In the six years since we’ve last seen Kratos, Santa Monica Studios has been hard at work continuing him on his journey. Rather than rebooting the series, Creative Director of Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) Cory Barlog says God of War 4 will take players through some pretty significant character development.
I knew I didn’t want to simply reboot the franchise, starting over with a retelling of the origin story. I wanted to reimagine the gameplay, give players a fresh perspective and a new tactile experience while delving deeper into the emotional journey of Kratos to explore the compelling drama that unfolds when an immortal demigod makes a decision to change.
This doesn’t mean that Kratos won’t be slicing and dicing his enemies in new and fantastically gory ways, that is all still very much a central part of his fighting style. However, players will get to experience a more maturing Kratos who is learning to control his rage so he can utilize it much more effectively than he has previously. Instead of making bad deals with gods and living in an environment teeming with distrust and deception, immediate reactionary violence gives way to a more measured Kratos.
Everything, everywhere changes
Change will be a central theme in God of War 4. Players will guide Kratos as he deviates away from the violent and dark path he was on. The inspiration for change came from Barlog’s personal experience of having a child. He wanted to explore what effect a life event like that would have on Kratos’ decision making. Barlog was fascinated to see how Kratos would struggle against his violent nature and emotions.
Change is hard, but through it all we persevere, getting back up each time we are knocked down and celebrating each breakthrough, knowing that this journey ends in the realization of a collective vision – a great change in something we all hold very dear – a chance for us all to be better.
No official release date has been set at this time. We do know from the gameplay trailer Kratos is much older than before and now has a son. Since the game is not a reboot, God of War 4 will likely not be the official title. The official title will likely be something along the lines of God of War: New Beginnings (calling it now). Here is the official gameplay trailer that debuted at E3:
Are you excited for the next installment of God of War? How do you feel about Kratos’ new direction and character development? Hit us up in the comments below, or on Google+, Twitter, or Facebook!
[button link=”http://blog.us.playstation.com/2016/06/13/first-look-santa-monica-studios-new-god-of-war-on-ps4/” icon=”fa-external-link” side=”left” target=”blank” color=”285b5e” textcolor=”ffffff”]Source: PlayStaton Blog[/button]
