · review 111265594
    • game crashes everytime i'm at the main hub by the serpent.
      negative · Sep 30, 2022 · review 123107089
  • content amount

    6 positive · 4 negative · 0 mixed · 0 neutral

    • Also some post-game content that prove challenging and extremely fun to go for all achievements
      positive · Jan 31, 2022 · review 109210007
    • It took me about 24 hours to play through the main story with bits of side activity and there is tons more of stuff to do.
      positive · Feb 28, 2022 · review 111264327
    • Done main story around ~25 hours on Challenging, far from done though, tons more content to play through.
      positive · Apr 30, 2022 · review 114745099
  • controls

    6 positive · 2 negative · 0 mixed · 0 neutral

    • From the story telling to the on-point combat and controls, this one is a solid 10/10 for me.
      positive · Jan 31, 2022 · review 109213557
    • I even managed to finish the whole game playing with my controller which usually is a big struggle for me as I'm not used to playing with a controller.
      positive · Feb 28, 2022 · review 111264327
    • Despite being designed for playstation- its responsive on pc and pretty satisfying.
      positive · Aug 31, 2022 · review 121545512
  • pacing

    2 positive · 6 negative · 0 mixed · 0 neutral

    • I find that the side content and puzzles slow down the pacing of the game, but everything else delivers.
      negative · Jan 31, 2022 · review 109203899
    • Can't skip cutscenes.
      negative · Jan 31, 2022 · review 109209990
    • My only complaint is that some cinematics are a bit to long and non interactive.
      negative · Oct 31, 2022 · review 124745309
  • voice acting

    8 positive · 0 negative · 0 mixed · 0 neutral

    • While this isn't a perfect game with it's odd combat difficulty, it sure does a great job keeping you in with the graphics, set pieces, story, and voice acting.
      positive · Jan 31, 2022 · review 109200156
    • Both Kratos and Atreus were acted sooooooo good.
      positive · Jan 31, 2022 · review 109209990
    • Voice acting was amazing and gave the characters life.
      positive · Jan 31, 2022 · review 109211024
  • lore

    7 positive · 0 negative · 0 mixed · 0 neutral

    • First time playing a God of War game, it was one of the best and most engaging stories I've played through, they found cool and subtle ways to weave in background information, and lore as the game progresses while leaving a lot of room for your imagination to fill.
      positive · Jan 31, 2022 · review 109208425
    • Soundtrack is awesome, voice acting is superb, action, challenges, fights, aggressiveness, lore, mysteries, gore, every single thing you find in here its simply amazing.
      positive · Feb 28, 2022 · review 111257532
    • The blend of combat mechanics, story, voice acting, visuals, lore are so darn good, it's captivating.
      positive · Nov 30, 2022 · review 127651042
  • replayability

    6 positive · 1 negative · 0 mixed · 0 neutral

    • I've played the game twice now I don't regret a single minute spent.
      positive · Jan 31, 2022 · review 109203796
    • I enjoyed this game from start to finish, and now I`m on my NG+ and I hope to clean out the whole map, cause it`s just fun to play.
      positive · Jan 31, 2022 · review 109205770
    • I finished my first play through a few days ago and I am already looking forward to going back for "new game +" on the hardest difficulty.
      positive · Jan 31, 2022 · review 109208425
  • sound design

    7 positive · 0 negative · 0 mixed · 0 neutral

    • As far as the game looks and sound great it has some drawbacks.
      positive · Jan 31, 2022 · review 109205770
    • Great sound design and so much fun to explore the Nordic lands.
      positive · Jul 31, 2022 · review 119850578
    • EVERY DEPARMENT KILLED IT, DIRECITON ART DIRECTION WORLD BUILDING NARRATIVE SOUNDTRACK SOUND FX VFX 3D MODELERS CONCEPT ARTISTS WRITERS ACTORS.
      positive · Nov 30, 2022 · review 127658069
  • balance

