“We’re experts at melee combat, so that’s something that John got to see and it translates very well to D&D,” said Asmussen, referring to Wizards of the Coast president John Hight who previously worked with him on God of War 3. “There’s probably still legacy debt that’s in the Jedi games from bad decisions that we made early on. Some of those bad decisions were based on momentum because we don’t get stuck. We just want to keep on moving forward.”

It is worth noting that Asmussen’s team at Respawn Entertainment had worked on Unreal Engine 4 to develop Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and its sequel Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. In this interview, he spoke about how Giant Skull is trying to avoid tech debt by making sure that it doesn’t bring over any of the bad decisions that were made with the Jedi games by starting with “vanilla Unreal”. Ultimately, this clean slate allowed the studio to make a “motion model” that ends up being much faster and smoother than what we saw in the two Star Wars Jedi titles.

“When we started Giant Skull and we started with vanilla Unreal, we couldn’t take what we did with the Jedi games over to a new company. So, all of those mistakes that we had made before weren’t there. We had a clean slate and we were able to build very quickly based on all of our learnings over the years before. That’s allowed us to create a motion model that’s so much faster now, so much more fluid. And it doesn’t have points where you get blocked because you don’t understand how to fix jank. It’s buttery smooth.”

While no other details about this Dungeons & Dragons title developed by Giant Skull have been revealed so far, this emphasis on having high-quality animations for melee combat would indicate that it will be a hack-and-slash game. When the title was announced, some of the words used to describe it were “immersive storytelling”, “heroic combat”, and “exhilarating traversal”. Asmussen noted in the interview that traversal would be a major part of the upcoming title’s gameplay.

“Traversal is really important to us,” he explained. “Giving the player a suite of different ways to probe and interact with the environment, and eventually build their character up to a point where they’re dominating the environment. It all has to feel silky smooth.”

The new title is being developed using Unreal Engine 5, and will likely come to PC and modern consoles.

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.

A note before we begin: for the purposes of this list, we’re looking exclusively at strictly linear games. If a game is open world, semi-open world, wide linear, Metroidvania, places emphasis on exploration designed around backtracking, or anything of the sort, you won’t see it on this list. We know that’s a pretty strict way of defining linear design in games, but the very purpose of this feature is to celebrate that, after all, so do keep something in mind as we move ahead.

#15. WOLFENSTEIN 2: THE NEW COLOSSUS

MachineGames did an excellent job of redefining the Wolfenstein franchise with 2014’s The New Order, and then took the series’ new formula to even greater heights with its sequel. The biggest strengths of Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus obviously lie in its story and storytelling, and getting to witness its gleefully over-the-top cutscenes and wonderfully bizarre personalities in a story that remains captivating until the last second is an unforgettable experience. It helps, of course, that the action itself can also be a lot of fun.

God of War 3 – PS3

The series has always been a pioneer of jaw dropping spectacle and pristine visuals, and the third game was no different. Released back in 2010 for the PS3, it wowed players with its sense of scale that didn’t come at the cost of any compromise to the micro fidelity. The character models and environments were still some of the best on the market, and segments like the boss fight with Cronos were a strong reminder of the sheer graphical prowess of Sony’s PS3. While it wouldn’t obviously hold a candle to current gen graphics, it still holds up reasonably well by modern standards – which is yet another testament to the technical wizardry that Sony Santa Monica did with this release.

#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.

Arthur Morgan – Red Dead Redemption 2

Arthur Morgan has it pretty rough. With the Wild West simmering down, his leader Dutch Van der Linde taking great risks, and various forces plotting the gang’s downfall, he’s constantly on his guard. Nevertheless, Arthur is a warm presence in the gang, keeping things together even when later discovered to be dying from tuberculosis.

In the end, after finding out that Micah has been an informant for the Pinkertons, Arthur tries to convince Dutch of the betrayal (besides also helping John Marston make his escape). Even when the latter doesn’t believe him and Arthur is riddled with sickness while fighting off Micah, he still works to protect his friends. Eventually, he dies in peace, watching the sunrise, assuming the player has high honor.

