God of War: Ascension

God of War: Ascension is a 2013 action-adventure developed by Santa Monica Studio and published by Sony Computer Entertainment exclusively for the PlayStation 3. A prequel to the entire God of War saga, it is set before the original game and depicts the Spartan warrior Kratos, in the wake of being tricked into murdering his own family, breaking free of his blood oath to the god of war Ares, an act that brings the wrath of the Furies down upon him. The game retains the series' hallmark blend of brutal, combo-driven combat with the Blades of Chaos, environmental puzzle-solving, platforming and spectacular set pieces against towering mythological foes, refined with new weapon-element and rage mechanics. Most notably, Ascension was the first God of War to feature competitive online multiplayer, in which players created their own warriors aligned to Greek gods and battled in team-based arenas, an ambitious addition for the franchise. Critically the game was well received for its production values, combat and presentation, though some reviewers felt it added little new to a familiar formula and found the multiplayer a peripheral novelty. It served as the final God of War of the PlayStation 3 era before the series' acclaimed 2018 Norse reinvention.