It shouldn’t necessarily be surprising that Ragnarok has been confirmed to be the last game in the current God of War cycle. I mean, just look at the name - “Ragnarok.” Do you know what Ragnarok is? It’s the end of the world as we know it, mate, where giant wolves eat the sun and moon and everything will be born anew. Sounds more like the last game in a saga than the penultimate one, doesn’t it? The only reason it’s come as a shock to some people is because we all have trilogy fever.
There is obviously a draw to telling stories in threes, as evidenced by iconic sagas like The Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, and The Matrix - which is now set to become a quadrilogy at the absolute perfect time - and, perhaps most notably in this instance, the original God of War series. However, stories should be told in terms of what they’re trying to say - they shouldn’t be written with the premise of eventually becoming a trilogy in mind.
The announcement actually makes a whole lot of sense. Aside from the name, the fact God of War was delayed for so long is much easier to understand when you consider the scale necessary for finishing Kratos’ Norse arc in a single entry. It also proves just how much people were expecting this to be a trilogy without that ever having been confirmed - in a way, it speaks to how entitled a lot of gamers can be, assuming they know exactly what’s going on when, actually, everything is being held completely under wraps.
Personally, I’m delighted with this news. I’m a big fan of the people at Sony Santa Monica, which currently has one of the most unequivocally talented teams in the triple-A dev scene. While that alone gives me faith that whatever decision the studio makes is the right one, I also think it’s worth delving into what exactly finishing this God of War story affords the devs in the long run.
First, foremost, and absolutely most importantly, artificially extending stories for the sake of satisfying arbitrary conditions like being a trilogy is the worst thing a writer can do. Once beloved shows like The Walking Dead are a living testament of this, while other series like HBO’s Game of Thrones prove that prolonging a story’s runtime at breakneck pace just to meet a random length requirement will always end in disaster. Conversely and speaking of HBO, shows like The Wire and The Sopranos are prime examples of controlled-length storytelling done right.
It happens with games, too: Mass Effect 2 is widely considered one of the best games of all time, while general consensus towards the third and final instalment - including from people who worked on it - was significantly more negative. Mostly identical shooters pump out numbered sequels on a yearly basis, while the safety of existing and successful brands has made experimenting with new worlds fiscally irresponsible in the eyes of deep-pocket suits. On top of the simple fact that Sony Santa Monica’s decision to end on two instead of three is a testament to its staunch refusal to inflate a story to the point of compromising its integrity, this also raises a fascinating question: What’s next?
Presumably, Kratos will die at the end of the game. We saw the mural at the end of the first God of War, and… well, it’s Ragnarok, right? I know people want more games where Kratos takes on the Norse, Egyptian, and Sumerian pantheons, but really - how long is this going to go on for? After his original bloodthirsty roots, seeing Kratos come into his role as a caring father has been a phenomenal experience for new and veteran God of War fans alike. You can’t tell this story and then just go on to the next one as if it’s nothing - this is Kratos’ story, regardless of how the existence of a previous and distinct mythology might make the future seem.
And so, if Sony Santa Monica retires their legendary godkiller, then what? What’s next? Again, this team is one of the best in the biz - whether they’re given a beloved IP to work their magic on or handed free rein to create a massive new universe, all that matters is that this studio is currently in a position to meaningfully end the story of one of video games’ most iconic characters in order to slowly but surely works towards something new, something fresh, something necessary for ensuring that video games continue to grow and improve.
I half wish that the new God of War series was going to be a trilogy, too. Now that I know for sure that it’s not, I’m able to see that, actually, this is the right decision by every conceivable metric. I can’t wait to play through Kratos’ (potentially) final journey on the advent of something new.