God of War is, now, a series that requires a little introduction. Created by video game designer David Jaffe of Santa Monica Studio, one of several Sony subsidiaries, the series revolves around the original character Kratos and his journey through Greek (and Norse) mythology. He suffers the tragic loss of his family and embarks on a quest to avenge the gods before finally admitting his fault in the matter.
As would be expected from a series created in 2005, there are many details and curiosities surrounding it. Between the amazing story, intense action, and general behind-the-scenes trivia, a lot can still be learned about the series as a whole and its development.
Updated July 14, 2022 by Lucas Olah: God Of War’s popularity continues to grow. To be fair, he never really ran out of it, being one of the most popular PlayStation IPs and gaming history in general. To celebrate its continued frenzy across the industry, a few other details have been added. This pertains not only to the series as a whole, but also the current saga of games featuring Kratos and his son Atreus in Norse mythology – especially as we approach God of War Ragnarok.
This article contains spoilers from the entire series.
15th Why does Kratos say “boy” so much?
One part of God of War (2018) that has essentially become a meme is the fact that Kratos often calls his son “Boy”. It adds a good layer of character development, as Kratos remains closed to his son for most of the game. Having him refer to Atreus without using his name is very appropriate, but that’s not the main reason.
The real reason actually comes from a behind-the-scenes look. In a video once uploaded to Twitter (although unfortunately deleted), Cory Barlog revealed That it took some time to come up with the name Atreus. As such, he was just referred to as “The Boy”.
14 The eagle in Helheim
During your trip to Hel in order to save Atreus from his illness, you can see a giant eagle in the background. It just stays there, doing nothing but looking around. The eagle is a Jotun, or giant, named Hræsvelgr (don’t ask us to pronounce it) a character in Norse mythology.
Hræsvelgr was supposed to be a standout character in the game, although it is difficult to say exactly what he would do. The biggest theory is that it’ll be a head-to-head fight at Hill, which makes sense given that boss fights are expensive. However, no confirmation or rejection of the theory can be found.
13 captain gag boat
Another notable character throughout the series, albeit for an entirely different reason, is the boat captain. First appearing in the original game, he’s basically a guy just trying to live his life who has the misfortune of running into Kratos.
She leaves the boat captain to die, after which she stabs his soul when she escapes from Hades. In the second game, his soul is summoned during the fight, only to have you kill him again. You find a note he wrote when visiting Hades again in God of War 3. Somehow, the captain’s boat ends up in Scandinavia in God of War (2018), after being captured by a member of his crew. Even God of War Ascension reminds him, by an artifact he once possessed.
12 What blades should Kratos use?
Kratos’ most famous weapon is the menacing Blade of Chaos, which you get midway through in God of War (2018). It’s your default weapon in the previous entries of the series – at least, that’s how it looks.
There are three iterations of these weapons; The Feathers of Chaos, the Feathers of Athena, and the Feathers of Exile. The first was taken by Ares, the second was destroyed and reconfigured into the Blades of Exile. So, in theory, Kratos should use the Feathers of Exile, not Chaos. However, for unknown reasons, the blade design in God of War (2018) is based on the original iteration, all the way back from the first game.
11 How strong is Kratos?
This is more theorizing than anything for sure, but Kratos is basically one of those characters who can do whatever he wants. There is an entry that later indicates that Kratos is a god of strength, after all.
Not only did he purify most of the Greek gods and kill both gods and titans, but he did things far beyond what should have been possible. In God of War Ascension, he manages to defeat a time-controller with sheer might and brutality. And that’s before we count how many times he died. Its limits simply do not exist. It would not be surprising if he died again, just to escape from Helheim.
10 God of War’s Retconned Story
The First God of War, released in 2005, shows clear signs that it was meant to be his own story, and that the sequels were more developed after their success. The game has quite a few inconsistencies – from the appearance of Hades and his positive attitude towards Kratos (the man who killed his wife in the prequel Chains released later in Olympus), to all the secret scenes that you can unlock after beating the wrong game. Longer canon (although some elements are still used).
These scenes show a different past of a younger Kratos and even the skeleton of Kronos that was found in the desert by helicopters – which doesn’t make sense since Kratos was killed in God of War 3.
9 Egyptian myths
For those who played God of War (2018), it is no secret that the series is now flirting with other legends besides the Greek. Not only because the 2018 version uses Norse mythology, but because the game also makes it clear that there are other legends in the world of the series. It touched upon Egyptian, Japanese, and even Celtic myths in some cases.
