It’s tough to criticize a game that’s a 10/10, but even arduous tasks must be done. 2022 Game of the Year contender God of War Ragnarök features one of the best stories in a video game this year, but one huge plot point in the end has continued to irk me. (Spoiler Warning)
Like I said, it’s difficult to criticize a game that I have not only praised as one of the 2022 Game of the Year favorites but have already given a 10/10 score to without looking like a hypocritical nitpicker. The God of War series has always been one of my favorites to play and these last two entries have been the best game produced by Sony and Santa Monica Studio in the series.
The story of Atreus and Kratos growing up in the Norse mythological world and developing their father-son bond from one of strict obedience to that of tolerance and love is one of the greatest stories ever told in the gaming sphere, if not in all of the many story-telling mediums. Yet, there was one story beat that has been bothering me ever since I beat the game a few days ago, and that is the fate of Kratos and his prophecy.
Namely, Kratos, the God of War himself, should really have died in this game.
Alright, before all the Kratos diehards come for my neck, hear me out: Kratos didn’t actually break from his nature…well, at least not enough to justify subverting the Norms and the Giants prophecies.
Kratos still managed to accomplish everything the Norms and Giants prophesized, such as killing Heimdall, bringing war to Asgard, fighting Thor, fighting Odin, and becoming the general of an army once again. Plus, he also inadvertently drove Atreus into seeing Odin (just as the Giants prophesizes) and didn’t actually do anything to rectify that mistake.
He was the God of War until the final moments of that game…which is what the Norms said would end up killing him.
(Sony/Santa Monica Studios-God of War Ragnarök-State of Play Story Trailer)
Yes, he become fatherlier to Atreus and treated him as an equal, but it was Brok that saw through Odin’s deception and exposed the All-Father’s trickery with Tyr. Not Kratos.
If everyone followed Kratos, he would have led them right into a trap that would have surely meant doom for everyone involved.
If anything, Brok should have realistically been the one who became the new All-Father as he was the reason why Odin not only couldn’t capture Kratos and his party in one fell swoop with the Tyr disguise, but he also drove a wedge (well, his death did) between Atreus and Odin that allowed Atreus to reject the mask’s promises and trap Odin’s soul at the end of the game.
I get that Kratos refused to kill Thor, but how was that going to change his fate? Thor ended up dying by Odin’s hand anyway, and Kratos helped to kill Odin. There’s nothing in the final few scenes of the game that suggested Kratos could possibly have died from any of those two altercations, which is, again, what the Norms said would happen.
Moreover, I really wasn’t a fan of how ‘Faye’s sacrifice’ was presented in the final act of the game. Having put in nearly 50 hours into a story with a solid, concrete prophecy that was backed up on numerous occasions (i.e.: the one with Kratos dying and Atreus joining Odin) to get retconned by some hidden, obscure, endgame prophecy from Faye’s decision to leave the Giants felt like a cop-out by the writers to justify Kratos’ survival.
Firstly, I don’t even know how Faye sacrificed herself to make the final mural. Was it because she broke away from her people to do it? Or did she actually sacrifice her immortality (which I’m pretty sure Giants are immortal) in order to rewrite the fate of both Kratos and Atreus? If that was the case, then that needed at least another 5-10 hours of gameplay and cutscenes to introduce without feeling like a writer’s cop-out.
Personally, if I was in charge of the story, I would have had Kratos suffering a mortal wound in the battle with Odin that could only be possibly saved by Atreus looking into the green time tear with the mask. Thus, it would actually be on Atreus, who should realistically be the new lead for the series, to conflict against his own nature by ending his search for knowledge about himself and breaking the mask.
Therefore, the Norms prophecy would actually make sense and not sound like nonsense as Atreus was able to do what his father could not: change his nature.
(Sony/Santa Monica Studios-God of War Ragnarök-State of Play Story Trailer)
Furthermore, you could have had an infinitely more emotional scene with Kratos, Atreus, and Freya (Odin would presumably be dead) as he dies right before Ragnarök would incinerate Asgard and any traces of Odin’s rule.
Though, maybe I’m being a little too nitpicky as the story as present was definitely just as solid (if not infinitely better) than my own version.
Images Source: Featured Image: (Sony/Santa Monica Studios) (God of War Ragnarök – State of Play Sep 2022 Story Trailer | PS5 & PS4 Games – YouTube)
In Text Image 1: (Sony/Santa Monica Studios) (God of War Ragnarök – State of Play Sep 2022 Story Trailer | PS5 & PS4 Games – YouTube)
In Text Image 1: (Sony/Santa Monica Studios) (God of War Ragnarök – State of Play Sep 2022 Story Trailer | PS5 & PS4 Games – YouTube)
