![]() ![]() The reimagined God of War was still bloody, but it was significantly less blood thirsty than its predecessors. Yet the 2018 reboot God of War, in which Kratos first exhibited some qualms about killing, was by far the bestselling game in the series, and-in the narrative arena-the most critically acclaimed. Sony’s flagship series, now gracing its fourth PlayStation console, is celebrated for (and used to celebrate) its violence. Much like a slow Sonic, a more mellow Kratos would seem to pose an existential threat to finding the fun. That’s enough conflict for any man, mortal or otherwise. He’s not just a demigod who’s caused, and suffered, too much trauma he’s also a single dad trying to raise a teenage son. He’s exacted enough vengeance on offending deities, slaughtered enough innocents, and slaked enough bloodlust. Having a high tolerance for war, if not actively wanting to wage it, sounds like a nonnegotiable part of the “god of war” lifestyle, but the Kratos of Ragnarök is pivoting to pacifism (or trying to, at least). Hence the headline of a review of the recently released Sonic Frontiers: “Delightful When It’s Fast, Disappointing When You Slow Down.”Īnd so it’s somewhat notable that 20 years after the first God of War entered development, Kratos, the franchise’s titular character-and the star of its latest and longest installment, God of War Ragnarök-has lost his stomach for fighting. If Sonic is slow, it’s not Sonic-not the Sonic everyone wants, anyway. Thus, the graphics get better, the environments expand, and the load times shrink, but there’s less alteration to the core mechanics, move sets, and gameplay loops, which reflect and dictate the playable protagonists’ traits. A video game franchise is like a fast-food franchise: Dependability is a bigger part of the appeal than new menu items. If a game is fun enough to attract an audience and justify a sequel-or better yet, sequel s-the pressure not to mess with success sometimes outweighs the incentive to innovate. Designers refer to the alchemy of making a game that people will want to play as “finding the fun.” Fun is fickle and elusive, so when it turns up, developers and publishers hesitate to do anything that might drive it away. In video games, character development is dangerous. Pac-Man doesn’t decide he’s had his fill, and Tetris blocks don’t defy gravity. Agent 47 doesn’t lose his appetite for assassination. Sonic the Hedgehog doesn’t get tired of running really fast. Video game characters rarely reject their natures. ![]()
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