Has God of War Saved Single-Player games?

A beacon in the Night?

Earlier this year God of War released on the PlayStation 4 to massive success. Critically loved and the fans walked away from the game feeling satisfied. What’s more important, however, is showing that there is still a market for Single Player games. recently major single player games have not had the financial success as large online multiplayer games. And, there has been a growing concern over whether or not Single player games have a future in the industry.

God of War breaks a building trend in the industry where Single-player games perform poorly sales wise but are otherwise loved and revered. God of War is a universal title that truly innovated what it means to be a single player game, making the action more cinematic and engrossing than every before. This point in particular is what separates God of War from other games. God of War found new ways to innovate and bring a breath of fresh air to single-player games, they defied the tropes to write a truly creative story and it paid off big time. Recently a Sony employee talked about how God of War was a huge surprise for the company. Which, looking back on the game it is easy to tell how the game did things just different enough to keep the game fresh through every moment, big or small.

What this really means at the end of the day is that people still want games like these. There has just been so much boring progress made that different progress is much more exciting. Whether it be storytelling mechanics, camera options, or anything in between. new and fresh takes, not just to improve story, but also improving overall gameplay. and how the game interacts with the player resonated with audiences. Unexpected changes like these are what keeps single player games fresh.

Audiences have proven that if there is enough difference between entries that it feels unique and fresh it can and will resonate. God of War isn’t the only single-player game to do well recently. The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild, Super Mario Odyssey, and Horizion Zero Dawn have all blown away critics and fans and are some of the most beloved games in recent memory. These titles feel more significant than other games that feel formulaic comparatively. For example, the Assassin’s Creed series has become so stale and played out that while is is going to be a genuinely good game, no one cares though because of both series fatigue, and lack of innovation.

Long story short, there definitely is a future for single player games. The quickest and easiest solution for companies however, is to deny it because multiplayer games make much more money comparatively. The lack of innovation mixed with being outsold can seem on the outside that the single player genre is in trouble. However, with the recent success of so many games, it shows that single player games will always have a future in the market, and that is a very positive thing.

Most importantly though I want to know what you think. Do you love single player games? Do you miss the old types of single player like Banjo-Kazooie? Let me know in the comments down below! And keep reading at BYOG