Interestingly, we may see a remaster of the original trilogy sometime in the future, according to XboxEra co-founder Nick Baker on a recent podcast. It’s coming to PlayStation, though unconfirmed whether it’s exclusive to PS5 or also launching on PS4. Baker also wasn’t “100 percent sure” if it would be announced in 2024, let alone launch in the same year or 2025.

A remaster would be interesting since God of War 1 and 2 received the HD treatment with God of War Collection on the PS3. God of War 3 launched natively on the platform and is included with the God of War Saga (which also features the first two games and PS3 versions of Chains of Olympus and Ghost of Sparta). As always, stay tuned for more details on this rumored trilogy remaster.

#40. SCYLLA (GOD OF WAR: GHOST OF SPARTA)

God of War: Ghost of Sparta’s opening boss fight is very reminiscent of the likes of the likes of the Basilisk and the Hydra, in that it’s an intro boss fight that sees Kratos taking on a sea monster- but frankly, it’s not as good as any of them. It’s very short and doesn’t test the player at all, and the fact that the first encounter and the conclusion are separated by a decent chunk of gameplay doesn’t exactly help with the formidableness of the creature. Then again, the final QTE sequence does result in a pretty gory death for the Scylla, which is always fun to see.

GAIA’S BACK (GOD OF WAR 3)

You’d have to think really, really hard to be able to name games that have a better opening than God of War 3. It picks up exactly where God of War 2 ends, and right out the gate, it sets the tone where the game’s sense of scale is concerned. Throughout the entire gameplay section, the high-stakes battle between the Titans and the Olympians can be witnessed in the background, while Kratos himself dispatches Poseidon in typically brutal and efficient fashion.

KILLING ARES (GOD OF WAR)

The final fight between Kratos and Ares to close out the first game in the series remains an epic one to this day. Growing massively in size, Kratos stands toe to toe with Ares, and the two battle it out in a climactic duel, which ultimately sees Kratos lifting the sword off of a nearby gargantuan statue and driving it through his Ares’ heart.

#8. GOD OF WAR: BETRAYAL

God of War: Betrayal was a mobile game before mobile games as we know them today even existed. It was a 2D sidescrolling Java title and extremely limited in its scope as such, and honestly, you’d be forgiven for not even being aware of its existence. It exists though, and it’s part of the series’ canon- and you know what? It ain’t half bad. If you go in expecting a decent, enjoyable mobile game that successfully captures at least a fraction of what God of War is about, this delivers it. Expect anything more though, and you’ll be sorely disappointed.

#7. GOD OF WAR: ASCENSION

God of War: Ascension almost killed the franchise. It wasn’t a bad enough game to warrant that kind of a reaction by any means, but even so, that reaction was easy to understand and even empathize with. That’s because even though it was a perfectly fine God of War game that did what God of War games had always done, it was little more than that. Yes, it had some decent boss fights, yes, it had typically gory combat, and yes, it looked great for it’s time- but it was nothing we hadn’t seen five times before it. It was just more God of War, and it did nothing to advance or shake up the series’ formula – which was wearing thin by that time – in any way. It felt wholly unnecessary, and more than anything else, highlighted the series’ desperate need for a reinvention- which, of course, it ended up getting… but we’ll get to that later.

#6. GOD OF WAR: CHAINS OF OLYMPUS

God of War: Chains of Olympus had some tough expectations to live up to, seeing as it had the unenviable task of delivering a quintessential God of War experience on a decidedly less powerful handheld device that didn’t even have all the buttons and inputs that consoles did. But developer Ready at Dawn, who stewarded the game in Santa Monica Studio’s stead, did an excellent job. Chains of Olympus was everything one could want from a God of War game- only in truncated form. Maybe the game’s short length and relative lack of boss fights can be held against it, but it was still a brutal, adrenaline-fueled romp that delivered excellent action, looked great, and told a solid story that focus on Kratos’ personal arc in a way that no other game in the series has.

