God Of War Ragnarok Review: 7 Ups & 3 Downs (No Spoilers)

3. Christopher Judge’s Kratos

Shout outs go to Sunny Suljic as Atreus, Danielle Bisutti's Freya and Ryan Hurst's Thor, to name but three characters we'll be dissecting once more people see the entirety of the story, but Christopher Judge's Kratos deserves the video game equivalent of an Oscar, or an Oscar itself.

Almost feeling like a great oak tree forcing itself back into battle, or a walled-off individual figuring out how to express the correct "amount" of emotion while remaining a figure of authority, teaching and understanding, Judge's Kratos is in a league of his own.

Simply through effectively subtle facial movements or the way Judge delivers certain lines, they come with what feels like endless amounts of in-canon hardship.

We know Kratos has seen a lot of battle and general hardship in his time, and Christopher Judge plays the character with every bit the leaden struggle that would weigh down any real-world veteran of multiple wars and conflicts.

I'll happily say I was in tears multiple times, simply from Kratos' considered movements and expressions alone. Christopher Judge has put on a masterclass of storytelling through minimalist physical acting, and Ragnarok's Kratos in particular should be treasured as one of gaming's greatest performances.