Weekend Reading: God of War 3 Does QTEs Right

I generally dislike Quick Time Events. They tend to disrupt the flow of gameplay and they usually involve repeating some sequences time and time again pressing the same buttons to see the character perform moves that are otherwise inaccessible to the player.

Concentrating on doing the button press sequence right also leads the player away from the action. But despite my lack of love for the technique, I actually like how the developers of God of War 3, the people at the Sony Santa Monica studio, managed to integrate them in God of War 3.

For one, they never pop in during cutscenes, forcing the player to rush for their controller to avoid quick and certain death. There are also only a few of them set right after or before a lengthy cinematic, which needs to be watched again every time the player fails. This makes them remarkably less intrusive than in other titles.

Sony also opted to out the prompts for button presses on the edge of the screen, corresponding with how they are placed on the controller. This makes it very easy to complete the sequences while also being focused on the things happening on screen. Sure, there are a lot of QTEs I failed and dreaded to repeat but the process of completing them is fairly painless, seamlessly integrated in the overall gameplay.

Finally, the Quick Time Events in God of War 3 manage to lead to impressive things on the part of the main character. Face against an enemy which is, as a rule of thumb, bigger than Kratos and there's at least one bloody QTE coming that will lead to the dismemberment, impaling or disemboweling of the enemy. The animations and moves themselves are violent and complex, something the player could not deliver on their own. Even in the ultraviolent world of God of War 3, seeing a downed half-lion, half-scorpion beast killed by a horn driven through its eye is something worth the few button presses that lead to it.