The ultimate dad, daddy, Padre and father, everyone’s favourite God of War Kratos is absolutely the gaming medium’s best dad.
No one needs reminding of how 2018’s God of War won literally all of the awards with its trailblazing take on Norse Mythology, but it’s always worth shining a light on the relationship between Kratos and Atreus.
God of War is a uniquely introspective game, and thus one that is also aware of how much of a departure it is to see Kratos as an actual father figure. He’d spent the previous three games massacring the entire Greek pantheon of Gods, so when we find him in the new God of War - stoic, contemplative and obviously caring - it’s a refreshing change.
To date, God of War provides one of the most compelling father-son dynamics in any video game. It’s a dynamic that changes drastically over the course of the game, but hey, there’s a reason why Kratos - and obviously the game itself - are both so adored.
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We love teamwork! Who doesn't? This article is a collaborative effort between
Ewan Paterson and Jules Gill.
WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well.
In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.
