God Of War 2018's Kratos Saved Sony's Franchise From Irrelevancy
The soft reboot for God of War in 2018 heralded a new era for the longtime PlayStation exclusive franchise, and its most important reinvention was a new Kratos, which saved God of War from looming irrelevancy. Kratos had, like the series at large, grown stale by the time Ascension released. Although new features appeared in every game, God of War had failed to properly mature. In 2018, a change of scenery and an overhaul of Kratos' character carried the series to new heights, saving it from becoming a PS2- and PS3-era relic.
Including the two PlayStation Portable games, Chains of Olympus and Ghost of Sparta, the God of War series had six games featuring Kratos' destructive romp through a mythological ancient Greece. With Kratos' revenge on the Olympians thoroughly completed by the end of God of War III, there were no compelling leads left, necessitating that Ascension be a prequel. The mainline console entries especially are still very good hack-and-slash games, but even in spite of tragic backstories and mythological storylines, Kratos remained a fairly flat character.
Kratos' enduring rage was enough to carry the games for six entries, but the series was clearly stalling by the time Ascension released in 2013. God of War possessed a certain brand of machismo that grew out of style. The early Gears of War games are cut from the same cloth, with gratuitous violence and plenty of swearing courtesy of the exceptionally muscular male leads. Alongside every horrible murder Kratos commits, God of War had a reputation for including a sex mini-game in every entry prior to Ascension, always featuring multiple topless women. The series didn't shy away from its overbearing masculinity, and there's certainly room for a discussion on how this behavior reflects on Kratos' traumatic past, but it's hard to imagine similar content being met with anything but uncomfortable confusion in a newer game.
Kratos was never a bad character per se, he was just fairly one dimensional. The voice acting is perfect for both versions of Kratos, but the newer one has much more nuance in personality. During the Greek saga, practically all Kratos did was shout and kill. The story is certainly personal, but the player doesn't have the opportunity to see Kratos develop, since he's always singularly occupied with exacting his revenge. God of War's transition to Norse mythology in 2018 reinvented the series, and brought with it a more compelling Kratos. Disillusioned with godhood, Kratos wants to quietly raise his son to avoid the same, violent fate. Leaving Greece and the remaining Olympians behind, the latest God of War forces Kratos to confront the trauma that was little more than an emotional undercurrent in the first six games.
The entire game has been revamped from top to bottom, but a new, dynamic Kratos is its most important component. Kratos' journey from Greek to Norse mythology is a literal departure from the older games' setting, but also a symbolic opportunity to explore new narrative territory. 2018's God of War still earned a Mature rating for blood and gore, intense violence, and strong language, but there is no nudity or sexual themes in the entire game. Kratos is older, wiser, and much more level-headed. The series as a whole has taken a similar turn toward more mature storytelling, centering on Kratos' second attempt at fatherhood and the unrealized consequences of his past. God of War could have gracefully faded from the spotlight as a product of its time, but the latest installment deftly pivoted to using Kratos as a vehicle for a thoughtful, narrative driven experience.