Highlights

• Modding breathes new life into God of War by offering gameplay tweaks, visual upgrades, and even dad jokes to make the Norse-themed game more enjoyable and lighthearted.
• The Young Kratos ReSkins mod brings back the appearance of Kratos from the original Greek trilogy, while Script Loader and Gameplay Tweaks offers cheat options and improved camera control.
• Other mods include disabling DLSS sharpening for better graphics, recoloring Kratos' weapons for a fresh look, and even changing the design of his shield for those who prefer a more aggressive fighting style.

The Adventures of Kratos and Boy are epic, but are they fun? The father-and-son dysfunction and Kratos' allergy to smiling might make things a little too serious or gloomy. Luckily, PC gamers know how to lighten things up and make Norse-flavored deicide more inviting thanks to mods. God of War is nearly 6 years old, after all. Its story has been told already, and continued in God of War: Ragnarök (which has yet to reach the PC as of this writing). The 2018 game's gonna start showing its age eventually.

God of War's mod collection has built up fast, with a variety of ones that offer quality-of-life upgrades or just wacky fun. These great God of War mods range from useful gameplay/visual upgrades to inside jokes and questionable character cosmetic changes. Some of them might even be enough to make Kratos chuckle, much to the Boy's delight.

Updated January 23rd, 2024, by David Heath: One year have passed, and God of War: Ragnarök remains the only GoW game that hasn't reached the PC yet. It may turn up this year, or pop up next year. But until one announcement or another gets declared, PC players still have to make do with just the beginning of Kratos' Norse adventures with "the Boy," his son, Atreus.

It's still a great game, but there's only so many times a person can play the same thing over and over again until the thrill is gone. Luckily, the modding scene is still quite lively, and has provided a few more mods for fans to tweak their games with. Whether it's improving the light shading, restoring Kratos' classic look, or replacing him with someone else entirely, these are more of God of War's best mods.

18 Young Kratos ReSkins

NexusMods Endorsements: 387

• Created by MrRaven.
• Available to Download here.

Kratos is a little worn out and weary in the reboot, so some players decided to bring back some of his youthful glow. By youthful glow, that means his appearance back when his hormonal rage and genocidal tendencies were unchecked. Young Kratos ReSkins brings back Kratos' looks from the original Greek trilogy of games.

The only beard here is a goatee and his jawline and musculature are a lot sharper and tighter compared to his latest dad model. In addition, the modder also included some alternative looks, like his Dark Odyssey costume from God of War 2 and his blue tattoo design from God of War 2005's prototypes. It also includes General Kratos from GoW2 and Fear Kratos from God of War 3.

17 Script Loader And Gameplay Tweaks

NexusMods Endorsements: 258

• Created by Nukem.
• Available to Download here.

Think of this one more as a collection of mods than a single entry, which is a godsend for PC owners who prefer less clutter in their file explorers. The Script Loader and Gameplay Tweaks mod also has some cheats that players can toggle in case they run into potentially game-breaking bugs or glitches.

These features are:

• No-clip.
• Free-fly camera.
• Ability to skip startup intro movies.
• Ability to disable depth of field (DOF).
• Ability to set a custom field of view.
• Patches to disable Windows version limitations (e.g. Windows 7).

Players can access all of these with a simple keypress. The noclip mode and freefly camera are notably useful for taking some pretty screenshots and seeing what the developers might've hidden in Midgard. Both are easy enough to control, so it shouldn't take players long to break those boundaries and see what's out there.

16 God Of Dad Jokes

NexusMods Endorsements: 107

• Created by Mophead.
• Available to Download here.

Apparently, Christopher Judge, aka Kratos' voice actor in GoW 2018, cracked some mighty fine dad jokes that sadly weren't used in the game's dialogue. So, God of Dad Jokes remedies that shortcoming by wedging in some of Judge's unused dad jokes in the cinematic scenes ("I'm sorry..." "Hi sorry, I'm Dad").

A word of warning though, this mod will break immersion and change Kratos' usually dour personality into the most serious cornball. So players are recommended to reserve this mod until after they have finished the game at least once. Otherwise, there goes the drama. Spoiled because Dad Kratos was less keen on picking up some lamb cress ("I'm a f*****g God of War!").

15 Disable DLSS Sharpening

NexusMods Endorsements: 61

• Created by L3X4RS.
• Available to Download here.

DLSS is a godsend from Nvidia and is arguably more important than its flagship tech, Raytracing. It practically frees the framerate since this downscaling & upscaling tech improves performance at the cost of a negligible image quality reduction. It's not without its shortcomings, however. Some DLSS implementations include image sharpening, which can be too much.

Such is the case in GoW 2018, because in some cases and shots, the overbearing DLSS sharpening can make the game look cel-shaded with its aggressive outlines. That's why the mod Disable DLSS Sharpening exists, and does what it says in the title: disables the sharpening to make the outlines look better in full HD. This way, players can enjoy smooth graphics as well as framerates.

14 JG's Leviathan Axe And Blades Of Chaos Recolors

NexusMods Endorsements: 161

• Created by JG7834.
• Available to Download here.

