The most brutal God of War moments ever

Baldur – First Encounter (God of War 2018)

2018 reboot of god of war changed the DNA of the franchise in transformative ways, and the opening act of the game set the tone for the series’ new direction, showing Kratos as a dutiful father, leading a quiet life in the wilderness with his son Atreus. The calm of that setup is completely shattered with the introduction of Baldur. Kratos initially refuses to engage in Baldur’s taunts, but what at first appears to be a mild misunderstanding soon escalates into an all-encompassing god vs. God is talking in the snow.

What makes this fight so brutal is how intimate, detailed and up close and personal it is compared to any other fight we had seen in the series up to that point. Kratos and Baldur beat the living crap out of each other, which is nothing out of the ordinary. But the generational jump to the PS4 allowed developers Sony Santa Monica to bring the in-game camera closer to the action than ever before, increasing the graphical detail to the point where we can see drops of blood drying on Kratos and Baldur’s faces as they shrink and strain under their literally earth-shattering clash. In this case, the brutality is in the details. There is no mutilation or beheading here, but you can feel every blow and you can see the pain in the combatants’ eyes.

Poseidon (God of War III)

The boss fight with Poseidon as the opener God of War III is about perspective.

Kratos fights with the sea god on his ascent up Olympus to take revenge on the Pantheon, beating Poseidon until he is rendered almost defenseless. The camera then switches to a first-person view from Poseidon’s perspective as we watch Kratos mercilessly pulverize him. In a truly horrifying moment, Kratos essentially sticks his thumb in ours eyes until they pop. Super gross. The camera then switches back to third person just as Kratos throws Poseidon’s carcass off Olympus. Honestly though, it’s the eye that sticks with you.

Zeus (God of War III)

As God of War IIIhis open boss fight with Poseidon, Kratos’ ultimate showdown with Zeus uses a first-person perspective, but this time we see things from Kratos’ point of view as he swings the Blades of Chaos at his father and beats him into submission.

It’s the culmination of Kratos’ war against the Pantheon, and the game does justice to Zeus’ death. Staying in first-person perspective, the game lets you punch Zeus’ face into oblivion, to the point where the screen is completely drenched in his blood. It’s one of the most monumental deaths in franchise history, and definitely one of the bloodiest.