"God of War" (4 Maybe?) Coming to PS4

[Jovahexeon Jax Joranvexeon]

And the opening for SONY's E3 begins with the bombastic reveal of Gods of War 4 with an opera and everything!

Here is the new trailer:

 

[TCB]

Sony sure do know how to make an opening.

Based on certain signs in the game (that large creature saying something Valhalla for example) seems like were going into the Norse mythology this time around. 

[Teoskaven]

What i don't get it's that if this is a reboot or an actual sequel (with Kratos fleeing to the north after the shit that happened at the end of GoW III).

Also, props for Sony to show the psychopathic murdered and screamer Kratos actually educating his (supposed) son with love .

[Kfarc]

3 hours ago, Hildibrandskaven said:

What i don't get it's that if this is a reboot or an actual sequel (with Kratos fleeing to the north after the shit that happened at the end of GoW III).

I think it's a sequel. Kratos even has a big scar on his stomach (after that sword). 

[Marcello]

The game is gorgeous and I like this new Kratos, but the gameplay looks worse than before. Slow and clunky. Plus there seems to be RPG mechanics. Not sure I like the new camera angle, either. All in all, I'm pretty disappointed in this. This (and RE7) soured Sony's conference for me sadly. Hopefully they can convince me on this game when they show more.

[Graystripe2000]

According to this, the game can have up to 100 enemies on screen. 

http://wccftech.com/god-wars-original-team-working-new-game-no-branching-story-confirmed/

The interview mentioned in the article: 

 

[Graystripe2000]

This was released to celebrate the trailer hitting 15 million views on YouTube. 

Download link is in here. 

https://www.twitter.com/SonySantaMonica/status/819722904824782848

[Graystripe2000]

A German retailer listed a collector's edition of the game.

http://www.playstationlifestyle.net/2017/05/25/german-retailer-lists-e200-god-war-collectors-edition/

[Graystripe2000]

E3 trailer. 

A bit of info on some of the changes made, including the fact that QTEs are gone this time. 

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1392708&highlight=god+of+war

[Teoskaven]

For context for who don't know, the serpent who shows up in the trailer is most likely Midgardsormr: in norse folklore it's a serpent who is one of Loki's bastard sons (don't ask, norse people loved god-tier bestiality), Thor's archnemesis (long story, it involves a fishing expedition gone wrong) and supposedly is destined to destroy the human material world (Midgard) and kill Thor during the Ragnarok, the end of times for norse people where everyone will rise up once more for a last gigantic epic battle where heads will fall, arms will be ripped off and gods will perish until nothing will remain or everything will be reborn. It's at the author's discretion.
While not being the direct responsable for triggering the Ragnarok (according to norse prophecies, Fimbulvert, a three year-period winter should be the start of everything), Midgardsormr plays an important part in it, and being a malicious entity, actually enjoys its role.
 

And here this thing is supposedly wanting to help the guy who slaughtered almost the entire greek pantheon.
Do the math.

[Graystripe2000]

I'm betting Ragnarock is going to play a role in the story. Maybe the serpent is trying to get Kratos and Atreus to kill the Norse gods? The devs did say that this takes place before the Vikings when the Norse gods walked the Earth after all.

[Graystripe2000]

Digital Deluxe edition leaked on Amazon. 

http://www.playstationlifestyle.net/2017/08/17/god-of-war-digital-deluxe-edition-contents-revealed-amazon/

[Strickerx5]

So yeah, apparently we never had a dedicated topic for one of Sony's biggest IPs. I went ahead and made one seeing as this most recent release probably isn't the last time we'll be diving back into this series. I feel this topic can be a place to discuss the series in general.

Note: If anyone is able to dig up a more recent topic on this (I did look for quite a while but could only find one for 3 from like 2009), feel free to delete/ merge this.

EDIT: nvm, please delete.

For those unfamiliar with the franchise, God of War is a series of PlayStation exclusive titles following the story Kratos, a Spartan soldier who has had a... rough relationship with other gods (to put it lightly). Before the latest entry, these games were based on Greek mythology and mainly involved 3rd person, action-adventure, hack and slash gameplay (with light platforming and puzzle elements). These games are all relatively notorious for their graphic depiction of violence and other mature themes. The series has gone on to become one of Sony's leading, recurring franchises from the PS2 onward. They have, more often than not, performed well both critically and financially.

