This God of War Gif Will Convince You the Game Is as Brutal as Ever

Some God of War fans are a little concerned about the new entry, which hits the PS4 on April 20. It's definitely different than all of the God of War games that have come before it: it's framed differently, it takes place in a different mythological canon, and Kratos has a son. Old-school fans are concerned that brutal Kratos that they used to know and love is gone. They're worried that God of War may have lost its signature edge. This gif will convince you otherwise (WARNING, this is probably NSFW):

Even though the enemy doesn't resemble a human being, and even though there's no "blood" (no blood like ours, anyway), it's still hard to watch. For those of us who still feel fresh off of God of War III, this is looking more like that Kratos we know and love. This is the Kratos that is capable of single-handedly hunting down a god and ripping his head off with his bare hands. If you thought we were in for some kind of strange, M-rated version of Daddy Daycare, think again.

I think it would be amusing at this point to go back over the ESRB rating for God of War, which describes some of the violence depicted throughout the game:

"Combat is frequent and often bloody, with characters punching and kicking each other repeatedly, using bladed weapons to slash/stab/impale enemies. Larger enemies and bosses are dispatched in more intense sequences of violence: Kratos slashing and stabbing a dragon's tongue; a character using an axe to hook and tear off an ogre's jaw. During one sequence, players decapitate (off-screen) an imprisoned character and carry the severed head around; headless corpses also appear in other scenes."

Does that make you guys feel better? We're not saying that violence is necessary to have fun, but if you're going to call a game God of War, come on, you're going to have to indulge in some crazy sequences of supernatural destruction. And it's not all about the violence, anyway. If you guys have been keeping up with any of the preview footage, then you already know that we're in for the most gorgeous God of War to date, and what is likely to be an extremely touching story. You can find more about the graphics and performance of God of War in this video preview.