History VideoGame / GodOfWarSeries

* ChekhovsBoomerang: [[spoiler:Pandora's Box in the [=GoW=] 3]].

* CaptainErsatz: Sheer murderousness aside, Kratos has a few striking similarities with Hercules of legend, including accidentally killing his own family in a fit of madness, as well as his habit of tearing apart monsters and using their body parts as armor or weapons (see Hercules skinning the nigh-invulnerable Nemean lion after he killed it and wearing the skin, and dipping his arrows in the poisonous blood of the Hydra). It becomes all the more amusing when Hercules finally shows up in God of War III and claims that Kratos is stealing his thunder. Considering that Kratos has already killed the Hydra, he may well be right.

* BossRemix: In the [[VideoGame/GodOfWarIII third installment]], the final boss battle with Zeus has [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzRYCz3CV2o this song]] that contains sections from [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPRftE8qtVA Zeus Wrath Divine]] from the first God Of War and [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L09rqYVFxTk The Isle Of Creation]] from VideoGame/GodOfWarII. Both remixed themes appeared in final boss battles of their respective games.

* BoringButPractical: The series does this, but only in concept. While you can mix your light and heavy attacks to make some really cool looking moves, on higher difficulties, the only reasonable way to make progress is with the grapple moves. It instant deaths minor {{Mooks}}, sometimes killing others in the area, and you're invincible while you do it most of the time. Granted the grapple moves are pretty cool to watch, but mashing circle seems like a really boring way to fight.
** Not to mention the best attack to use when you're getting swarmed by enemies that you can't grab is to repeatedly spam your square square triangle attack. Its short enough that enemies have a hard time hitting you out of it or blocking it mid combo, and it knocks enemies into the air, stunning them. Too bad its basically the shortest combo.

* BookEnds: [[spoiler:The first begins with Kratos jumping off the highest mountain in Greece saying "the Gods of Olympus have abandoned me." He jumps off a cliff again saying the exact same line near the end of the last game, while in a vision caused by being killed (temporarily) by Zeus. Also, TheStinger at the end of the third game shows a blood trail leading from where [[NeverFoundTheBody Kratos body used to be]] to the edge of a cliff off Mt. Olympus]].

* BloodierAndGorier: Ancient Greek mythology was more violent than you'd think, but this series takes it UptoEleven.

** This is probably partly true. In God of War 2, Kratos is saved by [[spoiler: Gaia before he actually dies]] but in three, Kratos might have survived his fall from Olympus because of that exact reason. But he escaped Hell because he [[spoiler: killed Hades.]]

* BadassBeard: Kratos is the only man in the UNIVERSE who can pull of a goatee the way he does.

* AwesomenessMeter: Rage of the Gods in ''I'', Rage of the Titans in ''II'', Rage of Sparta in ''III''.

* '''''God of War: Betrayal''''' was released for mobile phones in 2007. Taking place during Kratos's crusade as the new god of war, Kratos finds himself in hot water when he's framed for the murder of one of Hera's pet monstrosities. It also details Kratos's blood lust getting the better of him, leading him to ShootTheMessenger--in this case, Hermes' son Ceryx, who had come to warn him that the gods thought Kratos's blood lust was getting the better of him. Whoops. (This the only game besides ''Ascension'' that does not feature a visit to Hades. It is also [[CanonDiscontinuity officially non-canon]].)

* AdaptationalWimp: Typhon is [[DemotedToExtra just another Titan in this series]] and is far less powerful than in the original mythology. Typhon was not a Titan, He was a monstrous enormous beast and the only being Zeus feared and [[OneManArmy almost singlehandedly overthrew him]] but was defeated.

* '''''VideoGame/GodOfWarAscension''''' was released for UsefulNotes/PlayStation3 in 2013. A prequel set six months after Kratos murdered his family, it features Kratos attempts to find a way to deal the Furies, who punish oathbreakers, with the help of a new companion Orkos in order to kill them so that he can break his blood oath from his own dealer Ares.

