God of War Will Have a Greater “Diversity of Memorable Moments”
We’re less than 10 days into the new year, and already we’ve received quite a bit of new information about the upcoming God of War. Now, in a new interview Cory Barlog, the game’s creative director, and Shannon Studstill, Sony Santa Monica Studio Head, have revealed what will truly set the upcoming game apart from the rest of the series.
From the very beginning we knew that God of War was going to be a revitalization of the franchise, however now the developers have delved into what will make it so different. Not only will the actual gameplay be different than previous games, but the story will be as well. According to the Cory Barlog, there will be a greater diversity of memorable moments than past games, and the story will have a greater emotional impact. “The memorable moments range from a single line spoken by one character who spoke strongly to them, to an epic moment that is sort of bombastic, to a moment that we didn’t even think was that epic, but they perceived it as being this most amazing epic thing.”
Barlog also stated that the team opted against an open-world approach to the upcoming God of War. Instead, they wanted to focus on the characters and the actual story development. “Comics and movies, they have this arc, and I think [games] are right at the beginning of that time where they’re realizing, ‘Oh, we can do serious stuff with this.’ We’re at this key tipping point, where people are actually eager for this kind of material. People want to play a game where they’re emotionally challenged. They want to see characters they believe in and related to, rather than just, ‘He can do this cool mechanic.’ They enjoy the ‘why,’ instead of just the ‘what’ and the ‘where.’ It’s not new, but it’s new in the sense that the broad audience, they actually want that.”
During this same interview with Game Informer, Shannon Studstill elaborated on the game’s story, as well as the decision to bring Cory Barlog back. “I think you need to know the lineage. It’s a very deep storyline, and bringing in someone that understands that history is the respect the franchise deserves. We don’t want somebody that thinks they know the best next step, but someone who really truly embodies it.”
God of War is currently in development for the PlayStation 4. There is no set release date yet, however it is supposed to launch sometime this year. What do you think? Let us know in the comments below and keep it locked for updates!