PS4 Exclusive God of War Gets Tons of Info on Norse Setting, Gameplay, Kratos and His Son

During PlayStation’s E3 live coverage, God of War Creative Director Cory Barlog and Voice Actor Christopher Judge (who is the new voice of Kratos) talked about the new game announced yesterday.

[Majin-vegeta]

I is excited

[darthv72]

As am I. This will be epic.

On a side note, the voice does not sound like TC Carson.

[Sunny_D]

It isn't. It's Christopher Judge. He was part of the cast for Stargate.

[UltraNova]

I think I m more excited for GoW now than i am for Horizon, and that says lot!

Everything was nailed down. One thing though, I hope they wont abandon his past and that it will come up somehow. Maybe a surviving Greek God conspires with Norse Gods to take him down, or even Kratos being forced to use the blades of chaos when left with no choice, etc keep his identity somehow.

I think it will be a mistake if they deliberatly ignore who Kratos is and where he comes from. If they do, why even use Kratos and not someone new? See what i mean?

Now, I think we all know where this is going, meaning Scandinavian's are going to have a major Norse God shortage, sooner rather than later.

But what if they have other plans? Like killing Kratos while his son takes over as the new God of War? But that would be crazy cause Kratos is GoW...why wont they reveal his son's name? Something tells me its going to be Zeus.

I m stoked, really its a great time to be a gamer.

[WelkinCole]

@ultranova.

Actually I hope for the opposite.

Killing Gods is fine and all but it will be a bit too predictable and samey with previous games. I want them to do something a bit different story wise instead of just replacing Greek Gods with Norse Gods then rinse and repeat. Seems lazy and unimaginative.

I see lighting when the kid shot the troll. I think Kratos is not the kids dad but rather his mentor which means that the Norse Gods might have enlisted his help in training the kid. He could be a young Thor for all we know. They may be preparing him for the Ragnarök event which will be cool.

[Mroc13]

As is I. lol

[S2Killinit]

A prediction:
Kratos is granted reincarnation. He is reincarnated as a Viking Warrior, but he does not remember anything about his past life. He has a son and a family as it was negotiated by Kratos so that he would be happy in the next life and enjoy the things that were taken away from him. But that's where the Viking Kratos's story begins...

Loving it.

[darthv72]

I have a feeling that the boy is not his blood son but the son of the woman he takes to be his. Just from the dialog of Kratos talking to him. He says things like "your mother taught you to hunt" which implies that Kratos was not there initially to teach him like a father would teach their son while growing up.

Kratos has skills and power but the boy doesn't and lacks the confidence to even take the life of the deer. Again, something that a father generally bestows upon their son when raising them to survive off the land.

[badz149]

RPG element? Woohoo...suck THAT unbelievers! My other comment suggesting that this will have some kind of RPG element in it got disagreed a lot. I knew that there will be some kind of RPG-like system when I saw those XP points popped up.

Regardless, I'm very excited ahout this. Hopefully we can get the release date soon and hopefully too, it won't be too long of a wait! GoW3 came out in 2010, roughly over 3 years after the PS3 release. So, following that pattern, March 2017 would be my guess

[Mr-Dude]

Jaffa, kree!!

I thought that voice was familiar

[MoveTheGlow]

Seriously! The last thing I expected out of the Sony conference was to be the most hyped for a new God of War, but this has me locked on. It looks great, it looks like it'll be more of an open world, it looks like the devs have played some Souls games and picked some mechanics up from them, and the sound design was excellent!

[Elimin8]

I R 2.

[-Foxtrot]

"New voice of Kratos"

:'(

I hope his son is killed off early in the game, I don't want to hold his hand. I just never thought as God of War as that kind of game. It's God of War not the Last of Us in all respect.

I just want Kratos to be a badass and not be dragged down by family.

