This Hilarious God Of War Clone Has To Be Seen To Be Believed
It's not unusual for smaller companies to attempt and profit off of big video game releases by producing clones of popular video games. Sometimes these game clones seem like a thinly veiled attempt to confuse customers, like a "Hollow Knight" clone from a few years ago that looked like the original with none of the charm. Other times, clones attempt to fill a gap in the market. For example, a recent "GoldenEye" clone attempted to bring back a nostalgic type of gameplay many fans remember fondly. Sometimes these "clones" are designated as such before people have really gotten to play them. Many gamers would consider "Genshin Impact" completely different from "Breath of the Wild," but that's not how many people felt when the former was first announced.
But what if the project of creating a game clone wasn't rooted in profit or fame? What if it was just for fun? One YouTuber attempted to do just that by making a "God of War" clone.
YouTuber DanCS has begun a brand new series in which he challenges himself to recreate a AAA game in 5 days. He started out as ambitiously as he could, by diving into "God of War Ragnarok" and attempting to capture the moody, violent heart of the series. But DanCS acknowledged that he was working with vastly different resources. Where "God of War Ragnarok" had a multimillion dollar budget, DanCS had whatever tools were already available to him. Even more impressive is that DanCS wanted to recreate the physics of Kratos' Leviathan Axe, which can be thrown and returned to his hand with the simple press of a button. All of this is awfully ambitious for any programmer looking to complete a project in 5 days, but it was especially difficult for DanCS, who had to impress his brother at the end of the project.
The process was complicated
DanCS began the project by finding a character model for Kratos and beginning to create a 3D rig for the character and his Leviathan Axe, which would have to be a separate model from his body. From the very beginning, the axe gave DanCS some trouble. First, it wouldn't rotate correctly, and then it bent Kratos' model, causing the god to have spiky clothes that moved oddly with his arms. Oh, and the axe went straight through his hand. But those were all problems for day 2.
The skin problem didn't let up on the next day of work, and Kratos' clothing seemed to have a mind of its own, shooting out from his body in spikes and moving with the axe. DanCS admitted that he didn't have time to fix the issue, which would require him to make his own custom model instead of using one that was premade.
DanCS's first attempt at enemies didn't go well, either, and the generic zombie sort of just t-posed while Kratos ran circles around it. Clearly some programming needed to happen, and DanCS managed it, saying he'd improve the enemy animations later. By the time the final day rolled around, DanCS was focused specifically on making the game look good, cleaning up the rough edges and creating a background for Kratos to explore.
The final version of the game, while still simple, allows Kratos to run through a forest and fight undead enemies. When DanCS sent the game to his brother, however, he received the most brother-like response he could get: the game was still garbage. However, even if DanCS' brother didn't enjoy his efforts, viewers have gotten a kick out of it.
Viewers loved the game
Viewers found the game impressive, though, complimenting both DanCS' presentation of his development process and the game itself. One viewer commented that the video needs more views, and that DanCS should keep practicing his development process. Another fan said that DanCS' work is impressive enough to warrant both more views and subscribers. One helpful developer offered suggestions for how DanCS could keep working on the game, explaining that examining the skeletal structure of the character rig should allow him to solve the axe throwing problem.
Overall, the end result was hilarious, and DanCS played up the comedy of his game by cracking jokes. Some of the issues DanCS experienced early in development, like Kratos' clothes and skin stretching when he throws his axe, or the awkward movements the zombies made, remained in the final version of the game. Kratos can say "boy!" on command, but DanCS did his own mighty yell for Kratos' attacks. The overall result is meant to be funny, but it also shows off just how much a developer can get done in a short amount of time.
DanCS made his game as a challenge to himself and to impress his brother, but he never intended to actually market the game or make it available to the public. However, some developers have made their own "God of War" ripoffs that they've tried to sell for profit. One "God of War" clone raised eyebrows when it released earlier in 2022. Called "God of Warning" and "War Gods Zeus of Child," this title had bad animations, questionable character design, and an extreme lack of detail or plot. But hey, it let gamers play as Kratos on the Xbox, so it had that going for it.