PlayStation needs more games like God of War: Sons of Sparta

Domagoj Belancic

17/2/2026

Translation: Patrik Stainbrook

Sony used to be much braver with its PlayStation games. Nowadays, there’s barely any room for experimental games among AAA blockbusters. Still, titles like God of War: Sons of Sparta give me hope that Sony might slowly be rethinking things.

At the most recent State of Play, Sony caused a stir with a surprising shadow drop. A retro God of War spin-off, Sons of Sparta, was released shortly after the presentation. The offshoot sheds light on Kratos’ backstory as a young Spartan warrior.

I love weird experiments like this. God of War: Sons of Sparta makes me think back wistfully to a time when the PlayStation was much bolder. And it gives rise to the hope that Sony could take a leaf out of Nintendo’s book going forward.

PlayStation hates risk

I love PlayStation games. Many of Sony’s exclusives are among my favourite games ever. Yet despite this consistent quality, I’m not completely satisfied. Sony’s output feels too cautious and predictable. Although the company drops hits non-stop, it just won’t experiment any more.

Whether it’s The Last of Us, Ghost of Yotei or Horizon – Sony’s single-player blockbusters all share the same DNA. It feels like the company created its own genre with its exclusive portfolio. PlayStation exclusives all seem to follow the same checklist:

• Third-person perspective
• Spectacular, highly polished graphics
• Hollywood-style direction and cutscenes
• A focus on linearity and little gameplay freedom
• A dark story about traumatised characters

Following this risk-averse formula for success, Sony releases blockbusters with maximum mass appeal. Prestige products that win at the Game Awards and strengthen the appeal of the PlayStation brand even more.

All well and good, but where’s the variety?

Still, there used to be variety. Back in the good old days, aka the PS1, PS2 and PS3 generations. I think back with nostalgia. Platformers (Jak & Daxter, Sly Cooper, Ratchet & Clank), music games (Parappa the Rapper, Vib-Ribbon), crazy experiments (Fat Princess, LocoRoco, Tokyo Jungle) – we had everything.

There was no established PlayStation genre, no shared DNA. PlayStation used to deliver an unpredictable grab bag. In other words: the complete opposite of its risk-averse blockbuster factory today.

Sony’s AAA vicious cycle

The motivation behind Sony’s gradual shift in strategy towards the safe PlayStation genre lies primarily in the nature of the tough AAA gaming market. As technology advances between console generations, development costs for games increase exponentially. Higher resolutions, more detailed models and computationally intensive effects require ever more money, time and resources.

Even the most elaborate blockbusters from the PS1 era only cost a few million dollars and took around one to two years to develop. In contrast, a PS5 smash hit like Spider-Man 2 cost around 300 million dollars and was in development for more than five years.

Since Sony has always been at the forefront of the technological arms race with its console and PC competitors, the company has doomed itself to dropping blockbuster after blockbuster. The PlayStation is a victim of its own standards.

Every game has to prove that the PlayStation is the best console out there. Every game has to be more spectacular, bigger and more expensive than the last while getting everything out of the latest hardware. And given such absurd production budgets and development times, there’s no room for experimentation in Sony’s world any more. Every moment has to be perfect; otherwise there’s a risk of massive financial losses.

A vicious cycle with no escape. Or is there light at the end of the tunnel?

What PlayStation can learn from Nintendo

I’d like to see Sony take a leaf out of Nintendo’s book with their current strategy. The Japanese company publishes games across an incredible range of genres. Switch fans regularly get exclusive platformers, racers, fighting games, action adventures, role-playing titles – the list goes on.

Nintendo’s grab bag is characterised by both a wide range of genres and extremely varied production sizes. Between major blockbuster releases, the company also publishes smaller and more experimental titles. This diversification feels fabulously varied while also reducing the risk of potential flops.

The origin of Nintendo’s varied exclusive portfolio lies in the company’s hardware strategy. Instead of taking part in the expensive technological arms race, Nintendo has been pleasing fans with innovation since the Wii. Accordingly, this also avoids the pressure to drop blockbusters. Not every Nintendo game has to set new standards in terms of graphics, direction and production budget.

With this approach, Nintendo successfully avoids the shackles of the expensive AAA market. The company released over 100 exclusive games on the Switch 1 – 84(!) of which sold over one million copies. Figures that other publishers, including Sony, can only dream of.

In terms of its own game series, Sony has all the prerequisites to copy Nintendo and free itself from its self-made blockbuster corset. Numerous thrilling PlayStation franchises are lying idle or have so far only received ultra-high-end AAA productions – even though they’d lend themselves to smaller, experimental spin-offs.

In order to exploit the massive potential of its intellectual property, Sony has to be brave and adjust its own requirements for exclusive titles, despite its expensive premium hardware. Not in terms of quality, but in terms of the scope of production and play. If there's less focus on every title proving PlayStation's the ultimate console gaming machine, there’s more room for experimentation.

The time to rethink is more favourable now than ever before. After all, experimental indie titles have often dominated gaming discourse more than major AAA releases from well-known publishers in recent years. Projects like the recent God of War: Sons of Sparta give me hope that Sony has seen the signs of the times and will free itself from its self-imposed shackles.

God of War: Sons of Sparta – a glimmer of hope

God of War: Sons of Sparta is the perfect example of what I want to see from Sony. This prequel reimagines a multimillion AAA franchise as a small indie project.

PS1 retro graphics, classic Metroidvania gameplay, manageable scope. A small casual snack, shortening the waiting time for the next big God of War project.

No, the game isn’t perfect. The analogue stick controls aren’t precise enough, Kratos’ moveset is too simple for a Metroidvania and the story repeatedly interrupts the gameplay with unnecessary cutscenes.

But despite these weaknesses, I’m glad the game exists at all. And I hope PlayStation fans will be eager to pick it up and send Sony the right signals for the future.

I’m also hopeful because Sony has released more projects in recent years that point to a rethink. Astro Bot was such a huge success that Sony announced it was an important step on the way to a broader games portfolio. Sony also commented that they want to focus more on family-friendly games in the future. Last year’s Lego Horizon Adventures was also a step in the right direction, even if it wasn’t entirely convincing in terms of content. Let’s hope the upcoming multiplayer spin-off Horizon Hunters Gathering can join the ranks of successful spin-offs, despite its live service ambitions.

Still, with all this in mind: keep being brave, dear PlayStation. Not every one of your games has to set new standards and cost hundreds of millions of dollars. I’m looking forward to upcoming experiments and imagining what a God of War strategy game, a Horizon racer or a Ghost of platformer could look like. Or how about a revival? Syphon Filter, Ape Escape and Loco Roco have long deserved another chance. My wallet is ready, the ball’s in your court.

God of War: Sons of Sparta is available for the PS5. The game was provided to me by PlayStation for testing purposes.

Domagoj Belancic

Senior Editor

Domagoj.Belancic@digitecgalaxus.ch

My love of video games was unleashed at the tender age of five by the original Gameboy. Over the years, it's grown in leaps and bounds.

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