Chapter 731 - 731: The Ultimate Violent Aesthetic

As the bald, muscular man Kratos plunged into the sea.

A sound of bubbles reached Zack's ears, and at the same time, the scene before him went momentarily dark.

After about three to four seconds, a line of text gradually appeared before him: Three weeks ago, the Aegean Sea.

A clap of thunder exploded in his ears, followed by the sound of a storm, and the game scene appeared before Zack.

At this moment, he was on the deck of a large ship, and at the same time, the narration he had heard earlier continued.

'However, Kratos's past was not like this.'

'He was once a warrior who assisted the gods!'

Standing on the deck of a worn-out sea vessel, the muscular strongman named Kratos held two burning chain blades in his hands.

Despite the stormy weather, the rain falling on the chain blades could not extinguish the flames. Kratos's bulging muscles looked incredibly striking.

At the same time, as the narration finished, on the deck of the sea vessel opposite Kratos, countless monsters wielding long swords continuously emerged.

"A bunch of trash, let me send you back to the underworld!" With Kratos's roar, the game officially began.

"It's starting already!?" Seeing the system prompt appear before him, Zack was a bit caught off guard.

The corresponding control scheme was not complicated; it was basically traditional action game gameplay.

However, it also incorporated brainwave capture technology, and compared to previous systems, it was more streamlined and convenient.

Following the prompts, Zack controlled Kratos, swinging the chain blades in his hands, continuously slaughtering the monsters on the ship.

There was almost no monster that could put up a fight in Kratos's path.

Each one was torn to shreds by the flame-burning chain blades.

Just as defeated monsters in 'Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice' dropped money, these monsters also dropped substances similar to red souls, all absorbed by Kratos into his body, though unlike Sekiro, it didn't require manual input.

Light attacks, heavy attacks, staggering the monsters before him, then watching Kratos punch their heads off, or tearing them to shreds, and throwing them into the sea with his chain blades.

The various execution animations and the satisfying feeling of every blow landing made Zack incredibly excited.

Because, it was just too satisfying!

The game was extremely violent, yet it possessed a certain beauty.

Watching Kratos roar and brutally kill monsters, the feeling was absolutely amazing.

"This easy mode is really a hack-and-slash game! It's so satisfying!" Zack was incredibly excited deep down.

Seeing the deck cleared, Zack even felt a little unfulfilled.

It could be said that 'God of War's' combat system was completely different from the previous 'Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice.'

After all, although Sekiro leaned towards action, it was fundamentally a Souls-like game.

But in 'God of War,' the muscular Kratos fully displayed what violence meant.

Plus, the game had difficulty settings. Zack knew very well that if he chose the highest God of War difficulty, he would probably be the one getting annihilated by the regular enemies right now.

But that was just a hypothetical. Now, he could choose the easiest mode.

Under this difficulty, the experience was completely different.

The monsters didn't have much health, giving Zack a clear hack-and-slash feeling.

Secondly, 'God of War's' combat style, built on violent aesthetics, allowed Kratos to execute a monster cleanly in two or three moves.

This elevated the game's visual effects to the extreme, while also boosting the sense of satisfaction to a peak.

Before, Zack had been thinking that if this game was a Souls-like or a satisfying game, he would inform Ben. After all, having lost five DOTA matches in a row today, he figured Ben's blood pressure was probably a bit high, so he didn't intend to tease him like usual.

But now, the sudden enjoyment of the hack-and-slash fun and the visual impact of the violent aesthetic instantly made him forget about Ben.

His mind was filled with anticipation for what would happen next.

As for choosing the God of War difficulty?

What did that difficulty have to do with him?

Aren't difficulty settings there for players to choose from?

Those who like hack-and-slash can choose the easiest, and those who want to be challenged can choose the God of War difficulty.

For him, 'God of War' only had one difficulty: easy.

He said so, and even the heavens couldn't change it!

Watching Kratos in the game violently tear apart the enemies blocking his path, Zack was filled with emotion.

Although Lucas had developed many games, there weren't many hack-and-slash games.

Well... it's not that there weren't any. 'Call of Duty: Modern Warfare' on the lowest difficulty felt like the player was an iron man, killing and bombing their way through; of course, veteran difficulty was another matter.

Most others were like Bloodborne, Monster Hunter, and Dark Souls, where the monsters were the ones hacking the player.

And games like 'God of War' where difficulty could be adjusted – thinking about it carefully, Nebula Games hadn't released many like that in a long time. Even the recent 'DOTA' implemented a high-end AI to torment players.

Now, this 'God of War' was truly making Zack feel great.

The chain blades generated attack moves: wide swings, vertical chops, upward slashes, aerial attacks, heavy slams, mercilessly slaughtering monsters, along with extremely violent executions, all made Zack feel incredibly thrilled.

And these were indeed the most crucial points of 'God of War.' Since the series' birth, regardless of gameplay element changes or anything else, the surface packaging of the game had never changed: the satisfying feeling of Kratos obliterating monsters!

Wielding chain blades, axes, and various other weapons, killing small monsters and bosses in various ways – that was the characteristic of 'God of War.'

In 'God of War,' simply defeating small monsters was just the beginning.

The part that truly gave players satisfaction was unlocking more combos as the game's story progressed and using various combos to stylishly defeat monsters.

There was also how to effectively use the terrain to defeat small monsters. For example, on the highest God of War difficulty, the most effective method for players was to use the environment, like pinning enemies to walls, to kill them.

Secondly, similar to the Dark Souls series, boss battles in 'God of War' were one of the most classic core elements.

When facing enormous monsters, Kratos's small size created a visual contrast with the boss.

Then, whether on the ground or in the air, using weapons like the Blades of Chaos to defeat them showcased the ultimate violent aesthetic. This visual impact was incredible, and 'God of War' was definitely a carnival for lovers of giant creatures.

(End of chapter)

---

Read +100 advanced chapters on my patre*n

patr eon.com/GustinaKamiya

---