Kratos and the God of War series are about as intrinsically linked as it's possible to be, so a world in which he doesn't feature might feel inconceivable, particularly if you're a big fan of the releases so far.
This arguably only deepened after the 2018 reboot, with the two games that released doing a lot to flesh out the character himself, as someone considerably more nuanced than just a brawny bloke chopping people's heads off.
That said, time waits for no man and there is a future where he may be replaced by another, with many placing his son Atreus as the natural successor. Even though he is a beloved character in his own right at this point, the community is totally torn about whether or not it's a good idea.
"I don't really want to play a God of War game as anyone but Kratos. If there was to be an Atreus-focused game in the series, I'd probably be apprehensive about it. Though, I think narratively, Atreus having playable segments and agency in Ragnarök's story was important. I don't think it means they are phasing out Kratos, personally," one comment said over on Reddit.
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"My ideal scenario is they keep going with God of War with Kratos as the protagonist. I think there’s a lot more they could do with him especially in the time between the original trilogy and the new games as well as taking him to new mythologies," another added in the same thread.
Others felt the negativity around the idea was misplaced, with one saying, "All I hear is people echoing the same. 'I don't want a whole game like the Ironwood section,' as if that would be the entirety of an Atreus focused game. God forbid Santa Monica Studios be able to structure gameplay and story around a different character."
Whatever SIE Santa Monica Studios does decide to do with the next God of War games, they've certainly given themselves a lot to live up to. Whether Atreus is the character to get them there, remains to be seen.
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Topics: God Of War, PlayStation