God of War 4 Leak - Norse setting - Thoughts?

According to Eurogamer (link) we might be getting a new God of War game set in a Norse setting so I mainly wanted to start this topic to discuss the idea of a Norse God of War game.

Some additional photos (link)

That could be interesting and I certainly know I don't want another traditional / typical God of War game and if the franchise were to could back would certainly like to see it go in a new / fresh direction.

Also the idea of Kratos going so insane that he attempts to kill all other Gods I too agree is hilarious.

I hope they go full on Saints Row 3 / IV style crazy.

The idea of Kratos just abruptly and without subtlety slashing his way into other mythologies in order to kill all of their gods now that there's noone left to kill in Greek mythology is just hilarious. Full speed ahead.

Sony first party is tired. Enough with this series.

did it have to be kratos

I'm in, I miss the spectacle of God of War. Those games played well and the production values were through the roof. Downside was that they just ran out of stories to tell, so a new setting can do wonders.

Good God, Sony, just let Santa Monica do literally anything else.

The God of War games are fine, but I just don't see a lot of demand for killing off yet more gods with quick time events. It's been done...how many times now? 5 or 6 including the mobile games and weird prequels? Try something fresh Sony.

Meh. I don't have high hopes. On one hand because it'll just be another bastardization on norse mythology and on another because I fear this is the game's story; Kratos is tricked by Loki to kill the aesir. And judging by their screenshots their world design makes me think more of the Thor movies than anything else. I do think there's potential though if they don't just walk the same old path. It's a setting that works well with God of War though so if they can overcome some things I would love to give it the benefit of doubt. But right now I feel like that would be a fools errand.

I learned this back in November when the mother of one of the lead designers told me while I served her coffee. Reliable source confirmed!

The idea of Kratos being so mad he has to kill all the gods from other mythologies because he ran out of Greek Gods to murder is hilarious. Always liked the God of war games so I'd definitely be interested in a new one!

Oh wow, when I first heard about this leak I naturally assumed it would have a different playable character.

@pompouspizza: If you look at some of annotations on the concept / design drawings you can see his name being mentioned.

I too initially thought it would have been a new character though.

Pretty much the only way it could've happened.

Also, shame that it looks like our old friend Kratos is returning. My hope, looking at that character render, was that the dev just used similar visual language on a different character, like how every Assassin wears a white hood.

@freezyfrog: I think it's a shame, if Santa Monica have to make another God of War game I would rather them change the main character as well as the setting. Having said that, maybe the game will be great but I don't know if I want to play another one.

A norse setting with a norse character could be good.

A norse setting with Kratos sounds sort of lame.

@pompouspizza: I'm also pretty sure there is an actual Norse God of War so it'll probably have a Greek vs Norse - God of War Showdown.

I'm pretty sure this was the original idea for God of War. That you'd go through different mythologies. We just got hung up on the Greek stuff for a while. I'm down for some more Norse stuff in my games. Too Human just didn't cut it.

As long as they call it God of Thor.

Should just leave Kratos and get a new protag. Maybe a less one dimensional "my rage is all I have" character.

I'd look at picking a female character, make her a Valkyrie or something.

I mean it's exactly what people have asked for since 3 right? At least on this site. Pretty much to a T.

Kratos going in and fucking up other pantheons, starting with Norse. I'm pretty sure you can go back and find Ryan's quotes specifically about this.

And I kind of agree, the way I see it, they either let it die, try to go serious (ha really? you expect that can be pulled off, please), or just go with it and ride the gore train to silly town, so yeah, I'm down.

Will this ideas turn out fun/interesting? We'll see.

A Norse setting sounds cool. A Norse setting where you play as kratos sounds pretty uncreative. It's funny in a way, yeah, but I don't really like the character that much, so this just guarantees I probably still won't like him. Wish they would just change the setting and character altogether. I'd give the series another shot if that were the case.

This. I'm all for the new pantheons idea but let's get new protagonists for each one. Imagine how cool it would be wrecking the Hindu pantheon as Hanuman. Also, didn't Kratos kill himself for real at the end of III?

I don't think they would make a game where you go around killing gods that 1 billion people still believe in. I think its a safe bet they'd limit their source material to religions that aren't still in widespread practice.

Kratos just being all fuck it im gonna kill the Norse Gods next, is A-OK by me.

I hope Kratos isn't the protagonist. I didn't hate him as much as some other folk did but he's definitely not a character that needs to be brought back. I could go for someone new. A female protagonist would be a nice change.

As for the game itself, I enjoyed the spectacle of the God of War series enough to try another entry. I'll be interested to see what they can do with a Norse mythology, if that is truly what they're using.