 

The latest game, God of War (2018), sees the story pick up a fair bit after 3 and has moved mythologies from Greek to Norse. The game follows an older Kratos and his young son Atreus as they journey to the highest peak of the nine realms to fulfill the final request made by Atreus's mother. Along the way, they encounter many figures and creatures of Norse mythology. The game originally turned heads for it's massive overhaul of the series's staple gameplay mechanics and the changed setting. Another noteworthy change was with the camera which is now an "over-the-shoulder free camera" and allows the game to be shown through a single continuous shot.

It came out last month (at the time of writing) and has taken the PlayStation world by storm. Needless to say, if you own a PS4, this is probably a game you're not gonna want to sleep on. I'll go more in-depth on my own personal thoughts in another post but having just finished it... I will say that it definitely deserves the praise it's getting.

[Jovahexeon Jax Joranvexeon]

I must say,  nowadays,  ot lok's like this game turned out quite well. 

@Strickerx5

[Jango]

Finished last week, it's a good solid game. But man.

 

It's a big teaser. All those locked realms you can't access, the actual final fight... I know I'm not in place to complain about this, GoW is the king of cliffhangers. But man, what a teaser this game is. I was picturing in my head how Asgard could look like, how Odin could look like and so on. But let's talk about what this game actually has to offer:

The Midgard area is super fun to discover, fight and lurk around, each corner has its own story and legends to uncover, puzzles to solve, sights to admire, no matter if it's just a small island, a mine, a valley, everything has a reason to be there and to be explored front and back. Same can't be said about the enemies, most of them are copy-paste with different elemental powers, level or a shield. It could've been nicer, if like, for example, one kind of creature only existed in X area or X realm. It starts like this, but later on there's the fairy dudes I only though existed in Alfheim literally everywhere. All in all, Midgard is a great sandbox.

The other realms tho', I actually found somewhat underwhelming, if I'm being completely honest. When I travelled to Alfheim for the first time, I was blown away. I thought every realm would be as big and deep... But they're just big ass corridors at the end of the day. And pretty gimmicky too. The fire realm has combat challenges, the fog realm has XP challenges, the hell realm... Well the hell realm is actually neat. But it's still a big corridor. Then there's Asgard and the other realm you never travel to...

Speaking of Asgard, everything and everyone in the game tells you how unforgiven, strong and especially how assholes both Thor and Odin are... Just to end the game and not seeing even sight of them... Kinda. 

I guess it follows the original GoW route, with Kratos only killing mostly monsters and what-not and one god by the end of the game (demi-god in this case). Pretty sure the sequels will have you killing a bunch of gods. Starting with the hammer guy  Or not? This a new Kratos. Untill someone makes him angry or hurts his BOY, then he's gonna kill gods like there's no tomorrow I bet xD

I don't wanna waste time saying this game also looks and SOUNDS amazing. It's beautiful. Man, this soundtrack. Shit. It's so epic. And, as usual, the mythology is well implemented and even as someone who knew next to nothing about the norse mythology was able to be fully engaged. I love listening to Mimir's tales and learning about the gods, realms, Valkyries, places, wars, creatures, and how the devs and writers translated that to the game. That feeling of "ohhh, so that's how X looks like in this game" (kinda how I felt when I saw the likes of Hercules and Hades in GoW 3 when in my mind the only way I could picture them was the Disney way haha). It's a delight and I've always loved GoW because of that. This one is no exception. I'm ready to embrace the norse mythology. I'm already reading and studying more about it.

Which takes us to the plot! At first sight, it's pretty basic. But the journey is amazing, and the twists are even better. The character development is great,  Kratos and Atreus relantionship really shines when it needs to, for better of for worse (because when you remember Kratos once was an actual killing machine it's kinda funny to picture his as... A good father. Considering he killed his own xD). But fuck man, he FINALLY calling Atreus "son" by the end of the game got me :,( The secondary characters are also so good and well writen. They're not just there, they're important and entertaining too.

I love how you can slowly piece together everything you saw and heard during the journey and by the end of it, it all makes sense and blows your head. 