#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.

The latter came as quite a surprise when it was confirmed by SIE Santa Monica last year. God of War had six games in its Greek era (seven, if you count the mobile title God of War: Betrayal), and the widely held assumption was that though the series probably wouldn’t spend quite as long in Scandinavian mythology, it would, at the very least, be a trilogy. Sure enough, the way the first game went, the way its story ended, and the things it set up for its sequel certainly seemed to suggest that as well. Finding out that Ragnarok wouldn’t be the middle chapter of a trilogy but the final one in a duology was quite surprising then.

Like everyone else, we’ve had a lot of questions about God of War Ragnarok since the game was properly unveiled last year, and a great many of them revolve around that fact. Given the fact that Kratos (and probably Atreus) is leaving Scandinavia at the end of Ragnarok, there’s plenty of interesting questions that have emerged. For starters, how long will the game be? There’s a lot of story to wrap up, a lot of questions to answer, a lot of Aesir, Vanir, and Jotun to fight and kill, a lot of key Norse mythology events to be depicted. Doing all of that in one single game is going to be far from easy for Santa Monica Studio.

Thankfully, they don’t have to look to far for inspiration. God of War itself has done similar things in the past. 2010’s God of War 3, the final game in the series’ Greek era chronology, is the perfect game for Ragnarok to model itself after, and for so many reasons. No, we’re not talking about gameplay mechanics or design, or even the content of its story or the nature of its bigger narrative beats. We’re talking about two things that are going to be incredibly important to the game- pacing, which will be crucial to nail down, given how packed Ragnarok probably needs to be; and scale, which is, and always has been, one of this series’ most crucial pillars.

Let’s talk about the latter first. From its inception in 2005 right up until this moment, God of War is a series that has prided itself on its scale- and not just its scale, but also the escalation of its scale. The original God of War on the PS2 was by no means a small game in terms of scale by any stretch of the imagination, but when you look at how things got cranked up to 11 in God of War 2 and especially in God of War 3, the first game seems almost quaint in comparison. And it was a very natural escalation- given how the story was progressing, where it would end, and how it would get there, it made perfect sense for that insane escalation in scale. God of War 3 begins with the army of Titans scaling Mt. Olympus and Kratos fighting in a battle of epic proportions, and it ends with the utter and absolute destruction of the Greek world, which is wracked with diseases, floods, the souls of the damned wreaking havoc on everyone, and anything else that could possibly go wrong.

Obviously, when God of War Ragnarok kicks off, Kratos himself is going to be in a very different place, as a person, to where he was in God of War 3. Earlier, the one and only thing on his mind was vengeance. Now, he’s entirely too reluctant to get involved in things. He just wants to protect his son and live an uneventful life. That’s not going to happen, of course, but even when he is forced to get involved in things, he’s going to try his damndest to keep that famous anger of his in check, to not blindly murder anything and everything he sees without a second thought, to not lay waste to everything in his path. For better or worse, he’s trying to teach Atreus to be better than he was.

That means Ragnarok likely won’t see Kratos going on the sort of rampage he went on in God of War 3- but circumstances might force his hand to get into fights he has no intention of participating in. When the likes of Odin, Thor, and their followers come knocking, Kratos will have to fight and defeat them. And when he’s fighting the otherworldly beings with unimaginable powers, God of War Ragnarok should look to escalate things in a similar manner to how God of War 3 did it.

And of course, when Kratos and Atreus are inevitably fighting against a relentless barrage of unearthly foes, pacing will be something that the game will have to nail as well. Our assumption (and our hope) is that God of War Ragnarok will be full of those huge set piece moments and boss fights that the series has always been known for, as Kratos and Atreus move from one fight to the next, one challenge to the next, one obstacle to the next, all the way until the end when they finally come face to face with Odin (if that is, indeed where the game will end). God of War 3 was not too different in that regard, and at times, it almost felt like a boss rush game, where Kratos was plowing through what felt like an endless line of bosses. Adopting a similar pacing and structure might just be Ragnarok’s best path forward.

