God Of War Ragnarok Gets New Combat Gameplay Snippet

God of War Ragnarok is one of the most anticipated games in recent memory. Fans have been drip-fed information relating to the game over the months of delays. That is the case again. New GameInformer footage of God of War Ragnarok shows a small snippet of gameplay, showing Kratos’ new abilities in the sequel to 2018’s unforgettable God of War.

Mihir Sheth, the lead combat designer for Ragnarok, said that one of Sony Santa Monica Studio’s internal philosophies is to let “Kratos play with his food”.

He explained that they tried to create systems that players would like to engage with. Systems that are playful and let players get creative and have different playstyles. And when the team looked at the combat of the last game, they thought “We can push this further, we can find new toys and ways of playing with enemies and strategies”.

God of War Ragnarok New Abilities In Gameplay

This will become possible because of a whole new “suite of moves” for Kratos, which can be accessed through the triangle button. In the first game, the triangle button was used to recall the Leviathan Axe. But in Ragnarok, the button does new attacks called Signature Moves. Kratos can now imbue his weapons with ice or fire elemental attacks called Frost Awaken and Whiplash. These abilities can either freeze enemies or set them ablaze. This will add a new layer to the already deep gameplay.

The additions are not limited to Kratos’ offensive capabilities. Kratos can now use multiple new shields, including the ones called Dauntless and Stonewall.

The Dauntless shield can be used by parrying at the last possible moment to unleash a massive smash attack that stuns enemies while creating distance.

The Stonewall Shield can not be used to parry, but it can absorb incoming damage with each block. Once the shield is fully charged, it can then be banged into the ground (as seen in the gameplay) to release an AOE attack that knocks down all enemies within range.

God Of War Ragnarok will be released on November 9 this year and is forcing other developers to delay their games.