Book Review - God of War: 20th Anniversary Retrospective
- The Artbook Collector
- 13 hours ago
- 7 min read
July 14th 2025
The son of Zeus has returned to conquer your book shelf again, this time with a look at back at his 20-year journey as a video game icon. God of War: 20th Anniversary Retrospective is now available from Dark Horse in partnership with the series' developer Sony Santa Monica, after being published on July 8th 2025. The book is now part of the collection and I’ve been able to jump into this look at the history Kratos' change from a rageful Spartan to a wise demigod.
This is an interesting review for me, because it’s not one I was expecting to be writing. As a huge God of War fan I had ordered this two-book release thinking it was a look at the history of games, with some artwork along the way. However, I wasn’t expecting that artwork to be featured so prominently, making it essentially another addition to the artbook collection too. So, with this being the case, find out here what I think of this look back at the last 20 years of God of War!
Build Quality
The two-book set comes in a solid slipcase with a simple design that is more than decorative, it’s protective too. It’s not as thick as some on the market, such as those you get with the Marvel movie artbooks, but it securely holds the weight of the two books and feels well made.
The books themselves are what you expect from Dark Horse, 9” x 12” hardcovers with strong binding, so business as usual and that continues to be a good thing for the publisher. The covers are simple, black and printed to look like they are made of leather, with gold font. It’s a minimalist approach that I don’t mind in this case (I'm partial to gold on black though as seen in the logo and design here!). The paper is typical of what you get in most artbooks, thicker with a gloss finish, giving the book a good quality feel.
It's worth noting this is the standard version and that there is a Deluxe Edition available too, which comes with a slipcase that opens at the top, premium textured covers and a couple of prints. I can’t speak to their quality, but if it’s as good as what you get here then that’s a win, as I have no complaints with this edition.
Content
The books are split into sagas, the Greek Saga and the Norse Saga. The former covers God of War (2005) to God of War: Ascension, an 8 year period that explores the creation of the series and its games across PlayStation 2, 3, PSP and mobile. The Norse Saga includes just 2 games, God of War 2018 and God of War Ragnarök, looking at return of Kratos to a new world and pantheon of Gods.
Each book includes the history of the games, from who was on the team and the early ideas, to the development, and finally each release. It’s a comprehensive deep dive that God of Wars fans will learn a lot from. Author Rick Barba did a great job at getting interviews from the people involved too, even the creator of God of War himself, David Jaffe. As well as the directors like Corey Barlog, there are interviews with artists, actors, producers, combat designers, and more. There is a lot to take in, making it a true celebration of the series. In the Norse Saga book, there is a very nice inclusion of a short story that didn't get used for the 2018 game, the type of thing you don't get to see for other titles.
The negative here for me is the organisation of the text. There is a running telling of the history throughout each book, but there are also inserts that break this up titled ‘Inside Look’. For me personally it stops the flow of information, halting the main text on page and continuing it up to multiple pages later. In other cases, on one spread you will have the main text, an Inside Look and another interview insert too. Sometimes the inserts do correlate to the main text, such as an Inside Look about the changing of a director, while the main text speaks to the start of a project, but other times it doesn’t. This leads to repetition of information in a couple of places as a result. A more organic approach to having all of the insights interwoven into the writing would have worked better in most cases.
Moving onto the surprise highlight for me and the reason for this review – the artwork. You can find it on every spread in the book, with almost all of them having multiple pictures, or at the very least one piece of art along with behind-the-scenes photos. Some spreads are nothing but artwork, highlighting the odd choice to not promote this at least in part as an artbook, especially as it has just as much as some ‘Art of’ books. It goes without question that the talent from the art teams is exceptional. I don’t critique art, but it was God of War II that led to my discovery of concept art and eventually my first artbook after seeing images in a magazine almost 20 years ago. The epic environments, brutal enemies and illustrations could all be framed and put on your walls, it’s a joy to see so many printed like this.
In the Greek Saga book, there is a huge amount of concepts and illustrations. As someone that owns multiple God of War artbooks and searched the web during the games’ releases for art, there is a good amount that I’ve never seen before, which is fantastic as a fan. This includes images for God of War, God of War II, Chains of Olympus, Ghost of Sparta and Ascension. The mobile game Betrayal is also featured, but includes screenshots as opposed to artwork. This volume especially is perfect for those that missed out on earlier artbooks, as it highlights the earliest designs for Kratos, the many enemies he violently tears through, and epic environments he finds himself in.
There is a lot to be found in the Norse Saga book too, but as it focuses on only two games, not seven, it does include more photos. There is still a wealth of art here though and also worthy of being considered an artbook as well. As each game takes up more pages and were also developed in an age where everything is documented, more photos are of course expected. These are nice inclusions, from seeing the faces behind the series, to the actors on set in their mocap suits. Art and photos are a huge part of each Saga and in combination with the written insights, makes for an outstanding love letter God of War.
Credits
Although Dark Horse haven’t described this as an artbook, crediting the artwork is something that should still happen, but unfortunately doesn’t. On occasion there is a note that names the people who are in a photo, but even this is not consistent. There is even a page that has photos of two people, but the text only ends with a name the quote came from, leaving you guessing as to which of the two people are the artist that wrote it and who is placed unnamed and without purpose. There are no credits at the back of the book either, so an unfortunately downside for this part of the review.
Use of Space
Each page in God of War: 20th Anniversary Retrospective is full, leaving no wasted white spaces. The text is clear and well placed amongst the photos and artwork, with layouts changing from page to page. The previously mentioned Inside Look sections use a different coloured background too, so it’s clear when you are reading the main text and these inserts. Overall they did a fantastic job with making sure you get as much from the series as possible within each book, while presenting it in an easy to read way.
Value
The standard edition retails for $99.99/ £89.99, which puts it up at a premium price, but broken down that’s $50/ £45 per book, not including the slipcase, which is fairly standard pricing for Dark Horse. At full price this is a lot to ask, but the presentation and content does justify this to the God of War fans that would be interested in a collection like this.
As always though, places often sell books at below the RRP and this is no different. Using Amazon as always for consistency, this can be found on Amazon US at the time of writing this with 20% off from one seller. In the UK this book was over 30% off from Amazon themselves on the day of release and is 26% off there at the moment, so the price is fluctuating, but highlights that this can already be found discounted. For the £61 I paid, it was an undeniably great deal for you get. Discounted or not, players of the series won’t feel let down by the pricing.
Verdict
God of War fans will find a lot to enjoy in this retrospective of the series, it’s like opening a chest full of red orbs to level up your knowledge and love for the games. Incredible artwork, interesting stories, and wonderful insights are collected in this two-volume set that fans of games will no doubt revisit for years to come. Although the organisation of the history is at times disjointed, this is a brilliant celebration of Kratos’ journey from PlayStation 2 to PlayStation 5 as one of gaming's most iconic and beloved characters.
As a huge fan of God of War myself, I’m very impressed with what is included. Dark Horse and author Rick Barba have done a superb job at gathering details and art that even the biggest fans will not have seen before. If you’re looking for more from the Ghost of Sparta, or missed out on the earlier artbooks, you can’t go wrong with God of War: 20th Anniversary Retrospective.
If you are wanting to add this release to your own collection, you can order the book here;
Deluxe Edition;
Tags; #GodOfWarII #GodOfWar #GodOfWarIII #GodOfWarRagnarok #GodOfWar2018 #GodOfWarChainsOfOlympus #GodOfWarGhostOfSparta #GodOfWarAscension #GodOfWarBetrayal #GodOfWar #DarkHorse #SantaMonicaStudio #ReadyAtDawn #PlayStationStudios #Javaground
