The God of War series is known for its brutality and violence, and has—in the past—depicted violence against women, which is rather uncommon even in videogames.
In God of War 3, there was an exceptionally disturbing scene in which Kratos, the protagonist of the game, chains a partially clothed woman to a gear mechanism. The gears crush the woman, whose body then causes the gears to jam thus allowing Kratos to proceed to the next area.
Speaking to IGN, Sony Santa Monica's David Hewitt said that God of War: Ascension will not feature violence of that sort. The team took feedback from critics who pointed out the violence shown in the game's trailer at E3.
"There are some things we've pulled back from," Hewitt said. "I think where this has been an issue is with violence against women — the team's pulled back from some of that and assessed that a little more carefully.
"There are certain things that carry a different kind of resonance that we don't want to get into. This isn't about statement-making in that regard. It's about fleshing out this character."
Rather than committing acts of sadism, Kratos's violence will come from necessity, not for the sheer enjoyment of it.