Everything We Know About The New God Of War
Sony Santa Monica’s new God of War stole the show for many of us, but left gamers with a lot of questions. Until now.
The new God of War looks incredible. Featuring a new take on the polished hack-and-slash gameplay we love with an integrated narrative the likes of which could make Naughty Dog themselves weep, it’s clear that Kratos is back in a truly modern take on Sony’s more than decade old action franchise.
Thanks to Cory Barlog, Creative Director of this new project and PlayStation 2’s God of War II, we now have a much clearer idea of where this game fits in with the established series and what it means for the future of the franchise.
THIS IS A SEQUEL, NOT A REBOOT
Contrary to early reports and beliefs, the new God of War’s Norse-mythology focused world is the same one we’ve been monster-slaying in for years. This is NOT a reboot, a reinterpretation, or an origin story. This is the same Kratos and this game takes place after his rage and madness nearly destroys the world after his slaughter of the entire Greek pantheon at the end of God of War III.
We do not yet know how much time has passed between games, but it’s enough time for Kratos to have settled into something resembling domestic life with a wife and child, living off the land and building a life for his new family.
Cory hits the nail on the head when he says that Kratos’ rage has fueled a lot of terrible decisions in his life. Whether it’s that ill-fated “deal with the devil,” Ares, being manipulated into murdering his family, or gutting every last Greek god and irrevocably altering the world, Kratos has never, ever been one to keep his defining emotion in check.
In the previous games, Kratos often (deliberately) pivoted between being empathetic and downright unlikable. His disregard for anything and nearly anyone (with notable exceptions like Pandora) that didn’t fit into his vendetta is legendary. What could possibly motivate a man like this to change?
THIS IS A STORY ABOUT FATHERHOOD
This is an older, more seasoned Kratos who now, for the first time in a long time, finds himself as part of a real family. In the gameplay demo we see a father who is beyond stern, but at the same time clearly loves his son and is determined not to make the same mistakes that his own father did.
He guides his son through a hunt, pushing him to do better, and harshly deriding his mistakes. When monsters and a large troll attack, however, it’s clear that he fears for his son’s safety and he even tosses him his bow and allows his child to help him bring down the troll. When his son panics and looses an arrow into his father, Kratos remains calm. He controls his rage. They pack up and go after their quarry, finishing their hunt successfully: together.
This is a very different Kratos, although one rooted in the demigod we know. An especially interesting touch is that Kratos’ struggle to keep his inner demons in check appears to be woven equally into narrative and gameplay. Similar to the Psyche meter in Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, Kratos’ familiar “Rage” meter appears to be impacted not just by actions in combat, but by Kratos’ reactions to all sorts of stimuli. When he begins to shout at his son for trying to strike against their prey too early, you can see the Rage meter filling as he gets angrier and angrier, before Kratos calms himself back down and it depletes. This has the potential to create some interesting friction between the “old” Kratos and the man he is striving to become.
ITS GAMEPLAY IS GOD OF WAR, EVOLVED
Although the scale of the game is clearly still epic, its tone is now more grounded to match the weightier tenor of the narrative. Rather than the sweeping vistas and distant panoramas of the previous games, we explore Kratos’ Norse world from a more intimate behind-the-back perspective.
Combat has always been God of War’s selling point, and this entry looks as polished as ever. Combat has a hefty crunch to it and Kratos moves as fluidly as ever. Rather than his trademark chain blades, Kratos is now armed with an ice-elemental axe that he can use to freeze enemies in place or fling at them to pin them against walls. He’s just as deadly without the axe’s edge, however, as we see him brutalize a monster with his bare fists. The game is still violent and the gore is detailed, but it’s much more subdued so far than its predecessors. This makes sense: Kratos is fighting for the survival of his family instead of a personal vendetta. He’s fighting out of necessity instead of pure rage, and the attack animations simultaneously display an animalistic and reserved nature.
One of my favorite elements of the series has always been its clever and intricate level design and puzzle solving. Although we have yet to see how these elements will play out, it seems likely that the new God of War is taking some cues from modern explore-em-ups like Rise of the Tomb Raider, which Cory Barlog worked on before returning to Sony from Crystal Dynamics. As they track the deer the player gets an XP bonus to “Tracking,” which implies the possibility of skill trees and a more involved character progression system than we usually see in games of this type. When Kratos reaches a new location after the fight with the troll, its name appears. It’s possible that, judging by the presentation of this moment and the size of the environment, this is a larger explorable “hub” level that players will be able to return to uncover its secrets. It certainly hints at more open-ended exploration than the the strictly one-way nature of the franchise’s history.
That’s
everything we’ve been able to determine for now, but we’ll have more on
the PlayStation 4’s new God of War project as soon as it surfaces.
