God of War’s Director Explains Why Combat Has Changed So Much

When you think God of War combat, you probably recall what Kratos was capable of in his previous games, whether it was beating a boss senseless with his Blades of Chaos, or ripping an enemy apart with his bare hands.

But the combat has changed quite a bit in his latest God of War venture, which comes out soon for the PlayStation 4. The game is built with a fresh new system in mind, in which you can pummel enemies, but have new strategies to grasp, with the help of Kratos’ new combat axe.

Now, why the change? Game director Cory Barlog broke it down while speaking with Gamespot, noting, “We have made seven games with that (previous) combat system.”

Not that the previous system was broken, by any means. In fact, many players have come to appreciate its visceral approach, not to mention feeling like a total badass as you take on gods and their many allies. But for this new game, Barlog and company wanted a combat system that showed growth and a new level of awesomeness.

“I was looking around at how incredibly talented our systems and combat team was, and I was like, ‘I need them to take on the challenge that we had on God of War 1.’ That challenge of nobody really knows what that system was when I first got there in 2003. Combat was, I don’t want to say a mess, but it was more like they hadn’t found their sea legs with combat.

“Looking at the new God of War, we need a chance to show what we’ve learned over the last decade. So I didn’t want to change it for the sake of changing it, I wanted it to reflect how all of us [at the studio] have grown up. What we play is different. God of War is a reflection of what we play.”

And to further reflect the importance of change within a series, Barlog actually brought up Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, Capcom’s highly effective reboot of the series, which came out last year. He noted that it “shows that creators with a very strong vision and a really good team can make these bold decisions and have the audience follow them, even if they are resistant in the beginning.” He did note that some will put up “natural resistance,” but there’s always that settling period – and many are sure to see it with God of War.

As you can tell by our review, these are changes for the better, as this could easily be the best game in the series. You can find out for yourself when God of War releases on April 20 for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 4 Pro.