God of War gets new concept art and details regarding magic, world, and more

The God of War series is a staple of the PlayStation brand and it's been dormant for quite some time. Aside from a remaster of 2011's God of War 3, PlayStation 4 hasn't seen an entry in the God of War series but that's going to change next year.

Sony will be releasing a soft reboot of the God of War series that'll focus on delivering a well-written story that seems to take inspiration from The Last of Us and the critically acclaimed novel, The Road. The game will move away from the Greek mythology the series previously tackled and will now tackle Norse mythology meaning we could see the likes of Loki and Thor in God of War.

In a new interview, Sony Santa Monica's Cory Barlog detailed various things about the game ranging from hidden quests and magic to what the Nordic gods are like in the game. The following description is courtesy of GIANKRATOS on NeoGAF.

"Elder Futhark is the base language of the game, but every realm in the game has its own, and for certain realms will be possible to learn their entire language. Translating something back might help to open parts of the game and reveal hidden questlines.

Magic in the game all involves words, spoken incantations, and runes; an earth magic is mentioned for example that involves touching the ground to use parts of something (maybe parts of dead enemies? Parts of the environment like rocks and roots/vines?). An item is also mentioned that you can access that Kratos can open for the kid to get pieces of story and recall stories his mother told him.

In the game, runes connect the characters to the magic of the world (tattooing a rune on a person, like Atreus, will imbue the person with a power) but are also there to create the sense of a barrier between the player/Kratos and the world. Kratos will need the help of Atreus to translate the runes. Some puzzles will involve reading runes and translating them to make a decision.

Nordic gods are vastly different from the Greek gods. Barlog compares the Greek gods to politicians living in marble palaces that like to manipulate people into doing things, while he describes the Norse gods (Æsir, Vanir, and Giants) as more "down to earth". The Æsir are living every moment to its fullest, always ready to "party", fight and drink. The Vanir are living in harmony with nature, always seeking balance and are the keepers of magic. The Giants are like "artists" that creates fantastic creations and the ones that are eventually victimized by a never ending war between the other two races."

Some new concept art has also been released which you can view below.

God of War will release sometime in 2018 exclusively for PlayStation 4.