God Of War Creator Thinks That The Character Of Kratos Took A Wrong Turn

Terri writes: "In a recent video released by the creator of the God of War series, David Jaffe, we can see that Jaffe is not fond of the direction PlayStation took regarding the franchise, and in particular, Kratos himself."

[SinisterMister]

Well, I personally think that Santa Monica did an absolutely phenomenal job with Kratos, showcasing insane character development in all the right ways.

[Jin_Sakai]

I disagree. God of War went from a brutal action game where Kratos was slaying gods to a boring father figure. God of War 3 was my favorite in the series.

[Christopher]

I much prefer the focused and purposeful with reason Kratos who still gets into brutal combat and still has to kill gods even though he tries not to. Past Kratos was just anger personified and did nothing but subvert any expectations of him being something else other than just rage.

[darthv72]

2 is still my favorite. Everything about that game is top shelf design. the scale and scope of things like fighting the colossus of rhodes to awakening the steeds of time... just epic. 3 was good, but 2 is the high point of the original trilogy (for me).

The direction santa monica took for the reboot was less GoW (god of war) and more GoW (gears of war). The whole 3rd person perspective, having a partner (even if its his son), and lack of verticality with no more jumping and creating crazy areal combos... it was difficult to come to terms with but i managed. the story was good though, but i still give the nod to greek mythology over norse (and likely egyptian if that is where they go next).

[frostypants]

I can see it either way. I agree that the series now has nothing in common with the original beyond superficial character appearances and general setting. They sort of used the IP to sell an entirely different style of game. That said the new games are well made in their own right.

[VivaLaManual]

Yes. The game grew and stopped being one dimensional. What a shame....

[DarXyde]

I don't even think Jaffe really understood Kratos, despite creating him. Or rather, he doesn't seem to understand how he created the fertile ground for this kind of character development arc.

He was always a warrior, but he had a very human element since day one. He had a chance to protect his family again in God of War I and Ares took them away... Again. He knows he can't get them back and moved forward as the new God of War. Fast forward, the Gods betrayed him (though he was still sympathetic to Athena at the time). Eventually, he waged war with Olympus.

He was part of the pantheon and that would've been the entirety of his story arc where he oversaw war for all time.

But the truth this, Kratos has changed, but he largely remained the same. His two constants were always pride in his family and revenge against those who have wronged him. You take those two together (a threat to his family and Gods looking to kill him) and the direction he's taken is pretty congruent with who Kratos always has been. I guess you can say Kratos would just be a merciless monster for the sake of it, but the old games never explore present aspects of the character (e.g., what kind of father Kratos was). We got a look at that, and with a boy, no less.

I find the franchise did well to age with the audience. I was an angry teen when the original came out. Now I'm kinda mellowed out with a family and I just get it.

I think it did an excellent job of connecting with the audience as we grew up. It's a bit like Toy Story in that regard.

[Monstieur]

Agree. I liked GoW 3 the best as well. There weren't enough unique boss fights in the reboot.

[Crows90]

Well he aged considerably. Define boring father figure exactly? Maybe your father was boring but don't put that blame on others.

As far as slaying gods ...you're right ...he went from god slaying to....hmmm god slaying.

The newer Kratos matured with the audience. They could have just kept doing the same game over and over but they saw it getting stale so they had to switch the formula...they did so incredibly well.

[SinisterMister]

While God of War 3 is undoubtedly excellent in its own manner, the "boring father figure" part is something I don't agree with. For starters, if the situation calls for it, the old Kratos is back on camera, like when he fights against a particular Aesir god in Ragnarok.

[tombfan]

He achieved his goal... he actually got the revenge he was so desperately needing and in the end what? It'd be terrible character development if he would just go to another mythology to kill more gods just for the sake of they being gods. They actually gave them a meaning in life, and even better, they got an amazing idea of how to create a new game with actual bealavility and a plot, not just merciless kill.

[savedsynner]

Agree 100% Kratos had about an inch of depth before the norse version. Now he feels like a real character, a real dad, with real reactions based on his experiences.

[gold_drake]

i think they did a fantastic job with Kratos.

