The fans of the God of War franchise were first introduced to Atreus as the deuteragonist of God of War (2018). The story was set up perfectly to show how Atreus and his father, Kratos, ended up in ancient Scandinavia in the realm of Midgard.
Without a doubt, Cory Barlog’s God of War gave fans a perfect iteration of Atreus, but 2022’s God of War Ragnarok was tricky. The introduction was easy but carrying forward the story can be far more complex. Many fans would agree that Atreus was once again a prominent and interesting character, however, the creator of the God of War series, David Jaffe, feels like God of War Ragnarok did a terrible job at setting up Atreus’ place in the franchise.
God of War Creator David Jaffe Only Likes This One Thing About Atreus In God of War Ragnarok
In a recent YouTube video, God of War creator, David Jaffe, shared his opinions on the depiction of Atreus in 2022’s God of War Ragnarok. Jaffe said:
I think that Atreus is a terrible character, at a visual level and a play level. I like his function as a son for Kratos but that guy needed to be set up by the end of Ragnarok or the middle of Ragnarok to be like, ‘F**k, that dude is cool I want to be that guy,’ and Ragnarok didn’t give us that.
Jaffe feels like Atreus was supposed to be a character that would carry the franchise forward, however, Ragnarok failed to do so.
Jaffe added that after 2018’s God of War, Atreus became a character who’s “fundamentally no longer that interesting,” but creators somehow had to integrate him into the future games.
David Jaffe Praised Cory Barlog For 2018’s God of War
In the interview, Jaffe also explained that Cory Barlog did an amazing job at setting up the story and introducing fans to Atreus,
What Corey did for 2018 was so smart and brilliant because we knew this character needed a jump start, it was as much of a brilliant marketing PR move on his part as it was a writing part.
Jaffe served as the director of 2005’s God of War, the first installment in the God of War series, and 2007’s God of War II. Undoubtedly, these two games played a key role in popularising the franchise.
Not a lot of people know that people at Santa Monica Studio wanted to get rid of Kratos, however, Barlog was firm on keeping the fan-favorite character in 2018’s God of War. When Barlog consulted everyone at the studios, many suggested that they would be making just “another God of War” by keeping Kratos in it.
The game was completely different from what fans saw earlier in the God of War franchise. Not just the setting but world design, art direction, music, graphics, combat system, and characters, everything was fresh.
Did you like Atreus’ depiction in 2022’s God of War Ragnarok? Share your opinions in the comments!