#5. GOD OF WAR (2005)

The one that started it all. Viewed from a different lens, the original God of War may very well have a shot at being the #1 game here, or at least being somewhere in the top 3. Its legacy can never be diminished, and at the time, it was an absolutely revolutionary experience. Of course, if we’re going purely by merit, we do have to knock some points- God of War is still fun to play today, but parts of the game have not aged very well and can feel a little rough around the edges, while there’s also no denying that it has been thoroughly outmatched by its many successors in almost every possible way. Even so, given what it is, and especially what it was when it first came out, no one will ever be able to deny that this is one of the all-time greats in the history of PlayStation.

#4. GOD OF WAR: GHOST OF SPARTA

Ready at Dawn was up to the task of delivering a solid handheld God of War game with Chains of Olympus, and naturally, the studio ended up exceeding it with its follow-up. 2010’s God of War: Ghost of Sparta remains an excellent game. It tells a captivating story that, once again, explores a corner of Kratos’ personal life that no other series instalment has cared to look at, and on top of that, its excellent, brutal combat, and its impressive visual fidelity, it also makes up for Chains of Olympus’ few shortcomings with a healthy roster of exhilarating boss fights. Again, length is a bit of a issue here, but given how incredible the game is from start to finish, that issue is, ultimately, rather easy to overlook.

#3. GOD OF WAR 2

This game right here is partly why the original God of War isn’t placed higher in this list- because God of War 2 is pretty much the perfect sequel. Put aside the fact that it’s got a story that falls apart the moment you look at the logic of its time travel shenanigans for more than a second- because from beginning to end, God of War 2 is just a monster of a game. From combat to visuals, from boss fights to the fiery rage this series has always been known for, this game took everything that was good about its predecessor and dialed it all up to eleven. Very rarely have video game sequels managed to up the ante as successfully and as drastically as God of War 2 did. If Ragnarok can accomplish even half of what it did back in 2007 in terms of expanding on its predecessor’s excellent foundations, it’ll be an absolute masterpiece.

#2. GOD OF WAR 3

God of War 3 is, simply put, the purest, ultimate distillation of what this series used to be before it was radically reinvented in 2018 (again, we’ll get to that in a bit). Buckets of gore, gleefully excessive violence, angst and rage, a truly unparalleled sense of scale, and, of course, incredible boss fights and set pieces. Since its inception, God of War has been about those things, and every single one of those elements was in prime form in God of War 3. It was a thrill ride unlike any other, an absolute rollercoaster that never failed to make you feel like a murderous badass. One after another, God of War 3 delivered unforgettable moments that we fondly remember to this day, from the Poseidon boss fight to the legendary Cronos encounter and so much more. There are many who’ll probably argue that God of War 2 deserves to be higher on this list than God of War 3, but as far as we’re concerned, God of War 3 is the zenith of the series’ formula.

Or, well, its old formula, at the very least. Speaking of which…

#1. GOD OF WAR (2018)

The most obvious #1 pick of all time, right? But it’s obvious for a reason. People have been waxing lyrical about God of War (2018) since the day it came out, ourselves included, so there’s nothing we can say that hasn’t been said before countless times already. But no amount of praise feels like it’s enough for this game. In so many ways, God of War (2018) is so diametrically opposed to what its predecessors was, from its more thoughtful and mature story and storytelling to its slowed, deliberate pacing to its over-the-shoulder perspective to its cavalcade of gameplay changes. And yet, in spite of all that, it still very much feels like a God of War game, like an extension and natural evolution of the franchise. Striking that sort of balance should be impossible, and yet God of War (2018) does it so convincingly and so confidently, you almost end up taking it for granted.

According to QuimSix on Reddit, whose source revealed that a PlayStation event would happen on July 8th, the next God of War will apparently receive a trailer in August. Horizon Forbidden West will also receive new trailers and a release date later this Summer, though a specific time frame wasn’t provided. It’s worth noting that the user leaked several details about Far Cry 6 back in May including the figurine of Antón and Diego Castillo.

