It’s been some time since the last new God of War console game. Rumors persisted for awhile that we’d see a new God of War revealed this year and now we have a full breakdown of the gameplay and some story tidbits that’s to Sony’s recent press conference. There’s still a lot we don’t know about the new God of War, but at the very least we know that it will differ somewhat from previous games in the series, but should still appeal to God of War fans.
While this is the next God of War game in terms of continuing the story, it’s called God of War because the development team is going back to the basics and reimagining the concept of the series. The franchise is moving on from Greek mythology and will feature the nine realms of Norse mythology. After the events of the previous God of War games, Kratos is on a mission to distance himself from all things Greek and finds himself in Scandinavia with a son. We don’t have much information on the mother of the child, but she plays a significant role in the story of the game.
One of the biggest changes from previous games to the new God of War is that the camera is now much closer and over the shoulder of Kratos. While this may seem as though it’s a departure from what the series is known for, the development team for the new game consists of several key members from the original God of War development crew. They took all of the pieces that make God of War what it is and determine what deserved to be included in the new game and what didn’t really add much to the series.
When you first get into the combat portions of the new God of War, one of the big changes you’ll notice is the lack of a combo counter. That’s been removed to make the gameplay feel more immersive. In addition, players will control Kratos throughout the entire game, but his son will help out in combat and other situations. You won’t need to babysit his son and he won’t get in your way, but he will factor into the combat system.
Think of the son as an extension of Kratos. There’s a button that corresponds to the actions of the son. If you’re solving a puzzle, you can point at a specific section of the puzzle and press the son button to get the son to interact with the puzzle. If you’re in combat and want to fire an arrow at an enemy, point at the area where you want the arrow shot and press the son button. This causes the son to shoot the arrow at the designated target.
Even if you don’t give the son any actions, the AI is intuitive enough to help out Kratos during battle. If you’re fighting a group of 20 enemies and 15 of them are throw away creatures that are easily taken out, the son will automatically focus on those lesser enemies so they don’t attack Kratos. This gives you time to take care of the more deadly enemies that require your immediate attention. There are times when Kratos may be up against as many as 100 enemies, so having his son to help out can make a big difference in the battle. As you play through the game you’ll be able to upgrade the abilities of the son to make him more competent in battle.
The trademark daggers that most people associate with Kratos have not yet been seen in the new game. However, the ax that we have seen allows you to throw it at an enemy, then call it back at any point in time. This allows players to use the ax as a projectile, attack a different enemy with all of Kratos’ melee attacks, then call back the ax in the middle of his attack combo.
More changes are in store for the new God of War game, so expect new information to be released over the coming months.
