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David Jaffe, the creator of the original God of War, has publicly criticized the newly released 2D spin-off God of War Sons of Sparta, and he’s not holding back.
The game was announced as a surprise shadow drop during the February State of Play. Developed by Mega Cat Studios in partnership with Santa Monica Studio, Sons of Sparta is a retro-style 2D action game that follows a young Kratos during his training at the Agoge alongside his brother Deimos. Santa Monica Studio describes it as a canon story set during that period of Kratos’ life.
Jaffe bought the game himself and shared his thoughts in a nine-minute YouTube video, opening with a pretty clear verdict: “I bought this game. It’s a $30 game. I don’t like it. I don’t recommend it.”
His main issue wasn’t just the gameplay — it was the direction the team chose to take with the story and tone. After about an hour of play, Jaffe felt the game leaned too heavily on dialogue at the expense of fun. “It’s like they just kept stopping over and over and having the characters just talk and talk and talk,” he said, also noting that he found the voice acting lacking.
He argued that the bigger mistake was setting the game around a young, unfamiliar version of Kratos rather than the character fans already know and love. “Let’s make him just some generic kid like we’re watching a WB Kids TV show or something,” he said sarcastically. “It makes no sense.”
For Jaffe, the core problem comes down to not honoring what makes the God of War brand special. “It’s like you get the John Wick license and you make a movie just about him sitting in a coffee shop and talking,” he said.