* ''God of War: Betrayal'' was released for mobile phones in 2007. Taking place during Kratos's crusade as the new god of war, Kratos finds himself in hot water when he's framed for the murder of one of Hera's pet monstrosities. It also details Kratos's blood lust getting the better of him, leading him to ShootTheMessenger--in this case, Hermes' son Ceryx, who had come to warn him that the gods thought Kratos's blood lust was getting the better of him. Whoops. (This the only game besides ''Ascension'' that does not feature a visit to Hades. It is also [[CanonDiscontinuity officially non-canon]].)

* '''''[[VideoGame/GodOfWarBetrayal God of War: Betrayal]]''''' was released for mobile phones in 2007. Taking place during Kratos's crusade as the new god of war, Kratos finds himself in hot water when he's framed for the murder of one of Hera's pet monstrosities. It also details Kratos's blood lust getting the better of him, leading him to ShootTheMessenger--in this case, Hermes' son Ceryx, who had come to warn him that the gods thought Kratos's blood lust was getting the better of him. Whoops. (This the only game besides ''Ascension'' that does not feature a visit to Hades. It is also [[CanonDiscontinuity officially non-canon]].)

* AllMythsAreTrue: While it predominately focuses on Greek mythology, creatures from outside the Greek pantheon have appeared. ''Chains of Olympus'' features the appearance of a Basilisk and an [[OurGeniesAreDifferent Efreet]], both from Arabian mythology. ''VideoGame/GodOfWarPS4'' takes place within Norse Mythology, [[spoiler:and according to the relics found in Tyr's Vault, [[Myth/EgyptianMythology Egyptian]], [[Myth/JapaneseMythology Japanese]], [[Myth/AztecMythology Aztec]], and possibly other realms exist as well in this universe.]]

* CosmologyCrossover: ''Chains of Olympus'' had Kratos fighting against creatures from Arabic and Persian mythology, and the 2018 game drops him in a Norse setting. [[spoiler:It's also confirmed that other mythologies do exist such as Egyptian, Chinese and South American, and they are accessible through portals in the Bifrost lake]].

* AnyoneCanDie: Kratos' mission in life is to put this trope to the test. He even gets himself killed a half dozen times([[DeathIsCheap not that they stick but...]]) Rule of thumb is that if a character shared a scene with Kratos, they would died horribly. Considering the games are literally about killing the Greek Pantheon, it shouldn't come as a surprise.

* ArcVillain: Persephone for ''Chains of Olympus''.

** How about how Kratos WALKED from Crete to Sparta in Ghost of Sparta?

* AdaptationalBadass: Some of the gods are depicted as being much stronger than the Greek Myths presented them as. Ares, the BigBad of the [[VideoGame/GodOfWar first game]], is presented as a titanic warrior the requires a MacGuffin for Kratos to have a fighting chance against, where in the Greek myths he was a coward that would run away from a fight at the first sign of trouble despite being immortal (though Ares as an AdaptationalBadass is also done in every other adaption of him--including ''Roman'' mythology), and Persephone in ''[[VideoGame/GodOfWarChainsOfOlympus Chains of Olympus]]'', who was simply mentioned as being dragged off by Hades in the Greek myths, is presented as being able to fight Kratos in hand-to-hand combat.
* AdaptationalWimp: Typhon is [[DemotedToExtra just another Titan in this series]] and is far less powerful than in the original mythology. Typhon was not a Titan, He was a monstrous enormous beast and the only being Zues feared and [[OneManArmy almost singlehandedly overthrew him]] but was defeated.

