Sony’s Santa Monica Studio has shared some gorgeously creepy concept art that inspired God of War’s main enemy type: the undead Draugr.
Santa Monica Studio, the developer of the legendary God of War series, tweeted out some breathtaking, yet terrifying, concept art that had fans in the comments begging for God of War: Ragnarok.
“This Draugr concept art from God of War (2018) captures the ferocity our team wanted these undead creatures to embody. Which one is your favorite?” asked the tweet. Each of the four included images features a unique depiction of the skeletal warriors and is representative of enemies in God of War based on Norse mythology. Rendered chiefly in black and white and surrounded by fog and gloom, each hideous Draugr offers a different take on terror while showing off the incredible artistic talent among the team at Sony Santa Monica.
Fans in the comments were unanimously appreciative of the gorgeous art, but many took the opportunity to ask for news about God of War: Ragnarok, the much-anticipated sequel to the 2018 reboot. Ragnarok was initially scheduled to release in 2022, but delays in the video game industry are common, and debate and rumors about Ragnarok have been swirling for months. Just days ago, a cryptic tweet from notorious leaker The Snitch had fans theorizing that a new PlayStation State of Play will air on June 30, when Sony will announce the release date for God of War: Ragnarok as Nov. 11, 2022.
2018’s God of War rebooted one of Sony’s most successful franchises from an earlier era and not only brought it up to the standard of modern games but was touted by many as an important step forward for the art form as a whole. It took an old-school video games hero, Kratos, who was previously a one-dimensional vessel of revenge and violence and — by aging him and giving him a young son to guide through horrible circumstances — turned him into one of gaming’s most beloved and memorable protagonists. The reboot also transported Kratos out of Ancient Greece and into Scandinavia, where he soon found himself entangled with the pantheon of Norse gods and monsters.
Prime Video recently announced a partnership with Sony to transform God of War into a live-action series, joining a growing list of video game properties to make the jump to movies or TV. No details have been released yet, but Prime Video is moving aggressively into the genre with shows based on Mass Effect and Fallout also announced. Meanwhile, Netflix has picked up the rights to properties like Horizon: Zero Dawn and the ground-breaking League of Legends adaptation, Arcane.
God of War (2018) is available on Sony PlayStation and PC. God of War: Ragnarok will be exclusive to PlayStation 5 on release.
Source: Twitter