New PS5 Exclusive Game From Sony Is the First Flop of 2026

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After two months, we’ve seen the first major disappointment of 2026 – a PlayStation 5 game from Sony. Last year, Xbox games made up half of the biggest failures. However, Xbox is looking much better this year, while Sony has stumbled with a recently released game that currently has a score of 66 on Metacritic. While not a terrible score overall, it’s unusually low for a Sony title – in fact, it’s one of the four lowest-rated games released all year. What makes this particularly concerning is that the game is part of a well-known franchise that usually receives high praise.

Many people are wondering about the PlayStation 5 game getting negative reviews – it’s God of War: Sons of Sparta, a smaller installment in the God of War series. While it’s not a full-scale release, so expectations weren’t as high, a first-party PlayStation game with the God of War name should be performing better than it currently is. Critics aren’t impressed, and while it might sell decently given the lack of major releases right now, it’s likely to be remembered as a disappointing game. It could be the first commercial misstep of 2026, but it probably won’t be the biggest one – bigger failures are likely to emerge later in the year.

A Different Kind of God of War Game

If you’re not familiar with this game, it’s very different from the main God of War series. It’s a 2D action-adventure game – a “metroidvania” – created by Mega Cat Studios and Santa Monica Studio. The story is actually pretty cool, delving into Kratos’s past as a young Spartan. However, don’t expect a story-focused experience like the newer God of War titles; this game focuses more on gameplay.

Interestingly, players seem to like the game more than critics do, which is a good sign for sales. However, with a score of 66, it’s one of the lowest-rated PlayStation exclusives on both the PS4 and PS5. It only scores slightly better than the poorly received game, Concord.

So, after all that, I’m really curious to hear what you think! Let me know in the comments, or head over to the ComicBook Forum to chat with other fans. Do you think the critics got God of War: Sons of Sparta wrong?

https://comicbook.com/gaming/feature/god-of-wars-controversial-new-game-has-me-worried-for-god-of-war-6/embed/#

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2026-02-21 04:10