God of War is coming back, but not quite as you remember it. Up until now, the God of War games have all been fairly similar. You play a bald guy who kills massive Gods in increasingly over-the-top ways, but after God of War: Ascension there wasn’t really anywhere else for the series to take it’s ultraviolent carnage.
So, with the new God of War, it looks like Sony’s Santa Monica Studio is scaling back, or at least making the action a bit more down-to-earth. The new trailer, unveiled at Sony’s E3 2016 press conference, introduces us to a bearded Kratos, who looks much more like a regular human than the superhero-esque character we’ve seen in the past. Also, he has a son. Yes, Kratos’ family apparently isn’t dead in this game – or at least his son isn’t. We don’t get a look at the kid’s mother.
The trailer, which is absolutely gorgeous, starts with Kratos and his son going on their first hunt together, but since this is God of War, things quickly become more complicated. The duo are confronted by orc-like creatures, and a giant troll. This gives God of War a chance to show off it’s new, more-grounded combat. Kratos can still do brutal, terrible things, but now he’s not nearly as invulnerable and acrobatic, and it looks like he’ll need plenty of help from his bow-wielding son.
It looks like the new God of War is going to be a pretty bold departure for the series, but frankly, it’s been in need of one, so I’m on board. What are your thoughts?