God of War Ragnarök’s Combat Lets You ‘Play With Your Food’

Lead combat designers Mihir Sheth and Denny Yeh have over 17 years of God of War experience shared between them, and both played prominent roles in the previous game’s success. The series’ current direction is inspired by an old studio motto: Playing with your food.

“That’s an internal philosophy that we’ve had since back in the day,” Sheth says. “Kratos plays with his food. We wanted to design systems that were fun and playful with lots of routes. And when we looked at the combat in the last game, we were like, ‘We can push this further; we can find new toys and ways of playing with enemies and strategies.’ That’s been the guiding principle more than anything else.”

Yeh and Sheth constantly stressed the importance foe variety. Expect a lot more grotesque faces.

Over seven minutes I track Kratos and Atreus through an enclosed arena full of explosive pots. They also have access to high ground, platforms on wooden floors, and bipedal lizards called Grims. Both move in perfect unison. Kratos pins the beast to the rock wall. Then, he falls on its skull with Olympian strength. Atreus is able to fill the stagger bars and lock enemies with his sonic bows. When a “Cursed” Grim tries to catch the bulky father off-guard, firing toxic bile from its swollen gullet, Kratos sidesteps the phlegm and masterfully deflects a second flurry with his arm shield. When he sees a pot between two boxes, he throws an axe at it, and instantly the entire corner bursts into flames. Atreus demonstrates he’s as much a powerhouse as his father, swinging at unsuspecting Grims with his bow while always repositioning to shoot. Two men notice that there are a few people stumbling over. Atreus and his Blades of Chaos climb onto the ridge, grabs a healthstone and then launches them into the sky.

This adrenaline rush is tied to the versatility of Kratos’ kit. While the chain blades and battle axe improve maneuverability and power as well, the Triangle button’s misleadingly tiny change can really make a difference. “In the last game, if you pressed Triangle, you recalled the axe,” Sheth says. “But if you already had the axe, nothing happened. You just returned to your axe if you have the Blades of Chaos. We looked at that concept and wondered, ‘What if you could do something a little bit different with that button – a whole new suite of moves.’”

Officially known as Weapon Signature Moves, triangle attacks can be called Weapon Signature Moves. Kratos has the ability to infuse sharpened steel with fire or ice depending on whether or not you already have Blades of Chaos or the Leviathan Axe. These elemental moves, called “Frost Awaken” and “Whiplash,” do extra damage by freezing or incinerating aggressors.

Also, the shield has been redesigned. Yeh explained the differences between the Stonewall Shields and the Dauntless Shields to me, reminding me sometimes that they wanted gamers to be able to adapt their gameplay to the needs of players. Dauntless Shield’s focus is on twitch reactions. By parrying at the last possible moment, Kratos’ shield glows a menacing red, signaling the player can unleash a devastating smash that tosses and stuns enemies. Similar to the Stonewall Shield for tank-lovers, who like slower-paced combats. Kratos can’t parry when equipped with the Stonewall, so keeping it raised is crucial to surviving barrages. Stonewall Shield absorbs more energy if it is hit more often. And once it’s fully charged, players can bang the shield into the ground emitting a screen-wide pulse, knocking anything foolish enough to approach off its feet.

However, all this protection comes with a price. Kratos can use otherwise ineffective block-breaking techniques by making the Stonewall Shield more unstable. Yeh says Kratos will have access to other powerful shields but warned players not to bite off more than they could chew: “Maybe don’t play with all your food, because there will be food that can eat you pretty easily.”

While both designers agree that enemy aggression will be greater on difficult difficulties, players must still keep their heads above water regardless of the setting. Optional territories can be difficult without having a strong crew, as old locations will often be repopulated by more powerful fauna. Yeh mentions that fans of realm tears will get a comparable sense of gratification from besting some of Ragnarök’s formidable side content. There’s no word on whether Kratos will obtain other primary weapons, but last year’s trailer unveiled an elk runic summon for Atreus to ride, so, hopefully, we’ll see other new abilities soon.

This article originally appeared in Issue 349 of Game Informer.