Even though God of War Ragnarök was only recently released, there seems to be some optimism regarding DLC for the action-adventure game. It’s a little strange that this sequel will have an expansion since the rebooted series is meant to be over after God of War from 2018 didn’t. But as of late, game director Eric Williams has not only put an end to that discussion by warning people not to count on DLC for Ragnarök, but he has also said he “would love” to collaborate on a Castlevania project.
Williams was asked if Ragnarök might get additional add-on material now that the game had dropped during a lengthy conversation on Kinda Funny Games’ Spoilercast. Williams said it was unlikely to happen and shook his head slightly in disbelief.
Williams remarked, “Um, I don’t know, guy, that game is massive.” I wouldn’t count on it because [Sony Santa Monica Studio] “gave everything we had into it.” Williams quickly mentioned another licence the crew would have no issue attempting: Konami’s long-running but now MIA Castlevania. Williams appeared to have buried the idea of Ragnarök receiving DLC.
Williams responded after the Kinda Funny team joked about him playing the 1997 PlayStation classic Castlevania: Symphony of the Night now that he had Ragnarök finished, “Hey, you guys can make it happen.” You have the world’s audience here, don’t you know? I’m not sure what I will do next, but Santa Monica would be thrilled to produce it if I could secure the Castlevania licence.
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Kotaku contacted Sony to respond to 1997’s famous Symphony of the Night, a game in the Castlevania series by Konami that has significantly influenced the development of the “Metroidvania” subgenre. Despite being a crucial property for contemporary gaming, Konami hasn’t added to the catalogue since the spin-off Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 in 2014.
Since then, a few compilations have been released, including the Castlevania Anniversary Collection in 2019 and the Castlevania Advance Collection in 2021. If you were expecting a brand-new Castlevania game, you’re out of luck. And to put the final nail in the coffin, Netflix’s namesake dark fantasy animated series, which is reportedly gone now that season 4 has concluded, was the last piece of Castlevania media to be released in recent memory.
The Belmonts might be able to receive the Kratos treatment from Sony Santa Monica Studio. Your guess is as good as mine, though, given Williams’ conclusion that he “just got in so much trouble” for stating this. On review aggregators, Metacritic and OpenCritic, God of War Ragnarök received a score of 94 after its November 9 release to rave reviews.
It has a lot going for it, not the least of which is the realistic dynamics of Kratos’s relationship with his adolescent son Atreus. The accessibility improvements, such as the checkpoint system that makes boss fights much less of a potential drag, are my favourite additions. It’s a blessing, and I hope more games use it in the future.