David Jaffe, the original creator of God of War, has harshly criticized the franchise's new side-scrolling spinoff, Sons of Sparta, calling it "boring" and "an insult" to both longtime fans and the original development team.
Sons of Sparta was announced and immediately released on PlayStation 5 last week during Sony's State of Play broadcast. Developed by indie retro studio Mega Cat Studios, this Metroidvania-style action platformer serves as a prequel to the original God of War trilogy, following a young Kratos and his brother during their training days.
In a YouTube video posted after playing for an hour, Jaffe expressed his disappointment with the game's direction, noting that while he was initially excited for a 2.5D God of War experience, the final product missed the mark. "This is the kind of game I've always wanted in terms of 2.5D God of War, super into it — but this, to me, is not what I was talking about," Jaffe stated. "I bought this game, it's a $30 game, I don't like it, I don't recommend it."
He then directed his frustration toward Sony executives who approved the project: "I wanted to make a video more about what are they thinking, like what the f*** were they thinking? It's not a bad game by any means, it's fine, it controls decently... but to me the more fascinating part of this is, why is this in existence? I don't understand."
Jaffe explained that after an hour of gameplay, he couldn't continue due to excessive dialogue interruptions. "This is not God of War," he declared, criticizing the portrayal of Kratos as a "generic f***ing kid" reminiscent of a Kids WB TV show. He argued that fans wanted something darker and more violent, akin to Blasphemous, with the tone of the early God of War games.
"If you pulled God of War out of it, and you just said, 'hey, we're making a game about this kid,' most people would say 'that doesn't sound like a very compelling idea for a video game character,' because it's not," Jaffe added. He acknowledged that the game might improve but emphasized its failure to capture the franchise's essence, comparing it to a John Wick film where the character just sits in a coffee shop talking.
Jaffe had hoped for a 2.5D God of War game similar to titles like Ninja Gaiden Ragebound, Neon Inferno, or Shinobi. "Why would you even put this out? All it does is leave a bad taste in God of War fans' mouths, in my assumption," he concluded, calling the concept "insulting" and advising fans to avoid it.
Despite initially saying he wouldn't return to Sons of Sparta, Jaffe later played an additional three hours and posted a detailed 30-minute critique. He highlighted issues such as "confusing visual noise during combat," "gameplay breaking visual inconsistencies," a "buggy and confusing user interface," "level design and character motion feels off," and "kiddie level dialogue and poor voice actor performances." Ultimately, he deemed the game "not ready for release."
In related news, last Friday, God of War franchise developer Sony Santa Monica clarified the game's multiplayer functionality after fan confusion. While the PlayStation Store listed Sons of Sparta as "1-2 player," the company confirmed that co-op is limited to a challenge mode unlocked after completing the main game.
