GOD OF WAR

The salty Spartan parent returns

Format PS4 ETA 2018 Pub Sony Dev Santa Monica Studio

“A MORE HUMAN KRATOS DOESN’T MEAN HE HOLDS BACK FROM CRACKING SKULLS.”

PlayStation’s most pissed off poppa showed up at E3 with the promise of an early 2018 release date, and more Norse mythological murder than you could throw a levitating ice axe at. The game’s pacing looks vintage Naughty Dog at certain junctures: “We wanted to put Kratos on a deeply personal quest,” says Aaron Kaufman, marketing producer at Santa Monica Studio. “We wanted to put that quest in a place that was dark and gritty, but that also had this strong sense of wonderment and adventure.”

The game’s writers posit that all mythologies co-exist and are happening at the same time. Kauffman confirms this reboot is indeed a direct sequel to God Of War III: “It’s an indeterminate amount of time between the end of God Of War III and the beginning of this game.”

DADDY TIME

Be it an introspective chat between Kratos and his kid Atreus in a scuffed-up rowing boat, or quiet walks through the knee-high snow of a lofty mountain pass, there’s less of that hurried “GUT EVERYTHING IN A 1,100-FOOT RADIUS!” urgency that propelled the Spartan’s past adventures.

Just because we have a more human Kratos doesn’t mean he holds back from cracking skulls. The gameplay reveals Kratos can mix melee attacks, counters and dodges to good effect. Standout was the new Leviathan axe that replaces the Blades Of Chaos, created by the dwarven brothers Eitri and Brokkr, seen in the E3 footage (one is the guy in golden armour).

And if you were worried the switch from ancient Greek to Norse mythology would limit the series’ penchant for crafting incredible monsters… well, don’t be. Just get a load of the new World Serpent on this page.