After the recent God of War Valhalla update, there has been a lot of discussion about the state of the game and its main character, Kratos. Throughout the past two games in the franchise, Kratos has taken on a different role in his games, as he no longer feels like the God of War, but he feels like a new person.
For many gamers, this is a good sign, as the characters they grew up with are also changing and becoming a whole new entity rather than just sticking with what they know. However, some gamers feel that this version of Kratos is no longer faithful to the original and doesn’t need changing, and the game director agrees with this.
Why Are Gamers and the God of War Director Unhappy With the New Kratos?
Throughout the years, God of War was well-known for its gory combat, major consequences, and overall death and destruction. However, this has recently changed in the last two games. Even though there is still a lot of death and destruction, there could be more for some gamers who missed the good ol’ days.
Those who grew up on the original God of War games know the story of the man who became a god, who then turned on the gods of Olympus as he slaughtered his way through the pantheon. But for gamers who are joining the franchise through these new games, they sadly do not know Kratos’ past and do not know the god he once was.
But for any story to grow and continue forward, there will always be a moment in which a character changes to fit the needs of the story. Kratos is still the God of War and has the potential to murder anyone in his path, but he chooses not to for the sake of his son and the promise he made to his wife before she died.
Even though this is a strong story and suits Kratos in more ways than one, there are still plenty of gamers out there who feel that Kratos should return to his more aggressive days rather than the passive-aggressive ways that he is currently set in, but after all the character development he has done in the recent two games, it would prove to be counter-productive.
Why Did the Developers Choose to Make Kratos Less Murderous and More of a Caring Father?
Anyone who knows the story of God of War knows that Kratos began his story as a Spartan who was sadly tricked into killing his own wife and daughter by Ares in an attempt to strengthen his resolve and create the perfect warrior.
For many reasons, this is a sad story and led Kratos on his path of revenge against the gods, but once he had his revenge and destroyed his home, he had nowhere else to go. He began a new life in Midgard and fell in love.
This resembled a new start for Kratos in his story, as his first story began with the death of his family. Why shouldn’t his second story be the same? However, this story began slightly differently, as this time Kratos didn’t kill his family; his wife died naturally and left Kratos with a child.
All of this came about because the developers have grown up over the years and are looking past the blood and gore that they loved back when they created the first God of War. Instead, they themselves understand having a family and the pain of losing them, which led them to portray this in Kratos’ story to give him a new reason to fight.
It would have been a major struggle for the developers to create a new reason for Kratos to destroy another realm of gods unless he had something vital on the line. This led to the distant and ‘boring‘ Kratos we now see, but once he lets loose, we can all see that God of War we all once knew.
What do you think of the recent Kratos storyline? Do you think he is boring, or do you think he has progressed with the times? Let us know in the comments what you think!
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