God of War
Being one of many PlayStation 4 exclusives revealed, God of War opened Sony’s press conference at E3 and the rumors of a reboot focusing on Norse mythology were confirmed. The on-stage demo opened with a young boy playing alone when he is called over by a mysterious voice. A figure emerges from the shadows, clearly a bearded version of the titular Kratos, and gives a knife to the boy before the gameplay begins. This is where we see all the changes that are coming in this new God of War.
The setting, which is the middle of a forest, is the first obvious change. Nature has consumed everything and the pathways are covered with snow, making it very reminiscent of The Last of Us. The interplay between Kratos and the boy, which sees them talking constantly and reacting to each other’s movements, also conveys the influence Naughty Dog’s game has had on Sony Santa Monica’s game. The tone is also vastly different from the God of War games that have come before. Kratos is a far more reserved character that seems to have control over his anger and players have relative freedom to explore the world with Rise of the Tomb Raider-styled areas. The move away from the style of the original God of War games and the beauty of the new world are what makes this so intriguing. The changes will hopefully expel the problems with the originals and reinvigorate the franchise.
