WhenGod of War(2018) was first announced, many players were excited by the news of Kratos' return, and that the game was exploring Norse Mythology. This meant there would be new enemies for Kratos to face, as well as new and creativeboss fights inGod of War.
There are many reasons players enjoy 2018’sGod of War, and at the top of the list are the gameplay and enemies they can fight. Chief among the new enemies were the Valkyries, some of the best and most challenging bosses in the game. Recently, Respawn Entertainment Design Director Jason de Heras, Lead Combat Designer forStar Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, provided a breakdown of how the Valkyries operate in the game.
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According to de Heras, the core element behind how theValkyries are such challenging bosses is their combat combinations. Specifically, the Valkyries alter their various attack roles to force players to relearn familiar gameplay mechanics during the boss fights, which shows thepotential for boss fights inGod of War’ssequel. In his tweet, de Heras uses three Valkyries as his examples: Gunnr, Kara, and Geirdriful.
He first comments on the Valkyries' move set, discussing how their various attacks encourage certain reactions from players. Like the Valkyrie Gunnr using her two standalone attacks, players can either parry or usethe Leviathan AxeThrow move against her. The other Valkyries do the same in their boss fights when it comes to their standalone attacks and the reactions they encourage in players.
Also, sinceplayers can challenge the Valkyries out of order, this can either increase the challenge or throw players off. Next, de Heras mentioned how the Valkyries test players' memorization and techniques, like how some of Gunnr’s attacks don’t require players to respond with parries but Kara’s attacks do. He also delved into how the Valkyries use some of the same attacks to keep up the pressure, like their feather shots.
Then he explains how some of the Valkyries' attacks are used for specific purposes. For example, the wing swipe attacks are used as a stun lock counter by Gunnr, but Kara’s are more deceptive to draw players in before striking them. Meanwhile, Geirdriful’s wing swipe combo is more of a standalone attack to mix things up in her boss fight. Most of which shows how the Valkyries are some of the best andhardest boss fights inGod of War.
