The game makers considered Egyptian mythology as a new setting, but chose Norse mythology as it felt more natural for Kratos.
God of War III (2010) lost game of the year 2010 to Red Dead Redemption (2010) while Red Dead Redemption II (2018) lost game of the year 2018 to this game.
On the PlayStation 4 home background theme for God of War, Kratos and Atreus sit on a boat. On the boat, there are some Nordic Runes and when translated, they spell out 'Ragnarök is coming'.
Except when starting up the game, there are no loading screens or any camera cuts throughout the entire game.
According to game director Cory Barlog, the game is open but not "open-world." It utilizes fast- travel like other open-world games do, but it's more restricted compared to its use in other open-ended video games.