God Of War Racing Needs To Happen... Now
Start your engines and get ready to race through Norse mythology because God of War Ragnarok is warming up on the starting line. While we still don't know when Sony Santa Monica will be waving the chequered flag on this chapter of Kratos' journey, we do know there won't be a third game in Midgard.
God of War has an uncertain future ahead of it, and although there are already whispers of Atreus taking over where daddy dearest or moving into a new mythology, we've got our own idea about how you can keep the God of War name alive. Taking the leaf out of Nintendo's book, God of War Racing sounds like a money-making spin-off.
Give Us God Of War Racing, You Cowards
Click to enlargeMost of us attribute our modern obsession with karting games to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System's Super Mario Kart from 1992, however, it was actually predated by Activision's Power Drift from 1988 - entering the Guinness World Records as "First kart racing videogame." Still, the Mario Kart name has undoubtedly dominated the scene ever since to become the best-selling racing series of all time.
Mario Kart isn't the only one on the scene, with everything from Crash Bandicoot to Sonic the Hedgehog dipping their own toes in the pool, we've even had out-there licensing choices like M&M's Kart Racing and Pac-Man World Rally. If the South Park and Digimon IPs are worthy of their own karting game, then why wouldn't God of War? Hey, it worked (well, not quite) for 007 Racing.
Since 2005, God of War has made waves as a PlayStation exclusive. Up there with The Last of Us - and more recently Marvel's Spider-Man - God of War has helped prove why Sony consoles are worth their money. Many thought we'd left this world behind with God of War III in 2010, and although the GoW name lived on, we left everything there until the 2018 reboot took us to snowier climes.
Racers, Start Your Engines
Click to enlargeAnd here lies the skill of the mythical God of War Racing thanks to the variety of levels we can explore. With two distinct eras and each of them being split into their own different themes, it's easy to pitch all the different levels for a mythical God of War Racing.
Imagine a Boo's Mansion inspired River Styx level, a Bowser's Castle Underworld, Rainbow Road Mount Olympus, Shy Guy Falls Lake of Nine, and Sherbet Land Jötunheim... this stuff writes itself. Following in the tracks of Diddy Kong Racing's book, there could also be different boss battles for the various Gods and demigods Kratos has ticked off over the years.
We picture God of War Racing culminating in a Wizpig-inspired boss battle where Kratos takes on daddy dearest in the form of Zeus. For too long, Mario Kart has dominated the market and made most other racers feel inferior. Still, Kratos has never got behind the wheel.
Is God Of War Racing That Ridiculous?
Click to enlargeIn terms of racers, we imagine a roster that could include Kratos in his titular role, as well as everyone from Athena to Atreus, Hercules to the Huldra Brothers. If you think God of War Racing sounds ridiculous, let's remember Bloodborne Racing is a real thing. Following the success of the Bloodborne demake, the team is tackling a karting version of Yharnam.
God of War is once again at a crossroads in terms of where we go next. We can't imagine Sony letting its golden goose head off to Valhalla without some sort of roadmap for what comes next. Look at how many major IPS have spun off into weird and wonderful ideas. If it's good enough for Crash Team Racing, God of War Racing should at least be worth a spin.
Of course, God of War racing is an idea most execs would laugh out of the boardroom. If anything, a God of War Racing game is worth it simply so we can have a chariot race level to rival Ben-Hur. While we wait to see what happens to Kratos and whether he's really on his final stretch, it's back to conjuring up our ideas for how the Muspelheim Cup would look.
