The Beginning
Gaia
While the opulent visuals will leave you completely awe-struck, you hit the ground running--so to speak--as the first gaggle of enemies greet the vengeful deity on the shoulder of the gargantuan Titan, Gaia. These guys aren't tough, a small appetizer used to wet Kratos' unquenchable hunger for blood. A quick and effective way of clearing enemies, particularly weak enemies such as these, is to press Circle to grab hold of the enemy; then, press and hold Square while running around to mow down the surrounding enemies.
The fundamentals of the game will be introduced to you as more enemies land upon Gaia's arm. Interact with the fallen tree trunk by pressing R2 and then rapidly pressing the button displayed on-screen. For future reference, most environmental interactions will be performed this way.
Poseidon has planted his poison on Gaia in the form of a Leviathan. This is the first (and definitely not the last) encounter with this spider-horse hybrid. Its most damaging attack is its water-breathing move, which can be easily predicted. When it rears its head back, it is about to belch out an unrelenting stream of water that both pushes Kratos back and causes him pain. The right side of this small clearing keeps Kratos relatively immune to the damage.
As the battle drags on, Gaia moves her arm around in an effort to fling the parasite loose and, in the process, adds inconvenience by flipping the perspective of the battle upside-down. Kratos now hangs from Gaia's hand and must dodge deadly claw jabs. Press the Cross button to get a boost of speed in order to dodge Leviathan's attacks. Not much longer, the battle perspective switches again—this time right-side up, but Kratos must still crawl around and dodge claw jabs. In the final segment of the battle, the Leviathan's watery breath returns, but it can be narrowly avoided much the same way. With enough damage dealt, Leviathan slumps over slightly with a glowing Circle button floating above its head. Press it to initiate a Quick-Time Event (QTE), during which you press the buttons that appear on-screen for a very gruesome, yet satisfying finisher.
