History YMMV / GodOfWarII

** Satyrs make a comeback in this game too. However, in comparison to the [[VideoGame/GodOfWarI previous title]], they act as a downplayed example. Pretty much nothing has changed about them, except that their attacks have actual readable openings now, making it easier to react to their actions.

* DemonicSpiders: The puppy Cerberi are very maneuverable and hard to hit. Take too long to kill them, and they evolve into fully-grown Cerberi mini-bosses, who will start spitting out ''more'' pups. Spamming Atlas' Quake is the most effective way to deal with them - not to mention the only way, at higher difficulties.

* GoddamnedBats: Bat-type enemies definitely live up to this tropes' name in this game. They tend to be put in places where even a small pest proves to be a major annoyance, while also being frequent ''infinitely spawning'' companions for more dangerous mooks, with some of the worst examples being
Hades Legionnaires, and one of the Rock Minotaurs.

* GoddamnedBats:
** There is a level where the player must climb a long chain to get to the top of the level. Along the way there is an endless supply of Bats that you can not attack from the rope and can throw you from the rope.
** There is also a level where Kratos must pull a lever in circles on a platform to move the platform. If he stops for even a second it begins moving back. All the while mooks appear to attack Kratos, forcing the player to stop what they are doing to finish them off quickly. They are very weak and die in two or three hits, but they're annoying and will consume your precious time.

* SequelDifficultyDrop: This game is relatively less difficult than the first one, the puzzle sections are less frustrating unlike the platforming/climbing sections with rotating blades which the developers admitted wasn't play tested. Leveling up is less of a hassle and your "Rage of the Titans" power can be turned on and off at any time, while the "Rage of the Gods" could only be used after fully charged and quickly used up after activation, meaning it had to be used sparingly.

** The second rock minotaur is a resilient boss with no blockable attacks and only a few openings. It's an annoying opponent on its own, but to add salt to wound the minotaur is also accompanied by ''infinite respawning harpies'' that can 3 shot KO you on Titan-mode with their explosive attacks. Fortunately, the minotaur has a blind spot that can be abused by bursting it down with either Barbarian Hammer or Spirit of Hercules, but that won't stop Harpies from pestering you, stretching the fight out.

** The second rock minotaur is a resilient boss with few openings ''AND'' infinite respawning harpies that can 3 shot KO you on Titan-mode. There's a reason most guides for this fight use the phrase, "metric assload of luck" liberally.
** Theseus on Titan, who serves as a huge difficulty spike, even compared to the NintendoHard opening act. He can combo Kratos to Hades and back in his first form, proving to be more of an unpredictable opponent than the {{Mooks}} you've been facing so far. And then comes his second form, where he starts spamming projectiles at you from safety, [[FlunkyBoss starts summoning two Minotaurs at once to fight you at the same time]], and causing large crystal spikes to pop up from the floor which, on Titan, one-shot you. Add all of this on top of the fact that the only way to hurt him in his second form is to shoot him with your incredibly weak bow. And your magic is limited, so the only way to restock it is to run around dodging attacks and killing the Minotaur for blue magic orbs. And it'll take several cycles of this before you even get the chance to finish him off. If you die, you ''go back to the first form''. [[spoiler:He also gets a cheap shot that wipes half your health if you're not blocking when you choose Restart.]] Have fun.

** On [[HarderThanHard Titan Mode]], every part of the game that's merely tedious turns into That One Level/Boss, but one notable example is at the end of the first Pegasus segment, ''right after the prologue''. During the Dark Rider portion, he traps you in a draft and shoots bursts of dark magic at you that you have to dodge, the last of which is unavoidable and ends up railroading Kratos into the next section of the game. The problem is that now, each hit takes off over half of your life bar, so you ''have'' to avoid everything up to this point or you're dead. The only problem is figuring out how to dodge [[ThatOneAttack THAT DAMN PENULTIMATE DARK BURST!]] Even when you go on the opposite side of the draft from where it'd logically hit you, you still get damaged by it!

* MemeticMutation: "ZEEEUUUUSSS!!! IS THIS HOW YOU FACE ME, COWARD!?" [[labelnote:Explanation]]Yelled by Kratos after he learns about what happened to Sparta. It's since become a popular meme to use the audio of the clip to express frustration over minor inconveniences[[/labelnote]]

* EvenBetterSequel: ''God of War II'' was received even better than the already much loved first game, using the UsefulNotes/PlayStation2 to even greater effect, having more elaborate boss fights and more detailed environments.

* ItsTheSameSoItSucks: The game's story has been heavily criticized for rehashing the original by being another plot with Kratos seeking out something to aid getting revenge on one of the gods.

%%* {{Squick}}: The sacrifices.

** There's the part where you have to protect the Translator. It basically involves [[EscortMission carrying around]] the ultimate SquishyWizard on your back and trying to protect him from the game's most frustrating DemonicSpiders, the Satyrs and the Minotaur Priests, enemies you would be lucky enough to survive against yourself! It's only moderately difficult on some of the more human difficulty levels, but on Titan, it can be seemingly impossible. If you haven't upgraded ''just right'' up until this point (usually by [[LevelGrinding exploiting infinite respawn and / or magic areas for experience orbs]]), you could be stuck in an {{Unwinnable}} situation. To add insult to injury, ''you can totally see the final boss lair from the balcony!!!'' At least when / if you ever get past this part, you immediately get to [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential smash the fragile little bastard's face into a book]] to [[CatharsisFactor vent your frustrations]].

** First Titan-mode rock minotaur? Not much of a problem. Number 2? A resilient boss with few openings ''AND'' infinite respawning harpies that can 3 shot KO you on titan. There's a reason most guides for this fight use the phrase, "metric assload of luck" liberally.