God of War vs God of War: Ascension
God of War is an action-adventure action-RPG game from Santa Monica Studio (2005) while God of War: Ascension is a game from Santa Monica Studio (2013).
Quick answer: God of War has the higher Metacritic, 93 to 80.
God of War: Ascension
What each one is
God of War is filed under Action-Adventure and Action-RPG. In contrast, God of War: Ascension under .
His vengeance against the Gods of Olympus years behind him, Kratos now lives as a man in the realm of Norse Gods and monsters. It is in this harsh, unforgiving world that he must fight to survive… and teach his son to do the same.
God of War: Ascension is a 2013 action-adventure game developed by Santa Monica Studio and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 3. Released in March 2013, it is the seventh installment in the God of War series and the second chronologically. Loosely based on Greek mythology, it is set in ancient Greece with vengeance as its central motif. The player controls the protagonist, Kratos, the former servant of the God of War Ares, who tricked Kratos into killing his own wife and daughter. In response to this tragedy, Kratos renounced Ares, breaking his blood oath to the god. Kratos was, therefore, imprisoned and tortured by the three Furies, guardians of honor and enforcers of punishment. Helped by the oath keeper, Orkos, Kratos escapes his imprisonment and confronts the Furies, aiming to free himself of his bond to Ares.
Story, characters and reception
No Wikipedia detail on file.
Plot
Setting As with previous games, God of War: Ascension is set in an alternate version of ancient Greece populated by the Olympian gods , Titans , and other beings from Greek mythology. Game events are set sometime between Sons of Sparta (2026) and Chains of Olympus (2008), taking place six months after Kratos killed his family—10 years before the original God of War (2005). The game's narrative takes place over four weeks; it shifts between the present… (Wikipedia)
Characters
Main article: Characters of God of War The game's protagonist is Kratos (voiced by Terrence C. Carson ), a Spartan warrior who broke his blood oath to the god Ares after being tricked into killing his family by his former master. The main antagonists are the three Furies : Megaera ( Nika Futterman ), Tisiphone ( Debi Mae West ), and the Fury Queen, Alecto ( Jennifer Hale ). (Wikipedia)
Reception
Reception Critical reception God of War: Ascension received "generally favorable" reviews from critics, according to review aggregator website Metacritic . Critics praised the fundamental gameplay and spectacle, but were critical of the lack of new ideas and gave a mixed response to the additional multiplayer mode. Alex Simmons of IGN said the redesigned combat system adds a source of depth: "Learning how to use each power effectively ... (Wikipedia)
At a glance
| God of War | God of War: Ascension | |
|---|---|---|
| GamingPickz Score | 8.6/10 | — |
| Steam rating | Overwhelmingly Positive (96%, 184,172) | — |
| Critic aggregate | 93/100 | 80/100 |
| Price | $49.99 | Unknown |
| Install size | 70 GB | — |
| Steam Deck | verified | Untested |
| Released | 2005 | 2013 |
| Developer | Santa Monica Studio | Santa Monica Studio |
Prices and Steam ratings are read live and move over time.
God of War vs God of War: Ascension, point by point
Each facet side by side. A round is marked won only where a figure settles it; feel and "which is better" carry no mark, because no number we hold decides them.
Genre and premise
God of WarAction-adventure action-RPG gameGod of War: AscensionGameWhat each is filed as. Each game describes itself in full above; we do not judge a premise.
How it plays
God of WarAction, Story Rich, MythologyGod of War: AscensionNo descriptive tagsThe tags players apply most, in order of votes. A read on feel, not a verdict.
Reception
God of War ✓Metacritic 93God of War: AscensionMetacritic 80Metacritic's critic aggregate, from the game's Wikipedia reception where it was never on Steam.
Content and scale
God of War184,172 reviews · 70 GBGod of War: Ascension—Reach and footprint, not quality: more reviews or a bigger install is not a better game.
Price
God of War$49.99God of War: AscensionUnknownRead live from Steam and subject to change.
God of War takes 1 of the marked rounds to 0. That is only what a number can decide, not which you will enjoy more.
Which to pick, by what you want
- The better reviewed of the two: God of War (Metacritic 93)
Where they differ
ActionSingleplayerStory RichMythologyAdventureCombat
Tags players apply to one game and not the other.
Difficulty and who each is for
By the tags players apply, God of War is demanding, for players who want a challenge. God of War: Ascension is middle-of-the-road on difficulty.
System requirements, side by side
| God of War | God of War: Ascension | |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum GPU | NVIDIA GTX 960 (4 GB) | — |
| Minimum CPU | Intel i5-2500k (4 core 3.3 GHz) | — |
| Minimum RAM | 8 GB | — |
| Install size | 70 GB | — |
Can your PC run them? Check each against your own kit: God of War · God of War: Ascension.
Accessibility features
Steam store pages declare 12 accessibility features for God of War and 0 for God of War: Ascension. A declaration is a floor, not a review.
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Common questions
How different are God of War and God of War: Ascension in scope?
God of War has drawn 184,172 Steam reviews and installs in 70 GB. God of War: Ascension lists little scope data.
Is God of War or God of War: Ascension better?
Neither carries enough reviews for us to score it reliably, so we do not call a winner. The table above shows what each does have.
Which is cheaper, God of War or God of War: Ascension?
One or both do not have a current listed price, so a straight comparison is not possible. See the table above.
Should I get God of War or God of War: Ascension?
God of War has the higher Metacritic, 93 to 80. It also depends on what you want: the "which to pick" section above calls out which is cheaper, lighter on storage, better on a Steam Deck and the safer bet by weight of reviews.
Do you rank one above the other for a fee?
No. Neither game, nor anyone else, pays for placement or a verdict here. The order and every figure come out of the same public data the rest of the site uses.
Related comparisons
All comparisonsHow we compare, and what we will not do
The GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment (adjusted for sample size), the critic aggregate and popularity, computed by the same code every ranked list on this site uses. The Steam rating label is Valve's own, reconstructed from the positive percentage and review count. Prices are read live. We do not write an opinion of which game is "better": we report the numbers and say which wins each measurable question above.