For most first-time players unsure which difficulty to choose, start with Give Me a Balanced Experience. Choose Give Me a Story if you want less combat pressure, Give Me a Challenge if you already enjoy demanding action games, and Give Me God of War only if you want the toughest setting and are willing to keep it for the whole playthrough.
Which difficulty should I choose?
In God of War (2018), your choice comes down to how much you want combat to test you, not to whether you are playing the story “the right way.” The four settings are Give Me a Story, Give Me a Balanced Experience, Give Me a Challenge, and Give Me God of War. Contemporary coverage of the studio’s announcement describes Story as offering more leeway in fights, Balanced as a well-rounded option, Challenge as a harder choice for action-game or series veterans, and Give Me God of War as the extreme mode (Game Informer).
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| Setting | Best fit | What to expect |
|---|---|---|
| Give Me a Story | Players who mainly want to follow Kratos and Atreus’s story | Less emphasis on demanding combat; enemies and challenges give you more leeway. |
| Give Me a Balanced Experience | Players who want both combat and story, or are unsure where to start | The middle-ground choice, without a guarantee that every fight will feel easy or perfectly balanced for you. |
| Give Me a Challenge | Players familiar with action games or God of War combat | A higher-pressure experience than Balanced. |
| Give Me God of War | Players deliberately seeking the most demanding combat | Enemy behavior and combat tuning change substantially, and the mode cannot be changed mid-game. |
Is Give Me a Challenge too hard for a first playthrough?
Not necessarily. The mode is positioned for players with experience in action games or the series, rather than reserved only for people who have already completed this particular game. If you like learning enemy patterns through difficult fights and do not mind repeating encounters, it may suit you. If you would rather learn the combat at a steadier pace while keeping the story moving, Balanced is the safer starting point.
There is no need to treat the hardest setting as the canonical way to play. Story is a valid choice if lower combat pressure makes the experience more enjoyable for you.
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- Physical combat over the shoulder free camera brings the action closer than ever combat in God of war is up close frenetic and unflinching. Kratos' Axes powerful, magic and multi faceted is a brutal weapon as well as a versatile tool for exploration
- Midgard and beyond: Set within the untamed forests, mountains, and realms of Norse lore, God of war features a distinctly new setting with its own pantheon of creatures, monsters, and gods
- Vicious, physical combat with an over the shoulder free camera that brings the player closer to the action than ever before
What changes on Give Me God of War?
Santa Monica Studio senior combat tech-designer Mihir Sheth describes Give Me God of War as the game’s hardest mode and says its purpose is to test mastery of Kratos and Atreus’s combat tools: “Give Me God of War is meant to test mastery of all the combat mechanics and tools available to Kratos and Atreus.” It is more than a health adjustment. According to Sheth, enemies gain power, deal more damage, resist damage and stun more effectively, and are less susceptible to hit reactions. They can counter quickly, and some can turn Elite, becoming stronger and more aggressive and gaining new attacks. Ailments on Kratos become more potent and last longer; melee targeting assistance is reduced, and Rage and passive bonuses build more slowly (PlayStation Blog).
Sheth recommends completing the main story at least once on Give Me a Balanced Experience or Give Me a Challenge before attempting this mode, so you can learn the combat systems. That is developer advice, not a requirement.
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- Living as a man outside the shadow of the gods - Kratos, together with his son Atreus, must venture into the brutal Norse wilds and fight to fulfil a deeply personal quest.
- Discover an emotionally gripping tale of father and son.
- Journey to a dark, elemental world of fearsome creatures.
- Conquer your foes in vicious close-quarters combat.
Developer tips for the hardest mode
- Keep the camera on as many enemies as possible in crowded fights.
- When preserving a light-attack combo matters, dodge sideways: rolling resets the combo.
- Use Atreus’s arrows and precise axe throws to interrupt enemies before they turn Elite.
- Afflictions on enemies can create openings.
These are Sheth’s combat recommendations. They are especially relevant when fights become crowded or enemies are close to turning Elite.
Can I change difficulty later?
The key exception is Give Me God of War: the game warns that it cannot be changed mid-game. Choose it only if you are comfortable committing to that difficulty. The other three settings are not described as having the same lock-in in the cited developer guidance, so do not assume that the hardest-mode restriction applies to every option.
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- Disc only. Original case and manual not included. Will come packaged in a generic case.
- A New Beginning: His vengeance against the gods of Olympus far behind him, Kratos now lives as a man in the lands of Norse Gods and monsters. It is in this harsh, unforgiving world that he must fight to survive and teach his son to do the same
- Second Chances: As mentor and protector to a son determined to earn his respect, Kratos is faced with an unexpected opportunity to master the rage that has long defined him. Questioning the dark lineage he’s passed on to his son, he hopes to make amends for the shortcomings of his past;Number of Players: 1 player; ESRB Content: Blood and gore|Intense violence|Strong language; Genre: Action / Adventure
- Midgard and Beyond: Set within the untamed forests, mountains, and realms of Norse lore, God of War features a distinctly new setting with its own pantheon of creatures, monsters, and gods
- Vicious, Physical Combat, With an intimate, over the shoulder free camera that brings the action closer than ever, combat in God of War is up close, frenetic, and unflinching. Kratos’ axe: powerful, magic and multi faceted is a brutal weapon as well as a versatile tool for exploration
Are the Valkyries a reason to choose a harder setting?
Not by themselves. The optional Valkyries are end-game combat tests designed around recognizing attacks and choosing the right response, according to Denny Yeh, a senior staff combat designer at Santa Monica Studio. Yeh gives a specific example from Give Me God of War: arrows do not knock one particular Valkyrie down, while the slower, riskier axe throw can. That example concerns that enemy and should not be generalized to every fight (PlayStation Blog). You can decide the base-game difficulty around the experience you want rather than treating optional end-game challenges as a reason everyone must choose a higher setting.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Do not confuse the 2018 settings with Ragnarök’s
This article concerns God of War (2018), whose four exact labels are Give Me a Story, Give Me a Balanced Experience, Give Me a Challenge, and Give Me God of War. God of War Ragnarök uses a different five-option menu: Story, Grace, Balance, No Mercy, and God of War. PlayStation says the additional level was added to offer more flexibility (PlayStation accessibility features). The sequel’s names and menu count do not apply to the 2018 game.
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- Physical combat over the shoulder free camera brings the action closer than ever combat in God of war is up close frenetic and unflinching. Kratos' Axes powerful, magic and multi faceted is a brutal weapon as well as a versatile tool for exploration
- Midgard and beyond: Set within the untamed forests, mountains, and realms of Norse lore, God of war features a distinctly new setting with its own pantheon of creatures, monsters, and gods
- Vicious, physical combat with an over the shoulder free camera that brings the player closer to the action than ever before
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