Every God Of War Ending Ranked

“Betrayal” concludes pretty much out of nowhere with little time spared for the impact of the story’s events. After he leads a rampage across Greece as the God of War through most of the game, Kratos is confronted by Ceryx in the climax. The Son of Hermes delivers a warning to Kratos to end his bloody pursuit, but the latter has little patience for his messenger. “Betrayal” comes to a swift conclusion after Kratos claims Ceryx’s life, as a short statement tells us that he will suffer Zeus’s wrath for his defiance. This ending feels like a bit of a cop-out since we don’t get to see the consequences of Kratos’ actions. An exposition dump in the form of a few lines doesn’t exactly leave a lasting impression in a game already suffering from the low production values of a mobile phone platform.

This text-based game follows Atreus’ first adventure in the Nordic landscape. In its closing moments, Atreus is confronted by a pair of enemies but is unable to fight them off. Kratos’ intervention saves his son’s life, with the father-son pair fighting off their enemies for what is their first outing as a team. The lack of a solid visual medium hampers the viewing experience, as the text prompts interfere with the pacing of the story. Still, “A Call from the Wild’s” ending does set up the relationship dynamic between Kratos and Atreus while providing us with an insight into how their lives were before Faye’s demise.

Although this prequel’s ending completes Kratos’ backstory, there aren’t any real surprises in store. Kratos spends the entirety of “Ascension” escaping the Furies who seek to eliminate him from breaking his blood oath to Ares. As expected, the protagonist is able to slay his pursuers instead, but at a terrible price. In order to be truly free, Kratos learns he has to kill his oath keeper, Orkos, and reluctantly takes his life. Despite gaining his freedom, Kratos is haunted by the sins of his past and vows to serve the gods in hopes that they will take the nightmares away from him. Since “Ascension” is a prequel, we already know where Kratos’ story is headed, making this a predictable and relatively underwhelming finale. The lack of an appearance from Ares, Kratos’ primary foe, is particularly noticeable and leaves players wanting more.

Kratos’ primary goal in “Ghost of Sparta” is to reunite with Deimos, the brother he thought he’d lost during their youth. His quest places him at odds with God of Death Thanatos, which makes both brothers put on a united front to defeat their enemy. Unfortunately for Kratos, Deimos is killed in the process, making all his struggles for nothing. Although it was certain that Deimos would die due to “Ghost of Sparta’s” status as a prequel, the very brief reunion of the siblings in the game’s climax leaves a definite lack of satisfaction. It’s a poignant reminder of the tragedies Kratos goes through in terms of the overall story, but the suddenness of it all within this particular game can be jarring to follow.

The majority of “God of War III” basically sees Kratos kill everyone he comes across in his mission to finish Zeus. But the story’s climactic moments offer a surprisingly gripping turn of events. After failing to defeat Zeus, the King of the Gods places Kratos in a prison of his own mind. The protagonist is able to forgive himself for his past sins, as the power of hope enables him to destroy Zeus once and for all. Realizing his quest had effectively destroyed Greece, Kratos seemingly sacrifices himself to give mankind his power instead. Kratos making an unselfish decision for the first time is a great way of depicting genuine character development on his part. “God of War III” ends a bit abruptly to leave fans with questions about Kratos’ fate, but also feels like a fitting finale to the Greek mythology arc.

“Chains of Olympus’” story shifts from Kratos’ mission of revenge to reuniting with his daughter. After battling his way to Elysium to be with Calliope, Kratos learns that Persophone has orchestrated the events to leave him powerless. Faced with the impossible decision to leave his daughter behind to regain his abilities, Kratos reluctantly returns to fight the villain and put an end to her schemes. “Chains of Olympus” brings a heartbreaking finale that briefly gives Kratos his humanity back, only to tear it away from him. The climactic fight against Persophone does feel smaller in scale compared to Kratos’ other battles, but the ending hits the right emotional notes as Kratos’ victory comes at the cost of his happiness.

Cliffhangers can be hit-or-miss based on how the story ends, and “God of War II” does well to finish off strongly. After killing the Sisters of Fate and nearly doing the same to Zeus, Kratos learns from a dying Athena that he’s Zeus’ son. This only serves to fuel his hatred further, as Kratos uses the Fates’ powers of time travel to bring the Titans to the present. The image of Kratos ushering in the next war for Olympus leaves a lasting impression, with a perfect set up for “God of War III” to depict the clash between the Gods and the Titans. “God of War II’s” ending goes in full throttle with Kratos’ quest for vengeance with fast-paced storytelling leaving fans excited for what’s to come.

The original entry delivers on the promise of an all-out clash between Kratos and Ares. After a long battle where Ares attempts to break Kratos both physically and mentally, the protagonist finally gains the upper hand to avenge his family. “God of War” subverts the cliched happy ending, though, as the gods refuse to take Kratos’ nightmares away despite his service. A despondent Kratos attempts to end his suffering but is transported to Mount Olympus to take his place as the new God of War. The game simultaneously ends on a triumphant and bitter note, as it’s clear that Kratos’ reward hasn’t done anything to curb his mental anguish. The ending works both as a payoff to Kratos’ struggles to gain Pandora’s box while leaving viewers pondering what the fallout from the gods’ decision will be. It’s a perfect balance of ending one story and opening room for a sequel.

The Norse entry in the series brought a heartwarming end for a change. Kratos and Atreus fight Baldur one last time, and the former puts him down for good after Atreus cures Baldur of his invulnerability. Between Freya’s promise to seek vengeance and the revelation that Atreus’ mother Faye orchestrated the story’s events to set up Ragnarök, there’s a lot for fans to take in. But Kratos’ decision to put all that aside to share a touching moment with his son is the biggest takeaway from the scene, signifying the change in his character into a wiser person. Since the overall theme of “God of War” is the dynamic between father and son, the strengthening of their bond provides a satisfying conclusion to their arc. Of course, the tease of Thor’s attack on the pair definitely hypes us up for the next installment, as well.