: The game retains the signature combo-based action using the Blades of Chaos , supplemented by magical abilities like the Efreet .
: Tasked by Athena , Kratos must find the missing Sun God, Helios , before the Dream God Morpheus lulls both mortals and gods into a permanent slumber.
Chronologically set ten years before the original , the game explores Kratos' decade of servitude to the Olympian gods .
: To compensate for the lack of a second analog stick, the control scheme was reconfigured—actions like dodging are performed by holding the L and R triggers while moving the analog nub.