@onemyke
GOD OF WAR [SIE Santa Monica Studios/Sony – PS4 – 2018] – Since the first God of War was released on the PlayStation 2 in 2005, whole video game eras have come and gone. The current Sony exclusive, first party line-up features a whole slew of post-Kratos faces. The more iconic titles were built on core ideals about narrative and gameplay that feel so far removed from the GoW series, that it’s strange to be excited about a new adventure with Kratos at all. From Aloy in Horizon: Zero Dawn to Joel in The Last of Us, Sony’s developers have been trying to outdo each other in terms of character depth, narrative nuance, and gameplay polish — and it seems like Sony’s Santa Monica Studios are jumping back in the game all while learning some tricks from their first-party dev cousins.
Last year, before Sony’s conference at E3, I could care less about having another God of War this generation. The franchise seemed stale, and the genre felt dated. I wasn’t a big fan of the trilogy to begin with. But after seeing the surprise gameplay trailer, it shot up to one of my most anticipated games coming out for the console. After teasing a relatively deeper character arc for Kratos and his son, all while showing off the more intimate over-the-shoulder, third person gameplay, it’s really obvious that SIE is only bringing back the franchise because they actually have something to say with it. I fully expect to be more excited after whatever they have in store for this year’s conference. There are strong rumors of a God of War VR experience and we have yet to see any popular gods from the game’s new Norse setting in game, as well as any actual storyline. If Santa Monica Studios is aiming to make us to feel as strongly for their Spartan as we did for Nathan Drake, Joel, and Aloy then we already know there’s going to be way more conceptual twists and turns ahead of us.
The PlayStation E3 Media Showcase is set for 6 p.m. PT on Monday, June 12. You can catch all the action on Twich and the PlayStation Network.
Check out our other E3 2017 previews:
–Splatoon 2 – 5/30
–Battlefield: In the Name of the Tsar – 5/30
–Middle-Earth: Shadow of War – 5/30
–Spider-Man – 5/29
–Crackdown 3 – 5/29