God of War Ragnarok puts family trauma front and center, exploring the ugly truth of families.
I remember the first time I saw my dad cry. I was a teenager, in the midst of a bad patch, and he was driving me home. As we danced around what was going on with me, as he always did, his eyes began to well up. He was worried – and I was stunned. I didn’t quite understand then what had sparked this emotional seepage, my dad had been a military man and we rarely spoke about feelings but, on this occasion, he couldn’t contain his concern. I felt for him.
I buried that memory. Yet, God of War Ragnarok brought it to the surface. It made me have more than a couple of emotional seepages of my own. Perhaps that’s because my journey with Kratos and Atreus to the highest peak in the Nine Realms had made me emotionally invested in their turbulent and often heartwrenching relationship. Maybe it’s because I saw the same expression my dad had on his face that day on Kratos’ throughout Ragnarok and I finally understood it. It’s probably both.
God of War Ragnarok’s exploration of parental themes is nothing new. God of War sowed the seeds of stormy father/son relationships with poignancy. Ragnarok, however, expands upon this by exploring how the bonds between parents and children can make or break us and how trauma can seep through a family. But, this time, the focus isn’t simply on Kratos and Atreus.
Spoilers for God of War and God of War Ragnarok ahead.
When we pick up with Kratos and Atreus in Ragnarok, there’s a noticeable difference in the pair’s relationship. The scared, often annoying, Atreus we once knew has been replaced by a confident, competent teenager, who no longer needs his father’s help in the way he once did – or so he thinks. Kratos, too, has undergone a change. Having grown more empathetic towards his son on their journey to the Nine Realms, Kratos’ trust in Atreus seems only to have grown. At times, even he seems taken aback by how his once center-stage role has been sidelined somewhat by Atreus’ newfound capability.
The events of God of War Ragnarok put that relationship to the ultimate test. There’s a constant back and forth between the two throughout the game as the adolescent Atreus strives to prove he is a man now – while Kratos must remind him that he still has much to learn.