However, the Egyptian connection is much deeper. During the development of God of War (2018), Half of the team wanted to do it based on Egyptian mythologyThe other half wanted to go with the Scandinavians. Game director Cory Barlog gave the final word, and it ended up being the game as we know it.
8 Change the voice of Kratos
Kratos has been voiced by Terrence Connor Carson (mostly known as TC Carson) in nearly every game of the series. His work has become iconic, with the sound becoming an icon not only for the character, but for the game industry as a whole considering the series’ sheer scale. However, for the 2018 game, he was replaced by Christopher Judge.
The reason for the change is because of motion capture; TC Carson wasn’t tall enough to portray Kratos. While Judge did great in the role as well, the sad part of this story is how Carson was simply replaced without being informed, resulting in an abrupt termination of his work with the Greek god.
7 Multiple engravings of Kratos
As one of the PlayStation’s primary icons, it was inevitable that Kratos would appear in other games. He has been referenced in many other titles, and in some cases, appears in them himself. There are skins for him in ModNation Racers, LittleBigPlanet, and Tearaway, and there is an armor based on him in Ghost of Tsushima.
He’s also appeared in games like Fortnite, Shovel Knight, SoulCalibur: Broken Destiny, and Mortal Kombat 9 (very fitting, by the way). There are also Easter eggs in Horizon: Forbidden West.
6 God of War: Mobile Betrayal
Among the many entries in the series, most people will likely forget that God of War has a game for mobile phones – not smartphones, actual old cell phones. God of War’s betrayal takes place between Ghost of Sparta and God of War 2. As Kratos is blamed for killing Argos, he hunts down the actual killer in order to clear his name.
Ironically, the game never reveals the identity of the killer. The game is the only God of War game not available on PlayStation, and despite being a 2D side-scrolling game, it was well received for properly adapting the main gameplay characteristics.
5 Actual Kratos from Greek mythology
Most people are aware that Kratos is a fictional character made specifically for the game, but There is a real god with the same name. Krátos, (also Cratos or Cratus) is a deity who represents strength. He is the son of Titan Pallas and Goddess Styx – that’s right, the river from the third game is a goddess according to legends.
Unfortunately, there are not many stories about Cratos. He is said to have had some siblings, although some sources conflict with the deities being his siblings. The most famous of this group will be Nike, the goddess of victory.
4 God of War sacrifice censorship
God of War is known for being a violent series. Gore and brutality are to be expected, although it’s not quite as prevalent in the latest release. However, due to censorship in Germany, European versions of the original God of War have been censored – you are required to sacrifice a human at the Temple of Pandora.
In this version, a monster is sacrificed instead. This oversight has even caused a delay in the game’s launch. There were also small, censored scenes in God of War Ascension, but these scenes were ultimately unknown.
3 Certain Creative Freedoms with Myths
The fact that a game with an original character in a mythical world has taken creative liberties is no surprise. However, while some things are obvious, like Kratos himself or the Atreus-Loki thing, there are minor details that most people don’t know about and might skip.
For example, in the third game, Labyrinth is in a completely different place, and has a different purpose. Speaking of, Minotaurs are entire creatures in the game, rather than just a single creature. Even Norse mythology has differences, such as treating Freya and Freja as the same person. There are plenty of others that make up an entirely new article.
2 Grave Digger from the original game
An old and now confirmed puzzle of the series is the sinister Grave Digger, who appeared in the original God of War and later in Ghost of Sparta. In the original game, he gives you advice, and saves you by digging a grave that goes to hell. The fact that a simple person did this—not to mention the fact that he started digging before Kratos died—led to the theory that he could have been a deity in disguise, with people guessing that it was either Zeus or Hermes.
In Ghost of Sparta, five years later, theories are finally a reality. You can unlock a battlefield that allows you to play as a digger. If he is chosen, he will turn into Zeus. He uses the blade of Olympus and the gauntlet of Zeus, showing all the power of the King of the Gods.
1 character cemetery
All games contain cut content. There is no surprise. But one cool detail in the original game is that when you complete it, you get access to a cemetery with rejected models of some enemies – and even Kratos himself.
Seeing what Kratos could look like is intriguing, and each model has some notes as to why it was rejected. Particularly intriguing is Cyclops, who has several iterations in the tomb, which shows how difficult it is to choose a character model. They would also have been completely naked, with their “weapon” shown. You can check out the cemetery Via YouTube here.
