The rich content of "New God of War" has become a major topic of discussion among players.
In the game, besides the main story and gameplay, there's also a lot of exploration and challenges across different realms.
Especially the Valkyries and the final Valkyrie Queen turn "New God of War" into an ultra-high difficulty hardcore game. Even with the difficulty lowered, it's still very challenging for most players.
The ultimate Zeus armor obtained from defeating the Valkyrie Queen has also become a goal many players strive for.
Although by this point, players have basically finished the main story of the game.
The RPG elements of "New God of War" still give many players the motivation to keep playing.
As the strongest set in the game, many players fantasize about their Kratos wearing the Zeus armor and becoming the true God of War.
After all, Kratos's performance during the game experience has spawned a lot of memes.
This is mainly because there was no comparison. In the previous Greek journey, the game difficulty in some parts was even higher than in "New God of War."
But before that, there wasn't a handy son like Atreus for comparison.
Coupled with the game's story and actual experience, this comparison makes a big difference.
Kratos's image as the God of War suddenly shifted to his son, Atreus.
Besides that, there's also the game's story. The reason why most players focus on the Norse content is mainly due to the change in style.
Although the previous Greek trilogy was also excellent, it showed players a character who was arguably the most MANLY in game history.
It pushed the aesthetics of violence to the extreme, and the worldview and background were also quite grand.
The Olympian gods went dark, and Kratos, becoming the God of War, directly conquered Olympus.
He slaughtered various gods, and each god had their unique divine appearance, skills, and boss fight mechanics.
Clean and brisk combat, dazzling bloody scenes, and visually impactful battles under QTEs. These elements made the God of War from the Greek mythology trilogy exude a raging atmosphere from beginning to end.
But these are the game's charms that players can feel individually.
If they were to discuss it, players would at most talk about how to slaughter the BOSS gods, and various gameplay and operations.
In terms of the story, the only point worth discussing in the Greek trilogy is whether Athena was good or bad, and why her attitude changed so drastically. Moreover, the game's exploration content wasn't very rich.
It is essentially more like a cinematic game, similar to "The Last of Us" and "BioShock," but with a different theme from "The Last of Us."
In "The Last of Us," players can feel the ugliness of human nature and the choices made in an apocalypse.
But in "God of War," there clearly isn't such deep content. If anything, it's like "Uncharted," letting players experience pure thrills. However, "God of War" lacks the everyday life feel of "Uncharted," like Nathan and Elena's relationship or their mentor-like friendship with Sully.
In God of War, charging forward is the only thing to do, fighting from start to finish. There aren't many plot twists.
But after Kratos arrived in the Norse world, the God of War's game style changed. Many players didn't understand what was new about the "New God of War" at first, until they experienced it.
Because this installment reinterprets God of War, giving it new life.
The previous Kratos, though a god made from man, could be depicted as a god, a monster, but not really like a human.
In the "New God of War," with Atreus's experiences, Kratos has been completely elevated.
This allows the game to completely surpass its predecessors in terms of story and character development.
The most direct evidence is reflected in the major media scores.
For the previous Greek trilogy, the scores from major media were basically around 9.0.
Not bad, but not exceptionally high either. In the gaming world, it was considered a very good work.
But the "New God of War" is completely different. Even authoritative media like GameSpot gave it a perfect score.
"God of War in the Norse world is so outstanding, like the finishing touch in painting a dragon, it completes the last piece of the puzzle, and the most important one."
"Kratos is no longer the God of War, no longer the Avenger, no longer the Spartan Soul. He is just an old father to a child."
"Every part of the thrilling journey complements the other elements, ultimately creating a masterpiece."
"Although some parts of the game might feel a bit jarring for players who are used to the trilogy, Kratos is still Kratos, as awesome as ever."
"Growing from an irritable God of War to a mature old father, the new God of War in the Norse world has shed its impulsiveness and rebelliousness, but gained emotion and bonds."
"If you have to point out a flaw, it's only that the mythological story is not yet finished!"
......
Not long after the release of "New God of War," Lucas also launched corresponding activities.
First is the hosting of DOTA tournaments. Up to now, the skill level of players in DOTA has become increasingly mature.
This is mainly thanks to the emergence of video and live streaming platforms. New strategies and tactics from top players are quickly known to more players through these mediums, so corresponding tournaments have basically matured.
Regarding tournaments, Lucas didn't immediately follow the path of DOTA in his previous life by holding world championships or introducing battle passes and investing a portion of the revenue into the prize pool.
