God of War is a 2018 action-adventure game developed by Santa Monica Studio and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It was released worldwide for the PlayStation 4 in April 2018, with a Windows port released in January 2022. It is the eighth game in the God of War series and the sequel to 2010's God of War III.

While previous games were based on Greek mythology, God of War transitioned to Norse mythology, and takes places in mythical ancient Scandinavia in the realm of Midgard. Players control Kratos, who embarks on a journey with his son, Atreus, to scatter the ashes of Atreus's mother from the highest peak of the nine realms. Kratos keeps his past a secret from Atreus, who is unaware he is a demigod. Along their journey, they come into conflict with monsters and gods of the Norse world.

Described by creative director Cory Barlog as a reimagining of the franchise, a major gameplay change is that Kratos now uses a magical battle axe, the Leviathan Axe, instead of his signature double-chained blades. The game also uses an over-the-shoulder free camera, with the game in one shot, as opposed to the fixed cinematic camera of the previous entries. It also includes role-playing game elements, and Kratos's son Atreus provides assistance in combat. The majority of the original game's development team worked on God of War and designed it to be accessible and grounded. A short text-based game, A Call from the Wilds, was released in February 2018 through Facebook Messenger and follows Atreus on his first adventure. A smartphone app, Mímir's Vision, was released three days before the release, providing additional information about the Norse setting.

God of War received acclaim for its story, world design, art direction, music, graphics, combat system, and characters, in particular the dynamic between Kratos and Atreus. Many reviewers felt it had successfully revitalized the series without losing its core identity. It was named Game of the Year by numerous media outlets and award shows, and has been cited as among the greatest video games. It sold more than five million copies within a month of release and had sold 23 million by November 2022, making it one of the best-selling PlayStation 4 games and the best-selling game in the series. A novelization was released in August 2018, followed by a prequel comic series published from November 2018 to June 2021, while a live-action television series is in development for Amazon Prime Video. A sequel, God of War Ragnarök, was released for the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 in 2022, and for Windows in 2024.

Gameplay God of War is an action-adventure game. Unlike the previous games, which mostly use a fixed cinematic camera, it uses an over-the-shoulder camera. It is presented in a continuous shot, with no camera cuts or loading screens. Although the previous main installment, Ascension (2013), introduced multiplayer to the series, this installment is single-player-only. Regarding the level structure, creative director Cory Barlog said "it's open, but it is not an open world." Due to its openness, a fast travel feature is unlocked later. Swimming, an ability in previous games, was cut; players instead use a boat to traverse bodies of water. Unlike previous games, which allowed players to jump freely at any time, jumping can now only be done at designated areas, such as at a rock face or ledge. Players battle Norse mythological foes, like dark elves, wulvers, and draugrs, as well as Gullveig and the revenants, beings warped by seiðr magic, among many others. Valkyries appear as optional secret boss battles throughout the six playable locations. Among the many side quests, players can free the imprisoned dragons Fáfnir, Otr, and Reginn—dwarves who were turned into dragons—in addition to battling one called Hræzlyr, a story-based boss battle.

The player controls the character Kratos in combo-based combat and puzzle game elements. The gameplay was completely rebuilt from previous games. A major change is that Kratos no longer uses his signature double-chained blades, the Blades of Chaos, as his default weapon. Instead, he uses a magical battle axe called the Leviathan Axe, which is infused with ice elemental magic. The axe can be thrown at enemies and magically summoned back to his hand, similar to Thor's hammer Mjölnir. Larger enemies have precision targets which stun the enemy if hit. The weapon can also be thrown at objects to freeze or move mechanisms, or trigger damaging explosions, until returned to Kratos's hand. The axe has standard light and heavy attacks. Over time, it can be upgraded with runes to allow for light and heavy magical "runic" attacks. This provides players with a variety of options to cater to their own play style. Another new weapon is the collapsible Guardian Shield, which appears as a vambrace on his arm when not in use. The shield can be used offensively or defensively, similar to the Golden Fleece in previous games. Kratos also utilizes hand-to-hand combat, a feature originally introduced in Ascension. The Blades of Chaos, infused with fire elemental magic, are acquired later via a plot device and perform in a similar manner as in previous installments—they are a pair of blades attached to chains that can be swung around in various maneuvers. The weapon can also be upgraded with magical runic attacks.

As in the earlier games, there is a "Rage" ability, this one called Spartan Rage. Like in previous games, the Rage ability has a meter that gradually fills during combat. With this ability, Kratos uses powerful bare-handed attacks, as opposed to weapons, to greatly damage enemies. The game also features role-playing game (RPG) elements. There are crafting resources for the player to find that allow them to create new or upgrade existing armor with better perks. Players also accumulate a currency called Hacksilver, a key component in crafting and purchasing new items. Experience points (XP) are used for learning new combat skills. Players find chests containing random items, such as enchantments for improving armor and weapons, as well as the Hacksilver currency. There are also two special items, Iðunn's Apples and horns of Blood Mead, which increase Kratos's maximum health and Rage, respectively. These meters are replenished by green and red orbs dropped by downed foes and found throughout the game world. For the magical runic attacks, instead of collecting blue orbs to replenish the ability (like in the previous games), there is a cooldown timer for each ability.

