Here are more details about God of War's gameplay systems

Despite the new God of War being slated to release in Q1 of 2018 neither Sony nor Santa Monica have shared specific information about the game's mechanics. We've heard a lot about the Northern mythology and concepts, but we're still missing the vast majority of details regarding actual gameplay impressions, systems, and more (not to mention a specific release date).

Game Informer, however, has given us a lot more details as part of their cover story just recently, and based on the extended article (as shared by ResetEra user WordsintheWater), we've got a clearer idea of what Kratos' new adventure will play like.

Starting with the most obvious thing, the combat seems to be similar to past entries in the franchise. Smart use of the environment and prioritising enemies will be the key for ongoing encounters, and Kratos' mystical axe, called Leviathan, can be thrown to stun and freeze some of the enemies (as we know already from the short gameplay videos Santa Monica has shared with us in the past months). As such, mastering these weapons will be one of the most important aspects in fighting, although it's not yet clear if there are any different weapons we can use in the game other than this magical Axe.

To defend Kratos we'll make use of a shield which can be used to parry enemies, and Kratos' Son Atreus seems to work like a support move, nailing down enemies with arrows on command from a safer distance, as well as without commands. Following modern RPG trends players will be able to upgrade Kratos' skills and equipment, although Santa Monica doesn't want to share too much information on that side just yet. Game Informer did confirm that there will be some kind of crafting system to expand Kratos' war arsenal though (mostly armour it seems), and traversal seems to be working with direct interaction, which means there'll be no jump button, but context-sensitive inputs.

That's all for now, but let's hope we 'll get to hear more about Kratos' new adventure soon. Does all of what you've seen here sound promising?