God of War‘s Kratos is a character who is defined by tragedy. Although much of this is self-inflicted, there’s no denying that at times destiny has dealt him a dreadful hand. It’s perhaps this duality that makes his story so compelling.
Throughout the series players have watched as he waged war with the gods whilst at the same time battling with the demons from his past. He’s done a lot of deplorable things during his journey, but it could easily be argued that others have wronged him just as much as he has the world and those around him.
Compiling a list of the the worst of these acts is no easy task. Thankfully though, there are 8 God of War games to analyze and pick apart, meaning that there are certainly plenty to choose from.
10 Done To Him: Baldur Threatened His Child
Whether or not Kratos could ever defy his true nature and live a normal life is certainly questionable. He seemed to have been doing a pretty good job of it in the events leading up to 2018’s God of War though.
The Blades of Chaos had been sheathed and stored away and for all intents and purposes, Kratos was a regular family man. Sure, his wife had just died and he was sometimes a pretty distant father, but he was no longer slaughtering innocents and pulverizing gods. That’s progress, right?
The road between the Wildwoods and Jötunheim is long and full of peril, so it’s certainly possible that other events throughout the arduous journey could have forced Kratos to regress. By attacking him and putting the life of Atreus at risk though, Baldur may have robbed Kratos of his last chance to live a normal life.
9 Done By Him: He Killed Baldur
It’s generally accepted that no parent should ever have to bury their child, and it should go without saying that no parent should ever be forced to watch as their child is brutally murdered in front of them.
Although the reasoning behind Kratos’ decision to kill Baldur was sound, it was not his choice to make. Whilst there’s no doubt that the world is a better place for having Freya in it, Freya’s world will never be the same again.
Not only has Kratos made an enemy for life. He has also sentenced one of the few people that was ever truly nice to him to an eternity of sadness and emptiness.
8 Done To Him: His Father Tried To Kill Him
Considering he earned his title as King of the Gods by murdering his own father, it should be pretty clear that Zeus wasn’t a particularly nice guy. He’s vengeful, self-obsessed, and is something of a philanderer to boot.
Kratos was one of the many children that Zeus fathered, but he played very little role in the Spartan’s upbringing. The absence of a male role model likely had a huge impact on Kratos’ social development and may have also contributed towards the venomous rage with which he is perhaps best associated.
For Zeus to then try to kill his son will no doubt have inflicted further damage to Kratos’ already mangled psyche.
7 Done By Him: He Killed His Father
The English language is a peculiar thing. Despite containing nearly half a million words, it’s still littered with lexical gaps. One area where it doesn’t fall short though is ‘killing’ words. There are more than 100 of them – and from deicide (the killing of a god) to siblicide (the killing of a sibling) – Kratos has carried out his fair share.
Perhaps the worst of his killings however, was that of his father. In many religions and cultures, patricide is seen as one of the worst sins imaginable. Zeus may have had it coming, but that doesn’t detract from the gravity of Kratos’ actions.
Patricide would go on to be a prominent theme throughout Kratos’ latest outing, with Atreus taking a particular interest. When combined with his family history (not to mention the image in Jötunheim), this feels like a not so subtle foreshadowing of what’s still to come in future games.
6 Done To Him: Ares Spared His Life
To die in combat is said to have been one of the greatest honors that could befall a Spartan warrior. Whilst it’s understandable that Kratos would want to save the lives of his men, by intervening in the battle, Ares condemns Kratos to a fate far worse than death.
From this moment on, nothing goes right for Kratos, with each tragedy that fate bestows upon him seemingly worse than the last. An honorable death would have spared Kratos from all of this. It would have also saved the countless people who have fallen victim to Kratos’ blades over the years.
5 Done By Him: He Opened Pandora’s Box
A little critical thinking should be enough to tell somebody that opening a box that contains all of the world’s evil might not be the best idea. Blinded by his desire for vengeance however, Kratos simply didn’t think.
By opening the box, Kratos began a chain of events that would lead to untold pain and misery. Almost everything that happened in the wake of opening the box could have been avoided had he just taken a moment to consider the consequences. It was not only an incredibly thoughtless act, but a selfish one too.
4 Done To Him: Thanatos Kills His Younger Brother
When Kratos brought about the destruction of Mount Olympus, he fulfilled a prophecy foretold many years prior. Unfortunately for Kratos’ brother Deimos, he was mistakenly identified as the subject of this prophecy, rather than his older brother.
Abducted as a child, Deimos spent most of his life being tortured by Thanatos in the Domain of Death. Instead of directing his anger towards his tormentor though, Deimos blamed his older brother for failing to rescue him from a lifetime of anguish and misery.
Although the siblings eventually reconciled, their reunion was cut bitterly short when Thanatos killed Deimos in a brutal battle. Having for a moment been given a glimmer of hope that he was not alone in the world must have made the pain of Kratos’ loss all the more palpable.
3 Done By Him: He Lied To His Son
Not only did Kratos put Atreus’ life at risk by keeping his true nature from him, he also deprived him of the chance to properly come to terms with the information. The lie lead to Atreus developing a somewhat literal god complex which will likely have catastrophic consequences moving forwards.
Kratos told himself that the secret was designed to keep his son from following in his footsteps. In keeping the information hidden though, he instead set Atreus on the exact same path.
The killing of a defenseless Modi perfectly illustrates the true impact of Kratos’ decision. Buried beneath Atreus’ sunny disposition, there now lies a darkness that could resurface again at any moment. Any damage or pain that this darkness inflicts is entirely on Kratos.
2 Done To Him: Ares Tricked Him Into Killing His Family
The Fallen God is responsible for much of the tragedy in Kratos’ life. From abducting his younger brother, to forcing him into servitude, Ares made the Spartan’s life a living hell. Undoubtedly the worst thing that he did however, was manipulating Kratos into killing his wife and infant daughter.
He may have gotten his revenge, but Kratos will never be able to truly forgive himself for what he did.
1 Done By Him: He Ransacked The Village
Having just watched as his blades of chaos tore through a village of innocent people made it very difficult to feel too sorry for Kratos when he realized that he had just killed his family. Any right to empathy he may have had was forfeited the moment he agreed to butcher defenseless women and children.
That Kratos’ bloodlust led to the death of his wife and daughter is certainly a tragedy. There’s no denying that. That said, it is an entirely self-inflicted wound and one that he will have to carry with him for the rest of his life. No matter how far he runs or how much he tries to deny his true nature, he will always be the Ghost of Sparta.
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