Quick time events have changed from previous games. Enemies display two meters above their heads, one for health (the color of which indicates the enemy's difficulty) and the other for stun. Filling the stun meter helps to defeat more difficult enemies. When the stun meter is full, a grab prompt will appear. Depending on the enemy, Kratos may rip them in half or grab them and throw them into other enemies, among other possible outcomes. Although the game is played entirely as Kratos, there are times when the player may choose to passively control his son, Atreus. One button is dedicated to Atreus, and its use depends on the context. For example, if the player needs assistance, they can look at an enemy and press the button, and Atreus will shoot an arrow at the enemy. Over the course of the game, Atreus helps in combat, traversal, exploration, and puzzle-solving. When facing a large number of enemies, he distracts the weaker ones as Kratos fights the stronger ones. If too many enemies gang up on Atreus, he is briefly stunned, but he cannot be knocked out or killed. Atreus also acquires new skills, armor, and runic attacks, as well as special light and shock arrows for his bow. Atreus's runic attacks summon different spectral animals with different abilities. For example, one summons a pack of wolves that attacks enemies, while another summons the squirrel Ratatoskr, who will dig up health and rage orbs.

Synopsis Setting While the first seven games were loosely based on Greek mythology, this installment is loosely inspired by Norse mythology, taking place at least 150 years after God of War III (2010). Six of the nine realms of Norse mythology can be explored. Predating the Vikings, most of the game takes place in ancient Scandinavia in the realm of Midgard, which is inhabited by humans and other creatures. It is the same realm in which the Greek world existed. As more dangerous creatures began appearing, many humans fled. Other realms visited as part of the story include Alfheim, the mystical home of the light and dark elves; Helheim, the icy land of the dead; and Jötunheim, the mountainous land of the Giants. Optional explorable realms include Niflheim, a realm of poisonous fog with a maze-like structure of rewards; and the fire realm Muspelheim, featuring the six Trials of Muspelheim—completing each trial grants rewards and advances Kratos and Atreus closer to the top of a large volcano, facing off Göndul, one of the nine Valkyries. Access to the other three realms—Asgard, home of the Æsir gods; Vanaheim, home of the Vanir gods; and Svartalfheim, home of the dwarves—has been blocked by Odin, the ruler of Asgard and the Æsir gods. At the center of the realms is the mythical tree Yggdrasil, which connects each realm. Although each realm is a different world, they exist simultaneously in the same space. Travel to and from realms can be done by using the Bifröst from a root of Yggdrasil contained within Týr's Temple at the center of the Lake of the Nine. The temple was created by its namesake, Týr, a peaceful God of War who traveled to other lands and learned about their mythologies; it was told that Odin had him killed as he believed Týr was secretly aiding the Giants and would try to overthrow him.

Characters

Kratos (Christopher Judge) is a warrior from Sparta who became the Greek God of War and is a son of Zeus. After ending up in ancient Scandinavia following his war against Olympus, he met his second wife, Laufey (addressed as Faye), who died from an unknown cause. Their son, Atreus (Sunny Suljic)., does not know about Kratos's past or his divine nature but can hear other beings' thoughts. The main antagonist is the Æsir god Baldur (Jeremy Davies), the half-brother of Thor, whose sons Modi and Magni (Nolan North and Troy Baker, respectively) assist him. Baldur's parents are Odin, the Allfather and King of the Æsir, and the Vanir goddess Freya (Danielle Bisutti), the former Queen of the Valkyries. Freya tried leaving Odin after he began corrupting her Vanir magic, but he in turn stripped her of her Valkyrie wings, banished her to Midgard, and cast a spell on her that prevented her from causing harm to others and from leaving the realm. She then hid her identity under an alias, the Witch of the Woods. To protect her son from a prophecy that foretold his death, Freya cast a spell of immortality on Baldur, which also prevented him from feeling pain or pleasure. The effects of the spell caused Baldur to greatly resent his mother. The only thing capable of harming him was mistletoe, a fact which Freya kept secret.

Other characters include Mímir (Alastair Duncan), who claims to be the smartest man alive, and the Huldra Brothers—Brok (Robert Craighead) and Sindri (Adam J. Harrington)—dwarves who appear at various points in the world and assist Kratos and Atreus by forging new gear. Weapons forged by the Huldra Brothers, including Thor's hammer Mjölnir, were used by the Æsir gods. They also forged Kratos's Leviathan Axe, which originally belonged to Faye, who also gifted Kratos her Guardian Shield. The spirit of the Greek goddess Athena (Carole Ruggier) makes a cameo appearance, and Zeus (Corey Burton) appears to Kratos as an illusion in Helheim.

Plot