PlayStation has released a new trailer for God of War, walking through the drastically changed combat system and the team’s thoughts behind it. The core concept behind the new combat system was still keeping that one-man-army feel God of War has, while adding in a new layer of complexity and strategy.
Jason Mcdonald the lead gameplay designer on God of War says, “For this game even though we were changing pretty much everything about the combat, we wanted to make sure that Kratos still felt like he was a powerhouse.” The team really wanted to avoid two things in the development of the new game. One they didn’t want an open world game, and two they wanted to make sure the new combat system didn’t just feel like Dark Souls. There’s a number of changes they’ve implemented in order to make God of War feel unique.
Kratos’ axe gives him a little more decision making during fights in how he links together combos. Each combat scenario can play out differently with Kratos’ moveset, whether you tip enemies and slam your axe on them, kick them into walls to stun them, throw your axe at range, or any number of other moves. While Kratos throws his axe he can use his shield to bash enemies and keep up his assault, while he waits for his axe to come back. Of course, Kratos’ son Atreus can also pepper enemies with arrows during fights. Take a look at the trailer down below for a full description on how God of War’s combat has changed.
God of War launches on April 20 for PS4. Take a look at the sleek limited edition God of War PS4 Pro bundle that was recently announced. The game’s director also recently confirmed that there will be optional bosses, although he didn’t go into specifics.
