History NightmareFuel / GodOfWar

** The worst part is he's begging for his life the whole time and his pleas get more and more frantic and desperate the further you progress. When you finally reach the chamber, he's crying out for the gods to save him only to be ''burned alive'' shortly afterwards. Curiously, the preceding scene seems to imply that [[EvenEvilHasStandards even Kratos isn't happy about having to do this.]]

* The Colossus of Rhodes in the second game. Zeus steals Kratos' godly powers and imbues it into the great Colossus, animating the gigantic statue and seemingly gives it a monstrous intellect, enough to make it zero in on Kratos and chase him across the whole island. Its incredibly disturbing to see the blank, frozen face of the Colossus peer in through the windows of the buildings as it searches for you. This is especially bad if you happen to have a fear of statues. Its even worse the times it breaks its blank facial expression and ''screams''. Imagine a Weeping Angel that is a 100 feet high.

** The scene before it comes into view is also quite terrifying, with Kratos dumped into the [[NothingisScarier pitch black ocean after fighting massive tentacles, not quite knowing what will come out.]] [[OhCrap And then Alecto's piercing eyes come into view...]]

*** For those unwilling to murder said soldier, the scene is changed in the PAL version, replacing the trapped Athenian with a zombie soldier. Although this variation gives Kratos a [[SlasherSmile truly creepy smile]] when he realizes what he has to do.

** For bonus horror, the soldier in question is voiced by none other than Creator/RobPaulsen. That's right, [[WesternAnimation/PinkyAndTheBrain Pinky]]/[[WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}} Yakko]]/[[WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles1987 Raphael]]/[[WesternAnimation/JimmyNeutronBoyGenius Carl Wheezer]] is begging you for mercy while you (probably a late teen or twenty-something at the time of the game's release) ''kill your own childhood.''

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ourhero_5.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350: '''[[EyeScream (L3+R3)]]''']]

* Clotho, the Fate who spins the threads of life, from ''God Of War II'' is creepy. For one thing, her lair is dark and ominous, as opposed to the rest of the Temple of the Fates, which is bright and majestic. Plus, her lair is strewn about with threads in a way that is reminiscent of cobwebs. As for Clotho herself, she's a monster so massive she even makes Jabba the Hutt look like Calista Flockhart. Her skin is a sickly dark gray and zombie-like, covered with disturbingly lesion or blister-like growths. To top it all off, she has multiple breasts and spindly little arms sticking out of her body. And last but not least, there's that little speech she makes when you first see her: "It is through my threads that all life is born. You must not tamper with destiny, Kratos. You will destroy everything!" Kratos may not be afraid of anything, but we're not so lucky.

* In the third game, when [[spoiler: Hephaestus tries to kill you]] by slamming his glowing hot chisel down on you, fail the quick-time event and [[SchmuckBait see what happens.]] [[spoiler: He gleefully grinds you to a pulp yo save his creation Pandora from being part of, on average, semi-collateral damage.]]

** For bonus horror, the soldier in question is voiced by none other than Creator/RobPaulsen. That's right, [[WesternAnimation/PinkyAndTheBrain Pinky]]/[[WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}} Yakko]]/[[WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles1987 Raphael]] is begging you for mercy while you (probably a late teen or twenty-something at the time of the game's release) ''kill your own childhood.''

** Even worse is that Kratos himself is shown to be horrified and disturbed by the atrocious he commits, and when the dust settles he can only mutter in horror of WhatHaveIBecome in his pursuit of vengeance.

* How about we start with [[VillainProtagonist Kratos himself]]? That this single petulant, PsychopathicManChild is willing to essentially destroy reality itself purely in a fit of pique is bad enough. The cruelties he inflicts on innocents and monsters alike are the stuff of nightmares. Worst of all? You have to ''play'' as him.

* In the first ''God Of War'', in order to proceed, Kratos must "escort" a trapped, live, innocent soldier to a room, where he is sacrificed to open a door, which is bad enough, in and of itself.

* As horrible as the Gods are, each one is a CosmicKeystone. Every time a god dies, something horrible happens. Poseidon? The ocean levels rise to flood the world except for the highest mountaintops. Hades? The dead wander the world aimlessly. Helios? The sun is blocked by perpetual storm clouds. Hermes? A plague of biting insects bursts from his evaporating body and infects everyone with disease. Hera? All plant life in the world withers. Zeus? The whole world falls into complete chaos. And Kratos giveth ''no'' shits.
* You know the horrible brutality Kratos inflicts on his enemies? The horrible part is that almost all of them deserved it, especially the bosses. If they aren't horrendous, rampaging mindless monsters, they are cruel, petty gods or arrogant "heroes". The worst part of the world of God Of War isn't what Kratos turned it into, its that everyone he killed along the way absolutely refused to accept any responsibility for what happened. Ares, Zeus, The Fates, the Furies, all of them are just as responsible as Kratos.
* The games show ''just'' what kind of [[CrapsackWorld world]] would realistically exist under the Greek [[JerkassGods Gods of Olympus]]. It is a world where [[YouCanNotFightFate no matter how hard you try, you can't escape your destiny through any normal means]] ([[spoiler:though Kratos did it by ''killing'' those who controlled his destiny]]); [[TheWorldIsAlwaysDoomed giant monsters are constantly shown throughout the land slaughtering innocent folk]]; and [[CosmicHorrorStory human beings are completely under the dominion of sociopathic and divine beings who see them as little more than ants]].

