Overview

God of War is set in the Norse mythos, sending you across all the realms at one point or another, with Midgard as your home realm. It is a third-person, action-packed fighting game with a heavy emphasis on brutal combat and an intricate story.

Characters

Kratos is the God of War in question. Heralding from the Greek Pantheon originally, he moved into the Norse through a long, aimless wandering.

Atreus is Kratos’ son, whom he had with a Jotnar (Giant that isn’t big), Laufey. A lot of the plot points in the game revolve around him, and how he matures slowly as time goes on.

Main Conflict & Story

For some background, Kratos comes from an older trilogy that this game revived, with the previous installment being God of War 3, in 2010. The last we saw of him, he was an angry, fierce destroyer, who had no mercy for any soul, as that’s what the whole basis of his character was back then. But as we see him now, he’s quiet and reserved, grown into a loving father – as his wife has passed away during the introduction.

This is the main focus of the game, showing how he’s changed from his old self, into a man wanting to change, and right the wrongs of his past. He’s buried the weapons he used in those games, and tried to forget the demons of his past, by hiding them away from his son. But of course, Atreus must find out eventually.

And as you go, Kratos and Atreus are motivated by Laufey’s last wish, to have her ashes spread on the highest peak in all the realms – a purposefully difficult task she laid out for them long ago.

I won’t spoil much else of course – but as complications come, Atreus and Kratos grow their bond, work out their distance, and try to come to terms with everything they come across in their journeys.

Reflection

This game is heralded for its intricate writing, of which anyone could enjoy. It’s fun, serious, dramatic, sad – all when it wants to be. There are little flaws I could tell you offhanded, and I beat the game a couple times over.

It tells a wonderful story of fatherhood, redemption of past sins, trying to become something better – a relatable story, no? We’ve all made mistakes that we wish we could apologize for, or change. But like real life, Kratos can not change who he was back then, and must face down the man he was in ages past.

I would say; if you love action-packed combat, a beautiful story of change and gaining new purpose in life, and some of the best visuals of any game that came out around this time, God of War is for you.