[[caption-width-right:350:[-Pictured: Kratos (left) on one of his usual Tuesday afternoons.-] ]]

* '''''[[VideoGame/GodOfWarPS4 God of War]]''''': A soft reboot of the series released on the UsefulNotes/PlayStation4 in 2018. Centuries after the events of ''III'', Kratos now lives in the woods of Midgard. [[OlderAndWiser Having turned over a new leaf and tamed his rage]], Kratos has gained a new family in [[SecondLove Faye]], a mortal huntress, and then [[WellDoneSonGuy Atreus]], his son, from whom he hides his true nature and past. [[PlotTriggeringDeath Faye has just died]], and Kratos and Atreus now leave their home to scatter her ashes at the top of the highest peak among the nine realms. The quest reveals itself to be harder than anticipated as several mysterious Norse Gods pursue them for unknown reasons, and the peak is in Jötunheim, the realm of the Frost Giants whose passages are closed off.

* AllMythsAreTrue: While it predominately focuses on Greek mythology, creatures from outside the Greek pantheon have appeared. ''Chains of Olympus'' features the appearance of a Basilisk and an [[OurGeniesAreDifferent Efreet]], both from Arabian mythology, and the upcoming [=PS4=] game heavily features creatures from Norse mythology.

* CrapsackWorld: Even before [[EndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt everything that happens]] in ''God of War III'', life wasn't exactly peaches and cream, thanks in no small part to the JerkassGods running the place. If you're a human, you have two choices; LawfulEvil [[GodIsEvil gods]] who view you as little more than a plaything or possession, and are only good in that they represent stability, or a ChaoticEvil demigod who's a NominalHero at best and might kill you for no other reason than he's having a bad day, which is often.
* CrashingThroughTheHarem: In ''God Of War II'', your escape from the Colossus of Rhodes's rampage takes you crashing through the ceiling of a bathhouse where two women wait in a state of undress. You can stop and have sex with them by [[QuickTimeEvent hitting the action button!]]

** The gods of Olympus. When Kratos has got them bloodied and broken on the ground, ''none'' of them can resist spitting in his face one last time. Even when given a chance to live, they'd rather be running their mouths at the guy who literally has them by the throat. This may show the degree of contempt they have for Kratos, and considering what a monster Kratos is, this attitude may be justified.

* '''''[[VideoGame/GodOfWarPS4 God of War]]''''': A soft reboot of the series released on the UsefulNotes/PlayStation4 in 2018. Centuries after the events of ''III'', Kratos now lives in the woods of Midgard. [[OlderAndWiser Having turned over a new leaf and tamed his rage]], Kratos has gained a new family in [[SecondLove Faye]], a mortal huntress, and then [[WellDoneSonGuy Atreus]] his son to whom he hides his true nature and past. [[PlotTriggeringDeath Faye has just died]], and Kratos and Atreus now leave their home to scatter her ashes at the top of the highest peak among the nine realms. The quest reveals itself to be harder than anticipated as several mysterious Norse Gods pursue them for unknown reasons, and the peak is in Jötunheim, the realm of the Frost Giants whose passages are closed off.

* '''''[[VideoGame/GodOfWarPS4 God of War]]''''': A soft reboot of the series released on the UsefulNotes/PlayStation4 in 2018. Centuries after the events of ''III'', Kratos now lives in the woods of Midgard. [[OlderAndWiser Having turned a new leaf and having tamed his rage]], Kratos has gained a new family in [[SecondLove Faye]], a mortal huntress, and then [[WellDoneSonGuy Atreus]] his son to whom he hides his true nature and past. [[PlotTriggeringDeath Faye has just died]], and Kratos and Atreus now leave their home to scatter her ashes at the top of the highest peak among the nine realms. The quest reveals itself to be harder than anticipated as several mysterious Norse Gods pursue them for unknown reasons, and the peak is in Jötunheim, the realm of the Frost Giants whose passages are closed off.

* '''''[[VideoGame/GodOfWarPS4 God of War]]''''': A soft reboot of the series taking place centuries after the original series, Kratos is now in the land of Norse mythology and must now take care of his son Atreus.