The 10 HARDEST Sections In God of War Games

10 Hardest Sections in God of War Games

Welcome to MojoPlays, and today we’re taking a look at sections across the “God of War” series that beat us into submission with high difficulty, whether they were optional or mandatory.

The Trial of Archimedes

“God of War: Ascension” (2013)

Without a doubt, the hardest challenge in “God of War: Ascension” is the Trial of Archimedes. This is a group of three combat encounters, all of which feature highly irritating enemies. The first consists of Gorgons, which can stun and drain your Rage meter, and Sirens, which can teleport and use electric attacks. The second comes with Harpies and Amazons, which team up for different ranged attacks, and is capped off with Electric Talos. Finally, the third is strangely the most manageable, with a Centaur and some Wraiths. However, every wave has the additional challenge of an arena hazard that restricts your movement, like fire and spiked walls. This trial is hard regularly, so you can imagine the dread you’ll feel leading up to it on a harder difficulty.

Cerberus and the Satyrs

“God of War III” (2010)

As you’ll see, a lot of the hardest sections across “God of War” deal with groups of enemies. And these fights naturally jump exponentially in difficulty when played on harder difficulties, so much so that they stick in our memories for the amount of punishment we endured. In “God of War III,” one of those fights is against a Molten Cerberus. This boss can set parts of the arena on fire as well as produce smaller Cerberus Seeds, which can explode. As if Kratos’ health bar getting drained from all the burning wasn’t bad enough, Satyrs also show up, flipping around the arena and poking you full of holes while you’re trying to deal with everything else. Truly, a nightmare encounter.

The Path of Hades

“God of War” (2005)

If you’ve played the original “God of War,” you know there’s a certain section that is the bane of everyone’s existence, no matter what difficulty you’re playing on. And that section is the Path of Hades, which you’re forced to contend with after Kratos is sent into the Underworld. It starts off only a bit annoying; you’ll have to jump between tiny platforms while dealing with enemies. It gets much worse when you have to walk across rotating cylinders with giant blades sticking out of them, while archers wait for you to get within range and load you full of arrows. At the end, you have to climb a rotating wall, also with blades sticking out. And should you get hit once, you fall right back down to the bottom. Unsurprisingly, it made a lot of players seethe with fury back in the day.

The Armored Cyclops and the Keres Wraiths

“God of War: Ghost of Sparta” (2010)

Here we have another group fight, and one that is more than capable of making you rage. Inside the Temple of Thanatos, Kratos will be confronted by an Armored Cyclops and a group of Keres Wraiths. A big enemy with a pack of smaller ones is classic “God of War,” but these Wraiths are truly obnoxious. It’s best to deal with them first while holding back on your combo finishers, since a stronger attack causes them to burrow underground, after which they can perform an unblockable grab that’s detrimental to your health bar. The Armored Cyclopses are understandably durable and mighty, and a second one unfortunately spawns after killing the first. It can be an annoying fight. And on God Mode, it’s one of the easiest fights to lose.

Going Berserk

“God of War Ragnarök” (2022)

In “God of War Ragnarök,” Kratos has the optional challenge of hunting down Berserker mini-bosses and defeating them in combat. There are ten fights in all, and they’re all varying levels of hard. Some are problematic because of elemental attacks, like electricity or Bifrost. But the most aggravating ones don’t fight you alone. One can summon minions, another fight comes with two Berserkers, while a separate one comes with three. Then, of course, there’s the big boss in charge, King Hrolf. Like Sigrun the Valkyrie Queen in the 2018 game, which we’ll talk about later, King Hrolf is a combination of abilities from other Berserkers. Just with more health and more aggression. Excellent.

The First Final Fight

“God of War” (2005)

Yeah, the original “God of War” can get pretty tough. And fittingly, it has what may be the hardest final story boss in the series. Ares proves he has more than earned his mantle as the God of War, something he doesn’t give up easily. In the first phase, his powerful attacks can fill up a lot of the arena’s space, making them hard to avoid and punishing you should you stand still too long. The second phase takes place inside Kratos’ mind, where he must protect his family from evil copies of himself, which are talented in swarming you. During the third phase, Kratos gains a gigantic sword, which doesn’t have the power-ups of his Blades of Chaos, and is better suited for defense. It’s a demanding fight, especially on harder difficulty levels.

Clotho’s Corridor

“God of War II” (2007)

In “God of War II,” after defeating two of the Sisters of Fate and on the way to the third one, Clotho, Kratos must travel down a long hallway filled with seven waves of enemies. Naturally, since it’s on this list, the enemies you fight here are some of the strongest in the game and all appear in groups. Satyrs, Sirens, Gorgons, Minotaurs, Cyclopses; it truly is a gauntlet to get through. And the worst part is that, should you die, which you probably will at least once, you start over from the beginning, which is more than a little disheartening. If you’ve beaten this on Titan Mode, the hardest difficulty, you are a God among gamers.

The End of the Labyrinth

“God of War III” (2010)

Another brutal encounter from “God of War III,” this one takes place at the end of Daedalus’ Labyrinth. It’s a true test of endurance, being an excruciatingly long series of waves with some really powerful foes. Kratos will be confronted by Sirens, which can stun and shred you if you’re not careful, enemies with shields that basically require the heavy use of magic attacks with your Nemean Cestus to break through, and Minotaurs, which are big brutes that can understandably hit pretty hard. It’s the waves that feature all three of these in groups that are going to make you want to pull your hair out. And on Chaos mode, the hardest difficulty, this is impossible without multiple deaths that will test your patience.

The Hunt for Valkyries

“God of War” (2018)

After the release of 2018’s “God of War,” the one new enemy type that populated conversations were the Valkyries. Nine of them were hidden across the game, and even the easiest of them took at least a few attempts to get used to. They were an evolution of similar mechanics, but a few of them were especially nasty. Kara could overwhelm players by summoning minions. Gondul dealt extra damage through fire-based attacks. Hildr dealt ice damage but was found in Niflheim, whose mist could deal constant damage after a time limit ran out. Of course, Sigrun the Queen became world-famous for how many players she brutalized. Fast, unforgiving, and adept at some of the cheapest, unblockable grabs in gaming, she capped off a collection of infuriating combat encounters.

The Challenge of the Gods

“God of War” (2005)

If you haven’t tried the Challenge of the Gods from the original game, count yourself lucky, because it is probably the hardest thing to do across the entire series. Unlocked after beating the game on any difficulty, it consists of 10 combat challenges that increase in difficulty and ability to make you rage. They all come with rules that make their fights harder, whether it be a time limit, a loss if you kill specific enemies, or, annoyingly, if Kratos is hit once. The final challenge, where Kratos must raise a platform by dealing damage, is a nightmare, since the enemies are Satyrs and Cerberus Seeds. There are other combat challenges in the series inspired by this one. But the Challenge of the Gods holds nothing but painful memories for most of us.

What section, level, or fight from “God of War” caused you endless frustration? Share your thoughts in the comments!