Kratos: Kratos’s. War God. Father. The son of Zeus comes to a very human halt with the birth of his son, Atreus. Throughout this game we see Kratos not only show a more human side than any of the other games in the franchise but become a model figure for his son on what happens when you have too much power, and how to find your humanity in the godhood that has graced your being.
Chasing Humanity:
Being the only game character in existence who should have a god complex, Kratos does not have one. His strength, his power, his loss more importantly created his humanity. Now, being that he is a Demi-God born to Zues and Callisto, Kratos lacks his humanity to the point in which he has made himself into a monster. Killing his family, his father and now in this game not wanting to experience that tries desperately to not only teach himself but his son that great power, comes with great responsibility.
The responsibility of a demigod holds the greatest thing of all. The ambidexterity to belong in both worlds flawlessly, which is a task that cannot be done swiftly but with practice and determination. Kratos teaches his son that holding the title of a god is not something to flaunt, but to respect. And psychologically it creates a narrative that while yes, you may be powerful, you are just like everyone else. You have thoughts, feelings, rage, lust, fear. All of it mixes into a lovely concoction that is one's humanity. The god part is an additive in the DNA. Even with Balder, he longs to be human he CRAVES it. Upon getting injured he sadistically revels in the fact that he can feel something, that he can feel the pain that is being inflicted upon him. All the characters are so human in the way in which they struggle. It’s beautiful.
Two Worlds Collide:
So Norse mythology and Greek mythology walk into a bar….
KIDDING,
In all honesty the combining the histories and mythologies of the Greek and the Norse makes for an interesting story, setting and overall construction of the game. There are major differences in the game that really set it apart from the rest and show us that every culture, while different can work cohesively in a story. The Norse feared their gods tremendously and in Norse mythos it said that:
"They might, or might not, punish those who violated social norms, and in some cases they actively engineer situations that were designed to harm humans, for no other reason than because they could, because that is what made them powerful," Raffield said. "So, it seems that they were not especially concerned about upholding moral standards or punishing humans who failed to do so."
Live science.
it looks like humans and the world were the Norse god's playground and the gods were the bully with a microscope burning the anthill. In all reality the Norse people didn’t and weren’t expected to uphold a moral code. This links back to Kratos not giving a damn one way or another who he hurt before the 2018 installment of God of War. Now flipping the coin and going over to Greece and their gods it’s a whole different ball game. The reason Kratos shows so much humanity, more so than Norse gods is because Greek gods are more human. They deal with lust, greed, some of them are ugly and jealous. Since the Greek gods were more of a representations of the way nature is, it explains why Kratos and the Norse gods butt heads and why he can’t stand Odin. Kratos is the representation of war and the psychological need to control the moment. Odin is a barbaric control freak who needs everything his way. He is the ID in its truest fashion with Ego moments. Now, in the mythos Odin had two sons Thor and Loki. Thor is order, Loki is chaos and Odin is balance. But, in the game Thor is a sadistic asshole, Loki is Kratos’s son who has a mean shot and like stated previously Odin, is Odin, he’s a barbaric control freak that everyone hates.
To Valhalla: I truly loved this game. It was wonderfully done and to be honest I didn’t think combining Greek and Norse mythos would be combined so well, but it works. The flow, the writing, the mechanics, the voice acting everything about this game is truly wonderful and such an amazing experience. Kratos shows us that no matter your strength, no matter what you were born with there will be struggle. There will be successes and there will be tough choices that you have to make in order to survive and keep the ones you love safe.