Finally, gameplay. Starts tough. Really tough. But it gets more and more and more engaging as you upgrade and learn new moves, special attacks and how to combine everything. By the end of the game I was going from axe to blades to barehands to axe again, and so on. The special attacks are fucking great, and I found myself switching and experimenting them a lot, depending on the situation I was facing. Same with the armours. Creativity is key. You no longer just mash square/triangle and get shit done. You actually have to build an strategy more than ever in this series. Which is as, if not more, satisfying as nailing a huge ass monster with QTE. Sure they look absolutely epic and crazy, but defeating a bunch of strong enemies with strategy, dodging, blocking and deflecting attacks, attacking at the right time in the right spot, and doing a big ass combo when they're weakened, finishing with a special attack... Feels good, man. I played on Hard difficulty from the go, and shit, it IS hard. But it's just as satisfying to. Killing the Valkyrie Queen felt so good. Surely enough, there's some grinding and typical RPG elements, but nothing too deep, nor too shallow. It didn't bothered me at all. 

TL;DR A 10/10 master piece? Nah, I don't think so. But it's a heck of a fresh good start for our favorite god-killing spartan and his boy, and I seriously can't wait for the next chapter in their story. This is just the beginning. 

Also, photomode is the best thing ever.

 

[Strickerx5]

Finished the game a couple of days ago and figured I'd share my thoughts.

Quite frankly, unless Smash does something amazing, I think we have our goty with this one. It's simply phenomenal. Not perfect, mind you, but then again what is?

The narrative, tone, and world gripped me from the very beginning and still hasn't let go. Not to mention the engine itself which is just a marvel in action. It's a testament to how far games as a medium has come. The game is able to marry all of these elements with gameplay flawlessly to create an engaging narrative through and through. There are sequences in this that just wouldn't be possible if one of these pillars wasn't up to snuff.

The game's ability to string the player along is key to all of this. From the very beginning (literally from the first shot), the game feeds the player crumbs of both gameplay elements and story pieces while keeping the current plot thread going at a fast pace. It makes the moments where players notice these pieces fall into place all the more satisfying. Whether it's with mastering a gameplay mechanic or seeing the actions of certain characters... again, everything is operating at a level that I can only dream other games could even come close to.

Too give an example of this with one of the game's sequences, you have the moment where...

Spoiler

Atreus/Boi falls sick after a clash with one of Thor's children. You've seen this conflict building throughout the story and it hits you head on. The game world then starts to respond to the events, making the environment itself look sickly and dire. Kratos makes a bee-line for Faye's house (the music changing throughout too). Throughout the sequence you see Kratos downright struggling to keep it together (even pacing back and forth while on the elevator). Even the most gameplay driven of players will probably be taken aback by such a display as Artreus himself (at least if you're using the leveling up system effectively) is simply a benefit in combat that I personally didn't want to fight off enemies without.

When you get to the house you then set out for Helheim for a cure but must first make it back to your own house to gain a weapon that can take on the mass amount of certain enemies there (enemies that have popped up throughout the adventure so that the player already knows the axe won't cut it thereheh). The game then continues on through a river ride sequences that further symbolizes how badly Kratos's actions are affecting his world (being haunted by a special certain someone along the way too).

Once you make it back to the house, you're then ambushed by a multitude of these enemies. Both making for a challenging fight and emphasizing why you need the weapon. Once you get into the house you find the Blades of Chaos who Kratos has literally tried to bury along with the rest of his past. Kratos has to take up these blades again and start to face his past actions head on. This sequence is then followed by giving the player an opportunity to destroy a large wave of these frost enemies with ease thanks to the blades. A sequence made satisfying thanks solely to literally ever factor in this game working perfectly together for one hell of a payoff.

Again, you just can't get moments like this in games that chose to leave out certain aspects or fails to do one of them well. The game is filled with these moments and demonstrates why it's important for devs to care about every factor of their games when they can.

I won't really go into detail about the rest of the story but it really is a good one with a surprising amount of heartfelt moments too. I honestly don't think there was a bad beat with it. Hell...

Spoiler

...they even managed to buck that annoying moment in all of these ai companion games where they run off due to some sort of misunderstanding/ falling out. There's really only one time Atreus isn't present with you gameplay-wise and that's it. It was honestly something I was fearing would happen here and to see Santa Monica buck the trend was a sight for sore eyes.

