Has Kratos’ Time Finally Come in the New God of War?
I can still remember the commercials on TV, that first time I heard Kratos scream the name of Ares, the God of War. I can also vividly recall the subsequent images of his bloodlust soaked rampage through Greece. God of War brought us a character so consumed by rage, violence, and vengeance that we hardly knew what to do. Vengeance stories were clearly not new, nor was violence in video games, but something about Kratos’ completely unbridled fury was a draw for teenaged gamers like moths to a bonfire.
Throughout the series Kratos has constantly upped the level of his badassery to unimaginable heights. From humble beginnings as a ruthless Spartan warrior, to being the vessel of wrath for Ares, only to betray him, die, and kill the god to take his place. And that was only the first game. With the final act of the series in God of War 3,*Spoiler* Kratos has successfully murdered the whole pantheon of Greek gods using Pandora’s box,leaving the world in utter shambles. Kratos decides to unleash hope back into the world, letting it fix the global devastation his actions have caused.
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“God of War brought us a character so consumed by rage, violence, and vengeance that we hardly knew what to do.”
This is where the latest trailer from E3 comes in. We find Kratos – now much older; his slim goatee overtaken by a wild beard and his scarred body – usually left bare – cloaked in furs. Before we see him step out of the shadows, we are introduced to Kratos’ son, whose mother is mentioned several times yet clearly absent from their lives. (Given the Norse setting, maybe it’s Sif to keep the mythology motif?) As the trailer comes to a close, Kratos and his son overlook a cliff into the new world before them as a dragon flies by overhead. This is a soft reboot for the series, yet clearly acknowledges the past. With the death of the Greek gods, it was only natural that to continue the series, God of War would need to change to a new world of mythology. Yet beyond this introduction, do we actually still need Kratos?
The story of his vengeance works because of its basis in Greek myth, something rife with tales of revenge. Through the series he has died several times yet is always able to fight his way back from the depths of Hades, and into the real world. It’s something seen in actual Greek myths and as such lends to the believability. However, we aren’t in Greece anymore. Not only should the same rules not apply here, the content we watched leads me to believe this might (and should be) Kratos’ last outing. First, from the mythology standpoint, Kratos has a habit of fighting larger than life characters and dying at least once during each outing. In Norse mythology, death means either going to Valhalla or Hel, but once you are there you don’t get to come back. This – combined with the fact we see that Kratos ages and therefore will weaken – means he is much more vulnerable.
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“This is a world not for [Kratos], and we have come such a long way on his journey there are few places left we can travel with him and still feel fresh.”
While he is still the badass we know and love, we see many examples of his temper being quelled as he speaks to his son. Regardless of whether or not the boy is his own (could he be adopted and their father/son dynamic is simply respect?) those who know Kratos would expect a little more fire from him. Arguably the whole question of Kratos’ necessity rests on the purpose of his son. Kratos is old, he’s slowing down. What we know is that he is adamant about training his son to hunt and survive, so what is his son’s purpose from a narrative point? Either he is there as a catalyst to suffer a poor fate and force Kratos into action, he is there to assist Kratos, or – and this is what I believe is the stronger argument – he is introduced as a boy so that when the story ends he can be a man and take the reins of the series.
Kratos is old. He clearly won’t live forever and he exists in a world where he can’t simply fight his way back to life (provided the developers choose to be true to the source material which they have so far). So unless they plan to have another of Kratos’ children die and have him continue to suffer into old age, it feels like the logical choice for this soft reboot is to introduce both the world and his son as he learns to be a warrior and let Kratos die at the end. This is a world not for him, and we have come such a long way on his journey there are few places left we can travel with him and still feel fresh. If this is truly to be a series reboot, then let his son take the series and put Kratos in the same mentor and guiding position as Athena was for him. Kratos may be a pillar of Sony’s character pantheon, but we’ve reached a point where we can fondly wave goodbye as his Viking funeral boat calmly floats down the water and we turn to his son for a new adventure in a new land.
What do you think? Will Kratos simply go on forever? Is it time to let someone else star in the series? Let us know what you think on Facebook, Twitter, or in the comment section below.