@adequatelyprepared: Interestingly, that was the original idea Jaffe had for God of War 2, before the one that got implemented gained traction.

OT: I would be more interested in the game if they remove Kratos altogether and create a protagonist more in line with the Norse mythology.

Kratos became more unidimensional and unlikable with every passing game, and now he is just a caricature of a caricature. It is not like there are lack of badass characters and story archetypes in Norse mythology.

Nah, I think I'm good. Don't get me wrong, I liked most of the God of War games, I've just moved on and have no interest in a new one.

He did but there was a post credit stinger where it shows a bloody trail off the edge of the cliff (he stabbed himself over a phoenix engraving which makes........sense.........not really?). I always thought Egypt would be cool aesthetically from the gods like Anubis and Ra and Horus as well as the enemies and the environments.

I've been wondering what Sony Santa Monica has been up to all this time and even as a God of War fan I'm kind of disappointed in this especially with them just reusing Kratos. As talented as the folks are there I have to imagine there are other things they could have come up with.

@ll_exile_ll: I think it would be fair game, especially seeing as games have used that subject matter before. Besides, it doesn't necessarily need to be about killing off the entire pantheon but can be more about opposing certain less than benevolent gods, similar to the original God of War.

I'd take this over a sequel to The Order 1886. Which I know Ready at Dawn made but those two studios tend to work together on projects.

I also wish they went with another character especially after the end of 3. (which was stupid even by God of War standards) But the idea of Kratos killing all Gods ever conceived is the kind of dumb I can get behind.

Apparently medieval northern Europe was all about rainforests and elaborate temples of polished stone. It's like they didn't even try.

To be fair those images are probably meant to be Asgard.

I'm also all in for a new GoW, but sure's a bit odd if they go with Kratos again...

Norse Mythology is just over done right now, and this feels like a complete lack imagination. There is a point where you have to tell even artists to not slog through a tired subjects - even if was their dream project

"Hey, dudes/dudettes everyone else has already done unto you'd be not really 'making art' as much as manufacturing trinkets."

Why not Middle Eastern or Eastern European myths? What about New World mythology from Aztec, Olmec, or Inca?

I still think my Goddess of War idea would still be the greatest thing ever. Just sayin.

I wouldn't mind a new entry, but I wish they would have come up with a different character. At the very least, I think it would have been neat if they turned "Kratos" into a title, given to mortals who become godslayers, rather than a specific person.

We'll see though. It could end up being fucking great. Who can definitively say one way or the other at this point?

Hahaaa okay! Let's go! Punching a hole through mythology! I think there's room for some nonsensicle action brawling with high production value, right now, and I've always liked controlling Kratos with his weapons and abilities. I don't go into God of War games expecting deep philosophy or nothin. They're just my guilty (not really) pleasures of just fuckin some shit up in a somewhat familiar setting.

Umm... Is anybody else getting the Gamespot logo under the comment box on mobile sites?

While I wouldn't mind playing another game in that style, they really need to ditch Kratos, he becomes more of a punchline everytime they drag him out. Get rid of the pantheon genocide too, if it's just about fighting mythical Norse monsters it would be fine.

Finally, the thing everyone was joking about right after God of War III came out is going to happen, whether anyone actually wants it or not.

@babychoochoo:Isn't that just Heavenly Sword?

As someone mentioned in the thread, they totally dropped the ball on this by not using something like a Valkyrie as the main character, provided it's true that you play as Kratos.

@jesus_phish: No, Goddess of War would be totally than Heavenly Sword.

@excast: @conmulligan: Sony Santa Monica did try something new. And then Sony canceled it and fired damn well everyone that was involved in that project.

It's probably a bad idea. Norse Mythology has what, three monsters I can name of the top of my head? Fenris Wolf, World Serpent and Ratatosk. Other than that, it's Gods and jotuns, who are practically the same dudes. Greek Mythology has seemingly endless amounts of amazing monstrosities. It's an awesome mythology to steal from! Norse Mythology has Thor dressing up as a the bride of a jotun to steal back his hammer from him.

But considering those images don't look a thing like any Norse mythology I've ever imagined besides maybe those northern lights, I'm guessing this isn't exactly a faithful adaptation. And that can be cool. I like Marvel's Thor. Odin Sphere was alright.

So, this game is meant to be a comedy, right?

I hope thats a late april fools joke.

Is it just me or does it look like Kratos is missing a hand in one of those pictures?

As others have said, I would have been more interested if this had been more of a spiritual successor not called God of War and not starring Kratos or anyone like Kratos.

Maybe they should start over with a different character. Kratos sucks.