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God of War Sons of Sparta Is the Lowest-Rated Game in the Franchise

God of War: Sons of Sparta has landed on Metacritic with a score of 66, making it the lowest-rated entry in the entire God of War series.


The 2D Metroidvania title was shadowdropped during a recent PlayStation State of Play event, catching many fans off guard. It explores Kratos during his brutal training in the Agoge, following a young version of the Ghost of Sparta as he trains alongside his brother Deimos.


God of War: Sons of Sparta.
Image via PS5

How It Compares to the Rest of the Franchise

According to Metacritic, here is how every mainline God of War title ranks by score:

  • God of War (2018) - 94

  • God of War: Ragnarok - 94

  • God of War (2005) - 94

  • God of War II - 93

  • God of War III - 92

  • God of War: Chains of Olympus - 91

  • God of War: Ghost of Sparta - 86

  • God of War: Ascension - 80

  • God of War: Sons of Sparta - 66


Both the 2018 reboot and Ragnarok sit comfortably at the top with a 94. Every game from the original Greek trilogy scores above 90. Even the PSP titles, Ghost of Sparta and Chains of Olympus, managed to pull in scores well above what Sons of Sparta has achieved.


Before this release, God of War: Ascension held the title of the lowest-rated entry with an 80. Sons of Sparta falls significantly below that. The user review score currently sits at a 6.4, which further reflects a mixed reception from the player base.


What Critics Are Saying

The critical response has been all over the place. Some outlets found genuine merit in the game's design and combat, while others felt it failed to justify its existence within both the God of War universe and the Metroidvania genre as a whole.


On the more positive end, GamingBolt gave the game a 9, stating: "Sons of Sparta delivers tight platforming and genuinely satisfying combat." CGMagazine and PlayStation Universe both landed at 7.5. PlayStation Universe noted that "though the tonal shift might be too much for some longer term God of War vets and it really doesn't achieve anything fresh or new in the Metroidvania space, Sons of Sparta nevertheless stands as proof that AAA developers like Sony Santa Monica should continue to let talented indie devs play in their sandbox because despite such flawed, the results are still more than worthwhile."


Both XboxEra and Push Square scored it a 7. XboxEra pointed out that "God of War Sons of Sparta has a weak start, solid middle, and strong ending. If you can get through a tedious first few hours you will eventually be rewarded with solid combat and an emotional story." Push Square echoed a similar sentiment, calling it "a fun spin-off" that takes "too long to really come into its own."


Things get a little rougher from there. GamesRadar+ and IGN both gave it a 6. According to IGN, "Sons of Sparta does a lot of good PR for Kratos' early Greek life, filling in the blanks of he and his brother's early life in a sort of Young Adult coming-of-age story set in a military highschool. The fresh breeze it gives to the would-be God of War is more of a humid fog when it comes to the actual 20 hour game you have to play in between all of the fun character work."


At the lower end, Game Rant awarded it a 5, saying: "God of War Sons of Sparta is an okay prequel, the problem is that it feels like it was released before the original 2005 game, not just taking place before it. Its safe approach feels like a game made generations ago, not one released in 2026, and makes it a chapter in Kratos' life that is forgettable."

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