The Art of God of War

This art book is absolutely stunning. The level of detail, concept sketches, and behind-the-scenes insights perfectly capture the soul of God of War (2018). Every page feels like a journey through the Nine Realms. The quality of the print and artwork is top-notch — a true treasure for fans and collectors alike.

As a fan of art books for the games that I love or anticipate to be monumental upon their release, I pre-ordered this book as soon as I noticed it was available. I rarely do that on account of the increased price at face value upon release date, but I knew that this game was going to produce some of the most gorgeous, awe-inspiring art pieces in recent memory for the genre. The Art of God of War does not disappoint. The book clocks in at over 220 pages of concept art, models, environments, pre-production, and post-production items. Full page spreads adorn some of the more impressive vistas or artistic representations of action scenes that exhibit the tone that Cory Barlog was desperately searching for words to explain. If the phrase "a picture is worth a thousand words" then, indeed, these images speak volumes. What makes the book most impressive is how it is organized. The book is well written and recounts the expedition from the small "what if" that sparked back in 2013. It starts with a well-written foreword by Cory Barlog and introduction by Evan Shamoon. These paragraphs set the stage for the journey you are about to take through the book, strapping you in snugly before the fantastic and thrilling ride of game development. Part One is "Pre-Production," compiling everything that went into taking an idea and a re-imagining and putting thoughts and dreams to paper. Part Two is titled "First Playable," an interesting chapter regarding the not-often-witnessed pain-staking process of putting together pre-production materials into what was revealed at the infamous opening ceremony to the 2016 E3 PlayStation Conference - the moment that shocked audiences world-wide as Cory performed a hands-on "first playable" demonstration of God of War backed by a full symphony orchestra and choir. [Note: if you haven't seen this for yourself, be sure to YouTube the 2016 E3 PlayStation Conference to witness God of War's epic reveal.. something that I doubt will ever be replicated.] Part Three is "Opening Up The World," showcasing the real meat of putting rubber to asphalt and building upon the first-playable demo, expanding into each segmented part of the story and open-world aspects of the game. Finally, Part Four is titled "Production," and it is the equivalent to cinematic post-processing, editing, cutting floor, and polishing of Hollywood blockbusters. In this finale, you really see the shine finally come through on the finished masterpiece that Cory and his team at Santa Monica gave rise to, five years in the making. I could not recommend this book more to newcomers and beloved fans of the God of War franchise and legacy. Critics and fans have agreed that this game is a love letter to everything that makes video gaming near and dear to our hearts. It has redefined what it means to enjoy video games. It is powerful. It is smart. It is funny. It is heartbreaking. And this book by Dark Horse has overcome the immense obstacle of setting itself apart from its contenders in the same manner as the source material it depicts. 5 Stars.

Bought this for my boyfriend a few years ago along with the ragnarok book and he still loves it! We both love god of war and he loves collecting art books so this was the perfect buy for him. Absolutely beautiful book.

The book is mesmerizing and FULL of concept art!! I wasn't disappointed. I must say that i really recommend buying it. It's so pretty. + it arrived early plastic sealed, good quality amd no damage👏 👌 i recommend buying both books ( GOW + GOW ragnarok).

The game itself is fantastic, one of the most beautiful games yet to be produced in my opinion (more amazing graphically than even Horizon Zero Dawn on a PS4 Pro which is saying something) and that’s what this book focuses on - the stellar visual design. If you’re a fan of the game, this book touches on the production itself, inspirations, and insights on various character and level designs. Norse mythology is not as well documented as for example Greek or Roman as used for inspiration in previous games in the series, and the book talks about the challenges of starting with very little in terms of source materials which was interesting considering how well it turned out. I have several other The Art of... books both from Dark Horse as this one is and others, and I have to say both in quality of production of the book itself and the content, this is far better than any others. It’s reference-quality cover to cover, you could pretty much blow up every page and frame it. Kudos to the team who worked over five years to bring this game to life, that it was a labor of love shows in this book and in the game itself. All the superlatives - game rocks, book rocks, pick it up and look at all the pretty pictures already!

