Why God of War 3 Was the Ultimate Conclusion to Kratos’ Epic Revenge Saga

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15 years ago, the Ghost of Sparta finally achieved his bloody revenge against the Greek pantheon in God of War 3, exclusively for the PlayStation 3. In 2010, Santa Monica Studio and Sony Computer Entertainment seemingly brought Kratos’ journey of vengeance against the Greek pantheon for his torment and death of his family to an end after four games. While Kratos’ past was further explored in 2013’s God of War: Ascension, God of War 3 was still the endpoint of Kratos’ life up until the release of the Norse-focused God of War in 2018. With a trove of new mythological weapons at Kratos’ disposal, titanic set pieces, monstrous new foes, and brutal boss battles, the destruction of Olympus in God of War 3 was a perfect way to quench his thirst for vengeance.

God of War 3’s Climatic Development and Gameplay Explained

Following the shocking ending of 2007’s God of War 2, where Kratos accidently killed Athena, discovered that he was a son of Zeus, and unleashed the Titans against Olyumpus, Santa Monica Studio had many different concepts in mind to end the God of War trilogy. God of War creator David Jaffe intended for Kratos to not only destroy the Greek pantheon in God of War 3 but numerous other pantheons, leading him to eventually become the embodiment of death, akin to the Grim Reaper. God of War 2 director Cory Barlog initially spearheaded God of War 3’s development and considered introducing a co-op mode to the game before leaving for other projects eight months in development. Instead, God of War 2 art director Stig Asmussen took over development.

God of War 3 was originally considered to be the end of the franchise by Sony before Santa Monica studio director John Hight clarified that it would simply end the mainline trilogy in 2008. While God of War 3 reused God of War 2’s game engine, the game’s graphics were the most vigorous seen yet in the series, with hyper-detailed gore, dynamic lighting, and realistic faces thanks to Image Metrics’s performance capture system. The 2010 title additionally retained the series’ landmark hack-and-slash and puzzle-solving gameplay but debuted several new mechanics and weapons to interact with, such as the swift Boots of Hermes, chained Nemean Cestus gauntlets, and the ability to unleash a brief phalanx with the Army of Sparta.

Kratos’ Conquest of Olympus in God of War 3

God of War 3 takes place immediately following God of War 2’s cliffhanger ending of Kratos and his legion of Titans scaling Olympus to kill Zeus and the other Greek gods after suffering years of torment, indentured servitude, and abuse. Throughout the attack on Olympus, Tartarus, and the Underworld, Kratos encounters mythological monsters new and old serving the pantheon, including minotaurs, cyclopes, chimeras, and more. Most of these enemies play similar roles to monsters from previous games, serving as obstacles to stop Kratos from reaching deities, but God of War 3’s biggest combative spectacles come from its varied bosses.

During the brief but destructive Second Titanomachy, Kratos kills or at least encounters several Titans, gods, and leaders of monsters such as Skorpius, Queen of the Scorpions. Each confrontation with these foes features some of the most bombastic, visceral, and mind-blowing battles ever featured in video games. Some Kratos most notable battles in God of War 3 include ripping the head off of Helios and using it as a weapon, tearing Cronos apart from the inside out, pummeling Hercules to a pulp with his own Nemean Cestus gauntlets, and throwing Hades into the River Styx before ripping out his soul with his own Claws of Hades hooks.

Kratos’ Destruction of the Greek World

While each god and Titan death gets Kratos one step closer to achieving his vengeance, his actions also wreak havoc on the Greek world. Poseidon’s death floods all lands, Hades’ death unleashes damned souls into the world, Helios’ death sets the world in perpetual darkness and unleashes severe storms, Hermes’ death unleashes a plague on the world, and Hera’s death causes all plant life to die. Kratos shows no remorse for his actions, save for the deaths of Hephaestus and Pandora, as the Ghost of Sparta respected the smith god’s fatherly protection of Pandora and was reminded of his daughter Calliope by Pandora. The God of War’s rage towards Zeus and betrayal of Gaia overwhelms him, however, and brutally kills the two, destroying the Greek pantheon and leaving the Greek world in utter chaos.

How God of War 3 Setups Kratos’ Future

After Kratos kills Zeus, he finally comprehends how his vengeance ruined the world and subsequently stabs himself with the Blade of Olympus, releasing hope to mortals. The Ghost of Sparta seemingly dies atop Mount Olympus, but if players watched through the game’s credits they would have seen a trail of blood leading off the mountain, suggesting that Kratos survived his fatal stabbing.

For some time, this was the end of Kratos’ story. While his life would be expanded upon in the prequels God of War: Ghost of Sparta, God of War: Ascension, and 2015’s God of War 3 Remastered, fans still had to wait for six years to see a true sequel to God of War 3 be revealed. Development on a God of War 4 officially began in 2014 but wasn’t announced until 2016, simply as God of War.

By the end of God of War 3, Kratos had begun to see the error of his ways. While many of the Greek gods deserved punishment for their actions, not all deserved to be killed and Kratos did not take into account how other people would be impacted by the pantheon’s destruction. Acknowledging this, Kratos went into self-exile and traveled the world striving to live a new life and move on from his merciless past, leading to the more tempered Kratos seen in 2018’s God of War. Without all the brutal killings and destruction on Olympus, Kratos’ redemptive journey with his son Atreus in Norse lands in both 2018’s God of War and 2022’s God of War Ragnarok wouldn’t have been as impactful.

God of War 3’s Impact on the Franchise

In many ways, God of War 3 was a turning point for the PlayStation franchise. While it showcased Kratos’ brutal rage at his peak after being built up for four games, it also set a difficult path to redemption for the Ghost of Spartan, the likes of which were unseen in the series at that point. It concluded a groundbreaking trilogy celebrated for its unique depiction of myth, dramatic gameplay, and retrospective story that helped make both the PS2 and PS3 worldwide successes. God of War 3’s effect on the franchise will probably still be felt for years to come as Kratos and Atreus explore other mythologies likely to bring up Kratos’ dark Greek past alongside his hopeful Norse journey.

God of War 3 is so far the only original God of War game remastered and easily accessible for modern-day platforms, but rumors have popped up of remakes of the original God of War trilogy in development.

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2025-03-16 13:27