God of War’s success is indisputable; the latest game from Santa Monica Studios has utterly revitalized the franchise. While, of course, nothing has been announced so soon after the game’s release, a sequel is all but inevitable. Indeed, the game’s director has all but said as much on several occasions. Now, an artist who worked on the game has shared how the sequel will be bigger and better.
Nate Stephens, an environmental artist who worked on God of War, shared his thoughts with fans in an interview with Sector.sk. He laid out how the art team at Santa Monica Studios approached God of War, and how they are now gearing up to approach the game’s sequel. What really stands out from his interview is his emphasis on scale. The second installment of God of War’s Norse saga is going to be bigger than the first, practically by necessity.
Stephens’ Thoughts on the Scale of God of War
“We still want to be God of War. What I want to say is, the first battle in this game when you’re fighting The Stranger is really an epic fight.” explained Stephens, “It ends with you two destroying the entire environment around you. It was really hard to create, I myself was working on the lighting for this level, and it was super hard to get it to work. So if we have a meeting with Thor or Odin, naturally, it must be bigger than this, better than this.”
Stephens was careful to avoid stating explicitly that a sequel would be happening. Of course, nothing has been formally announced. However, it is all but guaranteed. Indeed, Cory Barlog, the game’s director, recently stated in an interview that choices in the first game would affect the story of the sequel, all but confirming that it was planned.
“This game was very good,” said Stephens, “but we think we can make it even better. And of course, it must be a little bit bigger. If we do another game — no one actually said that we are doing it — it will be bigger, better, longer.”