The God of War series is one of Playstation’s finest. This premier action-adventure series follows Kratos’ bloody journey full of intrigue, violence and lust for revenge. God of War, as the name suggests, focuses violence, action, blood and gore. This makes for some exhilarating gameplay as the games weave between hordes upon hordes of enemies and theatrical set-pieces. The series is, at its core, hours upon hours of an adrenaline rush.
God of War does also, however, feature a solid story and despicable villains, which makes it all the better when Kratos bashes them. The latest entry has taken the franchise in a new direction. With God of War Ragnarok’s recent release, it's the perfect time to look over the franchise’s most cathartic and satisfying moments.
10 God of War 3: Killing Poseidon
God of War 3 commences Kratos’ final clash with the Gods of Olympus in emphatic style. Kratos climbs up Gaia’s arm to face Poseidon, after which there ensues a hack and slash sequence and some cinematic moments. The camera flips, and both adversaries are suddenly upside down. Following this is a puzzle sequence.
When the player is finally done with the distractions, a massive destructive Poseidon awaits. After a truly epic clash, Poseidon regains his humanoid form, only for the player to watch Kratos pound him to oblivion. This truly jaw-dropping moment sets up Kratos’ journey in perfect fashion with its satisfying and gruesome violence.
9 God of War 4: Beating Sigrun
The 2018 God of War game features a somewhat open-world design and tons of post-game content. The lion’s share of this is in the form of battles across the key regions of the map with the Valkyries. These battles are all slick, fast-paced, and challenging. To top them off comes Sigrun, the big bad of the game.
Sigrun is exceptionally difficult by God of War standards. This fight is truly an ordeal and takes most players several tries and upgrades. Finally besting Sigrun in a drawn-out battle to watch Kratos enacting his brutal fury is truly cathartic and a perfect send-off to the game.
8 God of War 2: The Colossus of Rhodes
God of War 2 is considered one of the best Playstation 2 games ever, and for good reason. This opening fight against the Colossus of Rhodes is one of the best in the series. As Kratos slowly claws his way and beats the Colossus, it's one of the most cinematic sequences in video game history.
The fight is challenging and definitely gets a player’s heart beating fast; one mistake can cost the player everything. Successfully beating the Colossus leads to a cutscene with Kratos absolutely demolishing it from the inside out, a satisfying reward.
7 God of War: Killing Ares
Ares is the reason for all of Kratos’ pain and suffering. He’s the architect of Kratos' and his family’s demise and led the God of War protagonist to madness. The first God of War, at its core, is a tale of revenge.
The monster that Ares created fights his way through pain, suffering, and endless enemies to get a chance at vengeance, and Kratos makes the most of it. At the climax of the game, Kratos drives a giant blade through Ares’ heart, killing him.
6 God of War Chains of Olympus: Kratos and His Daughter
Chains of Olympus sees Kratos reuniting with his daughter in the temple of Persephone. This moment is quite a tearjerker — finally, after all his trials and tribulations, he gets to see his daughter again. Whilst this warm moment fills all players with joy, it is quite brief.
Kratos is forced to choose between his daughter and his mission. He chooses the latter and carries on with wreaking havoc on Olympus. A brief moment of humanity was definitely something to be cherished in the earlier games in the series.
5 God of War 4: Killing Baldur
Baldur, or the Traveler, is a constant thorn in the player’s side throughout the game. The fights with him are all crafted to perfection, with every blow feeling like an earthquake. The first fight is brutal and takes place up close and personal. Players feel every punch they land and every hit they block, thanks to the camera angles and sound design.
When Baldur returns at the end of the game, the fight is even better. More importantly, the emotional weight the fight now carries is immense. Baldur’s gory death is essentially the end of a story for all those involved. Freya’s reaction only adds to this. Players may feel a sense of catharsis at this fantastic game being capped off with such a satisfying and climactic death.
4 God of War 2: Fighting Atropos and Lakhesis
Kratos’ fight with the Fates sisters is quite empathic. The Sisters of Fate battle is one of the most mechanically solid duels in the series. But what makes this fight and victory special is how the battle is woven with portions of Kratos’ past coming back to haunt him.
This fight carries real weight in the grand scheme of the franchise's story. That is perhaps what makes it so good, and so emotionally effecting and satisfying.
3 God of War 3: Killing Cronos
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The battle with Cronos is still the best fight in this game. This fight is epic in every sense of the word, and the scale is massive. Watching Kratos fight through hordes of enemies and obstacles to claw at this titan bit by bit, piece by piece, is fantastic.
The fight is also the peak of Kratos’ savagery. Players get to watch him carve up and destroy Cronos in a drawn-out and satisfying end. The battle is as long as it is challenging, and finally defeating the foe leads to one of the most satisfying endings in action game history.
2 God of War 3: The Final Showdown
Kratos’ final goal in God of War has always been revenge, particularly on his father Zeus. The entire arduous journey spanning three main titles and two side titles has been for this. Killing Zeus and ridding the world of all the Gods residing in Olympus. After a challenging journey which involved killed the likes of Poseidon, Hephaestus, Hercules, and Chronos, Kratos finally gets to fight Zeus.
This sequence is the series at its best: brutal and bloody. It can last up to an hour and features multiple flashbacks and multiple different stages of combat, but ultimately, Kratos wins. Zeus’ death is one of the goriest in video game history, but it’s a satisfying conclusion to an amazing trilogy.
1 God of War 4: Reuniting With The Blades of Chaos
2018’s God of War is a completely different game to its predecessors. The game follows an older, wearier, more protective Kratos on his journey to protect his son and honor his wife.
There are barely any callbacks to Kratos’ past, and the game is very careful with its references until the proper time. Kratos needs his old strength to fight his new foes and protect Atreus. This leads to one of the most emotionally satisfying moments in the series. Kratos brings out the Blades of Chaos and slowly wraps them around his wrists, sending goosebumps across the spines of games everywhere.