[Snookies12]

Wasn't Jaffe the one who got stuck on something easy in Metroid Dread and started bashing the game because of it? From what I played of GoW 2018, they actually gave Kratos some much-needed depth. I definitely plan to finally go through the newer entries once my PS5 comes in.

[tombfan]

Jaffe got stuck with his young mind thinking and it really showed with his latest attempt in gaming "Drawn to Death" it was like a teenage dream that became true and also, sucked.

[Christopher]

This whole video was essentially him finding comments to back up his own opinion. "It looks like a lot of people think..."

Yeah, well what do the review scores, sales, user scores, and completion rates on the last two say? Anything on that?

[Reaper22_]

Nothing wrong with his opinion. He created it so he's earned the right to criticize. Review scores and sales have nothing to do with it. It's success was never in question.

[Christopher]

You should probably read the first part of my comment. He's cherry picking opinions to support his but ignoring the plethora of other opinions.

Yeah, he's allowed his opinion, but his arguing method is to act like people just agree with him and not the diverse opinions out there on the subject.

[-Foxtrot]

People won’t like it I know but he’s entitled to his opinion being the games creator

I totally disagree but it’s not going to ruin the game for us who do like it

[purple101]

Yeh I may or may not disagree but he created the original and without him we would have no god of war, (or maybe one that wasn’t as good). So he can say what he wants in my books

Last I heard of him he made a black ad white game with a weird sketch art style. Similar to Sega Madworld

Haven’t heard from him since
Shame

[itBourne]

Drawn to Death, yeh, played it at the Playstation experience, it was quite fun, an old school arena shooter. Then it came out, and everyone died quicker, so strafe battles gone. It essentially turned into die, insta spawn, use ult, get a kill, they insta spawn, ult you, you die, and just repeat that loop lmao, its was terrible.

[Christopher]

I just have a problem with him saying they shouldn't have called it God of War because his opinion doesn't align with theirs on the future of the IP. That part I felt was pointedly petty.

[SinisterMister]

Sane reply.

[jambola]

I definitely agree with the franchise taking a bad turn
especially trying to be funny etc

[isarai]

I mean he made the Character and the IP so he's allowed his opinion. I'm kinda indifferent, I miss lost to rage, drunk and drowning in a rage cause by the gods, it really did scream Greek epic. But the new ones have added an awesome depth and approach to him and his continued story, but I do miss the scale and epic ness if the old games. Overall though I'd still just prefer they do a new IP 🤷‍♂️

[Terry_B]

God of war + Ragnarök are great games..but Kratos is not Kratos anymore indeed.

[SinisterMister]

I respect your opinion, but who do you think really is Kratos? He was a rage-killing monster in the first three games, sure, but he had reason to be that way. I don't get why people seem to associate Kratos with brutal, mindless devastation, because that's exactly what he does not want to be anymore.

[Terry_B]

Kratos was a video game character in the PS2,3, psp games.

Now he is a human with superpowers..in a video game that will soon also reach the masses in form of a movie or a series. I forgot whats in the works actually.

The mindless fun in GoW is gone..now its all about emotions.

[Barlos]

Kratos cannot be relentlessly angry forever. Personally I like the direction SSM took with the Nordic saga. It shows a different side to Kratos and shows him come to terms with knowing he can never wash the blood of his past from his hands, but it also shows his determination to not repeat the same mistakes he made in his younger days.

The rage is still there, but now it's also more controlled.

[obidanshinobi]

New Kratos is a boring doormat, the new GOW games are just boring 3rd person Sony story game slogs that waste the players time with their bloat and unnecessary modern systems shoe-horned in.
GOW3 is probably the best in the series.

[Crows90]

Great comment. Whole lot of nothing in it.

[Hedstrom]

I like the new Kratos, he has alot more depths to his character. But Jaffes is entitled to his opinion!

[garos82]

i agree with Jaffe, although i do enjoy the the last two games . greek mythology is full of tragedy , pain and heartache. also the redeeming thing ...yeah sure fine but dont forget Kratos is a mass murderer and the happy endings of the last two games dont really fit with the theme

[Tzuno]

Slowly but surely, it will turn in gay of war :)))

[Psychonaut85]

Jaffe is kind of a Cliffy B character at this point, had his day, but is now kind of a joke. God of War 2 was worlds better than the first, and what do you know, Corey Barlog directed that as well as the reboot.