* In the third game, when [[spoiler: Hephaestus tries to kill you]] by slamming his glowing hot chisel down on you, fail the quick-time event and [[SchmuckBait see what happens.]] [[spoiler: He gleefully grinds you to a pulp.]]

* A few of the songs on the soundtrack fit the bill, like ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pthpvZjUd3k Battle in the Bog]]'' with its oppressive horns and ominous whispers, or the Film/{{Jaws}}-like ''[[Rage of Sparta]]'', which plays when Kratos has an Olympian at his (non-existent) mercy and is about to kill them in horrendous, agonizing fashion.

* Just listen to the song, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1s2u8MOFmY Battle in the Bog]]. NothingIsScarier than this.

** Kratos ripping off Helios' head... [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRFNX9ma9Zc * shudders* ]]. Oh, and if ''that'' wasn't enough, Helios' head is promptly used as a macabre lantern by Kratos. One that ''screams in pain'' whenever you use it, meaning that Helios is [[AndIMustScream at least somewhat alive and cognizant.]]

** Hermes dies from the shock of getting both of his legs cut off specifically so that Kratos could take his boots. The worst part how after Kratos cuts off the first leg, he starts slowly marching toward Hermes, who's desperately trying to crawl from him and begging the spartan to leave him alone.

* As horrible as the Gods are, each one is a CosmicKeystone. Every time a god dies, something horrible happens. Poseidon? The ocean levels rise to flood the world except for the highest mountaintops. Hades? The dead wander the world aimlessly. Helios? The sun is blocked by perpetual storm clouds. Hermes? A plague of biting insects bursts from his evaporating body and infects everyone with disease. Hera? All plant life in the world withers. Zeus? The whole world falls into complete chaos.

* The games show ''just'' what kind of world would realistically exist under the Greek Gods of Olympus. It is a world where [[YouCanNotFightFate no matter how hard you try, you can't escape your destiny through any normal means]] ([[spoiler:though Kratos did it by ''killing'' those who controlled his destiny]]); [[TheWorldIsAlwaysDoomed giant monsters are constantly shown throughout the land slaughtering innocent folk]]; and [[CosmicHorrorStory human beings are completely under the dominion of sociopathic and divine beings who see them as little more than ants]].

** The fight with Cronos is filled to the brim with {{Gorn}}. Cronos makes the grave mistake of swallowing Kratos alive. Which gives Kratos the opportunity to cut his stomach open with the Blade of Olympus. ''That part'' just leaves Cronos in horrible pain. Kratos busts open the giant stone in the titan’s belly button and it gets jettisoned into Cronos’s chin. Worse, he can’t get it out because of the chains attached to it and his wrists. This ''still'' doesn't kill him. Kratos stabs him in the forehead with the Blade of Olympus. [[RasputinianDeath ''That'' finally kills him, though he spends several seconds staggering around, screaming in agony and desperately trying to pull the stone spike from his chin before he finally, ''finally'' topples over dead.]]

* Clotho, the Fate who spins the threads of life, from ''God Of War II'' is creepy. For one thing, her lair is dark and ominous, as opposed to the rest of the Temple of the Fates, which is bright and majestic. Plus, her lair is strewn about with threads in a way that is reminiscent of cobwebs. As for Clotho herself, she's a monster so massive she even makes Jabba the Hutt look like Calista Flockhart. Her skin is a sickly dark gray and zombie-like. To top it all off, she has multiple breasts and spindly little arms sticking out of her body. And last but not least, there's that little speech she makes when you first see her: "It is through my threads that all life is born. You must not tamper with destiny, Kratos. You will destroy everything!" Kratos may not be afraid of anything, but we're not so lucky.

** The scene before it comes into view is also quite terrifying, with Kratos dumped into the [[NothingisScarier pitch black ocean After fighting massive tentacles, not quite knowing what will come out.]] [[OhCrap And then Alecto piercing eyes come into view...]]

** Hell, most of the bosses in Ascension, which could easily be renamed "BodyHorror parade". Castor and Pollux are reimagined as siamese twin mutants, instead of zombies the Furies use parasitical arthropods that hideously mutate their victims, the Furies themselves. It's like someone decided to remake ''Film/TheThing1982'' in classical Greece.

** The first-person beatdown of Poseidon, from HIS perspective, meaning through most of it you're treated to a close-up of the page picture: Kratos's psychotically furious expression as he pummels the Ocean God to a bloody pulp before ''gouging out his eyes'', snapping his neck and tossing his lifeless body from Olympus.

** Kratos ripping off Helios' head... [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRFNX9ma9Zc * shudders* ]]

** The fight with Cronos is filled to the brim with gorn. Cronos makes the grave mistake of swallowing Kratos alive. Which gives Kratos the opportunity to cut his stomach open with the Blade of Olympus. ''That part'' just leaves Cronos in horribly pain. Kratos busts open the giant Onyx stone in the titan’s belly button and it gets jettisoned into Cronos’s chin. Worse, he can’t get it out because of the chains attached to it. This ''still'' didn’t kill him. Kratos finished him with a stab to the forehead with the Blade of Olympus.
** Zeus' death. Kratos tosses the Blades of Exile aside in favor savagely beating Zeus to death, to the point where the ''screen is completely stained in his blood''. And even then Kratos is ''still'' beating him how ever long the player wants.