Hey friend! If you‘ve been eagerly waiting to play Sony‘s epic God of War adventure on your gaming PC, you may be wondering if the recently released PC version is free. Unfortunately Kratos isn‘t doing any favors – you‘ll have to pony up real money. But for hardcore fans, God of War on PC is an absolute must-play. Let‘s dive into everything you need to know about the PC port and whether it‘s worth the investment.
A Brief History of Kratos‘ God Slaying Journey
Before we tackle the nitty gritty PC details, let‘s briefly recap Kratos‘ god-slaying journey up to this point for some context. Our angry anti-hero first slashed his way onto the scene in the 2005 original God of War on PS2. With vicious chained blade combos and ruthless rage, Kratos carved through beasts and gods inspired by Greek mythology to become the new God of War.
Over the next decade, we got several numbered sequels and prequels expanding the lore across PS2, PS3, and handhelds, each ramping up the scale and spectacle. Kratos waged war against the pantheon of Olympus, even brutally killing his own father, Zeus.
The 2018 franchise reboot shifted the setting from Greek to Norse mythology, added Kratos‘ son Atreus to the mix, and took his axe-slinging savagery into the over-the-shoulder third person perspective. God of War (2018) earned rave reviews for its storytelling, visual splendor, and excellent combat. Not just a technical marvel, God of War touched players on an emotional level with its exploration of Kratos‘ relationship with his boy. It went on to sell a whopping 19.5 million copies on PS4.
The God of War PC Port Arrives
After years of waiting, PC gamers can finally experience God of War‘s epic journey for themselves. The 2018 entry came to PC in January 2022, published on both Steam and the Epic Games Store. For the first time ever, mainline God of War is fully playable on PC in all its visual glory.
Now I know what you‘re wondering – is it free? Sadly no. God of War on PC retails for $49.99, matching its original PS4 launch price. The good news is that price regularly drops to $39.99 during sales events. I grabbed it for $44.99 over the holidays – keep an eye out for deals!
By the Gods! Visual Splendor at 4K 60fps
Let‘s talk about the graphics. After all, glorious visuals are a huge reason to play God of War on PC with powerful modern hardware. This isn‘t some lazy port – Sony‘s developers spent time fully optimizing for PC gaming rigs.
You can crank God of War up to true 4K resolution and beyond, with full support for ultra-wide monitors. While PS4 was locked to 30fps, the frame rate is unlocked on PC, meaning you can hit smooth 60fps or even higher with the right GPU. Other enhancements include higher resolution shadows, improved screen space reflections, GTAO and SSDO effects, texture filtering, LoD quality, and more.
NVIDIA RTX cards get special treatment with support for DLSS upsampling and ray traced shadows enabled by default. In my testing on an RTX 3080, I could run maxed out 4K with DLSS Quality at a rock-solid 60fps. With DLSS off, framerates dropped, but remained very playable. God of War has never looked or performed better.
Sony‘s developer, Jetpack Interactive, deserves huge kudos for the stellar PC porting job. They added a ton of custom graphics options so you can tweak settings for your rig. Trust me, you‘ll want to spend time appreciating all the small details in the world. Some of the sweeping Norse vistas and creature designs are simply jaw dropping.
Does Kratos‘ Axe Feel Right on KB+M?
Of course buttery smooth combat is what matters most in God of War. The tight, third person action is tuned to feel best with a controller just like the PS4 original. Fortunately, extensive controller support is included out of the box. I recommend an Xbox gamepad to get that perfect God of War feel on PC.
You can also play entirely with mouse and keyboard if preferred. On keyboard, combat moves are mapped to WASD keys by default which feels a bit unnatural to me. However, all controls are fully customizable, so you can tweak bindings to your liking. For example, I mapped light and heavy attacks to mouse buttons for quicker combos. With some experimentation, Kratos‘ leviathan axe can be slinging on KB+M almost as naturally as a gamepad.
For the ultimate experience, I suggest a controller for general gameplay and combat, with KB+M optionally mixed in for aiming Atreus‘ bow in hectic fights. This hybrid approach works fluidly!
Mods, Ultrawide Support, and Other Goodies
The dedicated PC modding scene has already enhanced God of War in cool ways Sony never intended. NexusMods offers mods that tweak graphics further, unlock camera controls, increase FOV, add enemy randomizers, and more. Support for 21:9 ultra-wide monitors is flawless too.
Sony has added official mod support to other PlayStation PC ports like Horizon Zero Dawn, so tools will likely expand over time. It‘s so satisfying to instantly reload and jump back into the action after dying thanks to SSD speeds. No more long loading screens is a massive quality of life upgrade.
Is God of War on PC Worth It?
For Kratos diehards who‘ve already played this amazing game on PS4, I think God of War on PC is still totally worth buying again when discounted to enjoy Sony Santa Monica‘s work of art fully maxed out. The 4K60fps enhancements and visual tweaks go above and beyond. DLSS implementation is superb, giving you clean image quality along with massive frames.
If you don‘t care as much about graphics, playing God of War via PlayStation Plus streaming could be a cheaper alternative. But streaming won‘t match the fluidity and precision of having the full PC download. You may run into occasional hiccups.
For those who haven‘t experienced God of War yet, the PC version is absolutely the definitive way to play this masterpiece. $49.99 is fair value considering the length, polish and love poured into this game. Expect over 25 hours of gameplay just for the main story, not counting side quests and end game content.
God of War marries exhilarating moment-to-moment combat with a poignant story of a father and son. Shifting the focus to Norse mythology was a brilliant decision, opening the door for riveting new adventures. The dynamic between Kratos and Atreus results in both hilarious and heartbreaking moments. Their journey across the realms sustains an incredible sense of adventure from start to finish.
What Does the Future Hold for God of War?
The runaway success of God of War proves Sony‘s most epic exclusives can feel right at home on PC, potentially reaching millions of new fans. We‘ll almost certainly see the upcoming God of War Ragnarok launch on PC down the line as well.
Sony seems committed to porting more PlayStation games to PC, with recent examples like Horizon Zero Dawn, Days Gone, and the Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves collection. This is great news for PC gamers itching to play Sony‘s blockbusters without purchasing a PlayStation console.
However, they aren‘t rushing ports out the door – top quality optimization like God of War takes time. We‘ll likely have to wait a couple years post-launch for Ragnarok and other exclusives to get their chance to shine on PC. But the wait is worth it.
God of War‘s outstanding PC port should raise hopes that Bloodborne, Ghost of Tsushima, The Last of Us Part I, and other PlayStation hits will someday follow Kratos from Valhalla to Steam. But for now, God of War delivers a phenomenal, unforgettable Norse adventure that every PC gamer deserves to undertake.
So in summary friend, while not free, at $39.99 and below, God of War on PC is a worthy purchase to experience one of gaming‘s greatest modern epics on your own rig. See you in the Norse realms!