[thatguyhayat]

Lol why would you say such a thing But must be a reason why hes going to be killing norse gods. Not for sport i hope

[-Foxtrot]

Well that's what I'm getting at. There has to be a reason for him to go after them and loosing another son would set him off

I appreciate what they are trying to do but I don't want "banter" with my kid in a God of War game, kind of out of place.

I would have rather seen Kratos and his new wife/girlfriend fighting side by side. It would be nice for a bad ass female character to be built up in these games alongside him.

[Imalwaysright]

Is he or is his son?

[JEECE]

@Foxtrot Would you really want to play another GOW game like the others, where Kratos' character development is pretty much limited to him just being mad and seeking revenge, and the game is basically just over the top action? Because it seems like most people got tired of that (see Ascension's sales compared to GOW 3), especially after 3 was such a logical conclusion to that whole character arc. Even apart from GOW, how many games of that type are coming out now that are selling millions of copies like GOW 1-3 used to do? It looks like this game is trying to evolve an old character at the same time it evolves gameplay to learn from things like Last of Us (in terms of story-telling) and Demon/Dark Souls (in terms of combat).

[Sevir]

Please stop with the griping! The narrative has changed. Instead of moaning be happy it's not the same game we've played over 6 games before...

After seeing this demo I'm totally revitalized for the series, I'm glad there's a different focus on building Kratos to not be some one dimensional character who's only ambitions is to kill.

This is great.

[-Foxtrot]

"This is great"

So you can have your opinion but I can't have mine. Jesus come on

I'm not saying the game shit it's just picking a small thing as a concern what's wrong with that. I'm not going to be a drone and pretend nothing is wrong and I auto like everything.

You seem to think you either like it 100% or you don't like it at all.

[Lionsguard]

Agreed, Kratos before was just this angry dude that should have ended at GoW. In fact, David Jaffe never even meant for the series to get as far as GoW 3 and include the entire pantheon. Kratos' main beef was with Ares. in GoW 2, he was a worse God than Ares ever was. Kratos became very unlikeable, This is a new, less angry but much more focused Kratos. There will be those who won't like it but either they'll give in or be left out who cares.

[iceman06]

@kydrice...What you were seeing is the typical path that many of the heroes of Greek tragedy go through. Often, they are consumed by the same anger and vengeance (or whatever traits) that they hate and often don't see it in themselves. Kratos was no exception. His blood lust fueled his journey, in that, he slowly but surely became much like the very gods he despised.

[Utalkin2me]

@-Foxtrot

So people that do like it are "drones". It's pretty obvious by that statement you have more of a agenda then just a opinion on Kratos Son.

[lunatic0001]

@ Foxtrot
the father/son combo could work if done right...would be cool if you start off holding his hand but as you progress through the game...the less you hold his hand and the more badass kratos son gets to where he takes over as the main character when kratos dies at the end of this game...now im getting ahead of myself haha

[Deadlead]

Yeah I actually agree. I don't want some The God of Us/ The Last of War hybrid. As much as I Love both those franchises, and agree GoW needed to be reinvented to stay relevant I have my reservations that escorting a child through whole campaign is too antithetical to the core of what made GoW great to begin with. I could be completely wrong, I hope I am. I'd also argue a brand new lead protagonist would have been preferable to trying to humanize one of the most shallow characters in games. A nod to Kratos, a cameo, or even as a main character within the plot etc... All would have made more sense to me given the narrative direction SSM have chosen.

That said the trailer still got me really hyped, stunning visuals, transition to Norse mythology, and RPG elements all looked awesome!

[uncharted56]

Did you consider that maybe Sony did not want that to happen because both Kratos and GoW name so iconic with Platform brand.

Think of the Master Chief and Halo situation, the same reason for which fans had complaint about the latest halo game.

[lunatic0001]

yeah but maybe escorting a child only happens in the beginning and as you progress...the more badass and independent the boy gets...who knows...for all we know kratos son could be the character to take over as the protagonist in future titles

[maniacmayhem]

*I hope his son is killed off early in the game,*

Best comment ever

[UnHoly_One]

And I totally agree with it.