Now as for the gameplay, I will say that getting accustomed to it (especially for those that rarely ever dive into these over-the-shoulder styled games) is where some of the game's imperfections come into play. Make no mistake, this game plays nothing like the previous games in the series. Right down to it's very controls. As such, it comes with a bit of a learning curve that made certain battles towards the beginning rather frustrating. Not to mention that you just don't have a lot when you start out and until you get far along in the upgrade trees. The first few hours of the game did see me questioning this new take on the series. Once I got past a certain point in my upgrades though, the game just clicked for me and each battle felt fun from then on. Though, it's what it took to get to that moment that I honestly found to be this game's one serious flaw.

The upgrade system is pretty hefty as far as this series is concerned and the game really doesn't give you much direction into what you should be focusing on. There's quite a bit of trial and error involved in finding your preferred play-style. One could say that the feeling of slowly getting more accustomed to the gameplay and slowly gaining power in it is meant to simulate Kratos getting back into the swing of things in his older age, but I just don't think that's a feeling you should introduce the player to right from the start.

In this way, the gameplay is sort of like a train. It takes a while for it to reach a certain speed but once it gets there, there's no stopping it. By the end of the game, I honestly have to say that I hope they stick with this style going forward.

There's also the world map which is this wonderful combination of open world and linear style. You can choose to stay on the story path or venture off to one of the many well done sidequest. I would often lose hours on some of these quest and not even realize it. They're so well done that they honestly feel like a part of the main story. You also gain material and upgrades by completing them so it's always in your best interest to see what's going on in the world after certain story points.

Although, this is where a few of my nitpicks come into play. A lot of the world becomes open to you early on and you can easily run into enemies that you, quite frankly, have no business in dealing with at that time. I'm sure some players will enjoy the challenge (hell, even I got hooked on beating some of them and was able to surprise myself to that end) but I've always hated the idea of running into damage sponges that can often one hit kill me. I think doing a better job in throwing out small warnings to the player that you're probably taking on a bit more than you can chew at the moment would go a long way. Like, some of these enemies are really easy to get to in the earlier hours if you're simply just exploring the world.

As a side note though:

Spoiler

those Valkyries man... they're great challenges for those seeking such things but damn sony, if i wanted to play darksouls id play darksouls. i've probably spent a combined 4 hours on them and have only taken down two...

This also leads into my second (super small mind you) nitpick in that the world is... very detailed. I know, it's a stupid thing to pick out but during the beginning... it's sort of sensory overload. You just don't know what to focus on during that time and it can lead to some frustrating instances of looking for things in empty areas. Of course, this all gets better as you play through the game and realize the call-signs for such exploration elements in a level (and some could say that it all adds to the exploration factor of a game overall) but it is something I found frustrating during the first few hours nonetheless. Still, hats off to the environmental artist though. I guess they did their job too well.

Though, overall while there's certainly room for improvement (especially during the first few hours), I thoroughly think this game deserves all the praise it's getting. If you have a PS4, I urge you to check it out.

 

Now, I need to freak out a bit about that ending:

Spoiler

They flat out end this on a cliffhanger and I'm not even mad lol. They've set themselves up for at least 2 other games with this mythology and, going off that one story shrine with the 4 symbols of war from different mythologies, easily 6 others after. Like fuck, this could be a little God of War cinematic universe up in here. XD

Also, Boy being Loki is insane... and it also means that the world serpent is... ima call him grandboi

Like, those theories from earlier on about the serpent being Kratos were actually onto something omg. Ragnarok is about to be something else. If we don't get to use Thor's hammer at some point I'm rioting tho

But lastly...

WHO LE FUCK CALLED GRANDBOI DURING THE SICKNESS SCENE?!?

 

[Jango]

Great analysis, frienderino.

Game's engine is something else. This technique (no loading screens, fades to black, eticetera) isn't anything new per se, heck, PS2 games done it, but GoW 4 pushes it to a whole other level. 

