2018’s God of War is often cited as one of the best God of War games of all time. Thanks to the dynamic between Kratos and Atreus, the game’s story became much more engaging and memorable. Initially, Santa Monica Studio planned to take the story in a completely different direction by removing Kratos, a decision that might have killed the franchise.
Cory Barlog, the creative director at Santa Monica Studio, once explained how there were discussions at the studio about Kratos’ iteration in the game. As per Barlog, many suggested that by keeping Kartos, they would be making just “another God of War.” This period was quite stressful for Barlog as he wasn’t able to hand out much information to convince everyone what he was working on.
Santa Monica Studio almost removed Kratos from the God of War franchise
In a 2019 interview with GamesBeat, Cory Barlog, creative director at the Sony Interactive Entertainment Santa Monica Studio, explained the process of creating 2018’s God of War.
During the conversation, Barlog explained that there were various debates within the studios over Kratos as some people suggested that getting rid of the character would be better. Barlog said,
In the beginning, the very beginning, there were a few discussions with certain groups within the company that had said, ‘I don’t think you should keep Kratos.’ Certain people were saying that keeping Kratos was a good idea.
I was being very closed about how much information I was handing out, but they all assumed that if I kept Kratos, we’d just make another God of War. At the high level, I was saying, ‘We’re not going to do that. I’m not telling you what it is yet, but here’s the little bits of information.’
Barlog further added that everyone jokingly asked him if Kratos would put “a backpack on and walk up to Scandinavia,” but that was exactly what they were working on. Barlog revealed that the same person, who made that joke, claimed that the loved the game when it was finalized one month later. The game was a massive success for the studios and it was all because of Barlog’s vision.
2018’s God of War became the best-selling game in the series
God of War (2018) was a new direction for the series in terms of its new mythological setting. The game revealed that several years after the events of God of War III, Kratos had ended up in the world of Norse mythology in ancient Norway in the realm of Midgard, with his son named Atreus.
Not just the story, but the game felt fresh in a gameplay aspect as well. World design, art direction, music, graphics, combat system, and characters are a few elements that were particularly praised by the fans. The game won several Game of the Year awards and became the best-selling game in the God of War series.
