The five arenas are small, but beautifully designed
Once your team finishes an area, you are teleported to a new part of the maze which finally wraps up with a rudimentary boss fight. The true finale of the round is in the bonus room where your team gets to run around and collect random gold spawns as your reward. Keep in mind that for this final stage, friendly fire is turned on (if you want to be that guy), however it should be noted there is a common courtesy your team isn’t going to kill each other after 15 minutes of standing back to back, blowing away the hordes of Hades. Maybe this is the final test to find the one true champion?
To give you a reason to keep playing, God Mode has a levelling system and upgradeable equipment. You will level up as you take down baddies, and the gold you earn can be spent on weapons, cosmetic items, and special abilities. I failed to mention the Rage Meter, which fills as you kill and once full, you can pop it to give you a buff for a limited amount of time. The starting buff is a shield that prevents damage, but if you upgrade it in the store it will also give you a bonus to weapon damage when activated. Other abilities can be purchased and upgraded in the same way. You start the game with a simple SMG and shotgun, so I highly suggest investing in some better weapons as soon as possible because they do feel a bit weak to begin with. The character items are purely cosmetic, and although hilarious, the good stuff doesn’t unlock until you attain a higher level. Who doesn’t want to be a demonic clown with thick rimmed glasses sporting a chaingun?
The upgrade system is a long road, and not rewarding enough to keep you interested.
There isn’t much to aspire to in God Mode, and that is the biggest limitation. Once you unlock a weapon, costume, and ability you like - you’re pretty much set. Even the weapons are a little boring. It would have been nice to reach back to the mythology theme of of the game and pull out some interesting weapons of the past or even spells that resemble something out of God of War. Even some female characters would have been nice...Once you have run the gambit of the five arenas, the combat isn’t really enough to keep you coming back for more. However, like any good co-op game, friends make it worth your while.
What God Mode comes down to is that it is a fun weekend co-op romp. The $9.99 price tag is right and if you and a few buddies are feeling the need to ascend through the underworld, pick up a four pack. You’re not going to be playing it for a long time, but that doesn’t matter because the time you do spend with it will be enjoyable. There is plenty of room in hell for fast-paced action shooters, so if you are looking for some mindless entertainment God Mode is an easy recommendation.
This review was based on the PC version of the game that was provided by the publisher.
Verdict
Co-Op Score
Overall
The Co-Op Experience: Team up with friends to earn customizations for your character.
Co-Optimus game reviews focus on the cooperative experience of a game, our final score graphic represents this experience along with an average score for the game overall. For an explanation of our scores please check our Review Score Explanation Guide.