I haven't played since GOW 2 and at the time I really liked the games. Having only played two, I don't feel burnt out on the series at all but I agree that Kratos was always a non-character. The theories of Kratos's son possibly being Thor or Ragnarok are interesting and the game itself looks awesome, will definitely get into this one.

I never got further then the first fight in the original god of war (because I am terrible) and it really didn't draw me in as 'fun'. Just not my kind of game at all.

This though? This looks similar to the Ubisoft/Tomb Raider model. Like, either a big open world or a narrative focus with expansive set-piece locations. If its anything like those kind of games? Well now I am interested.

I don't want to see Kratos be redeemed, or fleshed out as a character or anything like that. As someone who thinks Kratos is a shitty character I hope they use this game to destroy him, and subvert the "angry dude gets revenge" trope they've built him on. Have his bad parenting corrupt his son, so that he ends up tragically having to kill him. Have the game close with Kratos screaming out in useless, impotent rage over limp corpse of the son that he destroyed with his macho bullshit, and then never revisit the Kratos character ever again. That game could be a remarkable work of art.

God of War felt like a PS2 franchise that only changed into HD for PS3 but gameplay remained the same. I honestly don't know since I have not played the PS3 ones but it looked like it. This is the first one since the first game I feel like playing. It feels new and modern and with a new setting and style. I think it will be great.

I'm curious as to how the Norse gods will tie into the story. One interesting theory I saw was that Kratos may end up creating the Norse pantheon instead of murdering it, as there's always a chance that his son inherited Zeus's lighting powers.

Whether it works or not remains to be seen but the old formula has run itself so dry for me personally that I vote "Yes" to any change of direction.

I didn't like anything about the old Kratos or the tone of the previous God of War games, so this change of direction at least makes me interested to see what they ultimately do with it.

I wouldn't have minded seeing a different character, however, I'm not that disappointed in the return of Ghost of Sparta. Besides marketing wise, it makes sense, he's iconic and popular, whether you like him or not, and it's easier to bring old fans back with a familiar face, given how much they have changed within the franchise. Furthermore, Kratos doesn't have a lot of...layers, sure, but he's far from being terrible. In the first two games, he was pretty serviceable as a Spartan Warrior who had lost absolutely everything, given the setting they put him in. Even in the PSP spin-off's there was a certain nobility to Kratos for all his anger and wrath, it's in GOD III where he went completely off the rails and decided to become Hulk on steroids.

They better give a good reason for how he ended up in Scandinavia. Egypt would have made more sense. Pyramid boss battle!

No. I think it's dumb. God of War should be about visceral combat, puzzles, and rage. Not being emotional, walking through a forest, and slow methodical combat. I'm not saying those are bad, either. They're not God of War concepts, though. This is of course based on footage of a game that isn't out yet so maybe it will change, but based on the feedback from people who seem to all of a sudden not like what God of War was before and like what they see of this for whatever reason I suspect this footage is what they're going for for the whole game. It's not for me and is not what I would play God of War for.

It's a game with the name God of War, but it's not actually God of War, and that's fine. I'm learning to accept still that new games are not being made for me (even though it seems like I'm the target audience of this game given my age and the apparent story they're going for).

It was before Ascension when I realize they run out of excuse for the same old thing in each game.

I'm getting some real TLOU vibes which is both a good and a bad thing. Say what you want about the past God of War games but they only ever took control away from you during QTE's and it was always obvious when those were happening. I'm glad this game is changing it up but I really hope this doesnt have too many plodding movie like moments.

I haven't been able to finish Ascension and GoW 3 was painfully dull compared to the first two games. But this game is incredibly compelling even without the GoW name as I love the new Tomb Raider games and the Norse mythos attached to this. It couldn't be more exciting to see them not make another chain sword gymnastics movie.

I never thought God of War as a series was interesting at all. This game however I am really eager to try.

I really hate how tonally homogenised games have become and what's been shown so far looks like another example of this.