If I have to babysit a kid the whole game, it isn't God of War, and it doesn't sound fun.

[escott013]

@-Foxtrot

I agree with you from a gameplay standpoint. And yes, concerning the story, *if* he is going to be killing Norse gods then he must have a reason but killing his son off would be, for a lack of better words, cliche. I hope they get more creative with his motives.

Your idea of him fighting alongside a new girlfriend is awesome, but I think it would be even cooler for his son to grow up over chapters of the game and fight alongside him. That would be so badass if Kratos had a Nordic son that turned out to be a complete monster like himself and take on the Norse gods together....but what would motivate them to revolt against the Norse gods together?

[IRetrouk]

The mum getting killed would probably do it

[Dark_Knightmare2]

I'm sorry after 7 games this is the shake up gow needed I'm done with a one dimensional screaming rage filled psycho . It was fun while it lasted but times have changed and gow as well as Kratos needed to grow up and get with the times lest they be left behind and this looks exactly like what's happening thank god

[garrettbobbyferguson]

"needed"

Sometimes the only shakeup a series needs is in the form of a new setting to take on, not a completely different outlook or narrative style. In my opinion this Norse setting so far is a bit too similar to the greek one that we're accustomed to. That one big enemy Kratos faced looked to be very similar to Hades.

[Inzo]

The more I read about this the more it concerns me, shake up yes but to completely change the core of what a GOW game is? Fast paced action is what GOW is, now we have RPG elements, completely new gameplay, a new voice actor, an AI buddy accompanying you throughout the game, an emotional Kratos. Ask yourself this, is there anything other than Kratos that says "This is GOW"? From what I have seen, no there isnt. Once this all sinks in the "true" GOW fans will voice their concerns.

[Jayszen]

@Foxtrot

I think you are right but I suspect that the boy will be the catalyst for Kratos to then want to take on the Norse gods.

[Majister-Ludi]

We agree not everything has to be the last of us, especially not God of War. God of War is fast frantic hack and slash with amazing scope. I'm not like this camera view and slower pace but maybe this is just prologue and it will be more like the originals as the game progresses.

[Summons75]

I like the new humanized Kratos. He is actually going to feel like an actual character for the first time and not just a roid rager.

[KentBenMei]

Yeah, the new voice is a dealbreaker for me. It ruined DmC and MGSV for me, too.

[bouzebbal]

You complain about nothing really..
If you played previous episodes correctly, Kratos always had this weakness and guilt everytime he sees Colliope in his vision.
Seeing him like this with his son didn't surprise me at all, you could just see how badass he was during fights.
I'm extremely excited to discover what happened until he ended in nose mythology.

[Letthewookiewin]

I actually have a slight feeling that this isn't going to be Kratos's story. It will be his sons. But then again I feel like the kid will probably die or something and set Kratos off. I really like the gameplay though. Never got into the GoW games but this looks really great.

[Sunny_D]

I think this game is going to launch a sequel. Kratos will be the protagonist in this game and will die so that his son becomes the new protagonist in the next games that come out.

[Sunny_D]

I for one welcome the change. We thought GOW3 was the last game and then we got Ascension. It was the badass Kratos we know and the game was decent but by then the series was getting stale. The change was needed.

[uncharted56]

They don't want to just make another GoW game though so they are doing something different and honestly interesting with the character. If Kratos and GoW will come back then I will rather have them flesh him out and add some emotional and personal depth to him.

[iliimaster]

like will smith and jaden smith in After Earth very similar and why!?

[Inzo]

"Through the entire game, Kratos is constantly teaching his son"

Sorry, unfortunately this is not going to happen.

[Inzo]

I have to agree with you, it all looked fantastic but it just did not feel like GOW.

