God Of War's Narrative And Gameplay Reminds Us It’s Never Too Late To Change

thegamer.com:

Kratos tentatively reaches a hand out to his boy, Atreus. Unsure, he falters, his hand hovering just above the scared child. I can see in his eyes that Kratos wants to make the final push, wants to comfort his son, but he can’t. He pulls his hand back and stands up, ready to continue their journey.

Kratos isn’t used to fatherhood. He left that life behind long ago when Ares tricked him into slaughtering his wife and daughter. He literally still bears the scars that event left on him, his skin stained with their blood and ashes. Changing is hard, and even though Kratos is trying, change often comes slowly.

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Kratos’ hesitance in God of War mirrors my own feelings of unease regarding the new gameplay direction Santa Monica Studios took when ushering in this new era for the Spartan warrior. The game opens with Kratos felling a tree with an axe, a weapon deeply at odds with the blades of chaos I’ve come to know and love over my four journeys with the demigod.

It feels strange in Kratos’ hands - slow and heavy, unlike the fast and pirouetting chained blades that he used to dance around Gods and Titans alike. He’s always been handy with anything, even his bare hands, but to be stripped of his iconic blades feels wrong. Unlearning the familiar spin attack and slash, slash, slam combo was hard, as my muscle memory of the older games still persists after all these years.

Also gone is the fixed camera of Kratos’ younger days. Now, the camera is free to move, its gaze an unrelenting continuous shot that follows him and Atreus from start to finish - a technological and artistic marvel brilliantly realised by Santa Monica Studios. Kratos’ age is showing. He can no