An example of a QTE.
A Quick Time Event (or QTE as they are commonly abbreviated) plays an integral part in the God of War Series, as they appear in every game, and are an important factor in the boss battles, or even minor enemies.
Activation
In order to activate a QTE, the player must weaken the enemy he is currently fighting using his weapons, magic, etc. If weakened enough, the player will find a symbol representing the O button on the controller. Upon reaching the weakened enemy, the player must press the O button, thus initiating a minigame. If the minigame is done correctly, the enemy will recieve damage (or even death), however, if the player should fail the minigame, it would be Kratos who would recieve damage. A QTE is initiated mostly through this sequence, however, there are other ways to initiate the minigame. Some enemies may be vulnerable to a QTE, however, there will be no symbol over their heads representing the O button, and other enemies would have to grapple Kratos in order to initiate the minigame. If the player is unsuccessful in the aspect of the minigame, or if he generally is not fond of playing the minigame, the player can simply slash away at the targeted enemy until the enemy dies (however, this rule does not apply to the bosses).