God Of War Was Originally A First Person Game

God of War is no stranger to changing up the long-running franchise’s formula, especially in recent games. 2018’s God of War saw the franchise taking its mythology-themed action in a new direction, shifting its focus from the classic Greek mythology that had guided the series into a direction inspired by Norse mythology. The re-imagining also saw Kratos shedding his classic chained blades and reworking the overall feel of the game into something more akin to RPGs. Now, David Jaffe has revealed that God of War’s original incarnation was intended to be first-person.

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A recent video on Jaffe’s YouTube channel revealed that his vision for God of War originally planned to tell its Greek mythos-based story directly through the eyes of the mighty Kratos. According to Jaffe, the game’s first-person perspective was inspired by his experience playing a first-person action game called Maken X on Dreamcast. However, according to Jaffe, issues with how God of War’s story would be presented ultimately led to the idea being shelved before it was even pitched to the game’s programmer, Tim Moss.

Jaffe goes on to cite how he felt that a first-person perspective wouldn’t be able to portray the proper emotion behind God of War’s story through a first-person perspective. The first God of War game would ultimately shift into a third-person style said to be inspired by gamess like Devil May Cry and Ico. Jaffe references several other aspects of God of War’s development throughout the video as well, explaining how systems like the game’s quick-time events and climbing systems were inspired by other games.

With the God of War franchise building towards its next release in God of War: Ragnarok, fans believe that more major changes are coming for the long-running action franchise. Comments from the game’s director suggest the finale of the franchise’s Norse saga may end with the potential death of Kratos or Atreus. Santa Monica Studio has also shared several pieces of concept art for the upcoming God of War: Ragnarok showing off new content and regions. While God of War may have shifted significantly from David Jaffe’s original vision for the game, the franchise’s success as a third-person certainly speaks for itself.

God of War: Ragnarok is scheduled to release in 2022 for PS4 and PS5.

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Source: MP1st