Design Doc - God Of War I + II Remakes
The world is gripped by God Of War fever right now. The franchise nears its 20th anniversary, God Of War Ragnarok is on our doorstep, and so Kratos’ ongoing battle with the gods, both Greek and Nordic have been ever on the minds of players since the days of the PlayStation 2. Kratos’ bloodstained blades of chaos have been on the minds of players since 2005, but with the latest game int he series now out there, and PlayStation’s bid to breathe life into older releases now apparent through their Demon’s Souls, The Last Of Us Part I, and now the upcoming Horizon Zero Dawn remakes, the hopes and dreams of fans are that they cast an eye back deeper into their catalogue of titles. We’ve seen remakes of PS3 and PS4 titles, but maybe they can afford to look back further, perhaps they can look at God Of War and its sequel, God Of War II; classic PS2 games that have aged a lot over the years, and are perhaps begging for the enormous new audience the franchise has built to see what they’re all about. This is where “Design Doc” comes in: These are my ideas for how to make God Of War I + II Remake a winner.
The Pitch:
Do I love the idea of the kind of remakes that Sony have been delivering lately? Not necessarily, but it’s the mode of thinking that PlayStation’s leadership are in right now, and so with this pitch I’m looking to embrace the idea in the hopes that it will make the idea more likely to succeed. So God Of War, it’s kind of a big deal again these days. There was an eight year gap between God Of War III and God Of War 2018 (let’s kick Ascension to the curb for now), and in those eight years, the IP transformed significantly. From the aggressive, quite hard rock and metal-inspired original trilogy, plus spinoffs, where Kratos swung his blades in a way more in-line with character action games such as Devil May Cry, Bayonetta, or Ninja Gaiden, to the modern post-2018 take, an action-adventure game, with cinematic elements not simply contained to cutscenes, but driven by the game’s one-shot camera – the form of the God Of War franchise has transformed a lot in recent years.
Combining the five-year gap between God Of War Ascension in 2013, and the changed direction of God Of War 2018, it’s nearly been ten years since we’ve seen the traditional God Of War experience, and with character action games once again surging in popularity with the revival of both Devil May Cry, and Bayonetta, as well as new faces like Soulstice, the stage is set for a remake of the original God Of War games to come in and engage a new-found audience.
What Need Does It Serve?
A remake of both God Of War I + II achieves two very important things for PlayStation and the IP. Firstly, it revitalises a pair of games that, in their very best renditions, are stranded on the PS3, and while excellent, are not fit for players to return to having first played God Of War 2018. The God Of War franchise, as evidenced by it’s nearly 20 years of continued development with of the stewards of the IP, Santa Monica Studio never having developed a game in another franchise since God Of War first launched in 2005. This release pattern, quality aside, shows how valuable the IP is to PlayStation, so why not find further ways to get it in the front of the eyes of players. To the underworld with launching the games through PlayStation Plus Deluxe/Premium. No, show the older works of David Jaffe, Cory Barlog, Shannon Studstill, and their teams the respect they deserve by giving them a blockbuster remake treatment whilst also taking full advantage of God Of War fever that is gripping the PlayStation fandom.
Sealing The Deal:
So who develops such a title? Well, Santa Monica Studio have been pretty busy with Ragnarok, and whatever comes next for the studio is likely to be of a similar scale. Rumours persist of a new IP that Cory Barlog is heading, while the ending of God Of War Ragnarok, despite it being the end of the Norse saga, again leaves the door wide open for more one day. So I’m proposing that the cherry on top for such a project would be that it is led by PlayStation’s premiere porting and remake studio, Bluepoint. Their last two projects have been remakes of prominent PS2 and PS3 titles, 2005’s Shadow Of The Colossus, and 2009’s Demon’s Souls respectively, so the God Of War titles, even 2010’s God Of War III if they decided to throw the kitchen sink in there, are all within the right vintage that Bluepoint have typically worked on. Get Bluepoint on the job and you’ll know that the duo (or even trilogy) of titles will be the best versions of the original games, looking like 2023 titles, while paying the utmost respect to what David Jaffe, Cory Barlog, and Stig Asmussen had in mind when they led each respective title in the original trilogy.
So that’s what I’m pitching you, the audience, as a potential God Of War I + II Remake title. What do you like? What needs refining, and would you snap this up if it were available to you? We want to hear your thoughts, so be sure to hit us up via social media!
