God of War: Sons of Sparta Comes to PS4 on November 16 With New Modes

Sony has announced that God of War: Sons of Sparta, the 2D action game that was previously a PlayStation 5 exclusive, is coming to PlayStation 4 on November 16. Alongside the PS4 version, the game is getting a free update with two new modes.

The free update adds two modes. You pick one when starting a new game in a save slot, and you can’t change it later.

• Hermes Mode: A speedrunning mode with a split-based timer and a persistent scoreboard. You can unlock it by beating the game once or by entering a code on the start menu: Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, L1, R1, Touchpad. It’s a clear nod to the famous Konami Code.
• Erebus Mode: A hardcore mode where both you and your enemies die in a single hit.

God of War: Sons of Sparta is a 2D Metroidvania action game developed by Mega Cat Studios together with Santa Monica Studio. It’s the series’ second 2D game, after 2007’s God of War: Betrayal.

The story covers Kratos’s youth. An adult Kratos, now a captain in the Spartan army, tells his daughter Calliope about the days when he and his brother Deimos trained at the agoge. During their training, the brothers set out to find their missing classmate Vasilis and discover that the monster Koteros killed him.

Sony announced Sons of Sparta during the February 12, 2026, State of Play and released it on PS5 the same day. The launch marked the series’ 20th anniversary, and Sony also confirmed a remake of the original Greek trilogy at the same time.

The game itself didn’t impress critics, though. It holds a 65 on Metacritic based on 60 reviews, and only 29% of critics on OpenCritic recommend it. The PS4 release and the new modes will likely help Sony reach more players, including those who still haven’t upgraded to PS5.