Calling God of War “another chapter in Kratos’ story,” Creative Director Cory Barlog revealed to Venture Beat that the demo shown at E3 2016 is from the beginning of the game, but it will be different in the final product:
It’s the beginning of the game. The events that transpire here are very specific to the demo. What actually happens on that hunt is very different. It sets up the call to action and the remainder of the story. But we wanted to tell a complete story in this demo, to have a beginning and a middle and an end, so you could see the development of the kid. By the end, Kratos’ influence has changed him.
Barlog also mentioned that we’ll learn what happened to the boy’s mother in God of War, and it’s actually a “big part of the story.”
In terms of the relationship between Kratos and his son, Barlog said Kratos wants “to have a son who could potentially not fear him, not want to kill him, maybe not even be a god.” Kratos also hopes that he never has to tell his son “about his past because then maybe the kid won’t turn into a god.”
As for the decision to call it God of War, and not God of War 4, Barlog said they wanted to treat this as a fresh start for the series:
The decision not to put a four at the end was deliberate. The seven games we did in the Greek era — marking the eras of God of War and the mythologies we’re exploring, Kratos moving to the Norse era is a kind of [a] B.C. to A.D. changeover. It almost resets the clock. Both Kratos and the team are kind of refreshing and reimagining, cleaning the slate. Kratos is our through line, our constant through all of it, but otherwise, we’re starting from scratch. A number would take away from that. It would seem like just another sequel.
Barlog also touched on combat and weapons, saying God of War “has an element of specials,” and Sony Santa Monica is playing around with how they’re connected to Kratos’ different fighting styles, which can be customized.
After adding that they’ll be talking about potential other weapons beyond the axe in the future (he said “maybe” when asked if there were more), Barlog said the axe has “a history, a connection to their family, and a connection to other characters in the game. It’s a very important artifact in the overall story.”
[Source: Venture Beat]