Not interested at all.

I mean... they made Tomb Raider but with Kratos... so... I guess?

Having had a couple of days to think, I feel like there's a good reason this thread popped up and not "do you like the new direction of Resident Evil?" or "Do you like the new direction of Zelda?". First person horror games and open world action adventure games have arguably spun out of those franchises, at least in part. So while they are technically following new trends, it doesn't feel like a bad fit. If the new God of War is as Tomb Raider 2013 as it seems, then that's not using innovations other people have made within the genre, it's just following something else entirely that's currently pretty popular. To me, that makes this transition annoying. I hope they show some more interesting stuff about the new combat system, because while God of War felt stale, what I wanted to see was improvement and innovation within the genre it occupied. Not a complete change of genre to something else.

Absolutely!

I liked the older God of Wars, but could only play them(and that style of game) in short burst. The new directions suits me more. I'm stoked

It's not that I don't think it the new game can't be good, but it just isn't what I go to God of War for. From what we've seen, it looks like some sort of open-world Tomb Raider-like, and the combat just look slow and methodical. Which again, that's not a bad thing, but it's not what I want God of War to be. Also, I don't like the story direction. If Kratos' lines aren't 100% screamed at the top of his lungs at different deities, than it doesn't even feel like the same person.

Undecided, but leaning towards no. I like setting, tone, and story from what they've shown, but the gameplay looked kind of awful. Didn't look very fun at all, kind of slow and clunky.

Never liked over the shoulder cameras, so not a fan of that. It's good to see however that they are moving away from the "uncharted style" spectacle action, combat seems to require more skill. It looks promising but I'm gonna have to see more before I make my decision.

I'm excited for the change in direction and feel. I am not, however, all that pumped for the setting. Every game and its estranged second cousin twice removed is dipping into the same mythology as this one is.

Yah change is nice from time to time but to what end? What if another Bayonetta was announced and it showcased a similarly stilted, slower combat style? I certainly wouldn't want that because thats not what Bayonetta is. Similarly what they showed looked like a fine character action game, but thats not God of War, it's just a game with the God of War license slapped onto it for marketing purposes.

It's fine for people to say they were tired of God of War games, but were they tired of the setting and character? Or of the gameplay? Because gameplay-wise those games were always fun. You got locked into arenas and utilized combos and a plethora of weapons to slam, tear, and dodge your way through throngs of mythical enemies. It was Doom in third person. That part was always satisfying and only got better as the series kept introducing more intricate weapon types. What got old was the story and the one dimensional protagonist they stubbornly refused to evolve in any meaningful way. People didn't want to play the "always angry guy" anymore.

So I agree that it's weird this is getting so much praise since they took out the one thing that worked really well, which was the combat, and left in the one thing everyone complained about which was Kratos - who still seems like a huge downer.

@humanity: To put it bluntly games like GOW3 are not made anymore for a reason they don't sell, long standing franchise's are often reinventing themselves Modern Warfare, GTA 3, MGSV and Doom 2016. Kratos is a new character in all but name and who's saying you won't be locked in an arena utilizing combos and a plethora of weapons to slam, tear and dodge your way through throngs of mythical enemies.

totally agree with you guys @hunkulese and @humanity

To me they took everything defining about God Of War and ripped it out with a linear derivative Dark Souls type clone in a more generic setting (tend to see a lot more Norse/germanic fantasy stuff in games than Greek imo). It was a series defined extremely bloody mashing combat and enormous over the top spectacle, now it's slow, gritty, ponderous and pulled in. That's completely antithetical to what was GoW's core identity.

Contrast that with what Zelda appears to be doing, which is basically retaining the core identity of the series (exploration and adventure) but changing some of the tropes and systems. It still looks like a Zelda game to me and people justifiably hype for it imo. Same was true for Doom.

Certainly more character development for Kratos is a welcome thing, his shtick bored me by game 2, but these changes to me seem drastic enough that this basically should have been a new IP.

