Let's talk games like God of War. If you've decided to wait for God of War Ragnarok – or simply don't have the right platform to play one of the best PS5 games – then we've got 10 great alternatives for you here. We've looked at some of the best action games here which can offer similarly weighty combat, great storytelling, or beautiful worlds to explore. So keep on reading to the find the best games like God of War that you really should play today.
Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice
Developer: Ninja Theory
Platform(s): PC, PS4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Nintendo Switch
If you really want to continue your Norse Mythology journey, I’d recommend picking up Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice straight after finishing God of War. The game is set in Helheim, and features various big Norse names that you’ll recognise after your time with Kratos and Atreus, with your old pal Druth telling Norse tales that include the likes of Baldur and co. From the moment the game starts, I felt incredibly at home in Senua’s Norse world, and the combat is the same kind of strafe and smash that you’ll know from God of War too. But where Hellblade really excels is in its story and the way it deals with mental illness and Senua’s anguish. Oh, and the game is so beautiful you’ll think Senua is a real person and be hitting that Photo Mode button as regularly as you did in God of War.
Elden Ring
Developer: FromSoftware
Platform(s): PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X
Elden Ring might be one of the newer entries on this list, but it's also one of the best. By taking the tried and tested FromSoftware action-RPG formula (see Dark Souls elsewhere on this list), and dropping it into a sprawling open-world that's brimming with baddies, NPCs and open-ended quests, Elden Ring is a monster of a game that begs to be explored. With Norse themes and often rock-solid combat, graduates of God of War would do well to conquer this next.
DmC: Devil May Cry - Definitive Edition
Developer: Ninja Theory
Platform(s): PC, PS4, Xbox One
Dmc: Devil May Cry is the game to go to next if you love God of War’s combat. It’s actually made by the same people as Hellblade, Ninja Theory, but several years earlier. This time the studio took all its inspiration from the Japanese-made Capcom Devil May Cry games, and made its combat just as slick. It’s one of the greatest hack-and-slash games on PS3 and Xbox 360, but thanks to the DmC: Devil May Cry Definitive Edition re-release for PS4 and Xbox One, you can now experience it’s gloriousness in full HD, just as the devil intended.
Bayonetta
Developer: PlatinumGames
Platform(s): PC, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
If you were looking for the king of hack-and-slash combat, it’s easily Platinum Games. Being headed up by original Devil May Cry development staff, the Japanese developer has got that stuff down to an art form, and its best example lies in the original Bayonetta. The best news? You can now play it in glorious 60fps and full HD visuals on PC, and the slightly downgraded 720p on Switch, but still with the same buttery smooth framerate. Bayonetta’s gothic aesthetic has never looked so good, or played so well. Why wouldn’t you want to experience Bayonetta’s hair summoning demons and check out her stiletto-guns in glorious HD, or simply just shoot enough angels in the face to make Atreus blush?
Rise of the Tomb Raider
Developer: Crystal Dynamics
Platform(s): PC, PS4, Xbox One
Okay, okay, so Rise of the Tomb Raider doesn’t quite have the combat or Norse Mythology of God of War, but there are some definite similarities between the two games that lets it into this list of games like God of War. It’s more about the traversal, the mysterious objects, and the puzzle solving that makes Rise of the Tomb Raider feel a lot like God of War. Both games also have fairly linear structures, broken up by explorable hub worlds that evolve according to the weapons (or powers) you gain as the story progresses. If you want to get even specific, you could draw comparisons between Atreus’ and Lara’s daddy issues for some serious psychology gubbins. Not quite as worlds apart as you thought, eh?
For Honor
Developer: Ubisoft Montreal
Available on: PC, PS4, Xbox One
If you stripped Atreus out of God of War, added a bit more history and less mythology, then you’d basically get For Honor. Ubisoft’s third-person brawler can regularly feel a lot like God of War, except it’s pitting samurai against vikings against medieval knights. What it does do though, is put an emphasis on detailed fighting mechanics, especially precision sword skills, making Kratos’ combos feel almost feeble in comparison. As much as For Honor might sound like some kind of historical Tekken, it’s actually got a rather good story mode too, that lets you play as various characters from all three factions.
Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End
Developer: Naughty Dog
Platform(s): PC, PS4, PS5
All that climbing, traversal and occasional sass in God of War reminded me only of one thing: Uncharted. Specifically Uncharted 4, with Nathan Drake rocking the slightly older look, getting a little weary of all the adventuring and almost just wanting the simple life - pretty much exactly what Kratos had before Faye died and got him to chop down the specific trees that would reveal him and Atreus to the world… Yes, Drake and Sully aren’t quite the same as Kratos and Atreus, and Drake hasn’t got a magical axe at his disposal, but there’s so many similarities in the way you move around the world that it’s worth giving one of the best Uncharted games a try in the wake of post-God of War misery, if you haven’t already.
Dark Souls: Remastered
Developer: FromSoftware
Platform(s): PC, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
You knew this was coming, didn’t you? Even within just a few hours into playing God of War, there are distinct similarities between From Software’s Dark Souls. We know, we know. Comparing games to Dark Souls is basically a horrible cliche nowadays, but God of War manages to mirror Dark Souls in ways that few other games can. From the way it creates a semi-linear open-world with numerous small, off-path treasure tracks, to the use of warp gates like bonfires, even to the way it ‘heavily encourages’ you down certain paths by blocking the way with too-high level enemies. And that’s even before you start looking at God of War’s combat, which channels that roll and smash functionality, especially at the start.
The Last of Us: Remastered
Developer: Naughty Dog
Platform(s): PS4
Where else have we seen an ageing, weary protagonist full of regret on a journey of potential redemption where he meets a child that helps him along the way? Ah yes, The Last of Us. Joel and Ellie’s journey mirrors Kratos and Atreus in so many ways, aside from the whole zombie apocalypse, infection thing. But it’s not just the story though, The Last of Us’ penchant for brutal and chaotic combat is very much in God of War’s wheelhouse, although Naughty Dog’s focus on stealth and crafting regularly takes The Last of Us’ combat down a very different path to Kratos’ direct approach. But if you’re wanting something that portrays the same kind of development, fatherly, character arc and a child who wanders the line between adorable and petulant, you won’t get much better than The Last of Us.
The Last of Us 2
Developer: Naughty Dog
Platform(s): PS4, PS5
Actually, what might be better than The Last of Us is, you guessed it, The Last of US 2. The first Joel and Ellie venture is an unquestionable masterpiece, however its sequel, 2020's The Last of Us 2 is one of the best video games in existence. By streamlining and building on everything the first game did well, stripping back everything it didn't, and pushing its narrative in a more sophisticated, and, somehow, even more emotive direction, Naughty Dog made the best even better. A must play no matter what your interests are in video game terms.
If none of these games like God of War are what you're after, why not take a look at our ranking of the best action games.
