Chapter 1129: The Annoying Brat (First Update)
Lin Xue rowed the boat while sharing her thoughts on the opening of God of War 4 with the audience.
"So many foreshadowing elements are planted right from the start. I wonder why the father and son had to travel so far just to chop down a tree. But I feel like their relationship is really problematic—the dad calls his son 'boy,' and the son says 'yes sir' to his dad. That doesn't look like a normal father-son relationship at all, does it?!"
"Well, thinking about it more carefully, it does make some sense. After all, Kratos's dad killed his own father, and Kratos himself killed his dad, grandmother, siblings, aunts, uncles, and all sorts of relatives. So, making sure his son doesn't call him 'dad' is actually a survival instinct taken to the extreme..."
If Lin Xue had to pick the most striking impression from God of War 4, it was that the pacing had completely slowed down.
In the previous God of War 1 through 3, it was either killing gods or being on the way to kill gods, and the scenes were all these flashy mythological settings, like the Underworld or the Temple of Olympus.
But in the opening of God of War 4, Kratos and his son were like a hunter family living in seclusion in the snowy wilderness—chopping wood, rowing a boat, splitting firewood, burning the mom...
Ahem, anyway, they lived a very peaceful, laid-back life, as if they were in a paradise far away from all the fighting and killing.
Come to think of it, Lin Xue hadn't even seen what Kratos's wife looked like, because she had already passed away, wrapped up tightly, and a few minutes later, she was cremated into a pile of ashes.
But thinking about it again, this wasn't the first time Kratos had lost a family member. Last time, he lost his wife and daughter, and their ashes had permanently fused to his skin, turning it that pale white.
Another deep impression was the camera work.
The default camera angle this time was over-the-shoulder, and the entire opening sequence was a single continuous shot. This gave Lin Xue the illusion that she was playing a Nordic cold-weapon version of The Last of Us.
"So I have to babysit Kratos's kid? Huh? Excuse me? I'm the mighty God of War, and I have to teach this brat how to hunt?"
Lin Xue was very dissatisfied with the opening plot. What was this?
I came into this game to have fun. Just spawn a bunch of weak enemies for me to mow down, or throw a big boss at me so I can have a good time, okay?
But what was I doing now? Following a brat around while he hunts? And this brat couldn't shoot an arrow straight to save his life, and he got all jumpy when he encountered prey. If this were the old Kratos, he probably would have kicked the kid long ago.
But now, Kratos had to pause and suppress his anger even before raising his voice. I guess even the toughest badass gets turned into a gentle lamb by their own annoying kid...
Lin Xue watched helplessly as the brat casually fired an arrow and scared the deer away. Then Kratos snatched the bow from the kid's hands and scolded him.
"Kratos is so strict... But how come this brat didn't inherit any of his father's combat talent? Your dad is the God of War, you know. Ah, truly, each generation is worse than the last." Lin Xue felt a little sorry for the brat when Kratos scolded him, but then she thought he deserved it. How could he let down his father's combat talent by being so bad at shooting arrows...
Soon, Lin Xue encountered her first battle. Undead soldiers came charging out of nowhere, and Kratos, without returning the bow to his son Atreus, swung the Leviathan Axe and took down all the small fry.
"This feels terrible. My reach is so short..."
Having gotten used to the Blades of Chaos, Lin Xue had plenty of complaints about the Leviathan Axe. Compared to the Blades of Chaos, this weapon really wasn't that easy to use.
The Blades of Chaos were one of the best weapons Lin Xue had ever used in all the games she'd played. They had fast attack speed, wide range, and could perform a series of special moves, like hooking onto wall anchors to use as ropes. But now, this axe had way too short a range, and Lin Xue wasn't sure if it was just her imagination, but the axe's damage seemed pretty low. Killing a few small enemies wasn't satisfying at all.
Its only advantage was that it could be thrown and then fly back on its own, but for Lin Xue, that still didn't change the fact that she wasn't used to this weapon.
"It looks like I'll be fighting alongside this brat for a long time. Ugh, so annoying. The mighty God of War has to carry a deadweight."
"Well, whatever. He's my son, I guess. Just stand there and cheer me on, and watch how your dad, the God of War, carries you through this."
Although she initially found Atreus the brat pretty annoying, even worrying that "this deadweight might affect my god-killing," as the story progressed, Lin Xue slowly started to warm up to the kid. Especially during the deer-killing scene, the interaction between Kratos and his son was genuinely touching.
This added a new layer of humanity to the God of War series. Kratos was no longer just a cold, ruthless killing machine. You could tell he had deep feelings for his son, but he just didn't know how to express them.
Just as the father and son were mourning the deer, a giant hand suddenly reached out from under the cliff and grabbed the deer's corpse!
"Ah! Oh my god, finally! My old enemy!!"
Lin Xue had a very strong impression of this guy. Wasn't this the ogre that grabbed Kratos and threw him off the cliff at the very beginning of the game?
Only now did Lin Xue realize that this creature's official name was "Troll," and this type of monster hadn't appeared in God of War 1 through 3.
Kratos handed the bow to his son. From the looks of it, they were going to fight the troll together as father and son.
"Watch closely, brat. See how your God of War dad handles these big guys! Alright, you just stand here and don't move. I'll go buy you some oranges."
Lin Xue perked up instantly. Those small fries earlier were nothing. This big guy was Kratos's real meal!
Those few minor enemies from before weren't even enough to fill Kratos's teeth. Finally, something worth fighting showed up.
But as the fight went on, Lin Xue started to feel something was off. Why did the combat system feel completely different...
The actual combat system in God of War hadn't changed much; it was still next-gen. But the key difference was the weapon. Before, it was chain blades; now, it was an axe. How could that be the same?
Before, she could stand several meters away from an enemy and unleash a combo with the chain blades. Now, she had to get up close with the axe and slowly chip away at the enemy's health. And Kratos had lost his godly powers, so the big enemy's health bar was dropping painfully slowly. Lin Xue found it frustrating to watch.
Finally, the troll's health was almost gone. Lin Xue entered bullet time again and used her familiar finishing move.
Kratos jumped onto the troll's back, punched its bald head, grabbed its broken horn, slammed its head into the ground, and twisted its neck until it snapped.
"Phew. At least I can still do that, or I'd really be panicking." Lin Xue let out a long sigh.
Set a small goal first, like remembering for one second: