God of War has returned to its Greek roots, and I’ve been celebrating by eating lots of gyros and watching Bettany Hughes’ historical documentaries from the mid-2000s. Perhaps more appropriately, I’ve also started playing God of War: Sons of Sparta—yep, I’m returning the colon to its rightful place!

In case you missed PlayStation’s honestly-really-strong State of Play from last week, Santa Monica Studio has decided to celebrate the dying weeks of God of War’s twentieth anniversary through a pair of announcements. The first is that the original trilogy is receiving the full remake treatment—although, exactly what that means is still fairly vague. Far more concrete was the reveal of a brand-new God of War game, the aforementioned Sons of Sparta. Developed by Mega Cat Studio, this new game not only takes us all the way back to Kratos’s childhood in the Agoge but is also the first God of War game to be a 2D side-scroller with pixel-art visuals.

But that second statement’s not true, is it? Because while the retro aesthetics and gameplay of Sons of Sparta still carries a powerful novelty factor, this is hardly the first time that God of War has demade itself into the second dimension. Long-time fans of the series may remember the 2007 Java mobile game, God of War: Betrayal—an official, canonical entry set between the first and second God of War games that also adopted a 16-bit style of pixelated side-scrolling action.

And yet, the God of War demake I want to discuss today is neither official nor canonical. It is, however, one of the more fascinating side stories in the now two-decades-long-saga of this iconic gaming franchise. So let’s do a show of hands. How many of you have played, or even heard of, Bit of War?

Bit of War is a fan-made 2012 demake developed by Holmade Games that sets out to answer the question: what if God of War was made for the 8-bit Nintendo Entertainment System? The answer is a surprisingly fun retro throwback that captures the spirit of the Greek God of War games, complete with satisfying combat, banger music, and a story that goes way harder than it has any right to.

Let’s start by looking at the story of Bit of War. Because if this game was released on the NES back in the late-80s or early-90s, I believe we would hail it as having one of the great narratives on that system. Bit of War’s story is an alternate retelling of 2010’s God of War III—the game that concluded the original trilogy with Kratos defeating the Greek pantheon of gods and releasing hope back into the world. Oops, spoilers, I guess.

Here, things are a bit different. The opening level of Bit of War still has Kratos scaling Mount Olympus and fighting Zeus. But instead of being defeated by the King of the Gods and sent to Hades like in God of War III, Kratos is actually successful in killing Zeus and ending the reign of the Olympians right there and then. Kratos’s victory is short-lived, however, as he is immediately confronted by a fleet of Viking ships and Norse monsters who have come to fill the power vacuum left by the fallen Greek gods.

If that wasn’t enough, after the Vikings are sent packing, a mythological Egyptian army also shows up to claim the throne of Olympus. Kratos continues his god-slaying spree, not content until all deities—no matter their mythological origins—are dealt with. This rampage earns him the admiration of ordinary people who begin to worship him as their new god, resulting in the creation of a bizarro version of Kratos which, you guessed it, also needs to be killed.

Bit of War ends by showing the world’s belief systems transitioning from the ancient religions to those that are still prevalent today. As for Kratos, well, he is finally shown to be at peace with his wife and child in the fields of Elysium. It’s a remarkably moving conclusion for a fan-made God of War demake that features some genuinely reflective commentary around themes of faith and redemption.

If any of this story sounds kind of familiar, that’s because Bit of War is based on David Jaffe’s original concept for how the God of War trilogy should end. Jaffe was the director for the very first God of War game but had well and truly left Santa Monica Studio by the development of God of War III. And while Jaffe also didn’t have any involvement with Bit of War, it’s cool that Holmade Games decided to pay tribute to his vision of the story’s conclusion through this project. Jaffe may not be a fan of every God of War demake, but it’s hard to imagine he’d be too disappointed by Bit of War’s interpretation.

And that’s because, from a gameplay perspective, Bit of War really does feel like a faithful 8-bit portrayal of a Greek-saga God of War game. Controlling as a mix between a classic Mega Man and Castlevania title, Bit of War sees Kratos slicing through enemies with his Blades of Athena, using multiple magic abilities, exploring levels to find secret chests, battling epic bosses, and even participating in one of those minigames. Everything is here and as sharp as a Minotaur’s horn.

Bit of War is the kind of fan-made demake that has no reason to exist, but I’m so glad that it does. The game presents two fascinating alternate realities—one where God of War was released on the NES, and one where David Jaffe’s story ideas were implemented into the series’ finale. Both are a blast to experience.

So when you’re next playing through Sons of Sparta, don’t forget that this style of retro God of War demake is standing on the shoulders of giants. 8-bit fan-made giants, but giants nonetheless.

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