This short video, less than 30 seconds long, immediately sparked heated discussions among countless players.
Although the video was brief, it revealed a great deal of really explosive content.
Firstly, Kratos appearing in the game meant the officials had confirmed he was alive and that a sequel was coming.
For fans of "God of War," this was undoubtedly a surprisingly joyful piece of news.
Another point was that the Kratos in the video wasn't the young Kratos, but a middle-aged to elderly one.
With the Greek gods essentially all slaughtered, the setting of the new installment also made many players curious about Kratos's current whereabouts.
At the same time, Kratos's appearance surprised players.
What kind of character was he?
Whether people had played the games or only knew about them from videos, they had a common understanding: this Spartan warrior was a furious character.
Even before he became the God of War, while still serving the Olympian gods, Kratos was always in an incredibly violent state.
After he was betrayed by Zeus in the second game, he completely transformed into a vengeful machine.
Slaughter was the constant theme, with endless violent aesthetics that sent players' adrenaline surging.
Back then, Kratos feared nothing, killing gods and immortals alike.
But now?
In this video, Kratos's eyes appeared very calm, and his face had aged considerably.
Nobody could say for sure whether gods had age limits.
But one thing was certain: Kratos had grown old, at least based on his appearance in the video.
With this kind of setup, what kind of story would the "God of War" sequel unfold for players? Furthermore, judging by this video, Nebula Games had clearly planned this intentionally.
It wasn't just that they decided to make a fourth installment because the "God of War" trilogy sold well.
If that were the case, why didn't they release this sequel in the same way as the previous three?
Many players were completely baffled.
But regardless, the video was enough to make players excited and look forward to it.
Although "God of War" was a new IP, the epic storyline of the trilogy and the ultimate exploration of violent aesthetics made players admit that playing it was incredibly satisfying.
Even though the details of the "God of War" sequel hadn't been revealed yet, with the time and content still a mystery.
Many players had already declared, "I'm buying, not buying is not human!"
Just Kratos alone was enough, and they believed that with the foundation of the first three installments, the quality of this game was guaranteed.
Of course, some players expressed doubts, as even in this mere 30 seconds, which only showed Kratos, the style felt completely different.
In fact, although this was still "God of War," and the protagonist was still Kratos.
This sequel was completely different from the previous trilogy.
The game projects were developed simultaneously, but their core was different.
It wasn't just that the game's setting shifted from Greece to the Norse lands, but more importantly, the gameplay and content had also changed.
The previous "God of War" leaned more towards platform jumping and action, while the Norse "God of War" leaned towards RPG, aiming to tell a better story for the players.
Of course, this didn't mean that the depth of "God of War's" action was gone.
That's why Lucas began promoting the game only after the players debated the ending of "God of War III."
At the same time, Lucas didn't use "God of War IV" as the title for this installment, but simply "God of War."
After the game's title was announced, players were confused. They rubbed their eyes, wondering if they had misread.
"What do you mean? Isn't it 'God of War IV'? Why is it called 'New God of War'?"
"Does this mean it's not Kratos's story anymore? Is Kratos just a cameo in this 'God of War'?"
"It's not impossible, after all, Kratos's story is over, and most of the Greek gods have been killed."
"Has the game's style changed too?"
It wasn't just players; many industry designers were also surprised by the "New God of War."
After all, the success of the previous "God of War" trilogy had pretty much set the game's playstyle in stone.
But judging by the game's title and some of the previously revealed content, this installment seemed to aim for breakthroughs rather than being limited by the previous "God of War" trilogy.
Many industry designers secretly speculated.
This was a very bold move, but the question was, could Nebula Games succeed?
Many industry designers remained skeptical. Of course, some designers were eager to see Nebula Games' "New God of War" fail.
Especially FOW, whose "Olympus," launched to target the VR Dota market, was still in public beta testing. But now, all the attention had been completely stolen by "God of War."
Even though the genres were different, and both featured Greek themes, the key was that players had limited time.
Moreover, for FOW, the most important aspect of "Olympus" was to gather player data and generate hype to quickly capture a share of the Dota market.
After all, compared to their new title, the Dota market was already well-established.
But the sudden emergence of the "God of War" series had completely disrupted FOW's promotional plans.
Now, FOW's only hope was that Nebula Games would make drastic changes to this "New God of War," making the entire game unrecognizable and thus infuriating players.
......
Amidst the attention from the industry and players, this "New God of War" didn't keep them waiting for long. After all, while developing the "God of War" trilogy, the new "God of War" had already been in the planning stages.
In mid-June, "New God of War" was launched on Nebula Games' platform.
Many players, filled with anticipation, entered the game and were completely dumbfounded.
Although there had been various speculations online, upon actually experiencing the game, everyone had the same thought.
"Is this really still God of War? What has happened to Kratos during this time?"
Zack, watching Kratos lean against a tree, gently touching a golden handprint on it and lost in thought, couldn't help but mutter to himself.
This was also a question that all players shared.
Why had Kratos become like this?
Why had Kratos's Blades of Chaos turned into an axe?
With these questions, Kratos swung the axe in his hand and chopped heavily at a large tree.
As wood chips flew, the tree was cut in half and fell to the ground.
When he tried to bend down to pick up the tree trunk, the bandage on Kratos's left hand loosened.
This seemed to trigger a memory from long ago. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and began to rewrap the bandage.
"I found something..."
Just then, a young boy's voice came from behind Kratos.
A rascal holding an unknown plant approached Kratos curiously.
Kratos instinctively turned, shielding his bandaged arm from the child's sight.
"Get on the boat, child."
Kratos said expressionlessly, picking up the tree from the ground and turning to carry the boy named Atreus towards a small boat docked by the stream.
Kratos threw the tree trunk into the water, tied it to the stern, and rowed along the river to another dock.
A child?
Is this Kratos's son?
Kratos has a son?
Is he his biological son or adopted?
If he's biological, who is the mother?
Did Kratos get him as a reward for playing some mini-game before?
Impossible! The mini-games were all about draining your soul!
Zack's mind was filled with confusion.
(End of Chapter)
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