anthony chiarello

I've wanted to write a review because I really do like this show. BUT, not without reservations. First, some parts of the show are a little annoying, and I can honestly say the entire being blind thing almost makes me laugh a little - I don't find it super compelling (like, how do they really fight without hurting their friends?! Can't they just build a second story or scaffolding and destroy their enemies - they never look up! So many issues here! And the queen - she keeps falling into winning, I hate that). But, nonetheless, I ENJOY it, and that's what it is all about. See moves at a brisk pace. There's always something happening, and that really keeps you interested. Lots of cliffhangers that you really feel invested in, too, which is the mark of an enjoyable show. Also, Momoa's character - and his acting - really hits the mark of being tough but empathetic, it's hard not to root for him (though the names? C'mon, another annoying part of the show, haha). The best thing I can say for this show is that in spite of all that it has going against it, it's still really compelling, it makes you want to watch it and it is truly enjoyable. One more thing. As I said, I don't particularly find the everyone-is-blind mechanism that is at the core of the show super compelling. But what it DOES do - and I really appreciate this - is that it allows for a somewhat epic story line with battles, espionage, behind-enemy-lines capture and rescue and (slow) travel to unfold in a believably low-tech and organic way. Without blindness, the rescues wouldn't be believable; the battles would be about bombs and guns and escaping and running away would be about cars and jets and probably wouldn't really happen at all - we just can't rescue a person from a high security military prison anymore, so no one would even write that into a contemporary story. But in this universe these things still organically exist and they're interesting.

I really don't get the over-the-top reviews. It's a really good game, yes. It's gameplay is virtually the same as the last GoW, but a lot more puzzles, a significantly less engaging story, the map is unclear, the path can be really confusing at times and I think the non-open world play feels a little dated, tbh. Last game was such a change that not being open world was fine, particularly since the axe mechanics and combat were so good. But having played through the last one it's a little weird when the GoW himself is blocked from going forward by an ankle high rock or water, and more importantly - puzzles are much more frustrating when you cannot climb anything (because it's not open world) except the one part you're supposed to climb, but you cannot find that spot unless you happen upon that small area to see the engage button prompt. Like the puzzles aren't as good because you're not thinking through the possibilities, you're thinking through the possibilities then having to see if the game actually allows that or not. It feels a little contrived and a little old (4 years since the last one) when I can pop on one of many other games that would let me climb up literally any part of the mountain you're on. All in all this is a good game. But I think it is a little worse than the last one. If you liked that last one you should like this one. But after 4 years, it could have been upgraded - a lot of really beautiful areas, it's too bad you cannot explore most of them.