God of War looks ok, kinda reminds me of Lords of the Fallen at first blush, but it doesn't seem like a GOW game.

@thepanzini: You will obviously still beat up on something, but the cadence from what they shown is a far cry from the original. All those games you mentioned that reinvented themselves did so while keeping the core gameplay as close to the original formula as possible. A great example of a game reinventing itself for the worse is Doom 3, which did exactly what this new God of War appears to be doing: completely changing up the pace and style of combat. No one wanted a slower, more horror focused Doom game. This is why Doom 2016 was so succesful, because it did exactly what I mentioned earlier in the thread (I think it was this one) where they took the existing game structure from 1993 and evolved it while keeping the core DNA close to the original. Character action games indeed do not sell anymore, but it's not because they don't play well - just take a look at the scores for titles like DmC or Bayonetta or it's sequel. Critically acclaimed, yet criminally underselling. The market just shifted away from those experiences and the dollar-to-gameplay ratio keeps some potential buyers at bay, but they never stopped being good games.

EDIT: Of course let me add that it is way too early to be making concrete judgements on any of this. I'm simply stating my initial opinion from what they've shown. The full game might be dramatically different. Also I really enjoyed those new Tomb Raider games so if this will be anything like it then hey why not.

Its hard to say right now with what I've seen but they definitely needed to do something different. If it would've been the same Kratos yelling and screaming and killing gods, I think I would've went "meh" and moved on but this has me interested. The whole design of the game seems completely different which is good but is a concern as well. I'm wondering how satisfying it is going to feel. If they are going to go in this Dark Souls like nature, then there animation work needs to be top notch and it looked a bit clunky and I'm not sure about the camera. One thing I never liked about souls is that the camera for big bosses can fuck you over sometimes because you lose that spacial awareness with the way the camera is positioned. I'm not sure if they have fixed this or not. I'm iffy on how this will all work but I'm more interested in this than I would be if it was just more God of War in the way we are used to seeing it.

I stopped playing GoW games after the pep games I think, at some point I just got fed up with them. And while I am interested what this game will look like at its final release, I also kinda don't care either. At some point I started to become angry myself at Kratos and how terrible of a character he was. But I suppose my main sticking point right now is that I can't stand how shitty he's character design is in this new game. It was fine, I guess, for the older GoW games, but now the first thing I thought when watching that trailer was how bad he's character design is, beard and white pasty skin all.

This is one of the games that sold me on getting a PS4 soon

I enjoyed GoW 1, stopped about 1/2 through 2 and haven't cared for the series or Kratos since. But I'm intrigued for this new angle. It could have potential. I don't have a current console, so maybe it doesn't matter...

I guess I'm in the minority here but I think the new direction is pretty dumb.

You're taking God of War; a series founded on violence and tits, and try to tidy it up? If that's what they're trying to do then I can't help but feel that maybe this franchise should have just retired instead. I'm not opposed to the reboot idea and taking it in a new direction, but then why the hell would you bring back Kratos? Feels like this kind of weak half-step.

The fact that they are going away from the Devil May Cry roots and into more Dark Souls territory is also disappointing to me; but hey, I was never a huge fan to begin with.

I'm noooooot sure. We will see. I'm one of the few that still think the brawler/hack'n'slash style of game isn't outdated, but I also don't neccessarily think God of War were ever the best ones of those either. Still somewhat hoping it'll be true enough to its roots that I can primarily play for the combat and doesn't all the way hedge their bets on a story lead by Kratos.

Yes! It looks awesome. I love GOW 1-3, and I don't understand the hate for them on this site. I can't wait to see where the story goes and how Kratos got to this new land.

@humanity One hole in your logic is that, unlike DOOM (2 wholly original games a decade old by the release of DOOM 3) and Bayonetta (2 games nearly 5 years apart), God of War has been one of the steadiest franchises in gaming over the past decade. Not just in terms of release schedule (6 games in 8 years, repackaged multiple times in separate platforms) but in terms of content and general vibe. Which is fine if you're making sports sims or Dynasty Warriors games but when its a narrative driven experience focused on somewhat mashy combo systems, it's a little easier to understand how the franchise might need to try a fresh direction to keep both its developers and its fans interested.

