Kratos, the Ghost of Sparta, has long been characterized by his unbridled rage and brutal quest for vengeance. But as God of War’s series of games has grown up, so too has its hero. The older, wiser Kratos we meet in the Norse saga is far removed from the cold-blooded demigod who once ran rampant throughout Olympus. Now, with hindsight and maturity, Kratos is tormented by the products of his past deeds. Let’s look at the six largest regrets that continue to influence Kratos’ path.
1. Murdering His Family
No regret hangs larger over Kratos than the death of his wife and daughter. Tricked by Ares, Kratos was manipulated into killing his family, an action that pushed him towards seeking revenge and eventually to the fall of Olympus. Even though he’s under Ares’ command, the shame never left him. This tragedy is the emotional core of the entire franchise and propels Kratos to hatred for the gods and self-loathing. The ruins of Olympus are a constant reminder of the weight of this guilt.
2. Killing the Boat Captain
Something which started as a darkly humorous recurring gag in the original God of War has turned into a source of true regret for Kratos. In his juvenile life, Kratos wasn’t gentle with the hapless boat captain, firstly letting him be devoured by the Hydra to get a very important key, and later pushing him into the river Styx in the Underworld. Kratos relates this episode to Mimir in God of War Ragnarok’s Valhalla DLC and is guilty of his hardness of heart. He concedes that the captain was but a mere mortal, scared and powerless, and that Kratos himself was the monster then.
3. His Bloody Rampage Against Olympus
Kratos’ war against the gods of Olympus was infamous for blood and spectacle. But years later, he’s come to learn the hollowness of his revenge. Kratos tells his son Atreus in God of War (2018) that his history was not fulfilling but rather full of more suffering. The majority of the gods he killed were his own relatives, and some had committed no crime. Older Kratos is tormented and wishes to stop the cycle of violence for the sake of the future, particularly his son’s.
4. The Death of Athena
Athena was one of the few gods Kratos did not despise. Her death at the hands of Kratos, caused by his own actions in the heat of an intense duel with Zeus, was an accident. In the heat of his quest for vengeance, Kratos plunged the Blade of Olympus into Athena in error. His first reaction was shock and sadness, and this guilt has persisted with him ever since. Athena’s demise was the turning point, showing that even those he cared about were not safe from his wrath
5. Killing Helios
Helios’ gruesome killing at the hands of Kratos in God of War 3 is another thing the older Kratos ponders with remorse. In the Valhalla DLC, Kratos’ conscience hallucinates Helios as an embodiment of his remorse, forcing him to confront the tragic brutality of his actions. While Kratos needed Helios’ head to proceed, he later admits that the Sun god’s death was not fair and that his younger self would have acted otherwise.
6. Slaying Hephaestus
Hephaestus, the blacksmith Olympian outcast, shared Kratos’s scorn towards the gods. They had a close to being friendly relationship which turned out tragically when Hephaestus tried to stop Kratos from utilizing Pandora to open Pandora’s Box. Kratos killed him in self-defense, but afterwards understood that Hephaestus was acting from love for his daughter, Pandora. The remorse in Kratos’ voice when he is speaking of Hephaestus in the reboot games is evident since it displays his new empathy and awareness.
Kratos’ journey is not only defined by the battles that he has fought, but by the guilt that torments him. These moments of introspection add complexity to his character and push the God of War series beyond pure action, and onto the level of one of the all-time great stories in gaming.