IT’S been four years since the last God of War game came out, and 17 years since the first.
There is a long and quite deep lore to the God of War series, and we’ve more than likely forgotten most of it since we last played.
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To make things easier, here’s our recap of the story so far, so you’re ready for God of War Ragnarök.
God of War (2005)
Before the reboot, God of War was originally based on Greek mythology, and Kratos was the leader of the Spartan army.
He made a pact with the god of war, Ares, offering to serve him in exchange for the power of the Blades of Chaos.
Kratos is then commanded to attack a village full of worshippers of Athena. However, it’s a trap as Ares has moved Kratos’ family to the village.
The Spartan kills his family, and becomes cursed as the ashes of his wife and child cling to his skin.
Seeking revenge on Ares, he serves the other gods until Athena tasks him with slaying Ares to gain forgiveness.
After an arduous journey, he opens Pandora’s Box and gains the power to defeat the god of war.
He is still plagued by his regret, and tries to commit suicide. However, Athena brings him back and replaces Ares on Mount Olympus with Kratos, now the new god of war.
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God of War 2 (2007)
Some time after the events of the first game, Kratos has made a number of enemies on Mount Olympus.
During an attack on Rhodes that Kratos leads, Zeus fools him into giving up the powers he gained from Pandora’s Box.
Zeus wants to gain back Kratos’ loyalty, but he refuses, and Zeus murders the whole Spartan Army in retaliation.
On his second revenge mission against the gods, Kratos goes back in time to prevent his own death — his third to date.
He then fights Zeus bringing him to his knees; however, Athena sacrifices herself as Kratos aims to deal the final blow.
Zeus then reveals that he is Kratos’ father. However, Kratos is still not best pleased and decides to recruit an army of titans, in order to bring down the whole of Olympus.
God of War 3 (2010)
The third game starts with the titans attacking Olympus. They manage to kill Poseidon, but Zeus manages to fight them back.
Kratos falls to his death, and the titan Gaia refuses to try to save him. As with everyone who crosses Kratos, he now wants to kill her.
Athena, who ascended by her sacrifice, helps Kratos as he slays Hades and releases the souls of the underworld.
He finds Gaia, who is now wounded, and cuts off her arm, leaving her for dead.
Back to the initial plan of murdering Zeus, he kills Hermes, Hephaestus, Hera, and Cronos along the way.
Turns out Gaia wasn’t dead, but on her third meeting with Kratos, he makes sure to finish the job.
Kratos then goes to kill Zeus, but Zeus’ spirit goes to remove Kratos’ powers again.
At the last minute, Kratos learns to forgive himself for killing his family, gaining the power of hope and murders Zeus for good.
Athena demands that Kratos return the power of hope, but Kratos instead decides to kill himself, bringing the times Kratos has died so far up to five.
God of War (2018)
The reboot moves Kratos’ story into Norse mythology, but fans should note that this is still the same Kratos that continuously murdered everyone he met, including himself, in the first three games.
Before the story starts, we find out that Kratos has fallen in love with a mortal woman, Faye, and they make a home in Midgard with their son, Atreus.
Kratos tries to keep the fact that he’s a god secret, but eventually Faye finds out.
Faye dies, which leads to the start of the game where we see Kratos and Atreus start their journey to carry out her dying wish: to scatter her ashes at the highest peak.
Father and son bond and overcome the trials along the way. This of course includes a spot of god murder.
Kratos murders Magni, while Atreus takes out Modi, and Baldur is taken out along the way. This time Kratos is the target of revenge from Baldur’s mother, Freya.
Once the pair arrive at the peak, they discover that Faye was not a mortal, but a frost giant heroine called Laufey.
This is when we find out that Atreus is actually the god Loki.
If that didn’t make any sense, you’re not alone, just know that there will likely be a lot of murder and awesome action in the upcoming God of War Ragnarök.
Written by Ryan Woodrow and Georgina Young on behalf of GLHF.
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