Snowflakes Get Everywhere
With an entirely new Nordic setting, things can get a little chilly in the latest God of War adventure. While the cold’s not going to affect Kratos or Atreus in any horrific game-changing way if you’re not well equipped, you will notice that snowflakes manage to get just about everywhere.
In the image above, you can see individual little snowflakes clinging to Atreus’ clothing on his back. Each one glistening softly in the dim lighting of the scene, with some gently falling to the ground as Atreus moves. Santa Monica has done some magical things not only with these individual snowflakes but with the layer of white stuff coating the ground. Sprint through a pile, turn back around, and you’ll see Kratos and Atreus’ footprints. Little things, but they all add up to make for one heck of an immersive experience.
Wood So Detailed You Can Feel the Grooves
Seldom games manage to display a material, fabric, or texture that looks so true-to-life that you can almost imagine exactly how it feels to touch. God of War accomplishes this, and one of the finest instances we get of it as towards the very start of the adventure.
Just take a minute to block everything else out in the image, and focus on the wood. The grain is so clearly defined, with different areas looking shallower and deeper in a naturally sporadic way. In other places, it’s splintered, and the general wear and tear of what we can only assume is years of use has resulted in the treating of the wood fading in places. We know it’s just a table, but damn, that’s one believable rustic table we’re looking at right now.
Flickering Flames
Lighting has come on leaps and bounds in video games since the days of the Nintendo 64 and original PlayStation (as has most things), but God of War really does take it to the next level. Whether it’s natural light shining down through a narrow gap in the roof above, or the hypnotic flickering of a candle in a dark room, Santa Monica has certainly got it perfected here.
Just look at the way the flame of that candle is so naturally random in shape, as if affected by a gust of wind coming through an open door. As much as we love killing trolls and draugr as much as the next guy, it’s difficult not to find yourself appreciating the way flames dance in the breeze and react to the world around them.
Detailed Foliage
Looking at the floor is never all that exciting in a game, but God of War, at least in its opening forest area, has as much detail in the leaves, twigs, branches, rocks, and soil that litter its floor as its main protagonist and his trust Leviathan Axe do.
Though it can be difficult to pick out with the shade provided by the forest canopy above, it looks like a real-life forest floor. None of this blurry obscurity if you try and look too close. Instead, you’ll find clear, finite bits of natural debris that crunch and snap underfoot. Heck, you can even tell what parts of the mossy rock behind Kratos’ head are wet and dry., and if you look closely, you’ll spot bits of leaves and twigs floating in the muddy water just between the two characters. Whoever was tasked with detailing the forest floor in God of War, we don’t envy you, but you did a masterful job!
Glowing Embers
Sometimes, the best tiny details you come across in a game simply cannot be captured in a single image. And despite our best attempts in the image above, we still couldn’t do God of War’s glowing embers justice. Rather than them almost glowing a constant bright, fire orange as we normally see in games, God of War really makes these embers look as though they’re rapidly burning through the wood or other material alight.
Whenever you see a tree or something burning or on fire in God of War, just stare at those areas still alight. The embers will almost ebb and flow, burning brightly before dimming, before coming back all in a matter of seconds, and all while constantly moving and reacting to those around it.
The Veins!
For this last one, it’s basically just an ode to how ripped and chiseled Kratos looks as he wanders the vast Norse region in God of War. While you’ll have likely already noticed the mountains of muscle stacked on Kratos’ stocky frame, what you may not have noticed are all of the thick veins that can be seen from time-to-time running the lengths of the god’s arms.
Particularly, look at his left forearm. There’s one huge, bulging vein running right down it. Now, if we’re talking about details that are absolutely not necessary and almost unnerving, it’s gotta be the veins. It’s easy to often forget that the characters we’re guiding through these fantastical worlds in video games aren’t real, so giving them visible internal organs in such a subtle way makes them feel all the more real and relatable. Kratos may be a god, but his body’s still made up of all the same stuff as ours.
What other tiny details have you taken a moment to appreciate during your adventure in God of War? Be sure to let us know down in the comments below.
Looking for some tips and tricks to help you on your adventure through God of War? Be sure to check out our ever-expanding wiki.
About the author
