Engineering Lead For GOD OF WAR On Bringing Life To The Game's Newest Character, and Kratos' son, Atreus.

The God of War himself, Kratos, has always been a one-dimensional character. There's no other way around it. And the new game is introducing a new character that will flesh out Kratos' personality and make him grow as a character. Gameplay Engineer Lead for God of War, Jeet Shroff, tells us about Atreus, this new father-son dynamic between him and Kratos, and how this relationship will add a new dimension to Kratos' character. Check out this new behind the scenes on how they brought life to Atreus.



Jeet Shroff tells us that "Kratos has always been sort of a one-dimensional character. He's gone to such a dark, dark place. And trying to give a character like that the right amount of motivation to want to change, and try to do something different...I think Atreus is such a key component to that". He says that adding Atreus to the game will help give Kratos a new dimension, one that players still haven't seen and that will help them "dive into another side of what this character could be."

The team knew that one of the biggest challenges was, when you have a character like Kratos who doesn't need any help in combat, figuring out how Atreus could become a supporting character without taking the focus off him.

Shroff then talks about playtest feedback and compares it to raising your child, sending them to school and then getting a D, "there's been ups and downs, you know, us feeling really good about something and the feedback is like 'nuh-uh...you didn't get that at all'."

"The play tests have been great in helping us along the way. Watching those combat scores go up, watching people start to really go like 'you know, Atreus in combat is a plus', 'Atreus in problem-solving and puzzle-solving is a plus'. The playtests have really helped us find our way through that. "

When talking about the "Aha! moment", Jeet says that it all came down to having the player decide when to make use of Atreus in combat and how to get the most out of the character depending on the situation.

"Now that we have a button that's dedicated to Atreus on the pad, that the player can command...putting the right stuff on that button got us beyond the point of feeling like Atreus was on the way because now the player can command Atreus to do certain things that are very unique and special." 

Jeet sees Atreus as an extension of Kratos, one that players will be able to decide when and how to use. Regardless of the use that you give Atreus, there's no denying that the dynamic created between Kratos and Atreus, combat-wise, is going to leave fans more than satisfied. We now just have to be patient and wait until we get to see what else they've done with the characters.

His vengeance against the Gods of Olympus years behind him, Kratos now lives as a man in the realm of Norse Gods and monsters. It is in this harsh, unforgiving world that he must fight to survive…And teach his son to do the same. This startling reimagining of God of War deconstructs the core elements that defined the series—satisfying combat; breathtaking scale; and a powerful narrative—and fuses them anew.