It is a rite of passage for parents to dress their young children in humiliating outfits. So at a God of War preview last Wednesday, I sat down with Aaron Kauffman, Senior Community Manager and Marketing Producer at Santa Monica Studio, and asked my most pressing God of War question: Will I be able to dress my son as a potato?
While the studio isn’t yet discussing God of War’s future with regards to DLC or post-release content, Kauffman assured me there would be no microtransactions nor loot boxes. “We’re really focused on creating the most amazing single player start-to-finish journey that we possibly can.”
However, there won’t be unlockable costumes either, unlike previous games in the series. Instead, the ingame customisation options should fulfil all your fashion needs.
“The only unlockable costume that we have is the Death’s Vow armour, which is with our Digital Deluxe Edition,” said Kauffman. “So now in the game, when you go into Brok and Sindri’s shop, you’ll be able to purchase different armour sets for Kratos and Artreus.”
I’m glad I’ll be able to buy tiny clothes for my tiny son, and maybe dress Kratos in something that will reduce his nipple’s ability to cut glass. But, as in previous God of War games, these outfits are more than just aesthetic.
“Those armours have very specific game play enhancements. You can see like the stats with vitality and strength and defence, and they augment your play style in different ways that allow you to play more how you want. You can turn them on and off, you can switch them out. So in this game it wasn’t about, ‘Let’s give Kratos a tuxedo at the end, or the old Greek clothing.’”
So no Spud of War? No Dairy Bastard?
“No no,” Kauffman laughed. “It was a very conscious decision, too. Those in the past were kinda gimmicky, right? But they were fun, they had a place and time.
“And in this game, it all goes back again to making everything deliberate. You know, let’s not just throw a costume or armour in there just because. Let’s actually give it to the player because it has real lore and gameplay meaning.”
This makes a lot of sense in light of the more grounded, realistic tone of the game. Still, I kinda wish I could dress my kid like a little idiot spud with legs.
“That’d be funny. We should add an Artreus DLC potato outfit – confirmed!” joked Kauffman. “Don’t put that in your headline!”
God of War will be released April 20 on PlayStation 4.
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