[GamePeace]

"I would have rather seen Kratos and his new wife/girlfriend fighting side by side. It would be nice for a bad ass female character to be built up in these games alongside him."

I think you're missing the point of this game, because being "bad ass" is not what they are aiming at with the new God of War. They want to create a more emotionally impactful game this time, where Kratos shows other sides of him, like it or not.

[PiperMCFierceson]

Lol that's awesome I kind of do too. Total noob with that arrow.

[UnHoly_One]

This game sounds nothing like a God of War game. It sounds like The Last of Us.

It sounds awful, from what info they've released so far.

I like a good emotional story as much as the next guy, and a game with a companion that fights with you and everything, but that isn't God of War.

The Kratos I know is a loner who speaks through anger and violence, not tender moments with his son and a wounded deer.

I'm so sad. :(

[rainslacker]

What if Kratos dies and the kid becomes the new GOW?

[Goldby]

What greater war than a father who doesnt know how to father his own son. What greater war than a father who doesnt know how to show his own son that hes proud of him. What greater war than a man who doesnt know how to love his own son?

[trouble_bubble]

That's not TC Carson???? I swear it sounded like him just deeper and gruffer, which VA's can do. Well damn.

I honestly thought it was Carson so good on the new guy for bringing a similar texture. Some of the delivery with his son DID seem faster paced than what TC used to do, but I just chalked it up as a whatever.

I wonder why TC didn't come back. memories of David Hayter, but at least it's not a Hollywood actor type teplacing him, I don't think

[Sunny_D]

The voice actor was on Stargate. But he's not well known as you would think.

[raWfodog]

TC Carson was not as well known either unless you were a fan of 'Living Single'. I would think more people would be familiar with Teal'C from Stargate SG-1 than Kyle Barker (TC Carson). TC was great as Kratos but I think Christopher will do a good job as well.

[Sitdown]

Wow, not sure how you thought it was him.

[garrettbobbyferguson]

I'm still holding out hope that some day there will be an Egyptian God of War title. The fantastical elements they could make in the god of war IP could be incredible.

Example: http://www.artofvfx.com/God...

[Darkfist]

or japanese mythology

[garrettbobbyferguson]

Wouldn't Ni-Oh fulfill that role?

[FallenAngel1984]

I just hope it has awesome combat.

Otherwise why even make a new GoW if it's going to be so drastically different

[Aloy-Boyfriend]

Because a game series being the same across generations can only get too far...

7 games and no innovation since teh very first one. Time to innovate again and make the series fresh again

[Inzo]

Then its not GOW.

[Errorist76]

The old gameplay had gotten stale already..it needed to be reinvented. Didn't you see the boss fight?! Looked pretty GoW like to me.

[jcole97]

Isn't kratos black?

[theFAYEsorceress]

no, he's a spartan. an olive-skinned greek.

[Sunny_D]

No. Both voice actors for Kratos, TC Carson and Christopher Judge are black.

[UltraNova]

The game char is white, he is Greek. Both voice actors are black though(grantier voices, presumably)

Edit: i need to refresh the page more often hehe

[Sciurus_vulgaris]

I never got why so many people think kratos is black. Kratos, Zeus, Deimos and Poseidon all have the same nose and similar face structure. Kratos without ashes has the same skin tone as Zeus, a complexion comparable to most Southern Europeans and North Africans .

[vivid83]

I think it may because his voice sounds like a black man and people just identified with that

[trywizardo]

I knew it,RPG system is official :D :D :D , I hope there are crafting or weapon enhancing :D
oh,and I want to know more about the world,is it just big with big areas to explore or a real open world !!!

[dRanzer]

No open world,but large areas
But all we need from god of war game is to be EPIC with great boss fights

[trywizardo]

I'm fine with that,big areas to explore is good too ^_^

[opinionated]

People keep bringing up "innovation". It's hilarious... Do you want it to be the same as the last 6 god of wars man?! We need it to "innovate" into the last two naughty dog games we've played man. Yes I personally would rather see Kratos dismantle Thor like he did Poseidon than teach his weak bastard son how to hunt deer.

