Kratos isn’t alone in the new God of War. Not only does he have a son, that child will be with him for the whole game. The two are so tied together that Sony’s dedicated an entire button on the controller to interacting with the kid.
The relationship between Kratos and his son is central to God of War’s latest installment. The big question at the heart of the game, according to the developers, is whether Kratos is capable of redemption. He paved the roads with blood in his quests, but things are different now that he’s responsible for a life.
In the demo shown at Sony’s press conference, one that was expanded upon in a private presentation I saw this afternoon, the kid will do his best to help Kratos navigate the world and during battle. This doesn’t happen randomly or by accident; there’s a button on the controller (I forgot to ask which!) who’s sole purpose is summoning the kid for a variety of contextual actions in the game.
What that actually means for the game remains to be seen, however. In a fight with a giant troll—the same one from the demo you saw at the press conference—the button prompts the kid to fire electrified arrows that stuns.
Hopefully, we’ll get a better sense of what the kid can do later this year.