    3 positive · 3 negative · 0 mixed · 0 neutral

    • The game had very few flaws to pick; namely some early and late-game scaling and small quality of life things.
      negative · Jan 31, 2022 · review 109211024
    • I have played this game on the PS4 on normal and GIVE ME GOD OF WAR is heavily unbalanced.
      negative · Jan 31, 2022 · review 109212626
    • And, besides some added aggression towards you instead of Atreus in their behavior, increasing dificulty just means you get one or two shoted by some pitiful looking enemies, and your attacks don't mean much.
      negative · Jul 31, 2023 · review 143161187
  • exploration

    6 positive · 0 negative · 0 mixed · 0 neutral

    • Some tunnel running though in some places but there's enough to explore.
      positive · Jan 31, 2022 · review 109204075
    • Great sound design and so much fun to explore the Nordic lands.
      positive · Jul 31, 2022 · review 119850578
    • Be sure to mix up exploring with fighting, and you'll gain enough skills to go toe-to-toe with the hardest foes.
      positive · Dec 31, 2022 · review 129806944
  • music

    6 positive · 0 negative · 0 mixed · 0 neutral

    • Good graphic, story, soundtrack and gamepla.
      positive · Jan 31, 2022 · review 109211770
    • Soundtrack is awesome, voice acting is superb, action, challenges, fights, aggressiveness, lore, mysteries, gore, every single thing you find in here its simply amazing.
      positive · Feb 28, 2022 · review 111257532
    • EVERY DEPARMENT KILLED IT, DIRECITON ART DIRECTION WORLD BUILDING NARRATIVE SOUNDTRACK SOUND FX VFX 3D MODELERS CONCEPT ARTISTS WRITERS ACTORS.
      positive · Nov 30, 2022 · review 127658069
  • quest design

    3 positive · 3 negative · 0 mixed · 0 neutral

    • the whole journey is amazing and the side quest do not feel like fillers they fit in so perfectly and do not over stay perfect balance so you dont feel like your wasting your time or anything is dragging on
      positive · Feb 28, 2022 · review 111257430
    • The side content is good though.
      positive · Dec 31, 2022 · review 129809784
    • The side quests feel consequential and worthwhile, without being so drawn out and repetitive to feel like a chore.
      positive · Aug 31, 2024 · review 173939081
  • writing

    5 positive · 1 negative · 0 mixed · 0 neutral

    • All and all great game worth a multi play thru just for the funny commentary and hack and slash fun.
      positive · Jan 31, 2022 · review 109210924
    • EVERY DEPARMENT KILLED IT, DIRECITON ART DIRECTION WORLD BUILDING NARRATIVE SOUNDTRACK SOUND FX VFX 3D MODELERS CONCEPT ARTISTS WRITERS ACTORS.
      positive · Nov 30, 2022 · review 127658069
    • The graphics are stunning, and the dialogue and interactions are clever and funny.
      positive · Jun 30, 2023 · review 141008127

Emergent themes unvalidated

topics reviewers bring up that are not on the validated list; raw counts only, no error bars

