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ZedEdge β Warrior without War (sketch)
#godofwar #kratos #portrait #sketch #godofwar4
Published: 2018-08-07 12:18:09 +0000 UTC; Views: 5104; Favourites: 361; Downloads: 0
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Description
I have some mixed feelings about this game, but one thing is certain: one of this game's greatest accomplishments was taking such an established and superior character as Kratos and organically softening him without losing his essence. Kratos has had many emotional and poignant moments throughout the series (particularly in Chains of Olympus). But while still a deep character, violence has been his norm. Where previously it would have looked silly to see Kratos quietly row a boat, or have a rest, or explain to a kid how to be badass, or a bunch of little spoilerific things - now he has this grounded dimension which makes it all feel perfectly natural. What holds it back a little is that it relies on us knowing how violent he was to appreciate how reserved he's become and also that deciding to start a new family seems too far from his emotional reach. But all the same - goodly done, Santa Monica Studios - for you all your work on all of the series.
Also, I didn't deliberately make this a redraw, but it's interesting to compare this to the sketch I did after first seeing the reveal trailer:
That sketch was actually a big turning point in my art - and book-ending it with this piece feels really nice - like that first drawing started something that is now fully sunken in. I wouldn't describe one as necessarily better than the other. But it's interesting that in the first sketch, I clearly didn't know this new Kratos yet - I was simply drawing his design. Whereas now I'm drawing his character.
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Comments: 41
Oh, thank you so much!
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You got mixed feelings about it too? I thought I was the only one. I would love to hear what you think about it. Also this is amazing!
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Thanks - really glad you like the sketch.
Regarding the game - I also kind of felt like the only one. There's clearly a huge amount of exceptional work put into it - the music, sounds, animations, effects, designs and all that are all so well executed. But two critical things just never came together for me (I'll try not to ramble too much).
First of which was the single-take. For me, the shakiness in cutscenes was extremely distracting and the fact that it never cut, made the story limited to one moment or one character's reaction at a time. Perhaps it made me feel like I was in the physical space, but it never made me feel like I was in the story.
And the second thing was the story itself. Atreus and Kratos had many thoroughly entertaining and dramatic moments. As said in the description, I think they did an excellent job evolving Kratos. But because the thing that was driving the whole story (Faye's death) happened off-screen, I was never really invested. Comparing to The Last of Us (spoilers in italics), it made such a difference to how we sympathized with Joel for the whole game, by seeing him lose his daughter in the very beginning. Whereas Kratos became this reserved version of himself off-screen - so it felt unjustified. Beyond that - hearing so much about Odin, the others gods and the other realms created a huge anticipation which was never delivered on. I really appreciate that they chose to tell a more personal story (while still managing to include some epic moments) - but they made me expect something much grander. So after it ended, the story felt short, lackluster and, for me, disappointing.
So, how about you - similar or different thoughts? Something gameplay-related perhaps?
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I do have a few gameplay issues but Iβll keep it story based. The story is a lot of a fun and enjoyable but I agree on the whole single game thing. It felt like more a limitation if anything. It was impressive that they did it but there were times where I was thinking that it would be better if they just cut. It became very obvious I was playing a game. Also I was a little disappointed with the fact that they clearly were gonna make more games with Kratos and Atreus. Itβs not the worst thing ever but I was kinda hoping this would be the last game with Kratos. Heβs old, ya know? Heβs been around a while and seen enough to really make it seem like heβs really tired of deicide and just wants to live a normal life with his wife and kid. I wanted to see Kratos home with his son maybe going fishing or something, relaxing and staying away from Gods and monsters. They were done with everything they wanted to do but itβs clear they are going to make a lot more. Iβm not upset, just disappointed.
Also the boss fights. The game is filled with recycled bosses and trolls and the bosses just didnβt feel like they were the best they could be, maybe cause of the new gameplay style. It just didnβt make me feel as cool as I did in the previous games. The Baldur fights were freaking awesome though. Those were the best. Baldur in general is my favorite character in the whole game mostly cause I know and love Norse Mythology and think thatβs a really cool take on the character and his story is heartbreaking! Fighting Magni and Modi was okay but it just felt as bland. They didnβt feel like much of a threat. Also fighting the dragon Hraezlyr was not as cool as I felt it could have been. Again, not upset. Just disappointed. Still a fun game though.
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This being Kratos' last game is something I very much agree with. I would compare it to Uncharted 4 - how Nate will obviously have plenty more adventures and they would all be fun to join him on, but choosing to only show us these indicates that they were the most significant adventures. Similarly, Kratos already had a huge journey across his first three main-games and all the spin-offs. So, viewing this one as an epilogue maintains that epic scale, but viewing it as the start of a new epic journey begins diluting it bit. I think the best approach for coming sequels would be to clearly indicate that they're not trying to outdo or even match the significance of Kratos' previous story - that they're just letting us experience whatever small adventures may comes his way.
I can certainly see what you mean regarding the boss fights. Where the simpler controls and quick-time events of previous games allowed a much more choreographed sequence - the more dynamic mechanics of this game's combat mean that they've reduced that choreographed style into the moment-to-moment gameplay. As you describe, the Baldur fights looked the most epic also but also had the most reaction command moments. So, I guess the enjoyment depends on if someone plays for the spectacle more than the interaction or vise versa. For me - it's the spectacle.
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Yee it's kratos, dad of BOY (yes I watched the entire playthrough that jacksepticeye did XD
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Oh nice - I watched the playthrough that my brother did. 
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Ah, yesβthe great God of War sequel series, Dad of Boy.Β
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Haha - I heard that the working titles were: Row of Boat and Beard of Face.
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Oh, cool to hear - thank you!
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You got it! Step 1: Hold pen. Step 2: Put pen on paper. And that's pretty much all I know - let me know if you figure out Step 3. Β
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Hahaha - oh, that reminds me - Step 4 is receive praise.
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Warrior without War.
Just trolls, goblins, dragons, and Norse gods trying to kill him.
Also BOI.
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Haha - I almost called this sketch exactly that. XD
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Currently playing it ^^ great game, nice sketch !
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Sweet - thanks so much. Glad you're enjoying it.
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Damn dude, I love this style you used. I just love the chiseled look to it,Β
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Oh, thanks very much. "Chiseled" was exactly what I was going for. And yeah, hard angles are always fun to draw, but it suited this particularly well.
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I can see this as an animation or a trailer honestly.
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Wow - that would awesome. I'm flattered!
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pew!
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Kratos is really a 'Warrior without war'.
But hey, he is a 'Warrior with a boi'.
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