What the rumored God of War Trilogy Remaster should take from the Norse Saga

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God of war sits among Sony's best-known first-party franchises. From the no-holds-barred action and Shakespearean drama of the original Greek saga to the intimate and action-packed adventure of the Nordic games, God of war has undergone a number of changes, turning into something completely different over time.




Just as modern audiences are getting used to the bearded, withered Kratos rooted in Scandinavian myth, rumors have surfaced of the classic God of war games being remastered for a PS5 release. Sony has gained a reputation recently, for better or for worse, for remaking and remaking games that are only a few years old, so a twist on the classic GOW games, some of which are quite dated by contemporary standards, certainly seem plausible. Only time will tell the full veracity of these rumors, but assuming these games are indeed on the way, it's worth theorizing about what they could, and should, borrow from the Nordic games that succeeded them.

god of war playstation ip shows only one way to come back

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God of War shows that older PlayStation IPs might just have a chance at a second wind

There are many old PlayStation IPs that deserve a return, and God of War shows that there might just be one way to do it.

How the classic God of War games could adapt features from the Norse saga


While these reissues are in the works, it seems highly unlikely that they would be complete remakes in the vein of something like
Silent Hill 2
remake. The following speculation will reflect that.

Accessibility features

The newer one God of war games have been praised for their smart accessibility features, with God of War Ragnarok even winning the Innovation in Accessibility award at the 2022 The Game Awards. Modern accessibility staples like text-to-speech are in Ragnarökbut Santa Monica went the extra mile with thoughtful, practical options like beeps, full control remapping, and granular customization of subtitles.

These features help make the modern games more accessible to players with cognitive, mobility, vision and hearing difficulties, but also to those who lack experience with action games or video games in general. Because a driving force behind the reputation God of war remastered trilogy is, presumably, to get the games into the hands of new players, learning from the Norse saga to make them more accessible seems like a no-brainer.


Haptics and subtle attack animation changes

This may seem like an oddly specific point, but the older one God of war games could definitely learn a lot from the Norse saga's more tangible combat sandbox. There are obviously a lot of big changes that The God of War 2018 implements to make its combat distinct, but two of its unsung heroes are haptic feedback and nuanced attack animations, which would be relatively easy to add to these rumored remakes.

Advanced haptic feedback feels like a matter of course: Sony never seems to miss a chance to show off the power of the DualSense controller. However, the Norse games also add a slight “drag” to Kratos' attacks, slowing down the animations slightly when a melee attack connects with an enemy, giving the battle a more brutal feel; such an animation choice makes it feel like the Leviathan Ax and Blades of Chaos are actually ripping through the flesh and guts of enemies, making combat feel more recent God of war games feel much more brutal, immediate and gripping, as opposed to the spectacle-driven combat of the older games, where the player tears through enemies like a hot knife through butter. The combination of engaging haptics and smart combat animations could lift the older ones considerably GOW experiences.


The God of War Remakes should be done with a deft touch

Whatever changes the rumors GOW remakes are introduced, they should probably not exceed the scope of the previously mentioned ideas. Fundamental changes to the presentation or, worse, the story would be to erase not only the game history, but the history of God of war the story itself. There's definitely a lot of potential for quality-of-life and graphical improvements, but they should serve to highlight the games' existing strengths, not replace them with something else.

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