  • grind 6

Review timeline

monthly peak 22,900 reviews · all languages

review volume 10,000 20,000 0 positive review share 100% 50% 0% 2023 2024 2025 2026 Jan 2022 · 22,900 reviews (22,170 up · 730 down) · 97% positive Feb 2022 · 6,748 reviews (6,495 up · 253 down) · 96% positive Mar 2022 · 2,222 reviews (2,133 up · 89 down) · 96% positive Apr 2022 · 1,317 reviews (1,269 up · 48 down) · 96% positive May 2022 · 1,074 reviews (1,028 up · 46 down) · 96% positive Jun 2022 · 1,614 reviews (1,540 up · 74 down) · 95% positive Jul 2022 · 2,570 reviews (2,482 up · 88 down) · 97% positive Aug 2022 · 1,545 reviews (1,474 up · 71 down) · 95% positive Sep 2022 · 1,910 reviews (1,842 up · 68 down) · 96% positive Oct 2022 · 1,854 reviews (1,790 up · 64 down) · 97% positive Nov 2022 · 9,050 reviews (8,896 up · 154 down) · 98% positive Dec 2022 · 6,754 reviews (6,510 up · 244 down) · 96% positive Jan 2023 · 5,844 reviews (5,608 up · 236 down) · 96% positive Feb 2023 · 2,682 reviews (2,558 up · 124 down) · 95% positive Mar 2023 · 2,150 reviews (2,034 up · 116 down) · 95% positive Apr 2023 · 1,795 reviews (1,711 up · 84 down) · 95% positive May 2023 · 1,052 reviews (998 up · 54 down) · 95% positive Jun 2023 · 1,789 reviews (1,707 up · 82 down) · 95% positive Jul 2023 · 2,348 reviews (2,243 up · 105 down) · 96% positive Aug 2023 · 1,261 reviews (1,197 up · 64 down) · 95% positive Sep 2023 · 1,600 reviews (1,523 up · 77 down) · 95% positive Oct 2023 · 977 reviews (949 up · 28 down) · 97% positive Nov 2023 · 1,348 reviews (1,297 up · 51 down) · 96% positive Dec 2023 · 3,563 reviews (3,413 up · 150 down) · 96% positive Jan 2024 · 3,084 reviews (2,975 up · 109 down) · 96% positive Feb 2024 · 1,800 reviews (1,703 up · 97 down) · 95% positive Mar 2024 · 1,788 reviews (1,697 up · 91 down) · 95% positive Apr 2024 · 1,240 reviews (1,187 up · 53 down) · 96% positive May 2024 · 1,125 reviews (915 up · 210 down) · 81% positive Jun 2024 · 1,085 reviews (1,002 up · 83 down) · 92% positive Jul 2024 · 1,797 reviews (1,690 up · 107 down) · 94% positive Aug 2024 · 2,712 reviews (2,534 up · 178 down) · 93% positive Sep 2024 · 3,129 reviews (2,827 up · 302 down) · 90% positive Oct 2024 · 1,715 reviews (1,587 up · 128 down) · 93% positive Nov 2024 · 1,099 reviews (1,018 up · 81 down) · 93% positive Dec 2024 · 2,503 reviews (2,341 up · 162 down) · 94% positive Jan 2025 · 2,068 reviews (1,956 up · 112 down) · 95% positive Feb 2025 · 1,007 reviews (940 up · 67 down) · 93% positive Mar 2025 · 1,596 reviews (1,514 up · 82 down) · 95% positive Apr 2025 · 1,023 reviews (973 up · 50 down) · 95% positive May 2025 · 810 reviews (756 up · 54 down) · 93% positive Jun 2025 · 807 reviews (753 up · 54 down) · 93% positive Jul 2025 · 1,863 reviews (1,770 up · 93 down) · 95% positive Aug 2025 · 937 reviews (861 up · 76 down) · 92% positive Sep 2025 · 692 reviews (654 up · 38 down) · 95% positive Oct 2025 · 1,384 reviews (1,318 up · 66 down) · 95% positive Nov 2025 · 1,554 reviews (1,480 up · 74 down) · 95% positive Dec 2025 · 2,379 reviews (2,277 up · 102 down) · 96% positive Jan 2026 · 1,941 reviews (1,856 up · 85 down) · 96% positive Feb 2026 · 1,813 reviews (1,724 up · 89 down) · 95% positive Mar 2026 · 1,715 reviews (1,637 up · 78 down) · 95% positive Apr 2026 · 1,082 reviews (1,029 up · 53 down) · 95% positive May 2026 · 737 reviews (694 up · 43 down) · 94% positive Jun 2026 · 1,119 reviews (1,056 up · 63 down) · 94% positive Jul 2026 · 1,885 reviews (1,792 up · 93 down) · 95% positive Aug 2026 · 582 reviews (547 up · 35 down) · 94% positive

