Last year marked the 20th anniversary 🥳 of God of War’s debut on the PlayStation 2, the spark that ignited one of gaming’s biggest franchises 🔥. Now, at the tail end of that celebration, Sony’s Santa Monica Studio has announced two new projects. First, and most significantly, the original God of War trilogy from the PS2 and PS3 era is being remade for modern hardware 💿.
There is no footage just yet 🎥—the developer notes that they are “very early in development,” so we likely won’t see or hear much for a while 🛠️. However, given the renewed interest in the franchise thanks to the excellent Norse saga games ❄️ (2018 and 2022) and the upcoming Amazon series 📺, it makes perfect sense to revisit these classics.
🏛️ God of War and God of War II were originally released for the PlayStation 2 in 2005 and 2007, respectively, while the finale of the Greek trilogy hit the PlayStation 3 in 2010. Although the third game received a remaster for the PS4, the first two titles have largely remained locked to their original eras ⏳.
It is safe to say that while the first two games are classics, they show their age in certain gameplay areas. Hopefully, the remake will smooth out those rough edges ✨. (Who else still has nightmares about the Hades level 🌋 near the end of the first game? It’s not just me, right? 😱)
While we won’t see the remakes for some time, there is a new God of War-inspired game available right now: God of War: Sons of Sparta ⚔️. It arrives as a surprise drop to tide fans over during the wait 🎁.
The title was developed by Mega Cat Studios 🐱, a developer known for its deep love of retro gaming—the studio notably still releases cartridges for the SNES and Sega Genesis 👾.
Given their pedigree, it’s no surprise that Sons of Sparta channels the vibes of classic 2D action-platformers 🏃. Apparently canon to the series, the story takes place in Kratos’ youth while he trains with his brother 🧒. It looks nothing like the modern games, but the combat and monsters shown in the trailer feel right at home in the world of Sparta 🛡️.
Perhaps the most fun part of all this is that it is available today for $30 💰. While Sons of Sparta looks like a fun curio for superfans, it will only go so far toward whetting our appetite for the remake trilogy. Might I suggest binging some Valhalla 🪓 in the meantime? ⚡