I'd say I half agree with the game being too hard during the first hours is a flaw. I mean, I understand that running into a level 7 enemy right at the beginning is odd, but I see it as good thing for story context. It makes the world feel less arcade-y, with danger everywhere. There isn't a linear difficulty spyke (I mean, indeed there is, but less noticeable). Like you said, you ran into a high level enemy but decided to fight it anyways. And I bet you felt really awesome when you won. That happened to me too. I don't think I ever got myself into a battle with an enemy too strong while doing the main story missions. It was always when I decided to do one of the many tasks and sidequests. 

I've never played Dark Souls, but  I understand that this is how it plays. With patience. Everytime, like, EVERYTIME, I rushed into enemies, I would end up dead. More than ever you need to stop and think about your actions during a fight. If this isn't your kind of game, play it on the lowest difficulty (I'm not telling you this, @Strickerx5, don't missunderstand me please xD).

I felt like I was playing Megaman X, which has a gameplay philosophy I really likr. You start the game pretty weak, everyone kicks your ass, not just the big guys. There's a bunch of learning and trial and error at the beginning. You can also tackle any boss you'd like at any time, if you're brave enough. And as you progress, things just click. And it feels good when it does. You talked about the Valkyries, maaaan, they're tough. But observe them and you'll notice they kinda follow an attack pattern. With a bit of luck and patience you can nail even the hardest ones without being a high level yourself. Sure enough, the upgrade tree is kinda goofy, as what really matters by the end of the day is your general power level, not exactly the different effects the stuff you're wearing do. So yeah, upgrade the shit with the highest power level you have ATM to quickly rise up your general power level. I was fighting a Valkyrie at level 6 and she was kicking my ass. But once I got just 1 XP above level 7, I handled her wings like it was nothing. It was the fire realm Valkyrie IIRC. I can't imagine the hell that must be the "God of War" difficulty, because playing on hard was already a test of my patience.

Also, upgrade Atreus as much as you can. He makes a HUGE difference. 

Anyways! 

 

I knew BOI was evil, man. Fucking LOKI. SHIT. I did not see it coming. The next games are gonna be something else.

[Strickerx5]

36 minutes ago, Jango said:

Also upgrade Atreus as much as you can. He makes a HUGE difference. 

Right!? A friend of mine warned me about doing that (since he beat the game pretty much the week it came out) and I absolutely don't regret following his advice. Later on in the game, 4 lighting arrows can take out groups of smaller enemies at once like it's nothing.

Though idk man... maybe a better wording for my complaints about the first part of the game are less about difficulty, but more about how off things feel. The first thought I had after my first play session was that I was absolutely glad I didn't try to marathon the other games before this came out. Even with a couple of months between the last time I touched 3 and that point, the controls felt foreign as hell. Things moved a lot slower than I was expecting and the added level of complexity in upgrades just made me feel like... well, more of a old dad than a god. Which, again, is probably what they were going for but it was still just off putting to me.

Like, I think they could've just allowed the use of all of Kratos's melee attacks from the start to help make the starting areas feel more fluid and then have players upgrade their usefulness instead of simply obtaining them. Also, while I love the new camera from a cinematic perspective, I would've loved to see them take more of an Arkham approach to it and have it extend out when entering an area with enemies. Kratos's initial speed and movement options are just too slow to have that big of a blind spot always there imo.

Of course it's true that I'm very much in the minority on these claims and it really is an issue I only found in the first part of the game. Once things click, they fucking click.

Also, I will admit that it did feel good taking down some of those tougher enemies. I'm still overall against having damage sponge enemies with one-hit capabilities being that easy to get to (especially when they're variants of enemies that you'd have no problem taking down on the standard path) but I do label it as my own nitpick. I like challenge, but not a "spend a good couple of minutes hacking away at something only to get a third of his health bar down before you accidentally get cornered and can't roll out of the way of an incoming one-hit attack" kind of challenge.

 I was originally under the impression that the main story path would be a difficult one (seeing as the path leading up to the lake kicked my ass a number of times) so I thought that the side quest would give me material to better prepare myself for it. Turns out, the side-quest proved to be the more difficult ventures and made the rest of the main story... kind of easy now that I'm looking back at it. Actually, after the halfway point I don't think I even died from anything in the story mission. Plus, I guess it really does say something about the game that I usually stuck with these encounters until I beat them for the most part.

I might just do another play-through of this soon. Knowing what I know now, I'm starting to wonder if my feelings about the first part will change since I now know what I'm doing.