monthly share rated positive · 50% reference · months with <5 reviews faded

the timeline as a table
Reviews per month, all languages; months with no reviews are left out.
month reviews up down positive note
Jan 2022 22,900 22,170 730 97%
Feb 2022 6,748 6,495 253 96%
Mar 2022 2,222 2,133 89 96%
Apr 2022 1,317 1,269 48 96%
May 2022 1,074 1,028 46 96%
Jun 2022 1,614 1,540 74 95%
Jul 2022 2,570 2,482 88 97%
Aug 2022 1,545 1,474 71 95%
Sep 2022 1,910 1,842 68 96%
Oct 2022 1,854 1,790 64 97%
Nov 2022 9,050 8,896 154 98%
Dec 2022 6,754 6,510 244 96%
Jan 2023 5,844 5,608 236 96%
Feb 2023 2,682 2,558 124 95%
Mar 2023 2,150 2,034 116 95%
Apr 2023 1,795 1,711 84 95%
May 2023 1,052 998 54 95%
Jun 2023 1,789 1,707 82 95%
Jul 2023 2,348 2,243 105 96%
Aug 2023 1,261 1,197 64 95%
Sep 2023 1,600 1,523 77 95%
Oct 2023 977 949 28 97%
Nov 2023 1,348 1,297 51 96%
Dec 2023 3,563 3,413 150 96%
Jan 2024 3,084 2,975 109 96%
Feb 2024 1,800 1,703 97 95%
Mar 2024 1,788 1,697 91 95%
Apr 2024 1,240 1,187 53 96%
May 2024 1,125 915 210 81%
Jun 2024 1,085 1,002 83 92%
Jul 2024 1,797 1,690 107 94%
Aug 2024 2,712 2,534 178 93%
Sep 2024 3,129 2,827 302 90%
Oct 2024 1,715 1,587 128 93%
Nov 2024 1,099 1,018 81 93%
Dec 2024 2,503 2,341 162 94%
Jan 2025 2,068 1,956 112 95%
Feb 2025 1,007 940 67 93%
Mar 2025 1,596 1,514 82 95%
Apr 2025 1,023 973 50 95%
May 2025 810 756 54 93%
Jun 2025 807 753 54 93%
Jul 2025 1,863 1,770 93 95%
Aug 2025 937 861 76 92%
Sep 2025 692 654 38 95%
Oct 2025 1,384 1,318 66 95%
Nov 2025 1,554 1,480 74 95%
Dec 2025 2,379 2,277 102 96%
Jan 2026 1,941 1,856 85 96%
Feb 2026 1,813 1,724 89 95%
Mar 2026 1,715 1,637 78 95%
Apr 2026 1,082 1,029 53 95%
May 2026 737 694 43 94%
Jun 2026 1,119 1,056 63 94%
Jul 2026 1,885 1,792 93 95%
Aug 2026 582 547 35 94%

How this report was made
Population
all Steam reviews of the game (every language, purchase type, and verdict), walked newest-first per window; only English-language reviews are analyzed
Sample
437 English reviews, time-proportional draw over 56 windows (newest-first within each), taken from an all-language walk and kept English-only — where English is a minority the sample runs smaller than the draw, and every margin of error is computed at 437
Aspect yield
160 of 437 analyzed reviews carry at least one aspect (36.6%); every share on this page divides by all 437
Interval regime
calm: standard margins of error for a share of a sample (Wilson interval), no widening needed
Fetch paths
56 time windows fetched directly (windowed)
Language mix
1,000 fetched: english 440 · brazilian 127 · turkish 84 · 25 more
Steam-marked windows
none flagged by Steam (Valve's off-topic flagging began March 2019)
Marked share
0.0% of sample inside marked windows, under the 2% floor
Narrative
passed the grounding gate first try
Evidence floor
aspects and emergent themes appear only with 5+ supporting reviews; smaller counts sit at the classifier's false-positive floor
Instrument readings
measured once on the study corpus for this model and prompt: frozen calibration, not properties of this run
· aspect tagging vs. human labels
0.766 [0.713–0.811] (F1 against a human-labeled test set; 1.0 is best)
· quotes filed under the wrong aspect
11.6% [6.6–19.6] of quotes, measured by hand on a sample; lower is better
· independent model vs. production labels
0.791 [0.772–0.810] (F1 of the production labeler against an independent judge model)
Versions
deepseek-v4-flash · prompt classify-v1 · ontology v2
Run
serve-20260818T183736Z-5c29a21c · code ccaa6a4

full methodology in the milestone write-ups