- Developer: Mega Cat Studios & Santa Monica Studio
- Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment
- Release Date: February 12, 2026 (Shadow-dropped)
- Platform: PlayStation 5
- Genre: 2D Action-Platformer / Metroidvania
- Premise: A prequel set during Kratos and Deimos’s training in the Spartan Agoge.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Overall I enjoyed it
- Completed 90% of the story
- Music was excellent
- Got tired searching for Vasilis
- Deimos opposite to Kratos
- Kratos is Kratos
- Did not like the visual art style
- metroidvania was good
- challenging bosses
- 29.99 price tag
- Played on Playstation 5 vanilla
- Backtracking was meh
- You do get fast travel near end of campaign
- Challenges were challenging
- 10 plus hour beeline campaign
- TC Carson is back!
- Enjoyed Kratos interacting with Calliope
Introduction
I consider myself an authority of sorts on God of War. I made thousands of God of War gameplay videos for my youtube channel. I beaten every cannon God of War game except Sons of Sparta (watched the ending on YT).
God of War Sons of Sparta was shadow dropped on me like a ninja dropkick this past February 12, 2026. I immediately hated the artstyle when it was revealed but decided to throw down my 29.99 because it was cannon God of War and wanted to see what young Kratos was like growing up with Deimos.
Presentation
So God of War Sons of Sparta went full 2D metroidvania which was a surprise for me yet didn’t bother me at the same time. I played metroidvanias growing up. They are essentially what made me a gamer in the 80’s.
As a whole I would say minus the pixel art visuals Sons of Sparta has an overall good presentation especially in regards to it music and it’s metroidvania level design gameplay elements regarding Kratos and Deimos.
Story
God of War Sons of Sparta is the earliest cannon God of War video game which takes place during Kratos and Deimos Spartan Agoge training days. Very important is that this story is told by Kratos via TC Carson to Calliope under a tree during the “present” tense which adds great exposition to the entire story.
Story mostly revolves around Kratos and Deimos trying to find their missing spartan in training friend Vasilis. Along the way Kratos and Deimos talk, argue learn from each other and ultimately grow as brothers. Vasilis is found dead at the end of the story but fought bravely.
Gameplay
Pixelated 2D metroidvania is what God of war Sons of Sparta is ultimately and it pulls it off fine. You trek through diverse areas figuring out puzzles and defeating challenging bosses. You periodically return to Sparta for Konstantinos to upgrade the bust which is like Samus’ suit upgrades to unlock new areas.
A few times I did get tired of backtracking which was cut short by the ability via Temple fast travels and later on the Griffin camp fast travel abilities. I admit there were times where I just didn’t know where to go next in this video game.
Visuals
This was the one thing I really never got around to appreciating. The art style. It would have been much better in my opinion if they made the art style like that recent Prince of Persia 2D game that came out a few years ago.
Sound
Bear McCreary composed the original soundtrack for God of War: Sons of Sparta and did a bang up job. I really vibe with it’s retro infused new age God of War soundtrack and would say it is the best of Sons of Sparta had to offer.
| The Good (Spartan Glory) | The Bad (Hades’ Grime) |
| Exceptional Soundtrack: Bear McCreary’s score perfectly blends Greek epic with retro chiptune. | Lackluster Visuals: The character sprites often look muddy and lack the polish of modern pixel-art titans. |
| Satisfying Metroidvania Loop: The “Gifts of Olympus” make backtracking and world-opening feel meaningful. | Slow Start: The first few hours of the Agoge training can feel restrictive for those used to Kratos’ full power. |
| Veteran Voice Cast: Hearing T.C. Carson narrate as adult Kratos while Antony Del Rio returns as young Kratos is a dream for fans. | Clunky Animations: Some combat transitions feel “weightless” compared to the brutal impact of previous entries. |
| Challenging Boss Fights: The boss encounters are the game’s highlights, offering a genuine difficulty spike. | Visual Readability: In busier fights, Kratos can get lost in the “mass of pixels,” making parrying harder than it should be. |
God of War Sons of Sparta: It's a really good metroidvania with a art style I could never vibe with. Great music, challenging bosses and decent exposition between Kratos and Deimos. – Jason
