Developer: Santa Monica Studio
Platform: PS4
Release Date: 20 April 2018
2018 Game Awards “Game of the Year” winner God of War provides a vastly different take on the character of Kratos. While typically a brutal, efficient killer, God of War offers a more human side to him, as he and his son, Atreus, venture on a quest to find the highest point in all the realms to spread the ashes of Faye, Atreus’ mother. On their journey, Kratos is conflicted as he tries to protect Atreus from the life that comes with being a god, which he views as a life of betrayal and misery, even though Atreus will inevitably succumb to his powers anyway.
a unique dynamic between the wise-but-troubled father and the vulnerable son.
The story is wrought with questions of morality. Kratos serves as the voice of reason when it comes to Atreus, teaching him to defend himself while only killing those that are deemed necessary, despite the fact that Kratos himself would kill without consideration in the past. This lays the groundwork for a unique dynamic between the wise-but-troubled father and the vulnerable son. Despite a number of people seeing God of War as just another hack and slash product of a bygone era, the narrative of a father trying to keep his son on the correct path without the child’s mother to support them is tremendously captivating, and the general theme of family is something that a lot of people could relate to, even though it is portrayed by gods.