During the rather tepid E3 conference that Sony rolled out this year in Los Angeles, California, we learned that Corey Barlog and the rest of the team at Santa Monica Studios have a settled released window for their upcoming action-adventure game, God of War.
The game has been jokingly called “Dad of War” online and from media present at the event because it was so heavily focused on Kratos as a parent.
In addition to learning that they’re targeting an early 2018 release for the upcoming game, you can check out the new gameplay footage they unveiled at the event for the PS4 exclusive, courtesy of MKIceandFire.
The gameplay reveals some really good looking melee combat. Opposite of what Ubisoft did with Assassin’s Creed: Origins, Santa Monica Studios actually upgraded their combat by making it smoother, making it more visceral and ensuring that gamers are getting in there deep and tight to execute some hardcore looking attacks on the undead (and not-so-dead).
It’s also interesting because it appears they want to incorporate the story with the way Kratos actually fights. During some of the more vicious and unrelenting moments where he’s ripping and shredding enemies, he tells his boy… “Close your heart to their desperation. Close your heart to their suffering.”
Such a mean-arse line.
We also see that platforming seems to make an appearance as well. Kratos and the boy will have to scale up certain areas, not unlike Horizon: Zero Dawn.
It’s hard to tell what the ratio of platforming to melee combat to story segments will fill out the pie but I’m sure we’ll learn soon enough as the Santa Monica Studios begin ramping up the hype machine leading toward the early 2018 release.
Barlog did reveal that the boat we see in the trailer above will be the prime way to traverse throughout the game across the various Norse-themed isles. Additionally, Kratos will have access to additional weapons, but his Thor-style axe will be his main weapon.
So far God of War looks like a really solid gameplay experience based on what they’ve showcased.
