God of War has been in almost every PlayStation console player’s game library ever since the series began 18 years ago with the first title. Now, the series is headed in a different direction when compared to the original anthology.
Initially, the game had TC Carson as the voice of Kratos, and when the series rebooted in 2018, Christopher Judge lent his voice to the Spartan warrior. When the franchise began, it was in Greek mythology, and as it progressed, it made its way to Norse mythology. Throughout the series, there are unforgettable moments where one learns the game’s lore.
These moments perfectly capture the character’s temperament and the game’s setting, and are inseparable from the series. Some major spoilers are ahead, so if you haven’t played all the titles in the series, beware.
5. Slaying Ares (God of War – 2005)
The battle was satisfying to witness on so many different levels. It also saw Kratos facing Ares by equalling his stature. The battle ends with Ares exclaiming that he was the one who saved Kratos when the latter needed him the most. Visuals of the Spartan warrior accidentally killing his wife and children, blinded by his rage, all because of Ares’s plan, flash on the screen.
After that, it is truly gratifying to see Kratos’ first step towards redemption be successful. Ares justifies his actions by claiming that his conspiracy was intended to make Kratos into a warrior. Kratos then drove a sword through his heart to conquer his final peak in the title.
A marvelous background score and an awe-inspiring narration make for a cinematic scene as the camera pans out. After failing to get his memories wiped with the help of the gods, Kratos decides to commit suicide by jumping from the highest mountain in all of Greece.
But to his surprise, the gods don’t let him die and Athena makes him fall into the ocean waters, and he then rises to solid ground. As Kratos is offered his final reward, he rests on his throne, becoming the only God of War.
4. Killing Colossus of Rhodes (God of War 2)
Shortly after the events of the first title, Kratos becomes the God of War and assumes his position by resting on his throne as a god. After that, he helps Spartan Warriors destroy cities one after the other to establish Sparta’s dominance.
Athena, who helped him initially, warns him that if he continues on his path, he will soon feel the wrath of Olympus. After that, he heads to Rhodes and assumes his vast form to wreak havoc. Soon after, he is shot down by a mysterious eagle, who later turns out to be Zeus in disguise.
Kratos then returns to his mortal stature as he rampages around the city of Rhodes. The battle involves Kratos going against the Colossus and an army of Rhodes soldiers. Then, Zeus offers Kratos the Blade of Olympus to slay the Colossus of Rhodes, only to be severely damaged in the act. After that, Zeus’s accurate plan of killing Kratos by snatching his power away from him is revealed, and his father kills Kratos.
3. Atreus’ True Identity (God of War – 2018)
God of War (2018) is essentially a father-and-son tale. The game places as much importance on Atreus as it does on Kratos in the plot. But it is only towards the end that the game pulls off a twist of immense shock value when Atreus’s true identity is revealed.
Kratos and Atreus attempt to scatter Faye’s ashes at the top of the mountain. They find inscriptions and artworks describing their journey. Atreus and Kratos find out that Atreus is half-giant as Faye was a giant herself. It is later revealed that the same artwork and inscriptions that portrayed Atreus’ journey referred to him as Loki, the god of mischief.
It is then understood that Kratos’ son, himself, would catalyze Norse myth, ology’s most significant catalyst, Ratos’s Ragnarok. The story then moves to the sequel titled after the same catastrophe, which makes for a fitting end to duology.
2. Kratos v. Poseidon (God of War 3)
After the events of the second title in the original series, Kratos is accompanied by other titans who vow to ensure that the Olympian gods die a painful death. As the game begins, Kratos is faced with a juggernaut of an enemy, Poseidon, for an epic face-off.
Poseidon is furious by Kratos’ audacity to challenge and disrespect a god. He launches at Kratos after the latter attempts to separate Poseidon from Gaia. While the sequence of standing against the trident-wielding Poseidon isn’t overly long, it is undoubtedly a high-octane one.
After Kratos slashes Poseidon with his blades a couple of times, Gaia, the titan, helps Kratos aim for Poseidon by launching the Spartan warrior at the latter.
Only when Kratos is at the level of Poseidon’s torso does the Ghost of Sparta unleash his wrath and start landing vicious hits at the god. Shortly after, with Gaia’s help, Kratos shows Poseidon no mercy and lets him know who the boss is by raking his eyes and throwing him off a cliff.
1. Kratos Confronts His Past Self (God of War Ragnarok: Valhalla)
The last title in the reboot series gave a fitting conclusion to Kratos’ tale in the Norwegian region. In the recent expansion of God of War Ragnarok, Valhalla, we see Kratos going against Tyr. After that, Tyr reveals that though Kratos stabs himself to release the power of hope into the world, it still exists within him.
After Kratos faces him, he crosses through the door, only to find his past self sitting on his former throne as the God of War. The visual of seeing Kratos reflect upon his actions and his mistakes while starting at an apparition of himself is truly a magnificent form of storytelling.
He talks about his past and how, all this while, he was on a path to redeem himself of his sins and acts. Something which was deemed impossible even by the likes of those who were gods in the truest sense of the term. He then reiterates that while he may not have the redemption, the absolution that every fiber of his yearned for, he did have hope, which was enough. Enough to place himself in service and put his head down.
When he realizes that there is no forgiveness for his horrible deeds, he accepts himself for what he is. He also understands there is more to him than pain, agony, and suffering. The camera then pans out, and epic music plays in the background as Kratos sits on the throne. His pose, however, is not arrogant, but indicates a restful state after decades of internal conflict.
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