God of War creator David Jaffe has shared his thoughts on the recently released Sons of Sparta, and he really doesn’t like it despite only playing for one hour.
This week’s State of Play was a big one for PlayStation in general, but it was especially memorable for anyone who has been hoping to see Kratos return. Not only did we get confirmation that the first three games in the series are getting remade, but we also got a shadow drop of the long-rumoured Metroidvania spin-off, Sons of Sparta.
Suddenly releasing a brand new God of War game was a great way to end the State of Play, and it seems like a lot of players are digging Sons of Sparta so far, even if they are having difficulty getting its co-op to work. One notable person who doesn’t like Sons of Sparta, though, is series creator David Jaffe, who recently shared a pretty scathing review.
God Of War Creator Says Sons Of Sparta “Makes No F**king Sense”
David Jaffe Really Doesn’t Care For Sons Of Sparta
Over on his YouTube channel, Jaffe shared a video on Sons of Sparta that immediately makes his thoughts clear with a thumbnail calling it “total crap”. In the video, Jaffe admits that Sons of Sparta is the kind of game that he’s “always wanted” from God of War, since he’s “super into” the idea of a 2D God of War game.
That’s about where Jaffe’s interest ends, though, as he says Sons of Sparta isn’t what he was talking about. Jaffe says that he doesn’t like the game and can’t recommend it, leaving him to question what Sony Santa Monica was thinking with the spin-off. The God of War creator’s issues don’t seem to be with the gameplay, though, as he notes that it’s “serviceable” and “fine”.
Instead, what seems to be bugging Jaffe is why Sons of Sparta even exists. Jaffe says that “this is not God of War” and asks who even wants to play as a young Kratos who is just a “generic kid”. Jaffe thinks that the team wanted to go for something like Blasphemous or recent indie games like Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound, but that Sons of Sparta’s production values just aren’t there comparatively.
Overall, it’s clear that Jaffe’s main issue with Sons of Sparta isn’t really about the game itself but what it represents for God of War and the missed opportunity to play as the Kratos everyone knows and loves. So far, it seems like a lot of players aren’t as unhappy as he is about is, but we can safely say Sons of Sparta doesn’t have the creator’s stamp of approval.
David Jaffe Doubles Down On Sons Of Sparta In Follow-Up Video
At Least He’s Played A Bit More Of It Now
Following Jaffe’s video yesterday about Sons of Sparta, the God of War creator has uploaded another video sharing his thoughts, which come from putting a few more hours into the game. Jaffe admits that he was a little “aggressive”, but that he was mostly being theatrical about it and ended up playing Sons of Sparta for three more hours.
In those three hours, though, Jaffe admits that “nothing has really changed” and that his annoyance about it all comes from his prior involvement in the series and thinking that a prequel was a bad call. Jaffe compares Sons of Sparta to the recently revealed Belmont’s Curse, which he thinks looks like a proper Metroidvania compared to a “mobile game”.
Jaffe’s video is a lot longer this time around and goes more in-depth on what he thinks are the problems with Sons of Sparta, ranging from Sony Santa Monica’s apparent “obsession” with playing as kids to the game’s combat. One thing’s for sure, though, and that’s that Jaffe isn’t changing his mind on Sons of Sparta any time soon.
God of War: Sons of Sparta

- Released
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February 12, 2026
- ESRB
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Teen / Blood, Violence
- Publisher(s)
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Sony Interactive Entertainment
- Number of Players
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1-2 players
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