. Particular credit went to engineer George Mawle, who sadly passed away last year. It's a fascinating read for those with an interest in the nitty-gritty of game development; but playing, watching or reading, it all leads to the same conclusion: throwing the axe feels bloody good. God of War: Ragnarok is all about feel. Its predecessor was too, but as is the way with video game sequels, everything is heightened and expanded. Even your senses. So the axe's muscular heft in combat crunches against mythical Nordic beasts; thumping, frozen swings meeting flesh, the axe thrown and embedded into some other ghoul turned to ice, a few hammering fists and a boot for good measure while its away, before being recalled and used to separate head from neck in a visceral show of blood and sinew. Kratos has his Blades of Chaos from the start; deadly, whirling chains doused in fire and attached to the wrist; groups are swatted in a criss-cross lightshow. Harpoon a floating eyeball, yank it towards you before crushing it to goo in your hand. Both blades thud into a bigger foe, a pulse of flame rattling down the chains and igniting your target. That feels bloody good too. That weight isn't just in combat either. As you travel the realms of Norse mythology snowstorms whip and snarl in Midgard, the tower){kind=link}
Kratos and son return in a spectacular, realm-trotting adventure
In the wake of 2018’s wildly successful God of War reboot, former lead combat designer Vince Napoli lifted the curtain on one of the game’s –no, one of gaming’s– most satisfying mechanic: the boomerang recall of titular deity Kratos’ Leviathan Axe.
Kratos hurls his totemic weapon with terrifying force, before the tap of a button brings it spiralling back to his outstretched hand with a shudder, slicing and dicing anything it passes on its way home. In a Game Developer blog post Napoli detailed the attention that went into honing the mechanic: whether to wiggle free from trees, the right arc, the exact amount of time before waiting for its return became too long (1.5 seconds, by the way). Particular credit went to engineer George Mawle, who sadly passed away last year. It’s a fascinating read for those with an interest in the nitty-gritty of game development; but playing, watching or reading, it all leads to the same conclusion: throwing the axe feels bloody good.
God of War: Ragnarok is all about feel. Its predecessor was too, but as is the way with video game sequels, everything is heightened and expanded. Even your senses. So the axe’s muscular heft in combat crunches against mythical Nordic beasts; thumping, frozen swings meeting flesh, the axe thrown and embedded into some other ghoul turned to ice, a few hammering fists and a boot for good measure while its away, before being recalled and used to separate head from neck in a visceral show of blood and sinew.
Kratos has his Blades of Chaos from the start; deadly, whirling chains doused in fire and attached to the wrist; groups are swatted in a criss-cross lightshow. Harpoon a floating eyeball, yank it towards you before crushing it to goo in your hand. Both blades thud into a bigger foe, a pulse of flame rattling down the chains and igniting your target. That feels bloody good too.