[Aloy-Boyfriend]

So yeah the game is only about hunting a damn deer.

Thanks for the spoilers man of the future

[opinionated]

It was a heavily scripted reveal. It just wasn't a GOW3 reveal, not even close. They set that mild narrative tone for a reason, it's a different kind of GOW. The camera is much more cinematic than combat oriented. Spartan rage is some cinematic that doesn't even bother with QTEs. I'm just being honest about what I saw. I don't know what the rest of the game is like.

[OB1Biker]

'The camera is much more cinematic than combat oriented'
The camera is a huge improvement and combat mechanics had to evolve. If the camera was fixed like in previous games and the combat was the same there would even more people whining about it.
I do like cinematics anyway and just think about photo mode in combat will be incredible. Still the combat looks and should feel great

[opinionated]

@luffy
Yes I watched the demo. Have you seen the demo for the other god of wars? The scale and tone is nothing close. Only a TLOU fanboy would call it progression.

@OB1
Lol Evolve... How exactly? Dodge roll into a 2 piece? R3+L3 for Spartan rage cinematic? I hope it does feel great, I have a feeling it will look great but not much else. At least you will have fun in photo mode watching it.

[Errorist76]

I accidentally clicked agree because you hid your sarcasm way too good. I apologize.

[AdmGenAladeen]

"weak bastard son" We all start out like that. With Kratos guidance he'll turn into a killer.

[slappy508]

"There going to be RPG elements and character progression"
*masturbates*

[KentBenMei]

NEW voice of Kratos? No thanks. Series is dead to me.

&b4 someone says something along the lines of "you were never a true fan if one voice is all that matters to you." Don't bother.

[Sunny_D]

Let me guess you cried for David Hayter as well?

[KentBenMei]

evrytiem

[Ceaser9857361]

cool story.. move on

[KentBenMei]

cool story.. blow me

You don't like my opinion? Too bad, don't read it and don't reply. These comment sections are for people to express their views you moron. LOL. GTFO.

[Ceaser9857361]

when did i said i didnt like your opinion.. certainly didn't agree ..but everyone has the right to express here... stop over reacting like an idiot...

[ShadowKnight]

Interesting

[Inzo]

No TC Caeson, that is a big let down for me, but back to the game, I think they are setting up Kratos' son to continue the brutal legacy.

[ninsigma]

I'm pumped for this. Looks brilliant!

[objdadon]

The gameplay for this was absolutely amazing. Seeing games like this is why i always laugh that we're already about to get new consoles. Uncharted 4, horizon, and this shows you how talented developers take their time to learn how to harness the power of a console after a couple years. They're just starting to really learn it and we're already ready to jump to the next.

[S2Killinit]

So bada**
You can tell from the original score production that the game will be epic.

[Melankolis]

KILL THOR!!! KILL ODIN!!!

[PizzaSteve]

TC Carson not Kratos? It's MGS5 all over again. I don't understand the change. Maybe TC Carson wanted more money and Sony said no and got Christopher Judge cheaper. Maybe since Kratos is older they wanted a deeper voice but Carson's voice was deep too. Well who knows but one thing I do know is Carson will always be Kratos just like David Hayter will always be Snake. Anyway still excited to play the next GOW.

[IIFloodyII]

They sound similar enough that it doesn't bother me anywhere near as much as the Hayter/Sutherland switch, also love me some Stargate so Judge getting work is nice. I do wish they at least offered TC the gig though and he turned them down or something, guy was a big part of Kratos.

[Errorist76]

Still getting goosebumps when thinking about that opening....
Looks like TLOU left a huge mark on the development..as it left on most of us! Beyond excited.

[C-H-E-F]

Hmm... I want to read it.. but I also want to be in complete aww about this game... hmph... shooot decisions, decisions.

