New God of War Announced for PS4
An older Kratos returns in the new God of War. (Image by Sony Interactive Entertainment)
There’s going to be a new take on God of War.
A new God of War game is in development for the PlayStation 4, Sony Interactive Entertainment revealed at its E3 conference on Monday night.
Introduced at the start of Sony’s conference at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California with an orchestra playing the game’s new theme, a lengthy gameplay demo showcased the upcoming God of War.
The game is a re-imagined sequel of sorts for the series, with a different Kratos and setting for the Spartan warrior. Simply called God of War, the game is in development from Sony Santa Monica Studio, the same company that started the franchise in 2005.
Kratos is now older, sporting a new look with a thick beard. He’s a father again, this time with a young son. As a father the Spartan warrior has to control his rage and learn to adjust his life to new responsibilities and surroundings.
The new God of War will feature Norse mythology, moving away from the Greek-inspired gods and stories of the past games. However it’s not a reboot for the series. The game’s story follows many years after the events in God of War 3 (2010) according to Cory Barlog, the studio’s creative director. Kratos will once again be the main playable character of God of War.
There will be new gameplay changes to revamp the series. The camera has a different perspective, with a much closer focus on Kratos and the action instead of the distant viewpoint in the older games. While it features larger areas to explore, God of War won’t be an open world game. The gameplay reveal shows Kratos and his son moving through a forest hunting for food, with the father training the boy to become a warrior. Early on Kratos uses a battle axe as his new weapon to fight enemies like a giant troll. There will also be some sort of archery system as seen in the demo.
A release date or potential launch window weren’t announced. Barlog, who also directed God of War II (2007), was partly inspired by the birth of his son for God of War’s new story. A theme of the game is change, not just for the franchise’s direction but with the storyline involving Kratos working to become a new person. Bear McCreary is the game’s composer, who worked on television shows like “The Walking Dead” and “Battlestar Galactica.”
[Update 6/15: There are some new details about the game from E3. Christopher Judge, who played Teal’c on the show “Stargate SG-1,” is the new voice actor for Kratos, replacing TC Carson. Most of the game’s focus is on Krato’s relationship with his son and growing as a father. Kratos grew up without a dad and now struggles to be one to his child. The game will have no loading screens or traditional cut-scenes but instead everything will flow from the new camera perspective. The axe is Krato’s new main weapon. Kratos will have a rage system that tracks how angry he gets at his son’s behavior and other incidents.
Kratos can also command his son for different actions in and out of combat, with a specific button just for his child. The game will also have RPG-style systems and character progression that will be revealed later, which ties into the story of Kratos teaching his son. The game is possibly set in ancient Scandinavia. There’s also an ancient Norse language used in the game that only Krato’s son understands, causing him to rely on the boy, according to Barlog.]
The new God of War will be the eighth game in the series, which started in March 2005 on the PlayStation 2. Krato’s background for the previous games is that he accidentally murdered his wife and daughter after being deceived by the god of war Ares. Unable to escape his past, Kratos goes on a warpath against the other Greek gods throughout the various games. The last game in the series, God of War: Ascension, released in March 2013 as a prequel story.
Watch the E3 gameplay demo:
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[…] show opened with an orchestra playing the theme for the new God of War and Kratos coming to PS4. The game is a complete change to the God of War formula, which after a few releases […]