Highlights
- God of War: Ragnarok tweaks gameplay to reflect Kratos' more mature character, offering opportunities for deeper narrative and strategic combat. However, there is always room to improve.
- For example, new companion mechanics in God of War: Ragnarok add variety but lack depth, so making them more unique and engaging in the next game would be ideal.
- Learning from other RPGs such as Mass Effect and Final Fantasy to design deeper companion systems for future God of War games could enhance gameplay and take the series to the next level.
2018's God of War soft reboot and its follow-up God of War: Ragnarok are famous for dramatically reinventing the iconic hack-and-slash franchise. The changes are noticeable in the more intimate and introspective take on God of War's narrative and themes, but also in the slower and more methodical gameplay, which is built around features that never appeared in the older games.
The changes to combat and movement abilities connect directly to the narrative of these new God of War games, as they feature an older, wiser, and less bloodthirsty Kratos, who would indeed favor practicality over his fiery ballet of the earlier entries. This intertwining of gameplay with narrative extends to how companions are used in these games: Kratos can command his allies to use ranged attacks and unique abilities during combat, which reflects his newfound willingness to work with others. Though this is an elegant and effective game design decision, it's not very fleshed-out or engaging, and future games in the series should improve it.
The Argument For God of War To Take Another Stab at GOW: Ascension's Most Divisive Feature
A future God of War game might want to look to a contentious God of War: Ascension feature when expanding its gameplay offerings.
How Future God of War Games Can Flesh Out Companion Mechanics
God of War Ragnarok Doesn't Make Good Use of So Many Companions
Including the magical sword Ingrid, there are eight companions in God of War: Ragnarok, across both Atreus' and Kratos' chapters. This is a major expansion from 2018's God of War, which only featured Artreus as a companion, and while this growth is welcome in many ways, it's also a bit of a disappointment. Companions will have some unique abilities, but they are all mostly the same, and the novelty of fighting alongside characters like Thor or Freya, at least from a mechanical perspective, grows old rather quickly.
The next God of War game could remedy this issue by either having fewer, more distinct companions or by significantly building on their special abilities, giving them more depth. This would help since, as it stands, even some of God of War's best companions can be interchangeable when it comes to gameplay. Adding to the existing mechanical framework might help with this, but the series may be better off reinventing the companion system altogether.
The Next God of War Could Learn from the Companion Systems of Other Games
In God of War and Ragnarok, companions essentially function as special abilities on a cooldown, their mechanical depth boiling down to a single button press, with things like timing and strategy not mattering so much. Since the next God of War game will probably have companions, the series should take the opportunity to learn from other games, mainly RPGs, when it comes to implementing useful companion-based gameplay.
Party-based action RPGs like the Mass Effect series may provide a good framework for a revamped companion system in future God of War games. In Mass Effect, players will spend most of their time running and gunning as Shepard, but they can also pause the fight to select specific moves from their companions and unleash them on their enemies. This system works in tandem with typical strength-and-weakness considerations to create an experience that can be both intense and tactical, and learning from it could take God of War's combat to the next level. Alternatively, if God of War includes multiple playable protagonists again, it could take some notes from RPGs like Final Fantasy 7 Remake, allowing players to switch between different characters during combat while still keeping one hero at the center of the narrative.
Of course, both of these options would require a good deal of work and could even adulterate the series' identity, but the risks could pay off in a combat and companion system that is a considerable improvement over the last two games. Modern God of War games haven't been afraid of experimentation or innovation, and this may be one area where some more radical thinking would be worth it.
