In an interview with Game Informer, God of War Director Cory Barlog wouldn’t go into specific details about what happened between God of War III and now, but he did reveal that Greece presents “a tremendous amount of pain for Kratos,” and he needed to get as far away as possible.
Barlog continued by talking about how there was a period of time where Kratos wandered alone:
The period of time from when he sort of walked away from Greece and kind of wandered – there’s a period of time in which this guy wandered alone. Because he has this monster inside him, and I think at that time – at the end of God of War III – there was the kernel of the idea that everything he’s done hasn’t worked out too well for him. He needed to take stock. I think he really believes that getting away from people is going to help him center, but you can’t get away from everything. There’s a period of time where, honestly, he’s trying to figure out how to control the monster. I think that’s a struggle that even during the game, he has. And it’s something he’s going to need to teach his kid, as well… But where he’s at now, he had to go through that isolation and separation in order to find a period in his life where he can actually change.
Earlier this week, Barlog talked about how God of War isn’t an open-world game. In the Game Informer interview, he expanded on this, saying “action/adventure is squarely where we are suited,” and the world has a greater sense of scale. Also, if you deviate from the path, you’ll be rewarded:
We’re really encouraging the player to say, ‘Hey, what’s that over there? I’d like to go check it out.’ We’re not forcing them. We don’t force you to go find something, but when you do, you are rewarded. You are rewarded with things like, ‘Wow, there’s an entire level over here!’ And I think that sense of discovery is so important. Linearity can drive you through this fantastic story – you’re always going to be driven forward by the development and arc of the characters – but at any given point in this game, you can pull the lever on the bus and stop to look around, and then get back on the bus and keep going. Seamlessly integrating that, making it feel like it’s not a chore and you’re rewarded for it, that’s the big trick of this game. That’s the big play, to make it feel like you’re not just going down a hallway. To always feel like there’s a ‘why’.
Finally, Barlog said God of War is set in pre-Viking, pre-migration time when the Aesir gods, the Vanir gods, the giants, and monsters all roam Midgard. “So Midgard is very populated, and you’re going to be running into various gods throughout,” he added. “They’re always present.”
Barlog also shared the box art for God of War:
Excited to be sharing the #GodofWar pack front with everyone! pic.twitter.com/7zWFCaYfAt
— Cory Barlog (@corybarlog) June 14, 2017
For even more God of War, check out this in-depth panel from E3 Coliseum (it starts at 4:40 with a musical presentation, then the panel begins at 16:00):
God of War releases in early 2018 for PlayStation 4.
[Source: Game Informer]
