RELEASED in 2005 on the PlayStation 2, the first God of War was an instant hit. Edgy, over-the-top and violent, gamers – who were mostly in their teens and early adulthood – were introduced to Kratos, a bald, ashen-skinned, raving lunatic on a suicidal mission to kill Greek mythology’s God of War, Ares.
Swinging the swords chained to his arms around, players (through Kratos) were transported to ancient Greece to wreak all manner of bloody mayhem. The game was a cocktail of escapism and power fantasy personified.
Directed by franchise mastermind David Jaffe, God of War was very basic in its revenge story that was loosely based upon actual Greek mythology, but it laid the groundwork for the extensive narrative the franchise would weave in the years to come.
God of War 2
Upon slaying Ares, Kratos ascends to godhood and takes the mantle of his former master. Due to being a madman himself, Kratos and the followers who worship him as the new God of War, began to wage war across Greece.
Due to his actions, forces in the Greek pantheon of gods begin conspiring against Kratos in order to strip him of his position and, well, kill him.
Released in 2007, again on the PlayStation 2, God of War II retains the gameplay and style of the first game, and adhering to the “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”, motto, doesn’t really change anything, other than a slight improvement in graphics and presenting new combos, weapons and magic for players to use.
Eventually, the game ends on an epic cliffhanger, with the larger-than-life Titans climbing Mount Olympus, as Kratos – on the back of Gaia, leader of the Titans – yelling:
“Zeus, your son has returned! I bring the destruction of Olympus!”
God of War 3
The third game was the conclusion of the Greek saga for the franchise.
Launched on the PlayStation 3 in 2010, God of War III utilised the full potential of the console to deliver a game that looked and played at a much higher quality than its predecessor could on the PlayStation 2.
The game starts exactly where the previous game left off, with Kratos, Gaia and the Titans launching an all-out assault on Mount Olympus’ Greek gods.
Players were thrown immediately into battle and before the ‘tutorial’ ends, Kratos ends up killing Poseidon, the God of the Sea.
The rest of the game would pit Kratos against the rest of the Greek gods, before culminating in a battle of the ages against Zeus.
Since the game’s release, it has been repeatedly called one of the greatest games of all time.
The others
In between the second and third games, and after the latter, several prequels and sequels filling in the larger story were released on various platforms including mobile phones and the PlayStation Portable.
Most were not really important to understand the entire story, except the introduction of Deimos, Kratos’ brother, in God of War: Ghost of Sparta.
Deimos had an odd birthmark that covered his entire body, which Kratos would turn into the iconic red tattoo that spans his own body.
God of War 2018
After the ending of God of War III, Kratos’ fate was left up in the air. Santa Monica Studio creative director Cory Barlog revealed that a new game was in early development in 2014, but nothing more than that. In 2016, concept art leaked showing Kratos in a world based on Norse mythology.
Later the same year, it was confirmed that the new game would transition towards Norse mythology, with the official gameplay footage revealing that Kratos now has a young son.
When the game – plainly titled God of War, without numerals – was released two years later, it went on to be critically-acclaimed for its story and gameplay, which most significantly, departs the old fixed cinematic camera position, and shifts towards an over-the-shoulder free camera.
Shifting away the easily-angered, violent outbursts he once had in his younger years, Kratos has become much more subdued in his new role as a father and husband.
In order to portray their lead character with nuance, Santa Monica Studios and Barlog went on to cast actor Christopher Judge as Kratos. Judge would lend his deep, gravely voice and facial-capture to bring Kratos to life on the PlayStation 4.
In the new game, Kratos has no desire to tangle with the gods of the Norse pantheon, choosing a life of solitude with his family. But when his wife passes, Kratos and Atreus – his son – are forced to leave the safety of their home to spread her ashes from the “highest peak of the nine realms”.
One thing leads to another and the duo end up fighting against several Norse deities. God of War ends with a teaser for the next game, where Thor makes himself known to Atreus in a dream.
On Nov 9, God of War: Ragnarok was released, with Kratos and Atreus taking on Thor and the Norse pantheon during Ragnarok, the Norse mythology’s “end of days”.
