As we’ve mentioned in our previous article that we’ve gotten the chance to play the first hour of God of War on the PS4, we’d like to give you some insights of what we’ve experienced and discovered in the game. This time, the title has brought us back to a very familiar scenario from old man Logan. You guys might have remembered fairly well what went on in the latest Wolverine movie, Logan. We see old man Logan, with his new found daughter fighting against baddies and bonding with each other. Though there’s not much bonding in the movie and the protagonist eventually dies, thankfully we don’t see that part in the game.

Here’s a short preview of what the game features:

In God of War, we see Kratos appearing from the darkness in his shed. His son, Atreus was called in from playing his 2″ Huldra Brothers carvings. Then they head out into the wilderness with a mission. Now the gameplay is very much different from the previous God of War titles. There are 4 difficulties to choose from and this time, you play Kratos from an over-the-shoulder view instead of a full 3rd person top view. You will still get to hack-and-slash your way through but with a bit more strategy as you’ll be pulling combos with your son, Atreus. Your son will be shooting arrows from the sides and providing you some support arrows or elemental arrows. Compared to Kratos, Atreus has two types of combat modes which are Magic Combat and Expert Combat. Magic Combat is where he pulls off his elemental arrow shots while Expert Combat is where he takes down an enemy with his own combo based on the level of skills you have set on his skill tree.

Yes, there’s a skill tree now instead of the myriad of weaponry that we usually get throughout the God of War series. This time, we’ll only be getting 1 weapon which is the Leviathan Axe. While we get to upgrade the axe which will unlock more combos and attack animations, we will also be able to further enhance it with runes. There are 2 slots of runes that we can equip the axe with compared to Atreus’s bow with only 1 slot. The upgrade of the weapons and runes play an important role in increasing your damage output and combos with Atreus. Kratos will also get a shield this time for more skull-bashing!

Aside from the combat aspect, the scenery is beautiful as we explore further into the wild and ruins in the Nordic land. With such great detail on the environment and scenery, the developers had also made it so that whenever we go into a new region, a short cut scene would ensue instead of a loading screen. This saves us from the boring static loading screens which is terrific as we also enjoy the smooth transition from one region to another. As some regions require us to climb to get to higher ground and solve puzzles to unlock a certain region, it gives a very immersive feel. Instead of Kratos just hacking and slashing, killing everything in his way to reach his destination, the map was created to bring us on an actual journey with mechanics like Uncharted 4. Sometimes, you might need your son’s help to get up to a place and throw a rope down for his old man.

Bringing up old man Logan again, here’s the reason why I associated Kratos with Logan. Kratos has changed in his behaviour unlike back in the days where he raged all day, everyday, throughout the game killing everything in his way. With a son in his life now, Kratos has become more of a father figure who’s composed and patient as he guides his son with advises. Just like Logan, he has reached the age of the wise where he cannot just resort to violence. He has a responsibility now to guide and teach his son to be the person he’s aspired to be. While Logan was unable to provide all of that in the short movie, we could still see Logan departing with a legacy left behind for his daughter Laura to grow up with. Kratos has that will as well; to impart his legacy onto Atreus in hopes that he does not follow his mistakes.

The theme in the game this time revolves around the growth and relationship between father and son. As we walk through in a journey with Kratos and Atreus, we are able to pick up their cute conversations between father and son which we don’t usually see in previous God of War titles. This is the first time we get to see and experience the soft and kinder side of Kratos and it does not get any better than that. We can’t elaborate much on this part as this is definitely something to be experienced through the game. Hopefully this could provide players with an overview of what to expect from the game when it’s officially launched on 20th April 2018. You can check out our interview with Aaron Kaufman from Santa Monica Studios for more info too!