God of War has "some pretty incredible female characters"

In terms of narrative, the new God of War is a story about a father and a son, and because of this it had strong personal implications for both creative director Cory Barlog and design director Derek Daniels, as they both became fathers themselves. The latter elaborated on this in our interview with him, but we also asked Santa Monica Studio's head about what other parents could expect from the emotional journey in the new game.

"I hope that people connect with it the way that I connect with it," Barlog answers in the interview below, which was filmed in Madrid. "We've had so many different people playing now and they kind of all have a very similar reaction and say 'I was taken off-guard, I didn't expect to actually relate to this strongly or even feel like wow'... that really made me a little bit emotional because I feel very connected to it."

However, there's a broader bond to the game's message. "I would say that even if you're not a parent there's a way to connect with it simply because you've had parents," he adds. "You couldn't exist without having parents, so that connection, that sort of human tale, of passing on of knowledge, of teaching, and of simply just struggling to make a connection to another human being is kind of a universal thing."

But enough of the boys. As it was International Women's Day when Sony held the event in Spain, we also asked the creative director about strong female characters in the game, and if they've ever considered the possibility of a 'Goddess of War', especially after the cameos of Artemis, Aphrodite, and the like in previous entries.

"We have some pretty incredible female characters in the game," Barlog confirms. "I don't like to spoil anything, I want people to play it and enjoy the different facets of the story. For me, I didn't really want to go into a new sort of main character. I wanted to kind of dig into Kratos's story and see how he would transition. But I'm at the whim of the story - wherever the story takes me, wherever the vision takes me, it manifests however it does."

God of War releases April 20 on PlayStation 4. Given the more mature approach to the story, how do you expect women to be in the game? Leave a comment below.