The popularity that superhero games have seen in the past decade thanks to games like Batman Arkham and Marvel’s Spider-Man isn’t showing signs of letting up just yet, if upcoming games like Iron Man VR and Marvel’s Avengers are any indication. These days, plenty of top-tier developers are lending their skills to bringing superheroes into the interactive medium, and God of War director Cory Barlog knows which one he’d tackle if given the choice.
It started when IGN’s Jonathon Dornbush put out the following question on Twitter today: "What is your dream superhero game and which developer would you want to make it?" The question was met with hundreds of replies from users dreaming up their ideal superhero game, with highlights including an Uncharted-style Naughty Dog game starring Wolverine, a Devil May Cry-esque Teen Titans game from Capcom, and a Doctor Strange game from Remedy in the vein of its mind-bending shooter Control.
Eventually, Barlog joined in with his own idea for a superhero game, and it’s one of the more unusual and interesting ideas so far. Instead of more superpowered characters like Batman or Spider-Man, Barlog would base his game on Hawkeye, the hero from the Avengers known best for his superior archery skills and an arsenal of gimmick arrows.
Specifically, Barlog said his hypothetical Hawkeye game would be based on the 2012-2015 run of the Hawkeye comic by writer Matt Fraction and artist David Aja. This run has gone down as one of Marvel’s best comic book stories for the way it balances both the fantastical and mundane aspects of Clint Barton’s life, especially in his relationship with his young protege Kate Bishop.
As out of left field as a game focused on a hero with no superpowers is, the notion of Barlog and Santa Monica Studio (he stated in a reply that he sees SMS as the developer) adapting this particular comic actually makes a lot of sense. Fraction and Aja’s run and 2018’s God of War both deal with battle-hardened men and the kids learning from them, so it’s easy to see the parallels with Barlog's work, and SMS being able to do something similar to what they did with God of War with Marvel’s sharpshooter.
A Hawkeye game actually being made seems like a bit of a longshot, but given that a sequel to God of War is all but inevitable, fans of Barlog and SMS’s battle-hardened men should be able to get their fix in the near future at the very least.
God of War is available for PS4.