God of War Ragnarök will have a combat system built on the principle of allowing Kratos to “play with his food,” according to information provided by Sony Santa Monica in an extensive Game Informer magazine story.
Mihir Sheth and Denny Yeh are lead combat designers who together have over 17 years of experience with God of War. They recounted that an old studio motto was the guideline for the development of combat in the next game in the franchise, wanting to go beyond what they achieved with the previous iteration of the series.
“Kratos plays with his food,” Sheth said. “We tried to create systems you want to engage with that are fun, very playful, lots of different routes. And when we looked at the combat in the last game, we were like, ‘We can push this further; we can find new toys and ways of playing with enemies and strategies.’ That’s been the guiding principle more than anything else.”
The developers showed a concern for there to be a wide variety of enemies to be fought and also for the presence of many interactable objects in the scenario during combats. Great versatility in Kratos’ kit is also expected with new shields and abilities.
The Dauntless Shield, for example, will give the protagonist a counterattack, while the Stonewall Shield will allow him to absorb attacks and redirect them into a pulse of energy that spans a large area. Kratos will find a lot of equipment, and some enemies will even offer great challenges.
A novelty of God of War: Ragnarök is the use of the triangle button on the PlayStation controller. In the 2018 game, it was used to call back Kratos’ ax. But now, it has the function of triggering a special power associated with each of the protagonist’s weapons, called Weapon Signature Moves.
Kratos can infuse the sharpened steel with ice or fire and these are the new elemental moves called “Frost Awaken” and “Whiplash,” doing extra damage by freezing or incinerating aggressors.
God of War: Ragnarök will bring more aggressive enemies at its higher difficulties, and opponents should reappear in previously explored locations.
Sony Santa Monica guarantees rewards for those who explore all the realms of the game and promises to announce more surprises on the game soon. With versions for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5, the title is set to hit stores on Nov. 9.
Published: Aug 31, 2022 11:30 am