God of War's action-adventure franchise has cemented itself as a staple for PlayStation and modern video games with an extensive series of title across many console generations. But even aside from its primary franchise entries, God of War's prolific crossovers into other franchises is due chiefly to the iconography of its titular protagonist.
Between Kratos' crossovers into Fortnite, Shovel Knight, and Mortal Kombat, there have been different perspectives of the stoic, realm-swapping demigod that paint him in a unique light, even if they are not necessarily canon perspectives. Recently, a fan artist's crossover has melded the characters from the latest God of War with the art style of a game whose bombastic visuals are uniquely identifiable.
L3mmie, otherwise known as Daniel Lehmacher, has shared rubber hose fan art of God of War's Kratos and Atreus. L3mmie admits that Cuphead was their "biggest source of inspiration" for the artwork, which is prominently and wonderfully reflected. Cuphead's visually striking art style is complemented by its distinguished rubber hose animation style. Rubber hose animation hails from 1920s cartoons and is uniquely depicted with characters who feature wiry limbs and appendages with no anatomical articulation, as seen here with Kratos and Atreus.
Kratos and Atreus' rubber hose style designs are admittedly adorable, and fans have shared their newfound desire for the two franchises to crossover. Reddit user El-Mitochondria proposes Kratos appearing as a Cuphead boss, while LDG192 ponders the idea of God of War being a "Disney IP back in the 30s." Rubber hose animation is far less graphic or detailed than God of War's current graphical fidelity, which also strips it from its more brutal and violent overtones to give Kratos and Atreus a wholesome and cartoonish aesthetic instead.
Epic Mickey, Skullgirls, and Bendy and the Ink Machine are a few examples of other games that have employed rubber hose animation to mesmeric effect. Cuphead may not be the last game to ever implement this particular style, though due to its significance it is likely that any subsequent game that tries will be forced to succumb to inevitable Cuphead comparisons nonetheless.
L3mmie states that they plan to upload their rubber hose fan art to their website, where fans can already purchase detailed fine art prints of Ellie, Abby, Dina, and Joel from The Last of Us 2, as well as a print for Cyberpunk2077's default male V. Until then, fans may imagine what other characters from the God of War franchise would look like in this art style.
God of War is available now for PS4 and PS5, with a PC version set to release on January 14, 2022. Cuphead is available for PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.
Source: Threadless