Tired of how Kratos' default weapons look? Even he needs a change of scenery and attire from time to time, so JG's Leviathan Axe and Blades of Chaos Recolors mod remedies that monotony by letting players pick their Leviathan Axe's colors like it's a lightsaber from Star Wars. The same also goes for the Blades of Chaos.

Players will be surprised at just how much a simple color change can freshen up the weapon's appearance. Players can pick nearly all the colors of the rainbow for their weapons, from a deep red to a soft purple. They can wield a literal Golden Axe, or swing a pink set of Blades at any Draugr that want to make that a problem.

13 Blades of Athena GOW3 Style-Blades of Exile

Endorsements: 72

• Created by ZoneXeni.
• Available to Download here.

Kratos returning home to break out the Blades of Chaos once more, despite his attempts to bury his past, is one of the standout moments in GoW 2018. Though some die-hard fans might be wondering how and where they suddenly turned up when Athena replaced them with her Blades of Athena at the end of the 2005 game, then turned them into the more powerful Blades of Exile in GoW3.

Even if they're not wondering about that, they might prefer the weapons offered by the Blades of Athena GOW3 Style-Blades of Exile mod. It redesigns the blades to look more like the ones he used back in GoW3. It also comes with 8 alternate designs, from a silver shade to a deep red, though they require upgrading the blades to Level 5 to access.

12 Less Annoying Item Cards

NexusMods Endorsements: 198

• Created by Rayjiun.
• Available to Download here.

While the game's UI is good, some players got a little too frustrated at the item cards, as they hung around on the screen much longer than they would've preferred. So, Rayjiun made some Less Annoying Item Cards, which helped a lot of players explore Midgard and loot chests more smoothly.

The mod is rather simple. It makes the item card notification disappear faster by reducing the downtime between its appearance and when players can press the skip button. The mod author was kind enough to include options regarding the speed of the delay, from 2x speed to 4x speed, and even Insta-Skip to close them as soon as they appear.

11 God Of War NG Plus Save File (PS4 Import)

NexusMods Endorsements: 248

• Created by enzonahuy.
• Available to Download here.

It's hard to avoid watching story summaries, spoilers, or gameplay videos from GoW 2018 over nearly 6 years. Unless PC players go in completely and intentionally blind to enjoy all the surprises and twists, they may end up rushing the game to get to the big gameplay bits instead of taking in the story and atmosphere.

After all, they would've seen all that from videos and streams online. If they want the joy of New Game+ without completing the game first, they can download an imported save from PS4 with a nearly complete progression via the God of War NG Plus Save File. It's barely a mod, but it essentially gives players fully upgraded gear, weapons, runes, etc., like a Full Upgrade Mod would anyway.

10 Invisible Shield

NexusMods Endorsements: 88

• Created by Trollaxethrower.
• Available to Download here.

It's still odd seeing Kratos with a shield and a more defensive fighting style after his more aggressive heydays in Ancient Greece. The only other time he used a shield in combat was via the Arms of Sparta in God of War: Ghost of Sparta on the PSP, and it took a backseat to the spear's jabby strikes. That's probably why some players prefer Kratos without the magical, circular aegis on his arm.

The Invisible Shield mod does just that by deleting Kratos' shield model and the shield armband that goes with it. He can still use it in gameplay, of course. It'll just be invisible, like the 'Mime of War' costume's blades in God of War: Chains of Olympus. This is especially aesthetically pleasing when Kratos gets his good old Blades of Chaos as players will be able to see those angsty chains more clearly.

9 Clean Invisible Armor And Wrist Armor

NexusMods Endorsements: 449

• Created by VVvisalVV.
• Available to Download here.

In addition to the shield, some Kratos die-hard fans might also prefer Kratos with his old getup, which is practically just a loincloth, greaves and some arm bracers. It's much colder in Midgard, so he kind of needs pants and extensive shoulder armor to stay warm (his stints in the mountains in GoW2 and GoW: GoS notwithstanding. But PC players don't have to worry about that and go back to Kratos' classic look.

Clean Invisible Armor And Wrist Armor does away with the models of the said armor and makes Kratos feel young again. This mod makes him topless, exposing those intimidating Spartan pectorals and most of his Spartan tattoos (a tribute to his late brother Deimos, according to lore). It makes Kratos look more photogenic, but it does mean it makes keeping track of what armor set he's wearing a trickier process now.

8 Less Fog And No Fog

NexusMods Endorsements: 275

• Created by DisablePP.
• Available to Download here.

There are times in the game where some of the atmospheric effects can look overdone. Especially in Alfheim, where the fog illuminates the place too much, and obscures some of the scenery. For many, this can be an annoying effect and those with poor eyesight could use less dense fog, or even no fog at all.

Which is where Less Fog and No Fog comes to the rescue. It's a pretty straightforward mod that either reduces the in-game fog or erases it completely, depending on player preference. One caveat with using this mod is that HDR won't work anymore, which means the colors will be less vivid or less accurate. That can be a price worth paying for some, but it's something to keep in mind either way.

