The Dark Ages would be right to avoid a god of war

When The God of War heralded as the beginning of a Nordic saga, the franchise was suddenly brimming with untold potential. It was unknown and unknown how many entries would take place in Midgard and the other eight Nordic realms, but The God of Wars ill-fated mural depicting other environments and cultures would continue to fuel endless speculation as to where The God of War can travel to afterwards. The God of War has still not managed to leave its snow-covered wilderness, but it has been declared that the Norse saga would end with God of War Ragnarok.

Downfall and its sequels, Doom Eternalhave basically been in the same boat, although they recently revealed Doom: The Dark Ages will now throw the sci-fi shooter into dark fantasy. It is unknown how many installments id and Bethesda may be able to milk out of this environment and atmosphere and due The Dark Ages is probably embedded between Doom 64 and Downfall (2016), it's inevitable that the series won't be stuck in dark fantasy for long. Unless a multigame plan has already been created, Doom: The Dark Ages should go all-in on medieval dark fantasy in a single post and leave nothing on the cutting room floor for a potential sequel to have to provide closure for or abandon.

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God of War's Norse saga may be over, but it probably won't feel like it

God of War's exploration of the Norse realm is coming to an end, but the essence of the saga will likely continue throughout the franchise.

God of War's Nordic saga feels unfulfilled with only two games

The God of Wars re-entry into the esteemed PlayStation-exclusive franchise was narratively a slow burn as it trudged players through snow, slowly rowed them through bodies of water and claustrophobic rivers, and introduced them to a completely reworked game design. Players can no longer spam Blades of Chaos and there are no longer screen-filling hordes of enemies; Combat is instead methodical, using dodges and parrying with a shield while giving players exciting options with the Leviathan Ax and a mechanic that showcases Atreus' archery.

The God of War needed to devote its entire length to players acclimating to these features, especially if players managed to retain the muscle memory of their beat-'em-ups in Greek mythology. Baldur as the main antagonist hinted that the road map going forward would look something like a sequel with Thor, which was teased in The God of Wars post-credits scene, and a threequel with Odin to complete a Nordic trilogy.

Now, trilogies shouldn't always have to be the default storytelling structure, but at least it would have given the Norse saga enough time to sink in and for players to absorb its atmosphere and lore. Ragnarök still said to be the last entry in the The God of Wars Norse saga despite Kratos hunkering down and planting roots there, and as a result the sequel had the difficult tasks of having to throw all the remaining worlds into the game as settings and juggle Thor and Odin as primary antagonists.

Doom: The Dark Ages needs to be clarified on its final expiration date

If Doom: The Dark Ages has tons of potential for sequels to bask in the same dark fantasy biopunk vibe, it's possible that id and Bethesda will want to double down on it. Really, Downfall has been teasing some kind of medieval tone lately with swords and axes, and it finally comes to full fruition in The Dark Ages with ancient cathedrals and its own version of dragons.

Still, id and Bethesda must carefully decide whether they want this dark fantasy setting to be a one-shot, duology, trilogy, or be even longer. It will be a pity The Dark Ages alluding to tons of potential stories only to announce that its sequel will be the final dark fantasy installment, for example, and to pull out under that would sooner rather than later put expectations in check.