God of War Ragnarok Will Bring Back More Classic Kratos Moves
Creative Director Eric Williams has confirmed that several of Kratos' classic combat moves from past entries will return in God of War Ragnarok. The 2018 installment saw Kratos embark on a new journey in many respects, including with regards to his fighting abilities. Faye's Leviathan Axe acted as the lead character's primary tool of destruction, though its litany of upgrade possibilities allowed players to fine-tune its function to their personal preference.
Essentially, players had to adapt to a different combat style for Kratos, one that slowed him down but doled out heavier blows. This pace wasn't maintained throughout the entirety of the adventure, however. Roughly halfway through God of War (2018), Kratos dug up his classic Blades of Chaos, unleashing rage from the infernal bowels of Tartarus on the Norse pantheon. But while fans were able to revisit some of God of War's signature mechanics, developer Santa Monica Studio could only explore so much of the old gameplay style. Fortunately, the team is taking a deeper dive into the past with Kratos' next outing.
In an interview with YouTuber Kaptain Kuba, Ragnarok's Creative Director, Eric Williams, divulged that the studio opened discussion early on about what a sequel to the 2018 title should include. Several ideas acknowledged that the Blades weren't fully reimplemented, giving way to a series of pitches revolving around older mechanics worth revisiting in God of War Ragnarok. Some developers proposed the return of Kratos' grapple attack, others pitched what Santa Monica Studio refers to as Combo 5B, "where [Kratos] latches guys out of the air and slams them down." Williams said the crew poured over the "greatest hits of things we didn't get to" and brought them back.
Eagle-eyed fans spotted a few oldies but goodies in God of War Ragnarok's gameplay reveal trailer, which Sony premiered a week ago during its PlayStation Showcase broadcast. The nearly four-minute video also teased how Fimbulwinter impacts our heroes, an event that's especially worthy of note given that it heralds the coming of Ragnarok in Norse mythology.
The Kaptain Kuba interview additionally featured an explanation from Cory Barlog as to why Ragnarok marks the end of the brand's Norse saga. Because of how long development takes, Barlog, specifically, wanted to avoid making fans wait 15 years for a trilogy of games in this era of Kratos' life.
God of War Ragnarök lacks a firm due date but is expected to hit PS4 and PS5 in 2022.
Source: Kaptain Kuba/YouTube