7 Vulkan Launcher

NexusMods Endorsements: 646

• Created by Instanity666.
• Available to Download here.

While GoW 2018 is a well-optimized console port that runs well even on five-year-old hardware, players can actually squeeze out a few more frames of performance from the game. For example, it turns out the PC port didn't have an official toggle for the Vulkan API, which is highly advantageous for AMD graphics cards.

A quick tweak and DLL file modification enable that thanks to the Vulkan Launcher. It's a nifty file that players drop in the game directory so that lets the game run on the Vulkan API. On Nvidia cards, the difference might be negligible, but users with AMD cards have reported that their game's performance improved significantly, gaining an extra 10FPS on average.

6 No TAA No DOF

NexusMods Endorsements: 218

• Created by DisablePP.
• Available to Download here.

GoW 2018's graphics are still beautiful even years after its release thanks to the upgraded PC visuals. However, it does employ some polarizing graphical technologies, like Temporal Anti-aliasing (TAA). While it does reduce jagged edges well, it does so by blurring everything. As such, players that run the game at resolutions over 1080p might want to try out the No TAA No DOF mod.

It removes the TAA function, thus making the game's visuals sharper. Additionally, it also removes Depth of Field (DOF), which simulates how the eyes focus on objects. It can be toggled on and off with F4, and the HUD can be adjusted with F5. Players can work with the mod as linked, but DisablePP has also provided a link to an improved version of the mod via Reddit.

5 GOW Regrade

NexusMods Endorsements: 473

• Created by RIMBUSTA WONKA.
• Available to Download here.

Speaking of the game's visuals, there are graphics enthusiasts out there that probably find the game's visuals a little outdated already. It certainly doesn't compare well with 2022's high-end releases, let alone the upcoming eye bleeders this year.

Thankfully, ReShade presets such as the GOW Regrade are here to make the game even prettier than it is already. GOW Regrade focuses on enhancing the colors, shadows, and tone mapping sharpness. It's not as heavy or as excessive as other ReShade presets. It does just enough to enhance the game's graphics without going overboard, adjusting its looks in a more subtle manner.

4 Odin- Reshade

NexusMods Endorsements: 211

• Created by kyOuuZz_-
• Available to Download here.

If players want something more noticeable, they can give the Odin- Reshade mod a go. It alters the color, contrast, and sharpening to give the game a more cinematic look, making the interior parts and cavernous sections look much more moody and foreboding, and making details closer to the camera stick out more.

It comes with presets that the player can tweak, like removing the letterbox effect, or shifting the colors and contrast to their liking. However, some players have seen it affect the FPS as well. Anyone used to playing games at 90FPS or more would see it brought back down to 60FPS, which is too much for some.

3 Skip Playstation Intro Video On Startup

NexusMods Endorsements: 1,331

• Created by Instanity666.
• Available to Download here.

If there's one mod that might be necessary for a less frustrating and smoother GoW 2018 experience, it's probably this one. It's not like PC players don't know which platform funded and made the game possible anyway. No one's going to mistake Kratos for Master Chief or Mario. There is a skip button for it but even so, the system loading that video can cause a longer startup.

So, the Skip PlayStation Intro Video On Startup mod makes the game launch considerably faster by removing the PlayStation intro. The difference is only around a few seconds, but it lets players go straight into the menu after clicking the game icon on the PC. That can matter a lot when players just want to dip back in the game without seeing the same old screen over and over again.

2 Kratos No Eyebrows, No Beard Now New With Dead Eyes

NexusMods Endorsements: 134

• Created by DisablePP.
• Available to Download here.

Ever miss the old Kratos who shaved his beard so that his enemies can't pull on it? That's how it was back in the classical Greek era, where he only had a small goatee. By GoW 2018, he got a big beard that could easily betray Kratos if an enemy grabbed onto it. Not that the Draugr, Dark Elves or whoever try to do that, but it is a hazard.

Players can make him more combat-ready by shaving it off while retaining some manliness through a Tom Selleck caterpillar 'stache. The Kratos No Eyebrows No Beard mod does just that, while also taking out his eyebrows and giving him dark, dead eyes. Now Kratos can look less like the Ghost of Sparta and more like Parks and Recreation's Ron Swanson.

1 Grand Theft Of War

NexusMods Endorsements: 18

• Created by HungrySharkz.
• Available to Download here.

If Ron Swanson Kratos isn't to the players' taste, maybe they'd prefer him as CJ from Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas beating on a Baldur remodeled as Big Smoke. Or he could be GTA4's Niko Belic fighting off GTA: Vice City's Tommy Vercetti. Grand Theft of War lets players replace Kratos with CJ, Tommy, Big Smoke or Niko, and Baldur with Tommy or Big Smoke.

The mod uses their classic PS2 models, rather than the abominations from the Definitive Editions, along with Niko's PS3 model. They stick out next to everything else in the game, but that's all part of the fun of crazy mods like this. The only issue is that the mod is quite fiddly, requiring the Exile Armor or Death Vow set to be equipped, alongside some other tweaks. But once it's all in order, CJ & co. will be the ones taking the Boy to Jotunheim.