Take things with a grain of salt as usual, but it seems that the upcoming State of Play is rumored to feature titles like Grand Theft Auto 5: Enhanced and Expanded along with the extended look at Deathloop. It will air at 2 AM PT/5 PM ET on July 8th so stay tuned for more details.

“For God of War, the project started a little later. So we’ve made the decision to push that game out to next year, to ensure that Santa Monica Studio can deliver the amazing God of War game that we all want to play. With these things, something’s gotta give. It cannot be the quality of our titles, and it surely won’t be the health or the well-being of our amazing team.” That last part alludes to the COVID-19 pandemic having an impact (as it has for numerous other titles slated to release this year), especially when it comes to performance capture access.

Regarding its PS4 release, Hulst said, “Where it makes sense to develop a title for both PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 – for Horizon Forbidden West, the next God of War, Gran Turismo 7 – we’ll continue looking at that. And if PlayStation 4 owners want to play that game, then they can. If they want to go on and play the PlayStation 5 version, that game will be there for them.” This seems in line with Sony ensuring that the trend of cross-gen titles continues for the next three years or so (as stated by SIE vice president Hideaki Nishino).

In the meantime, there are still a number of big titles like Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart, Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade and Horizon Forbidden West coming up so PS5 owners should be busy. Stay tuned for other details from Hulst’s interview in the meantime.

In its recent financial report for fiscal year 2020, Sony revealed that 338.9 million games had been sold on PS4 and PS5. About 58.4 million or 17 percent of the figure were first-party titles, which makes sense given that titles like Ghost of Tsushima, Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales and The Last of Us Part 2 released last year. However, this fiscal year, the company is aiming even higher.

As part of its outlook for the year (as revealed by VentureBeat), the company is expecting an “increase in revenue from first-party titles” compared to fiscal year 2020. Some titles like Returnal, Ratchet and Clank and MLB The Show 21 have either been discussed or released while others like Horizon Forbidden West are on track for this year. Then there’s God of War 2 which received an ambiguous 2021 window with no further details since.

It’s possible that the company has some surprises in store especially with its focus to “aggressively invest” in first party development and external studio partnerships. Outside of its first party releases, the coming fiscal year is looking stacked with titles like Stray, Kena: Bridge of Spirits and Forspoken coming up. Stay tuned for more details in the coming months.

Delays in this post-COVID-19 world are to be expected but Sony has had its fair share lately. Kena: Bridge of Spirits is releasing in August instead of Spring; Gran Turismo 7 is now coming in 2022; and Horizon: Forbidden West may skip this year as well. God of War: Ragnarok, or whatever it ends up being called, could also end seeing a delay.

And though director Cory Balrog didn’t outright say it, he did recently tweet, “I don’t know who needs to hear this (certainly not me since I have never heard of it) but…WHEN. IT’S. DONE (trust that it’s what’s best for everyone).” While he could be speaking generally, it’s hard to believe this doesn’t have something to do with the next God of War’s release. The sequel is currently slated to release this year, though again, that may have changed internally.

Either way, it should be interesting to see how it progresses. God of War on the PS4 was praised for reinventing the series’ formula while providing a compelling new setting, well-written characters and a strong direction forward. We’ll see if the sequel can live up to that. In the meantime, stay tuned in the coming months for more details.

I don't know who needs to hear this…

(certainly not me since I have never heard of it)

but…

WHEN. IT'S. DONE.❤️

(trust that it's what's best for everyone) pic.twitter.com/DVE6hQ9BVA

— golrab of the frost (@corybarlog) February 25, 2021

Prince of Persia: Sands of Time Remake

While its initial gameplay showcase was a bit flat, subsequent screenshots for the Prince of Persia Remake: Sands of Time Remake have shown more promise. Of course, with not one but two delays, it’s still unsure whether we’ll see the Prince make his long-awaited return this year or not. Otherwise, what else do you need? It’s Prince of Persia: Sands of Time, updated and improved for a new generation of consoles. The original remains a classic with its platforming, combat and exploration – if Ubisoft can carry that forward in the remake, then all should be well.