God of War Director Says First Game Choices Will Affect the Sequel
The latest God of War from Santa Monica Studios has been universally praised for its storytelling. Given the success of the title, a sequel is practically guaranteed; the game’s director, Cory Barlog, has previously said that he has ideas for at least another five God of War games. Now, in a recent interview, Barlog discussed his approach to writing. In that discussion, he explained that choices made in this game will affect the story of its sequel.
Speaking with GamingBolt, Barlog shied away from specifics but hinted that the studio was already laying out plans for the next God of War. What he made very clear was that he’d always approached the new game as the start of a new story; i.e. not a whole complete story on its own. Certainly, anyone who has completed God of War will know that there were things left unresolved.
The Tapestry of God of War
“Every one of those things is a part of the whole tapestry, they are critical to propping up the whole story,” said Barlog, referring to the God of War games, “We are putting a lot of pieces in motion, and when going into the second one, all those pieces are leading into the whole. The whole is a very complex story, that I am trying to figure out how to break down into the simplest elements, so you can push through it with a clear understanding of what your goal is.”
He went on to clarify that the second game will pick up where the first leaves off. That certainly makes sense now that God of War has established its new setting. The first game has introduced new characters and a new world to players; now the series can expand on that setting.
“But yeah, everything will continue,” stated Barlog; “there is stuff that is in here that is set up that people will be surprised, that’s not just a part of it, but will be an interesting consequence. Everything in the world has consequences!”
Whether Barlog’s comments are in reference to major plot points or anything as minor as whether players did a certain side-quest or not is unclear. One would assume the former, though there is certainly potential to expand on some of God of War’s side-quests. For example, Kratos frees three dragons during the course of the Dragon’s Favours; where did they go? Will they ever pay Kratos back for what he did? It’s certainly possible, if Barlog’s statement about consequences is correct.