After just four years (and 7 games in the franchise!) Call of Duty had transitioned to Modern Warfare.

Nine years after its inception (and 12 games under its, ahem, umbrella...admittedly only 5 of which were mainline games), the core Resident Evil franchise was shifted into an entirely different type of game with RE4.

Several fast paced, side scrolling platformers became more open, adventure-focused games with the advent of 3D, including gaming staples like Mario and Donkey Kong.

I admit that I'm skirting around a lot of franchises that didn't do themselves any favors trying to rebrand or change direction (Mortal Kombat is the first that comes to mind although it was never fatal and, like DOOM, they eventually gave the people what they want) but I don't think it's as uncommon - or scary - for franchises to choose the 6-8 year mark in their lifelines to attempt a hard shift in tone and gameplay styles, especially franchises that are exploited very quickly over that timeframe like Resident Evil or God of War.

Always thought God of war should go round other mythologies anyway so I welcome the Norse setting. Not entirely sold on the serious slow paced plodding, but maybe they can pull it off. Truth is we haven't seen much yet to make a proper judgement.

Definitely interested in the game just kinda hoping they don't pretend to be going serious just to pull the old switcheroo and kill his kid to make him all "ME KRATOS... ME ANGRY" again.

I loved the first 3. I really enjoyed the simplicity and follow through of Kratos is pissed, fuck these guys, everyone is going to die. Everyone who whined about his character should read a novel, I went to these games for fun. Having said that, after GOW 3 and seeing that thread ending in what I thought was very a satisfactory way made everything that came out after fall flat for me. So I'm interested in seeing them take Kratos in another direction and addressing the "I was a dick when I was younger" thing which I'm sure a lot of people can relate to.

I'm only worried about the combat, I don't want it slowed down and simplified I enjoyed the speed in the first 3.

@nodima: sure its not like a crazy move and they're welcome to shift the serious into a whole different direction - the success or failure of the reinterpretation will ultimately decide whether it was a good idea or not.

That said, to me personally God of War always had this extremely iconic combat and gameplay. To change it feels like they might as well have made a new ip.

Kinda wish they would have done away with Kratos completely and just started a new run, but I like what they are doing with Norse stuff.

I never really got onto the series before, but the new one has me super interested. Bounced right off the first two, hope this one keeps me hooked.

I like the old God of Wars, and this looks fine to me, but I'm a little curious why this one has everyone so excited. It looks like every other 3rd person game to me.

I've never been interested in God of War. I've played a small amount of a couple of them and they really weren't for me. I own Chains of Olympus on PSP, played about an hour and never touched it again. Those button mashy action games (like Devil May Cry and Bayonetta) have never been my cup of tea.

However, this new one looks great to me. I'd really like to get my hands on it but I don't have a PS4. Maybe some day.

Personally, no -- I don't care for the way the characters are designed, they look like extras in an HBO Medieval Fantasy Drama. I miss the more flamboyant and over-the-top designs of previous games. Not that big on the combat either, not that the previous games had all that great combat compared to their peers like DMC3. But it was the exact kind of hacko-slasho-button-o-masho it needed to be.

Also, stop naming your game after the very first game in the series with little alteration, don't be the Eurovision contest God of War. At least add a subtitle to your name.

I agree with this. I'm not a fan of the title reset. Especially in this case, where it's not technically a reboot of the series.

Well I pretty much held this thought all the way into playing the game, and even for the first couple of hours. Combat ended up being the least interesting part of the game, while still being solid. Everything else about it is fantastic. It's one of the most polished and well paced games I've played in a long time. Almost no blemishes are obvious flaws. They did great! Even as a mechanics first, hack and slash fanboy I vastly prefer this game over the older ones.