God of War Reviews

Three God of War games share the series' best Metacritic score, 94: God of War (2005), God of War (2018) on PS4 and God of War Ragnarok on PS5. The lowest is God of War Sons of Sparta at 64; God of War Laufey has no reviews before its May 20, 2027 release.

The best-reviewed God of War games are tied at a Metascore of 94: God of War (2005), God of War (2018) on PS4 and God of War Ragnarok on PS5, as read on Nov 4, 2026. On OpenCritic the 2018 game leads Ragnarok, 94 to 92. Every mainline game scored 80 or more; the lowest score in the series belongs to the 2D side game God of War Sons of Sparta, 64. God of War Laufey has no reviews: it comes out on May 20, 2027, and as of Nov 4, 2026 no critic has played it, not even in a hands-on preview.

Quick facts

Highest Metascore	94: God of War (2005), God of War (2018), God of War Ragnarok
Highest OpenCritic	God of War (2018), 94
Lowest Metascore	God of War Sons of Sparta, 64
Lowest mainline game	God of War: Ascension, 80
Best on Steam	God of War (2018), 96% positive of 61,251 English reviews
God of War Laufey	No reviews, as of Nov 4, 2026

Sources: Metacritic and OpenCritic pages linked below; Steam: God of War; all read Nov 4, 2026.

God of War games ranked by Metacritic

Critic scores move a little when new reviews are added; these were read on Nov 4, 2026. Where a game has several versions, the original console version is listed.

Rank	Game	Metascore	Critic reviews	User score	OpenCritic
1	God of War (2005) (PS2)	94	75	8.8
1	God of War (2018) (PS4)	94	118	9.0	94
1	God of War Ragnarok (PS5)	94	141	8.3	92
4	God of War II (PS2)	93	70	9.1
5	God of War III (PS3)	92	101	9.0
6	Chains of Olympus (PSP)	91	79	8.3
7	Ghost of Sparta (PSP)	86	73	8.7
8	God of War: Ascension (PS3)	80	89	7.8
9	God of War Sons of Sparta (PS5)	64	82	6.0	65
	Valhalla (free epilogue)	None			88
	God of War: Betrayal (phones)	None
	God of War Laufey	Not released

Sources: Metacritic pages for God of War (2005), God of War (2018), Ragnarok, God of War II, God of War III, Chains of Olympus, Ghost of Sparta, Ascension and Sons of Sparta; OpenCritic pages for God of War (2018), Ragnarok, Valhalla and Sons of Sparta; all Nov 4, 2026.

The PC versions score a little lower: 93 for God of War (2018) from 68 reviews and 90 for Ragnarok from 41. Of the collections, the God of War Collection scored 91 on PS3 and 73 on PS Vita, the Origins Collection 84 and God of War III Remastered 81; see God of War Collections and Remasters.

What is the best God of War game?

14:07 By critics' scores it is a three-way tie at 94, and by players' scores on Metacritic it is God of War II, 9.1. OpenCritic, which counts more reviews, puts God of War (2018) on 94 with 97% of 261 critics recommending it, just ahead of Ragnarok's 92 with 96% of 251. The 2018 game also has the stronger awards record: it won Game of the Year at The Game Awards 2018, which Ragnarok did not; see God of War Awards. IGN's Ragnarok review, in the clip, says it reaches the lofty heights of its predecessor.

How the critics saw each era

The Greek games. The 2005 original launched to perfect scores from Game Informer, 1UP.com and EGM, and GameSpot called it "one of the best action adventure games on the PlayStation 2". IGN gave God of War II 9.7 and said it "may in fact be the best action game ever made". God of War III drew 101 reviews, every one positive, and IGN called it "a great end to Kratos' console trilogy".

The PSP games. Ready at Dawn's two handheld games held up: IGN gave Chains of Olympus 9.4, calling it the best-looking PSP game, and Ghost of Sparta 9.5. The phone game Betrayal has no Metascore but scored 9 from IGN: "no watered-down God of War experience."

Ascension. The 2013 prequel is the low point of the mainline series. IGN gave it 7.8 and called it "the weakest in the series", and its reviewer spent six hours straight on its Trials of Archimedes section.

5:23 The Norse games. God of War (2018) and Ragnarok are the most reviewed games in the series, and players on Steam rate them as highly as critics: 96% of 61,251 English reviews positive for God of War and 89% of 16,542 for Ragnarok, as of Nov 4, 2026. The free Valhalla epilogue scores 88 on OpenCritic, with 100% of critics recommending it. IGN's 2018 review, in the clip, calls that game a masterpiece and by far the most stirring and memorable in the series.

10:05 Sons of Sparta. The 2026 2D prequel is the only God of War game with mixed reviews: 64 on Metacritic, "Mixed or Average", and 26% of critics recommending it on OpenCritic. IGN gave it 6 ("okay") and GameSpot 5.

Has God of War Laufey been reviewed?

No. God of War Laufey is unreleased, and as of Nov 4, 2026 there have been no reviews and no hands-on previews; everything shown is the makers' own material and the roughly 20 minutes of a pre-release build at State of Play on Jun 2, 2026. Reviews usually appear shortly before launch, so expect them in the days before May 20, 2027. What has been shown is on Laufey Gameplay and Combat.

Frequently asked questions

What is God of War Ragnarok's Metacritic score? God of War Ragnarok has a Metascore of 94 on PS5 from 141 critic reviews and 90 on PC, with a user score of 8.3, as of Nov 4, 2026.

What is God of War (2018)'s Metacritic score? God of War (2018) has a Metascore of 94 on PS4 from 118 critic reviews and 93 on PC, with a user score of 9.0, as of Nov 4, 2026.

What is the highest-rated God of War game? Three God of War games share the top Metascore of 94: God of War (2005), God of War (2018) and God of War Ragnarok. On OpenCritic, God of War (2018) leads with 94.

What is the worst-rated God of War game? God of War Sons of Sparta, the 2026 2D prequel, is the lowest-rated God of War game at 64 on Metacritic. The lowest mainline game is God of War: Ascension at 80.

Is God of War Laufey getting good reviews? God of War Laufey has no reviews yet. It comes out on May 20, 2027, and as of Nov 4, 2026 no critic has published a review or hands-on preview.

Is God of War Ragnarok better than God of War (2018)? Critics rate them almost equally: both score 94 on Metacritic's console versions, and OpenCritic has God of War (2018) at 94 and God of War Ragnarok at 92 as of Nov 4, 2026.