"God of War 4," now officially referred to simply as "God of War," has been confirmed during this year's E3 when Sony Santa Monica revealed the PS4-exclusive with a brand-new trailer. The trailer not only confirms the Norse setting but it also showcases that Kratos will have a son and that major elements of the series have been altered.
Instead of a disant, fixed camera the game now goes for an over-the-shoulder camera that the player can freely rotate as needed. The fast-paced action of the series is still intact but the use of quick-time-events has been noticeably reduced. Context-sensitive controls are still present but they are now used primarily to control Kratos's son.
According to a report from Gamespot, Kratos' son is named Charlie and he may have inherited the same god powers of Kratos. There will be a single button to tell Charlie what to do and these options change depending on the situation. The trailer showcases Kratos asking his son to fire arrows at a large enemy or to run away when too many areas fill the screen.
The report also confirms that this is not a reboot, despite the game being set in Norse mythology instead of Greek mythology. Fans speculate that the Norse gods may have taken over after Kratos destroyed the Greek pantheon in "God of War 3." Despite not being a reboot the game does forego the "God of War 4" title and is simply marketed as "God of War."
In a separate report from IGN, creative director Cory Barlog explained that this game is akin to "The Last of Us" mixing with the classic "God of War" games. He also stated that as Kratos teaches Charlie to be a god, Charlie will teach Kratos how to regain his humanity.
"God of War" for the PS4 has no official release date yet but it is expected to be released in 2017.