That might prove to be harder to execute in God of War Ragnarok than it was in God of War 3 through. There’s a lot more meaty narrative content for Ragnarok to get into than there was in God of War 3– the latter’s story was fairly one-dimensional, its character arcs lacking too much depth and nuance, its mysteries and questions almost non-existent. That couldn’t be further from the truth than it is in Ragnarok, and balancing all of that with with a relentless pace of bosses and set piece moments could prove to be more than a little complicated. And if the game decides to shoulder the responsibility of also setting up the series’ next major arc after Scandinavia? Well, that’s just another ball in the air for Santa Monica Studio to keep its eye on.

At this point, all we can do is speculate. A lot of this is built on speculations, in fact. We’re assuming that Kratos and Atreus will be going through a cavalcade of foes in Ragnarok, that the Norse era will end not too dissimilarly from how the Greek era ended- with all (or most) of Kratos’ enemies dead. For all we know, that’s not going to be the case at all, in which case the game’s scale and pacing might end up adopting entirely different styles.

One way or another, this being the final game in God of War’s Norse saga has certainly made things infinitely more interesting- and they were already pretty damn interesting as it was.

Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.

When the PS5 launches this November, it will be able to play all but less than a dozen PS4 games released to date. Many of the games it runs via backward compatibility will also benefit from added boosts and enhancements to leverage the next-gen console’s most powerful hardware. And with the PS5’s launch right around the corner, it seems Sony have been stealthily releasing new patches for various PS4 games in preparation.

The Last of Us Remastered recently received a patch, following which its load times have been cut down from over a minute to just fourteen seconds, while it seems God of War (2018), God of War 3, and Until Dawn have also received similar updates that cut down load times. Meanwhile, as VGC points out, it seems that Concrete Genie also recently received a new patch.

As per users on ResetEra, the likes of Astro Bot Rescue Mission, Everybody’s Golf VR, Marvel’s Spider-Man, and PSVR Worlds have also received patches. Meanwhile, we also know that last week Final Fantasy 7 Remake got its first post-launch patch out of the blue.

None of these have been confirmed by Sony as patches that add enhancements for the PS5, but in many cases (such as God of War 3) these patches are suddenly being added in after years of inactivity for those games, which just seems like too much of a coincidence.

We’ve previously also heard that select PS4 and PS VR games will enjoy boosted frame rates on the PS5, while backward compatible titles will also use some of the new UX features being introduced with the new console.

Sony have been sending out the PS5 to various media outlets and influencers, so hands-on impressions and new details on the console should be coming in soon. Stay tuned for GamingBolt for all the updates.

God of War 3 Remastered and God of War (2018) both received updates in the last few days, for the first time in years. Both titles will likely benefit from PlayStation 5 boost mode in this case. I wonder if there’s anything else hidden inside…

— Lance McDonald (@manfightdragon) October 23, 2020

https://twitter.com/VizualDze/status/1320309315018915841

Seems Sony found a way to compress their games much more efficiently. They have been recently updating their games and for example TLOU Remaster loads like this now

This thing will be crazy fast of #ps5https://t.co/vUOEuY05qv pic.twitter.com/50ATZEDDWk

— Droid (@Alejandroid1979) October 24, 2020

NOTE: There will be spoilers ahead for all games mentioned in this feature, so if we’re talking about a game you want to avoid spoilers for, skip ahead to the next entry.

CRONOS (GOD OF WAR 3)

The Cronos boss fight in God of War 3 is the perfect encapsulation of everything this series is about. The sheer scope of this entire fight is simply staggering, and the brutality that Kratos exhibits while taking the Titan down – from ripping off his fingernail to stabbing him through the throat – are the epitome of that era of God of War. In God of War (2018), when Atreus sees a dragon and asks Kratos if he can kill something that big, it’s hard not to laugh and immediately think back to the time he killed a creature literally the size of a mountain.