Kratos is much more than one of the superstars of PlayStation: the ghost of Sparta has become in his own right one of the maximum standard bearers of modern video games and, since the most recent God of War, of the maturity and excellence that he is capable of. to reach a video game saga. Which doesn’t mean, on the other hand, how much fun it is to pulverize enemies in anger . Especially those that are oversized.
After all, talking about the star saga of the Santa Monica studio is entering into a vendetta of Olympic proportions (pun intended) in which our role is not reduced to cleaning each section of its exotic scenarios until we reach the next boss, but on how to bask in the feeling of revenge and barbarism until its protagonist is filled.
Logically, not all deliveries have managed to convey those experiences with the same excellence. In other words: the impact that the original God of War left on PS2 is unquestionable, but the way in which that formula has been replicated in each new main entry and the parallel stories has not always been in-crescendo . Which does not mean that all God of War games have ended up being must-see dates .
we get wet, we have thrown ourselves into the mud to separate the good from the best by orderingthe entire God of War saga from worst to best. Being, all be said, a littleOdyssey.
The God of War, starting from the good and in the direction of the best
Whenever we embark on this type of text we like to explain a little the process carried out. After all, in this type of sagas many essential factors to take into account are mixed, such as nostalgia, how it has endured the passage of time or the limits of the hardware in which it was released. We assume that consensus is almost impossible , but we want to go beyond the simple and subjective.
The process that we have adopted is based on scoring specific common elements such as the impact that each title caused in its day, the impact it has had even outside the saga or what they have contributed to the legacy of the series, among other factors. Normally, in the event of a tie, we usually place those that have been released before in preference, although in God of War this has not been the case.
There are also a number of previous nuances. For reasons of logic we have left out the compilations, collections and others . Also, we have not made a distinction between the remastered and the original versions. You also won’t find any game where Kratos has appeared in one way or another, instead we have focused on the God of War titles.
Finally, we have discarded the conversational adventure launched for Facebook on the occasion of God of War in 2018. Not because we do not consider it a video game, which is in its own right, but because – for practical purposes – it is still a short interactive prologue that seeks to complement the experience on the same level as the advancements of the Nordic world or novelization.
That does not mean that the list is not interesting, on the contrary: below you will see one of the best and most celebrated video game sagas expand, which are big words, starting from the less inspired titles and arriving, little by little, to its maximum exponents.
God of War: Betrayal
- Release Date: 2007
- Systems: Mobile (Java)
: God of War goes to mobile
Set between Ghost of Sparta and God of War II , the only installment of the saga for mobile devices (to date) is also a bid to transfer the three-dimensional action of PS2 to sprites (tiny) and pixelated scenarios designed to be traversed in side scrolling. .
The final result managed to stand out from the other bets for action developed in Java for mobiles of the time, but -logically- it never played in the same league as the main installments, in which the epic -which Betrayal lacked- was one of the key elements.
God of War: Ascension
- Release date: 2013
- Systems: PS3 (available for PS4 and PC on PS Now)
- Review: God of War: Ascension
God of War: Ascension offers Kratos fans everything you would expect from a God of War . It does not disappoint, but that you see it positioned here is because it was limited to comply, giving a certain feeling that it was necessary to give the saga a good push if it wanted to stay at the top.
Three years later, and with the lessons learned, Santa Monica would present God of War to the world, being that revulsive that the saga itself needed, making more clear everything that did not know how to take advantage of an Ascension launched in a year, by the way, of generational transition. .
God of War: Chains of Olympus
- Release Date: 2008
- Systems: PSP and PS3 (available for PS4 and PC on PS Now)
- Review: God of War: Chains of Olympus
Ready at Dawn signed the prequel that the emerging God of War saga was crying out for, taking us to the ten-year period in which Kratos served the gods of Olympus and, incidentally, crowning himself as one of the best games ever published on PSP along with Ghost of Sparta .
