April 20 can’t get here any quicker. We are mere 9 days away from the release of God of War, the sort of sequel but sort of reboot to one of Sony’s most beloved franchises. Sony has recently announced some new details regarding God of War’s difficulty options as well as a new “Immersion Mode”.
God of War’s Immersion Mode looks to take full advantage of showcasing what the PS4 and PS4 Pro can do. With the Immersion Mode, HUD elements will only include the absolute necessary, letting players fully realize this new world that’s been created. Players will also get multiple ways to toggle the HUD to how they see fit, as they can pick and choose which specific HUD elements they wish to have on display. I’m a huge fan of cinematic games such as God of War implementing these features, as it lets players appreciate all the details and work that was put into these games.
In addition, God of War’s difficulty modes have been revealed, and they are quite thorough in what to expect. The game’s easiest mode is “Give Me A Story,” which is self-explanatory. There won’t be too much challenge in combat, which lets players experience the narrative at their own pace. On the opposite end of the spectrum, there will be the “Give Me God of War” mode, which not only makes enemies tougher, but will tweak enemy behavior to make it a truly unpredictable experience.
Here are the details of each of the 4 difficulty modes listed on the God of War site:
- Give Me A Story: lets you experience the story without too much of a difficult gameplay challenge. You won’t be taking a gondola to the top of the highest peaks in all the Norse Realms, but you will have a far greater margin for error in enemy encounters.
- Give Me A Balanced Experience: is the mode we’d recommend most players start with. The name says it all. We’ve tuned it to deliver a balanced, challenging playthrough.
- Give Me A Challenge: is harder and less forgiving. It is recommended for players who find action games extremely intuitive, and for confident long-time God of War series veterans who’ve beat past games on harder difficulties.
- Give Me God of War: is the sort of thing reserved for people who wrestle polar bears in their undies. Maybe not quite that, but it’s the most difficult mode in the game. We haven’t just made you weaker or enemies stronger; we’ve looked at enemy behaviors and placements in encounters as well, tweaking everything to make it as threatening as possible. Best of all, you cannot change difficulties once you start a game on this mode, so if you suddenly realize you’re in way over your head, you’ll have to start a new game. Don’t be sorry, be better?
God of War releases next week on April 20 for PlayStation 4.