It’s was one of the biggest game to come out last year, and it’s exceeding all expectations. Santa Monica Studio brought back Kratos in a brand new God of War game for the PlayStation 4. With this art book from Dark Horse, we get to see the detail and beauty that went into making this modern-day epic. When it comes to the production art of video games, I am a massive fan. I would buy the strategy guides just for glimpses at the artwork. Now, with this awesome book, you can enjoy pre-production artwork and notes, a look at the world created for this game, as well as the actual production of the series. From character designs, sketches, storyboards and more, we get a first-hand look at this amazing game. Set in a pre-Viking world deep in Norse mythology, it is a big departure from the previous titles, yet retains the core of the game nicely. Kratos has changed to match the new world he lives in, now with his son as a sidekick. We get detailed looks at our two heroes, the enemies they encounter, and the environment, which feels like a character in itself. I have gone through these pages over and over, and I still can’t get enough of this book. The Art of God of War should be a must buy for any fan of the series. Dark Horse knocks it out of the park with this one. Available digitally as well as a beautiful, hefty hardcover, I can’t recommend this book enough.

Il libro è bellissimo, perché mostra tutti i concept art che sono stati realizzati nel gioco,li suddivide in vari capitoli che sono raggruppati in quattro parti e dà un senso di coordinazione e organizzazione dei vari concept art realizzati.

Me gusta coleccionar libros de arte generalmente de videojuegos, y normalmente estoy pendiente de que Amazon ponga alguna oferta para hacerme con ellos, tengo que decir que este libro al precio de 20 euros es casi una compra obligada. El libro contiene casi 220 páginas de arte conceptual, entornos, modelos, preproducción y postproducción. Me llama mucho la atención como están organizados los capítulos del libro. El libro está bien escrito (En inglés, no se ha traducido). Comienza con un prólogo de Cory Barlog y una introducción de Evan Shamoon a modo de toma de contacto, y preparan al lector ante el camino que va a recorrer a través del libro. - El primer capítulo es "Pre-producción" (Pre-Production), que recopila y muestra parte del material que se utilizó a modo de ideas para el desarrollo del juego. - El segundo capítulo se titula "First Playable", es un capítulo interesante que trata sobre la dificultad de reunir el material de pre-producción, es decir, lo que se reveló en la ceremonia de inauguración de la Conferencia de PlayStation E3 de 2016: que fue cuando se hizo una demostración práctica por primera vez de God of War acompañada de una orquesta sinfónica y un coro. - El tercer capítulo es "Abriendo el mundo (Opening Up The World), en el cual se recrea en cada parte de la historia y algunos aspectos del mundo abierto del juego. - Y por último el cuarto capítulo se titula "Producción"(Production). En este último capítulo, es cuando realmente se aprecia el resultado de la obra con ilustraciones finales que se ven en el juego. Lo dicho, un libro de arte que que la relación calidad-precio es estupenda, en el que disfrutará de las ilustraciones, tanto si te gusta God of War como si no. Por poner una pega, las dimensiones del libro son un poco mas grandes de lo habitual, y puedes tener problemas para que te encaje en la estantería y también se echan en falta más ilustraciones a lo largo de sus páginas.

El libro de arte es sencillamente hermoso, el poder tener en tus manos esas obras de arte que se generan para la producción de un juego y en este caso para God of War, el libro tiene un orden cronológico, en el cual se van mostrando y narrando del porque de esa pieza de arte, y como esta ayudo a definir y darle forma a uno de los mejores juegos del 2018. El libro es de pasta dura, de una calidad formidable, y el detalle del símbolo omega en rojo con relieve es algo muy padre. Sin duda no puede faltar en tu colección, tanto si eres fan del juego, como coleccionista de libros de arte.

Edição muito bem feita, não encontrei defeito algum. É maior e um pouco mais grosso do que eu esperava, o que é ótimo. Tem capa dura e as páginas no interior tem boa espessura. Muito interessante os comentários do diretor e artistas envolvidos (inclusive o brasileiro Rafael Grassetti) desde a pré-produção até o produto final, mostrando protótipos em argila, rascunhos, muitas artes conceituais e afins. Valeu cada centavo, uma ótima opção para quem adorou o jogo (não apenas o visual).

its worth it