While this can create a globally recognized tournament, it also has many drawbacks. The most direct one is that it makes the importance of this key tournament far exceed others.
For example, having only one TI a year, with other tournaments being less significant, and players only ramping up their efforts at TI.
And if we talk about attention and popularity, Nebula Games doesn't need to do that right now. So, in the plan, they will first divide it into various regions, classifying them as A-level and S-level.
After the teams in each region mature in strength, they will hold corresponding global tournaments and major leagues, determining the teams that directly enter the world championships and those that need to play in qualifiers based on points.
Nebula Games has experience in this area.
Tournaments for Warcraft, Rainbow Six: Siege, and other related games have already accumulated sufficient experience.
In addition to this, there's also the matter of cosmetic item collaborations for DOTA.
After all, DOTA's revenue source is from cosmetic items, and Nebula Games owns various classic IPs. It would be a waste not to utilize them!
Looking at the related revenue-generating activities, Lucas calculated.
First, a set of World of Warcraft collaborations, with Illidan's set for Anti-Mage and Maiev Shadowsong's set for Phantom Assassin...
Then, a God of War collaboration, with Zeus's Arcana, Zeus.
With a string of collaborations like this, many players start questioning their life choices as they look at their wallet statements.
Isn't DOTA a free-to-play game?
So the question arises: where did all the money go!
......
Inside Nebula Games, during lunch break.
Lucas, holding a hot cup of coffee, walked to the sofa in the lounge area.
"What are you looking at?" he asked Anna and Rachel next to him. Seeing a group of people gathered around a table looking at something, Lucas was a bit curious.
As he got closer, Lucas saw a large tablet computer placed in the center of the table, and he couldn't help but look speechless.
Good heavens, it's the cosplay show from Nebula Games.
Arthur Morgan and Mary, Link and Mipha, Johnny and River, Gehrman and Maria, then there's Little Q, Ghost, Soap...
All of them are characters from Nebula Games with a strong sense of tragedy.
"Boss Lucas, do you feel the players' resentment?" Anna turned and looked at Lucas.
"Hmm... Compared to this resentment, I think if I released a half-finished game and declared it the 'will-this-ever-be-finished' series, it would provoke even more player resentment," Lucas said with a chuckle as he found a place to sit.
Anna and Rachel next to him widened their eyes.
Although they didn't say anything, their eyes clearly conveyed what they meant: Is that something a person would say?
"Boss Lucas, you've already done that! The sequel to New God of War, Ragnarok, hasn't even been greenlit yet!" Hector chimed in with a complaint from the side.
If it weren't for the continuous DOTA collaboration events and related tournaments diverting some of the heat, their Nebula Games official Weibo would be bombarded with complaints again.
"Players have probably gotten tired of four consecutive installments. Let them have a break," Lucas said with a smile.
Is that really an excuse!
Hearing Lucas's words, Anna, Rachel, and the others wore speechless expressions.
"Oh, and Boss Lucas, for Halloween this year, what big surprise are we preparing for the players?" Anna asked Lucas, remembering something.
Halloween is coming soon, and it's become Nebula Games' annual tradition to give players a horror game.
"Don't worry, I definitely won't disappoint the players," Lucas said with a smile.
Marcus next to him pursed his lips and didn't ask.
"Aren't you curious what the theme is?" Lucas coughed lightly, having waited for a long time without anyone responding.
"When it comes to tricking players, Boss Lucas, you definitely have a lot of say," Rachel added.
"How can you call it tricking? This time, the game isn't meant to scare players or make them emotionally break down, but it's a horror game with some educational value," Lucas said, shrugging. He paused before continuing, "Did you guys know about the news that the science show that aired not long ago was canceled?"
"That old show? Boss Lucas, you watched it too?"
"That show called 'Entering Science'? It felt quite scary when I was a kid, a real childhood trauma. I only realized it was a comedy show when I grew up."
"Indeed, it started with a light bulb flickering intermittently, making it all mysterious, and in the end, it turned out to be a problem with the switch."
The few of them chatted amongst themselves, clearly everyone had watched it as a child and it was a childhood memory.
"Regarding its cancellation, I wish it had ended because it had completed its mission, rather than being cut by the TV station due to low ratings, but that's probably just a beautiful wish."
Lucas didn't smile like the others. Instead, he gently shook his head.
"Boss Lucas, is the new game related to that?" Anna asked curiously.
"You'll know when the time comes," Lucas stretched, stood up, and smiled.
(End of this chapter)
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