Kratos is a mess. Honestly, if you look at the track record across all the games of God of War, the dude has spent two decades being the most consistently stressed-out person in digital history. He’s gone from a pixelated, screaming ball of rage on the PlayStation 2 to a weary, bearded father in the snowy forests of Midgard. It’s a lot to process. Most people think it’s just about hitting square and triangle until a Hydra dies, but if you actually sit down and play through the entire timeline, you realize Santa Monica Studio was basically writing a multi-billion dollar opera about trauma.
I remember picking up the original game back in 2005. The scale was stupidly big for the hardware. You’re on a boat in the middle of a storm, fighting a three-headed snake that’s larger than your house, and then you just... keep going. That’s the magic. But keeping track of the chronology is a nightmare because the release order is all over the place. You've got prequels on the PSP, mobile spin-offs that everyone forgot, and a soft reboot that changed the entire genre.
The Greek Era: Pure, Unfiltered Chaos
The story started with the 2005 original God of War. It was simple. Kratos, the Ghost of Sparta, wants to kill Ares because Ares tricked him into a "family-ending" mistake. It’s brutal. The combat felt heavy in a way other games didn't. Most people forget that God of War II actually pushed the PS2 to its absolute breaking point in 2007. It came out after the PS3 was already launched, which was a bold move. It’s widely considered one of the best sequels ever made, mostly because it starts with you fighting a giant bronze statue and ends with you literally punching Fate in the face.
Then came God of War III on the PS3. This is where the budget went through the roof. The opening sequence on the back of the Titan Gaia is still a technical marvel. It’s peak "Angry Kratos." He isn't a hero here; he’s a force of nature. He kills basically the entire Greek census. Poseidon? Gone. Hades? Dead. Helios? Head ripped off and used as a flashlight. It was the "end" of the trilogy, but Sony wasn't done.
The Prequels and the "In-Between" Games
If you want the full picture of all the games of God of War, you have to talk about the handheld titles. Ready at Dawn handled Chains of Olympus and Ghost of Sparta on the PSP. Don't sleep on these. Ghost of Sparta actually explains Kratos' brother, Deimos, and why Kratos has that specific red tattoo. It adds a layer of humanity that the main console games sometimes skipped over in favor of gore.
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God of War: Ascension is the weird one. Released in 2013, it was a prequel to everything. It introduced a multiplayer mode that nobody really asked for, and while the graphics were stunning, the "fatigue" was real. People were tired of the rage. The series needed a pulse check.
The Norse Shift: Fatherhood and Forgiveness
In 2018, everything changed. Cory Barlog and the team at Santa Monica decided Kratos shouldn't just be a screaming meathead anymore. They moved him to Scandinavia. God of War (2018) is a masterpiece of restraint. No more fixed camera angles. No more "press O to win" mini-games. It was one continuous shot. That’s insane. Think about the technical difficulty of a 40-hour game with no camera cuts.
Kratos has a son, Atreus. The dynamic shifted from "revenge" to "don't be a jerk to your kid." It worked because we all grew up. The teenagers who played the 2005 game were now parents in 2018. We felt that weight. We understood why Kratos was terrified of his own past.
Then God of War Ragnarök landed in 2022. It had to wrap up a massive Norse prophecy. It’s a dense game. Some people felt the pacing was a bit off in the middle—too many trips to Vanaheim, maybe—but the emotional payoff? Unmatched. Seeing Kratos see a mural where he is finally worshipped as a "good" god? It's the first time the series felt like it had a soul instead of just a pulse.
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The Valhalla DLC: A Surprising Epilogue
Most "live service" games give you a new skin and call it a day. God of War Ragnarök: Valhalla was a free roguelike expansion that acted as a therapy session for Kratos. It forced him to literally walk through his past. You fight enemies from the Greek games. You hear the old music. It’s a bridge between the two eras that many fans didn't know they needed. It’s arguably the most important piece of "extra" content in the franchise because it provides actual closure.
The Full List of God of War Games
If you are trying to play them all, here is the messy reality of the release order versus the "where do I find them" reality:
- God of War (2005): The PS2 original. Best played now via the streaming classics on PS Plus.
- God of War II (2007): The pinnacle of PS2 action.
- God of War: Betrayal (2007): A 2D mobile game. Yes, it’s canon. No, you probably can't play it easily today.
- God of War: Chains of Olympus (2008): PSP prequel.
- God of War III (2010): The PS4 Remaster is the way to go here. It runs at 60fps and looks incredible.
- God of War: Ghost of Sparta (2010): The other PSP gem. Very personal story.
- God of War: Ascension (2013): The prequel about the Furies. Only on PS3 or streaming.
- God of War (2018): The Norse reboot. Available on PS4, PS5, and PC.
- God of War Ragnarök (2022): The end of the Norse saga.
- Valhalla (2023): The free DLC that every fan must play.
Technical Evolution and the "One-Shot" Gimmick
It’s hard to overstate how much the "no-cut" camera in the Norse games changed the industry. In the old games, the camera was a cinematic tool used to show scale. You’d see Kratos as a tiny speck against a massive Titan. In the new games, the camera is glued to his shoulder. You feel every hit. You see every wrinkle in his face.
This change wasn't just for show. It forced the writers to be better. You couldn't just cut away to a different location; you had to travel there. You had to listen to Mimir tell stories on a boat. It turned the "down time" into the best part of the game. Honestly, the lore drops while rowing a boat in Svartalfheim are better than most other games' main stories.
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Common Misconceptions About the Series
A lot of people think Kratos is a villain. In the Greek games, yeah, he's definitely not a "good guy." He kills innocent people just to open doors. Literally. There’s a scene in the first game where he burns a soldier alive just to progress. But the beauty of looking at all the games of God of War as a single unit is seeing the arc of redemption.
Another big mistake is skipping the handheld games. If you go straight from God of War II to III, you miss the emotional context of Kratos’ relationship with his mother and brother. You miss why he hates the gods so much beyond just "they were mean to me." The PSP titles give him a heart.
How to Experience the Franchise Today
If you’re new to this, don't feel like you have to play the 2005 game first. It’s aged well, but the gameplay loop is very different from modern standards.
- Start with God of War (2018). It’s the most accessible entry point. It explains enough of the past that you won't be lost, but stays focused on the new stuff.
- Move to Ragnarök. It’s a direct sequel. You can’t play one without the other.
- Go back to God of War III Remastered. If you want to see Kratos at his most powerful and most unhinged, this is the peak.
- Use the PS Plus Premium Tier. This is the only legitimate way to play Ascension and the PSP titles on modern hardware through streaming.
The legacy of these games isn't just the combat. It’s the way Santa Monica Studio refused to let the character stay stagnant. They took a one-dimensional avatar of 2000s "edginess" and turned him into a complex study of aging and fatherhood. Whether he's ripping the wings off a Valkyrie or trying to have a difficult conversation with his son, Kratos remains the most compelling figure in gaming.
The next step is simple: if you haven't played the Valhalla DLC yet, do it. It’s free if you own Ragnarök, and it’s the perfect capstone to Kratos’ journey so far. It sets the stage for wherever the series goes next—be it Egypt, Japan, or somewhere else entirely.