The Revenant is a witch-like enemy you face in God of War [GN score 9.5 out of 10]. It's ugly, it's fast, and all over the place. This is one of the first creatures you'll meet that'll make you realize how crucial it is to have Kratos's son, Atreus, by his side. Because guess what: as awesome as Kratos's new Leviathan axe is, as awesome as it throws, as awesome as it is to have it magnetize back to your hand—you can't hit the Revenant without Atreus.
Atreus is packing a bow and arrows. In combat, hitting Square on the controller sends out a flawless arrow from the boy. These arrows have stun abilities. And stunning that Revenant witch is the only way to hold her down long enough to get some swings in on her.
Combat in God of War is stellar. The chopping is brutal, the punching and kicking is brutal, the completely-tearing-apart-bad-guys-with-his-bare-hands is brutal. But the boy, who is smarter and more combat-ready than any AI companion I've ever had with me in a game, is crucial to many combat scenarios.
Besides locking enemies down with stun arrows, the boy can also draw aggro away from you for a few precious moments. Not to put the boy in harm's way, but he's going to have to grow up to be a warrior like his dad, the God of War himself, so landing hits, stunning enemies, and drawing attention are crucial battlefield skills for the boy to have.
God of War unlocks on Friday, April 20, at 12 a.m. EST. That means lucky folks on the West Coast can start playing as soon as 9 p.m. Thursday night.
