God of War Sons of Sparta comes to PS4 with two free modes that need a new save

God of War Sons of Sparta, the 2D spin-off Sony shadow-dropped as a PS5 exclusive, is coming to PS4, and it is bringing two new modes with it. For people who already own the game, the modes matter more than the port. They are free on both consoles, but you choose one when you start a new game and it stays locked to that save file. If you finished the game on PS5, the update gives you a reason to start again. It adds nothing to the run you already have.

The direction is the odd part: Push Square’s headline describes the game as being “ported backwards” to the older console. Sony’s announcement covers when the port arrives and what the patch adds. It skips the two questions a PS4 buyer would ask first: how much the game costs on that console, and whether a copy bought on one console also works on the other.

What Sony has confirmed for Sons of Sparta on PS4 and PS5

Sony did not publish a new announcement. It added an update dated November 13 to the top of the PlayStation Blog post that launched the game in February, which carries the byline of Grace Orlady, communications director at Santa Monica Studio. According to the update, the PS4 version arrives on November 16, and VGC and IGN report that it unlocks at midnight local time. Developer Mega Cat Studios is releasing a patch at the same time that adds two modes for both PS4 and PS5 owners.

Hermes Mode is for speedrunners. Sony describes “a dedicated speedrunning toolkit with a split-based timer, persistent scoreboard, and more.” Erebus Mode is the hard one: Sony calls it the challenge “where both you and your enemies fall in a single hit.” According to Sony, Hermes opens up after you beat the game for the first time, or when you enter a code in the start menu: Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, L1, R1, Touchpad.

The “or” in that sentence matters. IGN’s report says Hermes is activated only after you beat the game once and also enter the code. Sony’s own wording, which Gematsu and VGC repeat, says either one is enough. That makes the code a shortcut for players who have never reached the credits.

Then there is the lock. Sony’s note says the mode is selected “upon starting a new game and selecting a save slot,” and that “once selected, the game mode chosen for that save file cannot be changed.” Taken at face value, Hermes and Erebus belong to new saves. A save you already have stays in the mode it started in.

What the PS4 announcement leaves out

The update gives no PS4 price. At launch on PS5, the same blog post listed the Standard Edition at $29.99, €29.99 or £24.99 and the Digital Deluxe Edition at $39.99, €39.99 or £32.99. Nothing in the update says whether the PS4 version costs the same, or whether owners on one console get the other version as well. None of the reports from VGC, IGN, Gematsu or Push Square has an answer either.

The port was not a complete surprise. Four days before Sony’s note, KitGuru reported that the game appeared to be heading to PS4, which explains the word “really” in Push Square’s headline.

Why Sony is giving the God of War spin-off a second push

Sons of Sparta had no marketing run-up: it arrived on PS5 the day it was revealed. Mega Cat Studios developed it with Santa Monica Studio. It is a 2D action platformer set during Kratos’ training at the Agoge with his brother Deimos, and Sony presents it as a canon story from the writing team behind God of War (2018) and God of War Ragnarök. TC Carson, the original voice of Kratos, returns as the narrator.

On Metacritic, it is the lowest-rated game in the series. In launch week, Push Square reported a Metacritic score of 69, below the previous series low of 80 for God of War: Ascension. This week it puts the average at 64. IGN gave it 6 out of 10 and called it “a pretty mediocre Metroidvania.” IGN also quotes series creator David Jaffe, who said in a video at launch: “This is not God of War.” Reviews and sales did not line up, though. At launch, Push Square noted the game was selling “extremely well for what it is” based on the PlayStation Store’s best-seller list.

The schedule helps explain the timing. God of War Laufey, the next main game, is now set for May 20, 2027 after a delay, and IGN describes Sons of Sparta as a stopgap until then. A second console and two replay modes keep the series in front of players through a long wait.

On November 16, PS4 owners will find the price on the PlayStation Store page, because Sony has not published it anywhere else. PS5 owners who have already finished the game do not need a price: the modes are free, and you get them by starting a new save.

Tags: video games, God of War, Santa Monica Studio, God of War Sons of Sparta, PlayStation 4