Cory Barlog is working hard. He made that evident in a recent tweet. In fact, the God of War writer and director said that he is “writing like a mad b*stard” and attributes his recent burst of creative energy to another game; one that he had nothing to do with.
That game is Death Stranding, the incredibly divisive title starring Walking Dead’s Norman Reedus, developed by the legendary Hideo Kojima.
Apparently, the game’s soundtrack has been a source of inspiration to Barlog, who has been listening to the music of Death Stranding while writing. Kojima has received a lot of praise for his work compiling the sonic bed of music that accompanies this game.
A number of gaming outlets found Death Stranding to be perplexing and tedious, while still being profoundly interesting. While the game itself received a mixed bag of reviews from outlets, one thing that was pretty much universally praised was the score.
A lot of writers use music as a means to stoke their own creative fires. Writers like Lin Manuel Miranda have even shared public Spotify playlists of the music that they use when writing.
For Barlog, who achieved a level of fame not normally seen for individual game directors, that musical muse was derived from Death Stranding.
Of course, Barlog did not let it slip what he’s working on. Most gamers surmised that he’s hard at work perfecting a sequel for his 2018 smash hit God of War, which breathed new life into one of gaming’s most iconic franchises.
Barlog was an early director in the God of War series, helping the bring Kratos to life on the PlayStation 2. However, he departed not long after God of War 2 to pursue other projects. He came back to the franchise for the 2018 release, adding new layers of characterization to Kratos, who had devolved into a one-note murder machine.
The game received nearly universal praise and was hailed as one of the best releases of 2018. Players are all but convinced that a sequel is in the works at Santa Monica Studios, and many believe that it will be released as one of the first exclusives on the PlayStation 5.
While it is unclear at this moment if Barlog is writing the sequel to his greatest masterpiece, one thing is for certain. Whatever Cory Barlog’s next project is, fans can thank Kojima and the soundtrack for Death Stranding for inspiring one of gaming’s most prolific writers to take to the keys with renewed vigor.
