In particular, Kratos has one spectacular move wherein holding R2 launches a downward swing that bifurcates anyone who’s on their last breath. There’s still no shortage of gooey finishers, but Santa Monica Studio finds power in restraint – they’re more rewarding because they don’t trigger when every draugr hits low health. Enemies are meticulously picked off one at a time, rather than chopped down by the handful. By default, attacks are mapped to the shoulder buttons so players can better manage the camera, a handicap they’ve not had to deal with in this series before. Kratos has taken to fighting with a battle axe, and while it’s a fine weapon – one that returns to his hand after he throws it – this is far less power and range than we’re used to. There’s also a newfound heaviness to God of War’s combat. This is the most vulnerable Kratos has ever been, in more ways than one. The over-the-shoulder camera pulls us in closer to Kratos than we’ve ever been, and the absence of the iconic Blades of Chaos means we can no longer effortlessly slice through entire hordes of enemies at once. The once-frenetic action series has been rebooted as a slow-paced character drama, and the evolution is felt beyond the cutscenes. The question of whether a solemn, introspective Kratos can exist is challenged continuously throughout God of War. We wouldn’t want Atreus accidentally murdering his family in a fit of primal rage, would we? When Kratos observes the boy getting a little too gleefully savage during an early boss fight, he sees himself, and it haunts him. As a father, it’s not enough for Kratos to quell his own violent tendencies – he needs to ensure that his worst characteristics don’t live on in his son. That leaves their child, Atreus, exclusively in his care. When God of War opens, Kratos’s second wife has just died, presumably of natural causes. This Kratos is determined not to repeat his past mistakes. When his son goofs up during a hunting trip early in the campaign, Kratos very nearly loses his temper before stopping himself mid-sentence and uttering his remaining words in a calm, measured tone. Having taken up a life of exile in the forests of Midgard – Greek and Norse mythologies are like neighboring countries in this universe, I guess – this new bearded and funereal Kratos is keenly aware of what a maniac he was back in Sparta. He’s not exactly the prime subject for an intimate character study.Īs it turns out, Kratos feels similarly about his former self. His rage brought about the death of his family, and let’s not forget that he responded to this news by, uh, not changing in the slightest. Kratos has thus far only manifested as a scowling, bellowing whirlwind of stabs and death. The idea of a small-scale, character-centric spin on the God of War franchise should sound just a bit silly to anyone familiar with its main character. WTF Jeremy Davies, giving his most Jeremy Davies performance. LOW The near-endless series of plot-mandated fetch quests.
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