As mentioned before, I'm still working on GOW, which is still really fun to play.

My strategy of abusing my companion has now shifted to hex-and-axe since my companion is now an adult with increased abilities.

Enemies are now keeping their guard up so ranged attacks on their own are becoming less effective. However, if I hex an area nearby, the enemies stay where they are on-guard and I can explode the area for splash damage. This strategy is really effective against those pesky dark elves that throw instant-death landmines if they move around: throw the axe to trigger their on-guard phase and then follow up with the hex-and-axe splash. Repeat.

This is what I love about this GOW: the gameplay is very dynamic and none of my deaths feel cheap.