[bouzebbal]

i'm in the same case as you, but reading would only make you more excited.. nothing that will spoil imo.

[AmUnRa]

Day one buy. Thats it

[Saladin416]

You think there will be a showdown with Thor or Odin??????? thanks norse mythology right.....

[sorenx]

I really hope the camra is not fixed..

[esmittystud101]

It looks more linear than an Uncharted game.

[kpanda]

And you're more salty than a bag of chips.

[Surt]

even more so then say a GOW game? You lost all credibility. Hand over your gamer card.

[BiggerBoss]

God of war has always been linear...

[esmittystud101]

So its a two playthrough max and then I set it down to collect dust. Check. LOL.

I have no issue with linear games.......I just have about 150 hours of less playtime with them then I do others. Uncharted 4 was great and all, but 30 hours later (for two playthroughs) and its never getting picked back up again. The mp is okay. But not 200 hours worth of okay. Rise of The Tomb Raider was the same minus the mp. I liked both games, but anything linear, I gotta wait atleast a year for a price drop from now on. I learned the hard way you could say.

[ShadowKnight]

I wonder if his Son is Thor or Odin. His son has arrows with electricity.

[thornh]

@ShadowKnight
After reading the new info this is what I think:
I do not think the boy is Kratos' biological child. The way he refers to the boy's mother in the beginning sounds like Kratos doesn't even know her. I believe the boy is a young Thor. Thor was the son of Odin and his mother was a giantess named Jord. Jord was the personification of earth. I think Odin believes his son is too "soft" to one day rule or, even more importantly, fulfill his destiny at Ragnarok and has sent him off to be trained to be a god. In return for saving Kratos' life Odin makes Kratos care for Thor and teach him the ways of a warrior and a god. Along the journey Kratos begins to develop genuine feelings for the boy and this creates discord with Odin. The fact that Barlog stated that this all occurs well before the Viking era in Scandinavia also makes this more possible. The Thor that the Vikings knew was already a god and had done many great things. This seems to happen before the gods are known to man.

Or, I am completely wrong again.

[iceman06]

That's very interesting and makes some sense because Odin was one of the few gods in Norse mythology to actually interact with humans. Maybe Kratos will train Thor only to have to confront him once he's a god? (in a future installment)

[Surt]

It boggles my mind as to why people want this to be a reboot? This is a sequel. Dev even came out to say he didn't want to make a reboot, but make changes as to how GOW is played, and kratos. They gave him a son who obviously has effected him.

[refocusedman]

Because kratos killed all of the greek god ( not all but most) there's a void of balance which was filled by the norse gods. At least thats my theory.

[ceballos77mx]

I'm thinking that the demo was the prologue, why would they be giving you points when the kid shoots the arrow.

Eventually Kratos will be removed from the story, and well get to play as the kid all grown up, eventually reuniting with Kratos.

Any way this is just my opinion.

[hirobrotagonist]

He has too many abs

[Silly gameAr]

I thought it was TC Carson doing the voice again.

[Zorkaz]

I am so hyped for this game, and can't wait to see more!!! From the visuals to the gameplay to the story, I cannot contain my excitement!

[R3DRAIN89]

Cant wait R3DRAIN89

[thelaughingwiseman]

Reminds me of Old Man Logan

[showtimefolks]

this is gonna be epic. so this is still kartos with his old memories

i think this game will tell a very heavy story especaily once his son finds out the past dealings of his father

but sony santa monica if you kill kratos at the end of this new god of war than i am done. understand how big the reaction was when kratos came into the camera. don't do something stupid

also i hope there is a explanation of the time between god of war 3's ending and this game

i am gonna replay all the god of war games on ps3

[343_Guilty_Spark]

That did not look like the GOW I enjoyed playing on my PS3....It just didn't....

[KakashiHotake]

Enough said, I'm sold lol

[lzn53262]

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