God of War is a third-person action-adventure video game. It features an over-the-shoulder free camera, a departure from the previous installments, which featured a fixed cinematic camera (with the exception of 2007's two-dimensional side-scroller Betrayal). Cinematographically, the game is presented in a continuous shot, with no camera cuts or loading screens. Although the previous main installment, Ascension (2013), introduced multiplayer to the series, this installment is single-player-only.  Regarding the level structure, creative director Cory Barlog said "it's open, but it is not an open world.   Due to its openness, a fast travel feature is unlocked later in the game. Swimming, an ability in previous games, was cut, players instead use a boat to traverse bodies of water. Unlike previous games, which allowed players to jump freely at anytime, jumping can now only be done at designated areas, such as at a rock face or ledge. Throughout the game, players battle Norse mythological foes, like dark elves, wulvers, and draugrs, as well as Gullveig and the revenants, beings warped by seiðr magic, among many others. Valkyries appear as optional secret boss battles throughout the six playable locations. Among the many side quests, players can free the imprisoned dragons Fáfnir, Otr, and Reginn—dwarves who were turned into dragons—in addition to battling one called Hræzlyr, a story-based boss battle. 
A GIF showing Kratos throwing the Leviathan Axe to magically freeze an enemy draugr in place, allowing Kratos to easily attack it. The in-game HUD can be seen in the bottom left and right corners. The left shows information for Kratos, such as his health and what runic attacks are equipped. The right shows similar information for Atreus.
The player controls the character Kratos in combo-based combat and puzzle game elements. The gameplay is vastly different from previous games, as it was completely rebuilt. A major change is that Kratos no longer uses his signature double-chained blades, the Blades of Chaos, as his default weapon. Instead, he uses a magical battle axe, called the Leviathan Axe, which is infused with ice elemental magic. The axe can be thrown at enemies and magically summoned back to his hand, similar to Thor's hammer Mjölnir. Larger enemies have precision targets, and throwing the axe at those targets stuns the enemy. The weapon can also be thrown at environmental objects to trigger a damaging explosion. It can freeze objects and some enemies in place for puzzle solving until the axe is summoned back to Kratos' hand. The axe has standard light and heavy attacks. Over time, it can be upgraded with runes to allow for magical runic attacks, with one slot being for a light magical attack and the other for a heavy one. This provides players with a variety of options to cater to their own play style. Another new weapon that Kratos utilizes is the Guardian Shield. When not in use, it folds up and appears like a vambrace on his left forearm. When summoned, the shield can be used offensively or defensively, similar to the Golden Fleece in previous games. Kratos also utilizes hand-to-hand combat, a feature originally introduced in Ascension. The Blades of Chaos, infused with fire elemental magic, are acquired later in the game via a plot device and perform in a similar manner as in previous installments—they are a pair of blades attached to chains that can be swung around in various maneuvers. The weapon can also be upgraded with magical runic attacks. 
As in the earlier games, there is a "Rage" ability, this one called Spartan Rage. Like the previous versions, the Rage ability has a meter that gradually fills during combat. With this ability, Kratos uses powerful bare-handed attacks, as opposed to weapons, to greatly damage enemies. The game also features role-playing video game (RPG) elements. There are crafting resources for the player to find that allow them to create new or upgrade existing armor with better perks.  Players also accumulate a currency called Hacksilver, a key component in crafting and purchasing new items. Experience points (XP) are used for learning new combat skills. Throughout the game world, players find chests containing random items, such as enchantments for improving armor and weapons, as well as the Hacksilver currency. There are also two special items, Iðunn's Apples and Horns of Blood Mead, which increase the maximum length of the health and rage meters, respectively. These meters are replenished by green and red orbs dropped by downed foes and found throughout the game world. For the magical runic attacks, instead of collecting blue orbs to replenish the ability (like in the previous games), there is a cool down timer for each ability and once that time is up, the magical runic attacks can be used again. 
Quick time events have changed from previous games. Enemies display two meters above their heads, one for health (the color of which indicates the enemy's difficulty) and the other for stun. Filling the stun meter helps to defeat more difficult enemies. When the stun meter is full, a grab prompt will appear. Depending on the enemy, Kratos may rip it in half or grab them and throw them into other enemies, among other possible outcomes. Although the game is played entirely as Kratos, there are times when the player may choose to passively control his son, Atreus. One button is dedicated to Atreus, and its use depends on the context. For example, if the player needs assistance, they can look at an enemy, press the button, and Atreus will use his Talon Bow to shoot arrows at the enemy. Over the course of the game, Atreus helps in combat, traversal, exploration, and puzzle-solving. When facing a large number of enemies, he distracts the weaker ones as Kratos fights the stronger ones. If too many enemies gang up on Atreus, he is briefly stunned, but he cannot be knocked out or killed. Atreus also acquires new skills, armor, and runic attacks, as well as special light and shock arrows for his Talon Bow. Atreus' runic attacks summon different spectral animals with different abilities. For example, one summons a pack of wolves that attacks enemies, while another summons the squirrel Ratatoskr who will dig up orbs for the health and rage meters.