Combat Designer Confirms God Of War: Ragnarok Turns Up The Brutality

"God of War: Ragnarok" is fast approaching, but new information about it is still coming out. One of the latest tidbits comes from Vandal, a Spanish gaming site that interviewed Santa Monica Studios developer Mihir Sheth about "God of War: Ragnarok." The Gaming Spoof later translated the interview with an intriguing line that hinted at a more brutal sequel.

"We've increased the levels of brutality in God of War: Ragnarok considerably, and I think that's something that makes certain aspects of the game more fun," Sheth told Vandal. 

According to him, the team increased brutality to a degree that better reflected the series from before 2018. "In God of War 2018, when you get the Blades of Chaos you don't get many chances to see these weapons do the kind of things that they did in the classic God of War," he explained. "The way they took down enemies was very brutal and that's something that we wanted to bring back in God of War: Ragnarok."

To do this, "God of War: Ragnarok" has a system that enables players to stun the enemy and grab them with R3 to execute them. It's apparently more violent than "God of War" 2018. Sheth specifically cited Kratos' signature Leviathan Axe and Blades of Chaos as execution weapons.

Those who haven't played past "God of War" games might not understand. However, older fans on Reddit quickly filled in the uninitiated.

A trending Reddit post from Oct. 23 posted the translated Gaming Spoof article about the increased brutality in "God of War: Ragnarok." Fans have since started speculating whether this new "brutality" could really top older "God of War" games.

"Nothing will ever top ripping off Helios' head to use as a flash light," one Redditor commented.

"Or cutting off Hermès' legs to be able to sprint short distances," another added.  

It's true that these scenes are incredibly violent. Kratos decapitates the Sun God in a boss fight and uses his head throughout the rest of the game to illuminate dark places. Like Helios, Hermes' mutilated legs serve as a buff to Kratos for navigating "God of War 3." Others added to the thread with their most brutal, memorable moments from before "God of War" 2018, like "punching Zeus's stupid face in until the screen is covered in his blood." However, even outside of Reddit, fans have reminisced on these gruesome moments ahead of "God of War: Ragnarok's" launch. 

"God of War: Ragnarok" launches on Nov. 9, 2022 for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5. So far, critics say that the combat is similar to "God of War" 2018, yet improves on it in just about every aspect.