It may be controversial, but it’s time for Sony to retire Kratos as the lead of the God of War series. But before you rally your pitchforks, allow me to explain why.
Kratos has been the focus of every God of War game. His quest for vengeance and how it consumed him was fleshed out in six massive games, including PlayStation Portable entries and a lukewarm attempt at a multiplayer game. His incessant shouting and screaming have been going on for almost two decades, and it was starting to get redundant.
His renewed life with Atreus and Faye in the Norse realms was a breath of fresh air. It was the proper arc for his character to feel empathy, evoking that of the same playerbase that grew up with him years ago. Now, longtime God of War fans found their own families to support, and it was the best decision Sony Santa Monica made that made Kratos resonate with an everyday gamer. Apart from the Norse game’s energetic gameplay, part of its appeal was its story about father and son.
His life in the Norse realms was one of redemption, and the ending of God of War: Ragnarok practically proved it. Kratos has turned into a protector, a legendary figure among the nine realms who stopped Odin’s despotic rule. Grown men cried as Kratos shed his first emotional tears in a long time. It brought a cathartic end to his character. No longer the God of War, but a God of Hope.
Sony has to make sure those tears aren’t wasted by bringing him back as a major protagonist in the next game of the series.
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Kratos’ story is over. He has achieved the life he has always dreamed of, surrounded by people he loves and cares about. Bringing him back into another journey, such as the rumored Egyptian realms, would undo everything in his growth as a character.
Atreus and Angrboda are literally right there. Their story has just begun, and this is the ideal way to do a fresh reboot of the series now that Kratos’ journey is over. Granted, the once-warmongering god is an iconic character, bringing him back just for him to slay Egyptian or Aztec gods “for cool and cinematic purposes” is no longer enough. People grow up, and so have the God of War fans. Expecting Kratos to repeat the same cycle of irresponsibility and incomprehensible rage after Ragnarok ignores that growth.
Would a new God of War game without Kratos fail? We don’t know. He’s Sony’s premier poster boy (alongside Astro Bot), and they’d be silly not to bring him back. If Sony decides to bring him back, it would either be as a mentor figure teaching Atreus and Angrboda the ways of the world or as a prequel detailing his journeys before he achieved redemption.
Just don’t make him start killing an entire pantheon again.
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