God of War - Preview of the new adventure of Kratos

Finally here we are. In recent days we went up to try the long-awaited with our own hands God of War, next big exclusive for all users PlayStation 4. I do not deny that talking to you about Kratos' new adventure is more complex than expected, also due to the new nature that the video game has undergone. What we found ourselves in front of, at least apparently, did not seem to us the classic title of the saga: continuing with our test, however, we realized that it is a much larger and much more layered product than its previous chapters. The issues dealt with are no longer just hatred and revenge, the new God of War it is the story of a father who has the obligation to prepare his son for a difficult journey, hard and full of dangers, which will lead both to a destiny to be discovered. What we have found a title that is in no hurry to tell but who, aware of his own depth, takes his time to immerse the user in the adventure.

For obvious reasons we will not spoil anything about the game plot, we will only stop in telling you that the mission of Kratos and Atreus will be to reach the top of the mountain seen in the first trailer of God of War. The first minutes of the build at our disposal showed a game that, at least in the initial stages, does not want to speed up the times: you will be gradually introduced into the game world, so as to metabolize the commands in a natural way without hastening the learning process. Once you understand how to hit, move and shift the camera, you can really play. We took our first steps in hunting the deer shown in the announcement video, but this time something has changed: the environment is bigger, there are different roads, everything seems to have been placed in that spot for a very specific reason. Atreus is a smart boy despite his young age and, thanks to his mother's teachings, he knows how to perfectly recognize the footprints of different animals, thus being able to immediately understand the exact path. During this journey we have also collected the first of the collectibles which, according to the area to which they belong, will change: in fact in the first area they were toys, in the second there were masks and so on. Once the set is complete you can exchange it for silver.

We continue our journey through the thick mist of the forest, between the sounds of game and with the snow that continues to descend without stopping. A little further on the first real fight with the enemies will arrive: here you will learn the basics of the combat system which, although winks at the various Souls, does not lose the soul of the real God of War. You will have the possibility to deliver light or heavy blows, choose whether or not to equip the ax with a convenient button and, if desired, throw it on the heads of the enemies to freeze them. Obviously the weapon of the Phantom of Sparta can be recalled at will and, in case you are not interested in fighting with the Leviathan, you can rely on the fists of the protagonist. As a basic armament, the game also provides a shield which, in addition to activating automatically when you hit enemies with your knuckles, can be used to block the various assaults of the monsters that will try to kill you.

The ax as it is right also causes damage on return, as if it were a boomerang that damages anything that stands in front of it. The accuracy of the dodge is absolute, and Kratos' movements in some moments make it pure natural. The movements are therefore light, despite the heaviness of the clashes. The biggest terror, however, revolved around the change of shot: Santa Monica obviously thought of this too, inserting an indicator that will not only indicate the position of the enemies around you, but that will change color according to their action: yellow the monster has aimed at you, orange is charging, red is the time to dodge or parry, purple are about to shoot you. The opponents will have the life bar on their heads and, just below the HP, there will be a crisis bar which, once filled with consecutive hits, will allow you to score a finish that will KO the monster.

During the hands-on we also tried a boss fight: the clash was not particularly challenging since the enemy's move set was very predictable and did not offer any unforgettable ideas. Precisely for this reason, once you have read his movements, the clash began to be taken for granted, so as to arrive without too much effort at its natural conclusion.

It's hard not to ruin the plot, but in addition to a couple of boss fights, the game made us collide with a particularly strange individual. Nothing is known about this man but what is certain is that he knows very well who Kratos is. Needless to say, a fatal battle breaks out, a second boss fight divided by three phases in which we will (re) discover the violence of the Fury of Sparta, also modified to make it more suitable for the style of this new God of War. His ability is much shorter than in the previous chapters, on the other hand, however, he was given an out of the ordinary brutality. In this battle we have seen and done everything: the combat system, including dodging and parrying, must necessarily be used in its entirety, without excluding functions of any kind. The violence of the blows caused gashes on the ground, damaging trees and rocks so as to make the terrible clash between the Ghost of Sparta and the shady individual even more truthful and ferocious: a small reminder of the battle against Poseidon, only this time it ran on PlayStation 4 Pro , it had tremendously realistic detail and had a purely cinematic soul, sacrificing classic Quick Time Events with small actions to perform during battle.

Between clashes and dungeons we will discover the first big truth about God of War: although Santa Monica has hinted that the title had become open world, it will not be so. The multimedia work in fact alone gives the illusion of being inside a freely explorable universe but, in reality, this is formed by a series of many corridors that channel the user into a single point. The environmental puzzles we faced didn't seem particularly complex, although some required a little insight. After a large number of battles you will learn the Rune mechanics: it is simply a matter of inserting special stones (up to a maximum of two) inside Kratos' ax, so as to give him special abilities that will be useful in different situations.

We also had time to take a little look at the equipment which, unlike in the past, will now play a fundamental role. Kratos will be equipped with three prices: bib, cuffs and kilt, while for what concerns Atreus there will be only a single tunic. Items cannot be purchased normally, in fact, you will first have to get the materials to create the objects and then take them to the trusted blacksmith who, once paid, will give you the desired product. It is not clear if there will be only one blacksmith in the game or there will be more, but the thing we can tell you is that during our test we had the opportunity to meet the creator of the ax of Kratos who, to facilitate our journey , he made his forge available to us, obviously not for free.

Although it is a game that only gives the illusion of the open world, we got lost in mind among the incredible scenarios, also thanks to a script that at certain moments emphasizes them by giving a spectacular background to our actions. The title, however, was not exempt from some frame rate drops, but nothing particularly critical since our experience was smooth even in the most chaotic moments. What we have seen has certainly surprised us, the thought that what we have tried is only the tip of the iceberg makes us very confident for the future. It is only a prediction, but in all probability the adventure of the Greek demigod will last much longer than in the previous chapters, also thanks to the collectibles, the back-tracking and the explorable areas.

The title, which in fact does not have the number 4, has the obligation and the objective to continue the adventure of Kratos, although any player can take the pad in hand and leave for the Nordic lands without knowing the story of the Ghost of Sparta: knowing it will only make you more aware of the character of the character, thanks also to a roundup of easter eggs available in the game. A small gift for fans of the saga will be the maximum difficulty: this will be selectable only at the beginning of the game, and will be called "Give Me God of War“, Or Give Me God of War, a mode that recalls the old-fashioned difficulty a bit.

In conclusion we can say that God of War is, without a shadow of a doubt, one of the most important titles of this 2018. Kratos and Atreus did not disappoint us, indeed, the father-son union does nothing but reinforce a totally revolutionized narrative compared to the past. Santa Monica has matured over time, this can be seen perfectly in this new adventure. As mentioned at the beginning, the videogame does not need to rush to tell about itself, he takes his time and does it with style. The combat system could be a big question mark, but the development house has shown that it knows how to do it by proposing a fresh combat system, but which does not differ in speed and violence from the previous chapters. The only doubt emerges on the level design of the map: if the game will be entirely guided or if there will also be room for a more in-depth exploration we will only be able to say it with the final version of the game. The fact remains that God of War gave a great test of personality after the change of look. We left the room with a giant smile on our lips and with the knowledge that April 20 has never been this far.