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How do you make a player character feel powerful in a 3rd person melee combat game? Many factors determine this such as enemy design and progression. But it all starts with the player’s basic toolkit. Let’s look at some of Kratos’ moves and the invisible aspects. #combatdesign 
EXAGGERATED HIT COLLISION - All of Kratos’ attacks feel EXTREMELY powerful in their own way. The Heavy Attack has the ability to hit multiple targets even if the actual Axe doesn’t make contact. The player receives a "bonus" for successfully hitting a single target. 1/3
The image below is my best guess on Kratos' weapon hit box (green) vs the axe model (red). If there’s a nearby clustering of enemies, this forgiving hit collision doesn’t require the player to make a choice but instead just hit one target to affect nearby enemies. 2/3
In true form, when Kratos acquires health, the designers added a hit box to Kratos' stomp animation! It's possible Kratos even has iFrames on this animation but I wasn't able to test it. (Personally, I would probably add iFrames here too so the player can have "close calls"!) 3/3
INVULNERABLE FRAMES - A common term in fighting games - “iFrames” refers to the window of time the player is invulnerable to any hit during a particular animation. Kratos’ evade certainly has iFrames which makes it easier for the player to avoid getting hit. 1/3
In the image below (and my best guess), the enemy’s weapon hit box (red) certainly intersects Kratos’ body hit box (yellow). Invulnerable frames, ironically, allow the player to be more precise but also more sloppy. 2/3
In the video, there's an enemy on the right that's about to attack Kratos as he starts the kill. Since Kratos most likely has iFrames during these kills, all enemies outside of the camera frame are unable to hit Kratos - thus preserving these moments as the player's reward.
DEFENSE AS OFFENSE - When Kratos parries an enemy, there is an additional bonus hit box that staggers nearby enemies and halts most action. This serves to make defense feel powerful, but also give the player breathing room to counter attack the parried enemy.
INSTANT PARRY - When the player taps or holds L1, they are able to execute a parry which will stagger most enemies if they are attacking. God of War allows the player to press parry at the last possible frame before an enemy's attack will hit and have it register successfully.
MULTI-HIT COLLISION - The Axe is able to actively collide with multiple targets in one swing. This gives the player more control (and breathing room) but also allows faster damage over time against multiple enemies.
EXPLOITABLE MOVES - “Spammable” moves may seem OP or illogical, but against a single enemy, it’s a powerful teaching moment of an individual mechanic. In a more varied and difficult encounter, Exploitable Moves become more of a risk / reward to pull off.
COLLATERAL DAMAGE - Launched enemies have active hit collision that will hit nearby enemies when they land. Although the damage output is low in this situation, the overall effect is to the player’s advantage and demonstrates the cause and effect of the player's actions.
KILL RANGE - The range at which the player can press R3 and still perform the kill finisher is very FORGIVING. It’s obvious the designers wanted to give the player every chance to see the awesome finishers which culminate in Kratos showcasing his most powerful attacks.
HIT PAUSE - Hit Pause is an element of "hit feel" that certainly could be its own topic. Adding this property to each hit allows the player to read the contact point as well as the follow through pose of the attack. God of War has Hit Pause (barehanded) and Axe Stick. 1/2
You can read more about "Axe Stick" from the combat designer responsible for Kratos in God of War (2018), Vince Napoli (now making Avengers). His blog has amazing insight into the game. 2/2 http://combatrecall.blogspot.com/2018/05/controller-rumble-controller-rumble-is.html