[Prubar]

Enjoyed the new games but I will NEVER play them past the first time due to long walking/boat/water buffalo/climbing/talking sections . Much prefer the original trilogy. Plus 3s opening is still the most epic, power fantasy, adrenaline filled gameplay that’s in my opinion still unmatched.

[randomvoice]

I have respect for Jaffe since he created one of my fav characters but the guy is out of touch with reality nowadays. The new version of Kratos is absolutely what the series needed along with the reboot. The new DLC is absolutely amazing especially for the first trilogy fans!

[Cockney]

Are people still listening to this twat?
He's been dining out on his god of war affiliation since the rest of us realised all his other games were shit, isn't it about time we put this joker to bed

[itBourne]

The god of care bears you mean? The GoW world goes from a brutal, the strong survive world, to a OMG the ENTIRE realm loves each other, lets all sing songs and hold hands and dance in circles. Its a fairy tale land by the end of the games, its not Kratos and not God of War. Cant have a man's man now days, no no no.

[DefenderOfDoom2]

David Jaffe is so entertaining to watch ! I do disagree with some of the things he says but appreciate his insight about the video game industry.

[stloony]

I see good arguments on both sides. The 'old' Kratos is not like the 'new' one......but now that he has accepted being GoW.....they could blend the old with the new in the next game. I see Kratos as being more able to make a call as to rules to follow and being an arbitrator for that.
Add in an adversary against his rules...other Gods.
I do not see Kratos wavering, I see him being brutal, but still merciful.

So that would be another version of Kratos.

Having said that, I would love them to remake 1-3 using the new style and letting us have our fun that way again.

[Sarcasm]

Clearly with the success of GoW on PS4 and GoW Ragnarok, the public disagrees with Jaffe. The first one in particular was a masterpiece. Honestly if it was more of the same like the previous games, it would have started feeling old and stale. It's also paid a lot of respect and homage to the old storylines too, so I don't get why Jaffe isn't "fond" of it. Maybe he's just bitter.

[P_Bomb]

Evolution. GOW needed some after Ascension’s lower scores and sales. Old school was getting stale. Where they are now, is a success. Every metric has gone up. Jaffe doesn’t have to like it.

[thejigisup]

I would love for them to bring back the rage fueled destruction machine that is Kratos. Let him find out that his wife and child are being tortured for their souls by Set to call in an attempt to make the God of war rampage. Then Kratos has to fight his way through another pantheon.

[ravens52]

1-3 are my favorite, but Jaffe is wrong

[KwietStorm_BLM]

Guess you should've stayed at PlayStation then, Jaffe ol boy. I actually still can't believe how excellent the new games are. The world building actually has more in common with Soulsborne than the previous games, which is a good thing since growth is always the right direction. And Kratos as he is today, is really a logical direction, following the events of God of War III. As much as I've always loved the franchise, the previous iteration was pretty straightforward, narrative and gameplay wise. This new take has many more layers of depth, and Kratos deserves that as a character, after what he's been through in the past.

[Ironmike]

Gow is fantastic it needed to show ge wasn't all rage

[jjb1981]

Although I miss the raging Kratos with the hack 'n' slash combos. the 3rd-person calculated God of War with RPG elements was a welcomed change. Imagine just being the same game like Assassin's Creed for more than a decade.

[MetalGearsofWar]

I also did not approve of his millennial hipster look. What were they thinking??

[Demetrius]

His opinion still not gone change how good af the past 2 titles are to me

[mastershredder]

Kratos going Nord was interesting (in a fantastical illogical way), but not it was not a GOW game. All of if feels like an ancient babysitting simulator spin-off.

[lellkay]

It must be a shame to feel this way about a character than you worked on and invested in, for that I feel for him.

Saying that, personally for me the new God of War games and the direction Kratos's character has taken has really landed for me. I'm really into it and I've loved the newer games even more than I loved the originals.

[anast]

A lot of times people create and invent things and other people innovate and make those things way better.

[maniacmayhem]

Agreed, the emphasis on dysfunctional families was not only beaten over your head but was absolutely weak. It was definitely a sharp and wild departure from what I loved about the original God of War games.

Cool to see him grow old and calm down but there should have been a return to old Kratos by the second game.