God of War’s 8-bit demake “Bit of War” revives Kratos’ Greek saga as a free NES-style platformer
God of War just got the NES treatment with a pixelated Kratos scaling Olympus in an old 8-bit demake that just resurfaced from the ashes. The 8-bit God of War demake, known as Bit of War, is a free fan-made game from 2012 that transforms the original 2005 PS2 Greek mythology epic into a side-scrolling platformer, and it seems like a title that sits right at home on Nintendo’s NES.
Holmade Games developed Bit of War as a homage to the original title. The game basically shrinks down the epic cinematic battles and hack-and-slash gameplay of God of War into bite-sized levels.
Players get to take control of a pint-sized Kratos who looks pretty similar to the bouncy caveman from Bonk’s Adventure. Bit of War seems to take inspiration from retro classics like The Cyber Shinobi and Alex Kidd.
An inspired, but different storyline
The interesting part about Bit of War is that it strays from the original God of War storyline. Bit of War draws its story from old interviews with series creator David Jaffe to curate an alternate ending for Kratos.
The game stays true to Kratos' vengeful wrath, albeit without the gore, due to 8-bit limitations. The developers of Bit of War stated that it's a not-for-profit fan project with Sony's permission to use Kratos’s depiction. On Itch.io, the developers mention, “An 8-Bit demake of God of War, this game is a love letter to both the series itself as well as old school gaming in general.”
Due to its 8-bit retro aesthetic, Bit of War sets itself apart from the mainline entries' over-the-top gameplay and cinematic sequences, featuring simpler clipart backgrounds and tighter controls for blocking and platforming.
However, the enemy types are generic, consisting of mummies, soldiers, archers, and berserkers. Still, the game adds a few upgrades down the line, like Euryale, who turns enemies into stone and uses wind blasts.
Over 39,000 gamers on IndieDB have already downloaded Bit of War, and it is also available on Itch.io. All in all, Bit of War is a nice retro demake to dive into after completing the mainline franchise and the recent God of War Ragnarok.
Source(s)
Bit of War (Itch.io)
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