The Hardest Boss From Every God of War Game

“God of War” (2005) The original God of War and the bane of Kratos’ existence, Ares more than lives up to his reputation. The first game ends with a grueling fight against him made up of three phases. The first gives Ares access to several high-damage attacks that annoyingly have quite a bit of range, including one with an AOE stunning effect and one where he rapidly rains fireballs down upon you. The second phase puts you in Kratos’ damaged psyche as you attempt to save his family from evil doppelgangers. This can be pretty irksome given his family’s separate health bar and the overwhelming persistence of your enemies. Finally, it’s a sword duel where Kratos gains the Blade of the Gods. Unfortunately, the Blade’s attacks are fairly slow, making this phase more a test of endurance as you wait for the right time to strike.

“God of War II” (2007) Kratos’ betrayal at the hands of Zeus, who had championed him against Ares, stung quite a bit. So we were glad to face him at the end of “God of War II.” He prefers to play things safe at first, the coward, by growing to enormous size and tossing projectiles while Kratos fights off his minions; Sirens, who have the annoying ability to briefly stun you. However, it’s actually when Zeus returns to his normal size that he’s most troublesome. The old geezer moves surprisingly fast, dashing into Kratos and pummeling him with ease. Naturally, he also loves unleashing a series of lightning attacks that’ll quickly shorten Kratos’ health. He’ll even consistently steal the Sword of Olympus to use it against you. Zeus’ actions make him easy to hate, but his combat tactics make it even more so.

“God of War: Betrayal” (2007) Given that this mobile game barely has any bosses, it makes total sense that its toughest is the one who comes last. Ceryx, son of Hermes, is sent by Zeus to stop Kratos’ vendetta during the climax. But if you know Hermes was no match for Kratos, you can guess how Ceryx fares. He uses a staff to attack, but with Kratos being the tornado of blades that he is, it isn’t too hard to slice and dice Ceryx before he lands a hit on you. His most troublesome quality is summoning loyal Cerberi to divide your attention, which can also easily gang up on you if you’re not careful. If Kratos never lets up, Ceryx and his hellhounds will be mincemeat soon enough.

“God of War: Chains of Olympus” (2008) There will never come a time when we don’t hate a self-healing boss. But there are plenty of other abilities Charon has that make this fight difficult. Your first encounter with him is impossible to win as he’ll eventually heal himself and toss Kratos aside. Giving us a taste of his maddening attributes just made us want to vanquish him more. Charon is a slippery foe, bobbing, weaving, and teleporting throughout the fight. His scythe gives him long range while he uses magic to send out shockwaves and projectiles. Thankfully, these projectiles are easy to manage because everything else is a problem. He’ll heal himself no fewer than 3 times throughout the match, with Kratos having to destroy fiery pillars to stop him. He grows more aggressive each time, with a stunning, heavy damage-dealing magic attack being particularly frustrating.

“God of War III” (2010) With “God of War III” being the end of the Greek Era, Sony Santa Monica concluded with one of the longest and toughest boss fights of the franchise. First, you’ll fight Zeus on a 2D plane which he seems incredibly comfortable with, flying, teleporting, dive-bombing, and electrocuting you at any given opportunity. It’s hard to tell where an attack will come from next. His next phase in a 3D arena isn’t any easier, it just gives him more room to work with. While inside Gaia, he’ll frequently use the Titan’s heart to heal himself. Sure, you can do the same thing but it’s a lot harder with Zeus multiplying himself and electrifying the very ground you’re standing on. Fittingly of a climax, it's a fight that left our palms sweaty and our hearts racing.

“God of War: Ghost of Sparta” (2010) “Ghost of Sparta” doesn’t have a lot of boss fights, and the ones it does have aren’t too difficult. However, Thanatos, the final boss and God of Death, is certainly the most challenging even if Kratos does have his brother Deimos to lend a hand. Thanatos will switch between his human and beast forms throughout the fight. Naturally, his attacks grow more aggressive with each transformation. His human form carries a big sword that can deal a deadly three-hit combo and will fly out of reach just to grapple you or your brother. His beast form shoots massive projectiles, which are graciously easy to see coming, but will also swipe and pound the ground. He still kills poor Deimos, which makes beating him that much sweeter.

“God of War: Ascension” (2013) Often and correctly thought of as the black sheep in the “God of War” family, “Ascension’s” boss fights are even less challenging than those in “Ghost of Sparta.” In fact, the one who gave us the most trouble was Aegaeon, the very first one. But it isn’t just the boss’ power and attack patterns that make it tough. While you don’t actually fight the gigantic being, you do fight ferociously large parasites that have taken over his extremities. He’s one of the largest enemies Kratos has ever faced, and part of the fight’s difficulty comes from the camera pulling way out to show his scope while making Kratos look like an itty bitty ant. It was tough enough with ginormous claws and minion summoning, but the camera’s added confusion made us lose ourselves too many times.

“God of War” (2018) The Queen of the Valkyries isn’t just the hardest boss in the 2018 entry; she’s the hardest boss across the entire series and it isn’t even close. She comes equipped with all of the attacks from the previous Valkyries, except for the ability to summon Draugr. But she really doesn’t need any help when it comes to hammering Kratos into the dirt. While you’re used to seeing these attacks by now, Sigrun’s are much stronger and she pulls them off so quickly, you’ll hardly have time to register what’s happening before you’re dead. Scythe slices, boot stomps, deadly projectiles, and more will all deplete Kratos’ health bar almost immediately, even on easier difficulties. Sigrun succinctly showed how she earned her crown and we shudder to think what “Ragnarok” may bring to top her.