[SPOILERS FOR GOD OF WAR RAGNAROK]
2018’s God of War had teased the death of Kratos thanks to a mural by the giants, and that prophecy kind of weighs over us throughout the entirety of the game. What’s interesting is, Kratos doesn’t actually die by the end, and it was Odin that died in Atreus’ arms.
As it turns out, they never really intended for Kratos to die. Talking to The Washington Post, director Eric Williams explained:
“We did not consider killing Kratos for many reasons. But the main one was that that’s not the story we’re trying to tell. The story that we wanted to tell was this idea of this parent-child unit coming together and then becoming strong enough that they know each other, and they know that they made each other better and that if you were to break them apart, you’d still feel like they’d be okay.”
The game does indeed play with the push and pull of Atreus and Kratos, and though Atreus does leave by the end of the game, we know that his bond with Kratos has never been stronger.
Though Kratos’ death may feel like something that’s inevitable to the franchise, Williams did explain, “…Death, that’s a different thing. That creates a different set of emotions, there’s a lot of grief and regret.” The goal was ultimately to have Atreus ‘go to college’ when it comes to the story, and it ends on a more positive note than expected.
God of War Ragnarok is now available for PlayStation 4|5.
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