With the approval of Santa Monica, Chains of Olympus masterfully exploited the technical possibilities of Sony’s first laptop, making it clear that this UMD disc console without as many buttons as a DualShock was capable of offering experiences as brutal as those experienced in table tops.
God of War: Ghost of Sparta
- Release date: 2010
- Systems: PSP and PS3 (available for PS4 and PC on PS Now)
- Review: God of War: Ghost of Sparta
After proving that Kratos fit the PSP like a glove , Ready at Dawn Studios took up the challenge of taking on Chains of Olympus (his previous job) and tackling the events leading up to God of War II , creating a story bridge for the main saga. and aligning the story for the newly released third installment.
The result? Not only did they outdo themselves , but they proved that these PSP installments deserved the same attention from fans as desktop releases. An opportunity, by the way, that Sony did not miss, reissuing both God of War from Ready at Dawn in later systems.
God of War
- Release Date: 2005
- Systems: PS2, PS3 and PS Vita (available in HD for PS4 and PC on PS Now)
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The game that started it all . Santa Monica developed an action title in which violence was imposed on Greek mythology itself. And although the PS2 was well served by Hack’n Slash proposals, God of War ended up becoming an instant classic and setting a new chair in the action genre.
The keys: a silky fluid gameplay in which the most intense moments were settled with QTE, an adventure very well spun and better set, the constant feeling of living an epic experience in each new chapter and a protagonist called to make history . Something that he achieved.
God of War III
- Release date: 2010
- Systems: PS3 and PS4 (Remake available on PS Now for PS4 and PC)
- Analysis: God of War III
The third installment of God of War had a double responsibility: it should not only elevate what was seen during the previous four titles (all deservedly acclaimed) but it should also be a demonstration of the power of PS3. Two challenges that Santa Monica overcame with top marks.
In the plot God of War III was the end of an era, and in the playable the hardware of the new PlayStation allowed Stig Asmussen (its director) and his team to do practically anything they could think of, including what they could not do. on older systems.
God of War III was not only one of the best PS3 ambassadors at its best, being awarded as the best action game of its year, but its remastering became an essential title for a PS4 that already in 2015 was asking for screams his own God of War .
God of War II
- Release Date: 2007
- Systems: PS2, PS3 and PS Vita (available in HD for PS4 and PC on PS Now)
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Only two years had passed since the launch of the original God of War , but its sequel (directed by Cory Barlog and the creator of the saga David Jaffe ) was at another level in each of its sections, from the visual to the playable, giving us some mind-blowing battles in a year in which, by the way, the PS3 was already on the shelves of half the world.
Now, what gives God of War II this prime position is that it didn’t just polish up all the good stuff from the first God of War , but laid the foundation, tone, and direction for subsequent installments. What’s more, until the (necessary) revival of the saga on PS4, its essence remained intact in each new Kratos adventure.
God of War (2018)
- Release date: 2018
- Systems: PS4
- Analysis: God of War (2018)
In many respects, the God of War series was regarded as one of the greatest standard bearers of action games. However, later titles such as Gears of War, Uncharted or Assassin’s Creed began to offer levels of depth and sensations that were not possible to reach with their classic formula. The saga had to be reinvented. And it had to be done well.
Santa Monica did not walk with subtleties and that his new project was called God of War , to dry, was already a declaration of intentions. That was a new beginning for Kratos in each and every one of the possible aspects , but also an opportunity for fans to rediscover him and – in the same movement – dazzle those who did not know the saga.
Under the leadership of Cory Barlog (one of the architects of the celebrated sequel), each element of God of War was deconstructed and reassembled , its protagonist was taken to an entirely new environment to confront a different mythology and made the most of the PS4 technology to its limits. But, above all, his protagonist matured masterfully.
Kratos had not been tamed by fate, or the will of the gods, but had formed a small family and was willing to do anything to protect it. God of War offers brutality, epicity and anger , but also, and in equal measure, soul and feeling . So much so, as to crown this new God of War as the best installment of a series that, by the way, is the living history of the video game.
