Thanks to our friends at Game Informer, we have more details to share on PlayStation’s upcoming blockbuster: God of War Ragnarok. Learn more about the combat abilities you’ll find when it releases on November 9th!
Game Informer spoke with Lead Combat Designers Mihir Sheth and Denny Yeh about what’s changed in Ragnarok.
“That’s an internal philosophy that we’ve had since back in the day,” Sheth says. “Kratos plays with his food. We tried to create systems you want to engage with that are fun, very playful, lots of different 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.”
Ragnarok introduces a new range of combat abilities called “Weapon Signature Moves.”
Depending on whether you have the Leviathan Axe or Blades of Chaos readied, Kratos can infuse the sharpened steel with ice or fire. These elemental moves, called “Frost Awaken” and “Whiplash,” do extra damage by freezing or incinerating aggressors.
The shield has reportedly been revamped as well. For one, there are multiple shields now with varying attributes and abilities. A few examples were provided in the article.
The Dauntless Shield is all about 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. Dissimilarly, the Stonewall Shield is for tank-lovers that prefer slower-paced bouts. Kratos can’t parry when equipped with the Stonewall, so keeping it raised is crucial to surviving barrages. The more hits the Stonewall Shield takes, the more kinetic energy it absorbs. 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.
There’s a lot more to come on Ragnarok in the next couple of months and we’ll be sharing new details as they arise. For now, we highly recommend checking out the full article from Game Informer!
