Highlights
- The future of God of War is uncertain, but it is essentially confirmed that the next game will feature a new pantheon of gods in a diverse setting.
- There are rumors that the next God of War game could be a "half-sequel" like Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales or Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, with Atreus taking the lead.
- While these "half-sequels" may be shorter, they should not be considered less important or of lower quality, as they can still have impactful stories and contribute to the overall narrative of the franchise.
God of War is in a little bit of a contentious position right now not having revealed yet what its future will look like. The only certain detail is that Kratos and Atreus will be separated in the next entry, at least for a single game, but it is unsure where Atreus is headed or what exactly Kratos will be busy with in Midgard. There are quite a few branching paths the franchise could take and obviously the idea of it being beyond its Norse saga is intriguing, but with Kratos still in the Norse mythology setting it seems like even that premise is up in the air. However, recent rumors shed light on the franchise’s future in a divisive way.
It’s essentially been confirmed through environmental storytelling in God of War that the next game or saga in the series will feature a new pantheon of gods in a diverse setting, whether that’s in Japan, Egypt, or someplace else. This could potentially give God of War an Assassin’s Creed atmosphere with new installments featuring new settings and mythologies. Either way, with Atreus seemingly receiving his own entry in God of War without Kratos being involved, there are rumors that God of War could have a “half-sequel” similar to Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales or Uncharted: The Lost Legacy.
‘Half-Sequels’ Suggest Some Games Are Lesser Due to Being Decidedly Shorter
Unfortunately, while the premise of a Miles Morales or TheLost Legacy-like game is fantastic for God of War, it threatens to cheapen how fans might perceive these kinds of titles. It’s true that Miles Morales and The Lost Legacy aren’t intended to be dedicated sequels with as much attention and production put toward them as a main installment, thus encouraging fans to find some other sort of classification for them other than simply labeling them as sequels, but these experiences are as impactful if not more so than main entries in the franchises they come from.
Labeling them as half-sequels is fine on its own, too, though the connotation then suggests that these games are merely expansions of their predecessors or gratuitous DLC, let alone a part of the franchise that can be skipped without consequence. Some fans had gripes with the length of Miles Morales being relatively short, or at least much shorter than Marvel’s Spider-Man, and while it was never supposed to match the scale of its predecessor it still features a terrific story and great side content in that small handful of hours.
The term ‘spin-off’ might also be thrown around for these titles, and yet they are fairly integral to the overall narrative in their respective franchises. If Miles remarks upon Phin or when the Prowler inevitably appears in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, for example, it will leave a blind spot for anyone who hasn’t played Miles Morales.
It’s then doubtful that an Atreus standalone entry would be considered a half-sequel considering how much of an impact that could have for God of War. Games shouldn’t have their quality defined by their length regardless, but that is a fate these half-sequels and the God of War franchise might end up fulfilling if fans continue to treat them as non-essential experiences if not games that aren’t as important or great as feature-length games.
