Sony’s hidden multiplayer mode in God of War Sons of Sparta has now been made available from the off. The only downside? You’ll need to enter a secret code to access it.
Side-scrolling spinoff Sons of Sparta launched for PlayStation 5 earlier this month, with a note on its PlayStation Store listing mentioning that it featured two-player capabilities.
Without further explanation, and after gameplay featuring its titular two brothers was shown during the recent State of Play broadcast, many fans assumed the full game was available in co-op. Alas, it is not. Instead, a separate roguelike challenge mode is included, players later discovered, but only after you have beaten the game. Or, now, if you input that aforementioned code.
“Normally The Pit is accessible only after you beat the main story to ensure those who attempt it are familiar with both Kratos’ Spartan arms and the foes you will face,” PlayStation wrote today, in its first real comment on the mode’s availability, and what appears to be an explanation for why it was initially designed to only become available later on.
“But if you feel ready to test your skills earlier,” PlayStation continued, “you can input this sequence below in the starting menu to unlock it early.” That code, then, is as follows:
The Pit features various varieties of enemies and rewards each time you play, with a specific Agony modifier applied to each run. Progress through each run rewards fresh Agonies to try your luck and skill against, but also permanent upgrades to help you along your way in future attempts.
Response to Sons of Sparta has been mixed, not least from God of War’s original franchise creator David Jaffe, who told fans to “avoid this f***ing thing.” IGN’s own review was a little more kind, dubbing the game “a pretty mediocre metroidvania, clearly taking the form and function of these games but failing to meet the high bar set by the titans of the genre.” We gave it 6/10.
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at [email protected] or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
