Is God of War Ascension worth playing in 2025?

God of War Ascension was released on the PlayStation 3 as one of the last exclusives for the console. The game was a prequel to the franchise, telling the story of Kratos and how he was able to liberate himself from the bond with Ares. The title looked amazing on the PlayStation 3 but was plagued with a ton of performance issues, such as flickering textures and unstable frame rates.

The game launched over a decade ago and wasn't appreciated by longtime fans of the franchise. However, it is very much possible that people have changed their opinions.

This article will take a closer look at God of War Ascension to see if it is worth playing in 2025.

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A unique look at Kratos’ past

Ascension feels like a side story (Image via Santa Monica Studio)

The story of God of War Ascension takes place before he becomes the Ghost of Sparta. After breaking his oath and getting betrayed by Ares, he is captured and tortured by the Furies. He manages to escape and fights them off across various Greek mythological locations while uncovering illusions and memories of his past.

Kratos is aided in his journey by Orkos, a former oath-keeper who helps him defeat the Furies. He also destroys Kratos' bond to Ares, which starts his journey of getting revenge on the God of War in the mainline games. Ascension tries to show a more human side of Kratos but fails to make an impact because the narrative feels more like side content than a crucial entry in the franchise.

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Combat: More of the same, but smoother

The combat doesn't feel exciting anymore (Image via Santa Monica Studio)

The Greek God of War games have always had the same combat system, with very few changes to keep things fresh. However, the formula finally feels like it has run its course in Ascension, as the combat feels basic and similar to the previous games. There is very little here to be impressed by, as there is only a big addition of elemental powers for the blades, which feel generic.

There is also an issue of unbalanced difficulty spikes that can ruin the experience, making some enemy encounters drag for longer than they need to. The platforming and puzzles, on the other hand, feel much more refined and easy to navigate, making the gameplay less frustrating while innovating very little.

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God of War Ascension performance and visuals

The game is riddled with performance issues (Image via Santa Monica Studio)

One of the biggest drawbacks of God of War Ascension is its performance, as it suffers from horrible framerate drops that can ruin the experience. The gameplay almost never maintains a solid 30 FPS, which even finds its way into the cinematics that feel like they are running in slow motion. The visuals, on the other hand, look great for their time, squeezing all the power out of the PlayStation 3.

The game runs at 720p resolution, which might have been okay at the time but doesn't hold up by the standards of today. Unfortunately, Ascension was never ported or remastered for future Sony consoles. This means that the game is stuck on the PlayStation 3 with horrible performance issues that can ruin the overall experience.

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Is it worth playing in 2025?

Ascension is not worth playing in 2025 (Image via Santa Monica Studio)

God of War Ascension is not worth playing in 2025. The narrative here feels like side content instead of a memorable adventure that every fan of the franchise should know about. The visuals and performance here also feel outdated compared to modern standards, combined with the fact that the game suffers from terrible framerate issues.

The gameplay here, while being the smoothest in the series, feels like a repetition of what already existed, making the title feel low-effort and boring. It is also difficult to access Ascension since it is a PlayStation 3 exclusive, which was never ported or remastered for any other Sony console. Getting the system to play this game is not worth it, as it doesn't contribute any meaningful content to the series.