The story is relevant to the game for several reasons: the director learned in Sweden additional info about mythology, during the time he worked with George Miller learned much about narrative and becoming a father changed his perspective on the world. All these elements are present in God of War, whose developers decided not number, as you think about it as a rebirth of the franchise; however, fans can rest easy because their DNA remains intact.
The overview of the game is to fundamentally change the way they develop: they separated all, they analyzed what was the core of the franchise and thought they could do to take that and take it to the next level. Without further ado, they start playing real-time demo we saw at the Sony conference at E3 2016.
The first thing that stands out is the change of camera: to Barlog is as important as the evolution of Resident Evil 3 to Resident Evil 4 Maybe at first it may seem strange, but as you play more and more, you think the decision is. The discussion to define a free camera was heated: much affects all elements of the title. Input allows the levels are a little more open and may have exploration. Clashes also causes some more epic and colossal. Not the same face a minotaur from an angle fixed camera in the distance see a giant troll from the personal perspective of Kratos, and imposing. You go from being a spectator to be there, in front of gods and legendary monsters.
The plot of this title makes him a direct sequel to God of War 3. It takes place many years later. Kratos attempts to control the anger that invades and prepare your child for the violent world in which they live. Barlog was very clear stating that we are not in the Viking era, but in an earlier period when the gods and monsters from Norse mythology coexisted with people. Kratos, free will and the games of the gods and a god itself, seeks to guide their actions to avoid making the mistakes of the past. His human and divine side are in constant conflict and even a rage meter that lets you identify how angry is the character even when scolding her son.
The story is more complex. The relationship between Kratos and his son will be very important and will run throughout the game. The idea is a simple plot, but complex characters. They seek to unify gameplay and narration in a single element with a single camera to return the more consistent experience.
Undoubtedly, the most important new element is the son of Kratos. In the game, you can press Square to give instructions: attack an enemy, activate something, go somewhere, but it does not mean that you should be, managing all the time. This is a game of action and combat and Barlog made it clear: you do not have to worry about care for or protect (anyone noticed that his face is scarred?). The child, after all, is the son of the god of war and can take care of himself. Kratos constantly transmitting their knowledge, but that does not mean that half of the game will die and begin to control his son. Developers are not going to apply the Metal Gear Solid 2, where Snake only use a small part of the title. Ah! And it’s not the last game of Kratos, so draw your conclusions regarding the plot.
Now, my biggest concern was the combat. After all, in the demo it seemed that the clashes were a smaller scale. However, Barlog left us alone: this is God of War, you’ll fight hordes of enemies and be intense. One of the reasons why they chose Norse mythology is the wealth of creatures that can take to make enemies. Is the troll we saw in the demo? Not even a boss. It is a common enemy that often find as you go.
Yes, the game has puzzles. Yes, you can climb. Barlog promised many options and new ways to move. Perhaps in the demo it was not clear, because they chose a section that highlights new elements title on purpose, but this is still God of War. Outside the camera change and the new way of telling the story, this game is trying to brutal combat, majestic scenery and imposing a horde of enemies. On this line, I asked the director if he would QTE happy and he said no: “Imagine you just killed a troll … why you would put to press random buttons on screen? That’s not epic or fun “Barlog also referred to. Shadow of the Colossus to counter doubt whether the camera change would tone less epic game: face a gigantic enemy and see it from your perspective may be equally or more impressive as before.
Finally, we have the ax, an important weapon in the game. With it you can impale enemies. You can dig into any surface and you can use it to neutralize enemies or leave them nailed to a tree, continue the fight and then asked to return to you and complete a stroke while in the air. The ability to throw the ax is also important and gives you many options in combat. As if that were not enough, you will use it in riddles. It is not only a weapon is a tool throughout the game.
Besides the above, there are several more fun facts you should know:
- The enemies of the beginning of the demo are warriors who could not enter the Valhalla and are doomed to wander on earth.
- In theory, you can nail the ax in the early game, move halfway and then asked to return to you. So Free is mechanical.
- Kratos now breaks chests instead of opening them in the traditional way.
- You will not have multiplayer.
- The game will run at 30 fps.
- God of War has almost as many enemies as God of War 2, delivering more variety of enemies in the series.
- The ax has an important story.
- The demo is full of secrets and hidden things not yet discovered.
- The game is linear, but more open.
I think we can define the intention of the new God of War with a detail that may go unnoticed. After killing the troll in the demo, we came to a camp where everything makes sense because you attacked a group of men in the area had hunted and killed another troll. We arrived at the end of a fight that devastated the camp and from the forest before arriving can see their tracks. Then, when the son of Kratos kills the deer in the distance we see the final goal of the game and many details about what will be discussed. This new God of War is a mixture of those subtle details and brutality of combat, blood and violence that has characterized the series. The boy? He is the son of a god, you can deal with it.