God of War to Feature Alternate Paths?
By Kyle Sledge 25 December 2016
God of War‘s director discusses the forthcoming action-adventure game’s development, with some details suggesting the title as possibly having alternate gameplay paths.
As evidenced by God of War‘s E3 2016 presence with a gameplay footage reveal, the forthcoming title from Sony Interactive Entertainment’s Santa Monica Studio is making quite the departure from previous entries in the franchise. For instance, not only will the game have Kratos fighting alongside his son in an Northern environment much different from the alternate versions of ancient Greece in past installments, but also it has shifted from a fixed-camera perspective to one that’s third-person.
These are far from the only tweaks and alterations that have been revealed for God of War thus far, and if a recent discussion between the game’s director and one of its fans on the social media platform of Twitter is any indication, the title could have another dramatic shift in design by introducing alternative paths during gameplay. As God of War‘s director Cory Barlog tweeted as a response to a fan that confirmed the demo as having multiple pathways to reach one’s end destination, it intimates that the final version could as well.
Of course, since Barlog was simply corroborating that God of War‘s demo had alternate ways through which Kratos and his son could travel, it doesn’t necessarily mean in any definitive capacity that the finished product will. As a matter of fact, it’s possible that the various routes could become restructured sometime throughout the game’s development to fit into a more streamlined experience like with the layouts of previous entries in the series.
Should God of War incorporate alternate pathways as a means to play through the game, it would more than likely please fans of the series who are looking forward to the title’s almost complete revamping of the franchise’s dynamics, for such a feature would allow the title to have added replay value. However, this wouldn’t mean that players would be able to take the Ghost of Sparta and his progeny wherever they wanted in the map, as developers have already confirmed that God of War is not open world.
With God of War having skipped this year’s PlayStation Experience 2016, there’s really no telling exactly how far along the title is in its development, so it’s anyone’s guess as to when Santa Monica Studio will put out any more concrete information regarding gameplay elements and what they will be. Nevertheless, fans shouldn’t expect for there to be much more than a story campaign experience, as the developer has verified that it will eschew multiplayer altogether.
What do you think about God of War potentially featuring alternate pathways in the game? Should developers stick to making a more “on-rails” experience? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
God of War is currently in development for PlayStation 4.
