The takeaway (so far) from 2018’s God Of War is enthusiasm for the carefully crafted cinematics. The score, the voice acting and tempo of the two trailers Sony's released for the game so far suggest a decided departure from the fast paced beat em’ up revenge carouse that defined the first two entries.
I was certainly impressed by the tonal shift, but I’d be lying if I said the barbarous charisma with which Kratos tore through a sea of demonic goons didn’t also earn my excitement.
God Of War director Cory Barlog recently sat down with Gamerant to discuss the upcoming title. Although the game will not feature any quick time events, a sense of grace and technique will still be implemented into the combat. In fact, Barlog compared the combat elements to FiFA.
“Every game is different, despite every game being the same; there’s this drama that exists in every single match, even when you’re playing the same teams. There’s a magic to video games encapsulated in the idea that I don’t ever want to lose even if I am making something that’s trying to tell a story, and we develop these characters to allow you to feel like there’s freedom here, and that is the joy of games,” he said in the interview.
The game will make use of combo team up options for Kratos and his son, Atreus. Though we’ve yet to get a glimpse at them, most agree that Kratos’ famous twin blades are bound to make an appearance. If we’re correct I’m eager to see how they function with the new combat pacing. On balance, the combat seems less frenetic and a little more grounded. I suppose the flip side of that is you really feel the weight of every melee stroke.
Freedom seems to be the most ardent motif of the combat style. Sony Santa Monica appears to want to put a lot of the stylistic choices directly into the player’s hands. Most of the combat will be centered around Kratos’ axe, which he can use as a projectile then summon back at will.
Lead Game designer, Jason Mcdonald describe the combat as being much “slower than previous God Of War games but it’s just as fluid and just as brutal as it’s ever been.”
We’ll see.
Look for God Of War April 20, 2018.
