Williams also explained that this thought, of evolving and deepening what players experienced before, is also being applied to Ragnarok's actual world, which will let players visit all Nine Realms whereas God of War 2018 omitted some. And even though Fimbulwinter has begun, players shouldn't expect to only encounter snowy realms.
"Going to all the Nine Realms, that was big for me making the old new again. Any realm you've been to before, because Fimbulwinter has struck, they're changed in some way. It doesn't mean that every realm is effected by snow, by the way. I think that's a misnomer...Fimbulwinter is an event that changes the realms in different ways. Midgard is the cataclysmic epicenter, so it got permafrost, almost if you will."
But all of the additions the team is making are very methodically intentioned - while the gameplay teases hint at a greater variety than even 2018's God of War offered, Williams wants to make sure all of these new additions mean something to the experience, using an example from combat that indicates how these additions have wider effects.
"Variety for variety's sake is not a thing at all [for us]. It's there to serve what we're trying to do," Williams said. "Kratos grappling up the ledge with a chain and then colliding with the enemy and going off [in the new gameplay footage], you couldn't do things like that [in 2018]. Most of the gameplay last time took place on a plane. Now there's some verticality to it, but it wasn't [a thought like], 'Oh, let's have him flinging up walls just because.' [That's included] because there's gameplay oriented around it, almost king of the hill-type encounters. So it changes how a player expresses themselves on the battlefield.
"Enemies also, can take advantage of that. So if you're not paying attention, they're going to take advantage as well. So it helps again with that conversation that goes through combat."