Also,

Spoiler

I actually don't think Atreus/Loki/Boi is going to be evil come the next games. Of course there'll probably be moments with him doing bad things but I think the game planted enough seeds to say that the cycle of children killing their parents and what not isn't going to continue.

Though, again, I'm just speculating here. The game does throw a lot at you in the second half that could all easily lead to some huge things in the next game so who knows.

Also, @Jango, you went back to the house afterwards right?

 

[Jango]

@Strickerx5

 

I guess I didn't found the new gameplay too alien because I haven't played any of the GoW in a looooong time. I've only played 1, 2 and 3. And I got 3 in the release year, I think it was 2010 or 11? IDK. Ages ago haha. I wasn't even into God of War anymore when 4 was announced. I found it "cool, 'kay". Didn't read or saw anything about untill it was out. I wasn't even going to buy it right way, but imagine if I didn't, with 99% of the world praising it xD 

The Blades of Chaos reveal didn't do much to me because I saw a spoiler of it in a YouTube video thumbnail no less. Fuck the people that do this shit. The game was out for just 1 day... The secret to life folks, is never get hyped for anything. I always have the best and most delightful surprises when playing or watching something blind. Believe me.

Oh and yes, I went back home! That cliffhanger man. It made me both mad and excited. Thor came to deliver our first new weapon in God of War 5

Speaking of the sequel, you think it's likely that they will use the same map and everything and expand upon to new regions? Like a new chapter of a book or something. Because the game as it is now still has 2 locked realms. I'd love if they do this, and absolutely carry over your stats, powers and gear to the next game. It would require less dev time too. BTW, I've finished the game 100% and had Kratos at level 9, it's possible to go beyond? I was using Ivaldi's shoulder armour at level 7 (max) and everything else Valkyrie's at level 7 (also max), plus the spells and what-not. I didn't found stronger armours than these. And even with ALL that, killing the last Valkyrie was tough. I wish you luck on your quest.

Also add me on PSN

joaovicmartins

I have Spyro as my avatar.

[Strickerx5]

3 minutes ago, Jango said:

@Strickerx5

 

  Hide contents

I guess I didn't found the new gameplay too alien because I haven't played any of the GoW in a looooong time. I've only played 1, 2 and 3. And I got 3 in the release year, I think it was 2010 or 11? IDK. Ages ago haha. I wasn't even into God of War when this one was announced. I found it "cool, 'kay". Didn't read or saw anything about untill it was out. I wasn't even going to buy it right way, but imagine if I didn't, with 99% of the world praising it xD 

The Blades of Chaos reveal didn't do much to me because I saw a spoiler of it in a YouTube video thumbnail no less. Fuck the people that do this shit. The game was out for just 1 day... The secret to life folks, is never get hyped for anything. I always have the best and most delightful surprises when playing or watching something blind. 

Oh and yes, I went back home! That cliffhanger man. It made me both mad and excited. Thor came to deliver our first new weapon in God of War 5

Speaking of the sequel, you think it's likely that they will use the same map and everything and expand upon to New regions? Like a new chapter of a book or something. Because the game as it is now still has 2 locked realms. I'd love if they do this, and absolutely carry over your stats, powers and gear to the next game. It would require less dev time too. BTW, I've finished the game 100% and had Kratos at level 9, it's possible to go beyond? I was using Ivaldi's shoulder armour at level 7 (max) and everything else Valkyrie's at level 7 (also max), plus the spells and what-not. And even with ALL that, killing the last Valkyrie was tough. I wish you luck on your quest.

Also add me on PSN

joaovicmartins

I have Spyro as my avatar.

 

 

Spoiler

Yeah man, I think we'll see a fair bit of the map return in the next one. The main point of delay this time around was creating the engine so now that they have it, I wouldn't be surprised if the next one starts popping up sooner rather than later.

And spoiling shit is such a problem nowadays. I was lucky to have been kept relatively in the dark until I had finished it. Especially with that ending boss fight like damn, I still can't get over the scale of all that.

And I'll be sure to add you the next time I'm on man! I don't play PS4 all that often but I'll probably be starting a new playthrough of this soon enough. That or finally catch up on things like Gravity Rush or Kingdom Hearts.