Following the death of Kratos's second wife and Atreus's mother, Faye, the two embark on a journey to fulfill her request that her ashes be spread at the highest peak of the nine realms.

Described by creative director Cory Barlog as a reimagining of the franchise, a major gameplay change is that Kratos makes prominent use of a magical battle axe instead of his signature double-chained blades.

Three days before God of War's release, a smartphone companion app called Mímir's Vision was made available, providing additional information about the game's Norse setting.

God of War received universal acclaim from critics for its story, world design, art direction, music, graphics, combat system, and characters, in particular the dynamic between Kratos and Atreus.

Throughout the game, players battle Norse mythological foes, like dark elves, wulvers, and draugrs,[12] as well as Gullveig and the revenants, beings warped by seiðr magic, among many others.

After ending up in ancient Scandinavia following his war against Olympus, he met his second wife, Laufey (addressed as Faye), who died from an unknown cause shortly before the start of the game.

The main antagonist is the Æsir god Baldur (Jeremy Davies), the half-brother of Thor, whose sons Modi and Magni (Nolan North and Troy Baker, respectively) assist him.

[30] Other characters include Mímir (Alastair Duncan), who claims to be the smartest man alive, and the Huldra Brothers—Brok (Robert Craighead) and Sindri (Adam J. Harrington)—dwarves who appear at various points in the world and assist Kratos and Atreus by forging new gear.

Along the way to Midgard's peak, they encounter the Dwarves Brok and Sindri, the kindly Witch of the Woods, who recognizes Kratos's godhood, and Jörmungandr, the World Serpent.

Their fight with Baldur is shown, revealing he sought Faye the whole time under orders from Odin, unaware she was dead and Atreus was referred to as Loki by his mother and the Giants.

Returning to Midgard, they retrieve Mímir, who warns them Baldur's death has caused the three-year-long Fimbulwinter to begin nearly a century earlier than prophesized, meaning Ragnarök is soon to follow.

[26] Some gameplay characteristics such as jumping, swimming, and instant-death platforming challenges found in the previous installments were cut because of the camera being closer to Kratos.

[21] Barlog said about forty percent of the team did not originally agree with this decision due to the increased work and production to implement the feature,[38] especially since this was the first time that a one-shot technique was being used for a three-dimensional AAA game.

For Brok and Sindri, it was to obtain more powerful gear, but for the wayward spirits, it was because of Atreus's naiveté and kind-hearted nature, as well as opportunities for Kratos to teach him life lessons.

I wanted to reimagine the gameplay, give players a fresh perspective and a new tactile experience while delving deeper into the emotional journey of Kratos to explore the compelling drama that unfolds when an immortal demigod makes a decision to change.

"[55] In changing the narrative focus, Studstill said, "I think we inherently knew the franchise needed to evolve in that emotional beat and be something meatier for the older generation of gamers.

"[69] Based on his memory of the earlier games' music, however, he was inspired by their sounds, such as "deep choirs, pounding drums, and shrieking brass", and reinvented them for the Nordic setting.

[68] He spent several months working with Barlog, Scaturro, Leary, Sony music director Chuck Doud, and the rest of the development team to make this new theme.

The bundle included the standard base game, a PlayStation 4 Pro console decorated with the runes on Kratos's axe, and a similarly themed DualShock 4 controller with the God of War logo.

After archery training and learning runes with his mother, Atreus ventures into the wilderness after telepathically hearing the voice of a dying deer; he finds it covered in blood and stays with it during its final moments.

[91][92] Raising Kratos is a YouTube documentary of Santa Monica Studio's five-year process in making the game, showing the "herculean effort" that went into reviving the franchise.

[129] God of War received particular praise for its art direction, graphics, combat system, music, story, use of Norse mythology, characters, and cinematic feeling.

Speaking of the relationship between Kratos and Atreus, Faulkner wrote that, "Watching the two grow throughout their journey is incredibly rewarding," equating it to that of Ellie and Joel from The Last of Us or Lee and Clementine from Telltale Games's The Walking Dead.

"[119] Writing for Polygon, Chris Plante praised the camerawork as a technical marvel, noting the seamless nature of the game shifting from cinematic back to the gameplay.

"[118] Dan Ryckert of Giant Bomb claimed that games like Uncharted: The Lost Legacy and Horizon Zero Dawn "made great cases for a PS4 Pro and a 4K television, but God of War's visuals are a bigger selling point than anything I've seen on Sony's platform to date.

[115] Juba noted that although this type of upgrading "may be less exciting" compared to previous games where Kratos just learns new moves, it still "provides a powerful incentive to explore.

[216] In March 2022, it was reported that a live action television series was said to be in development at Amazon Prime Video by Mark Fergus, Hawk Ostby, and Rafe Judkins.

[217] During an investor briefing that May, Sony Interactive Entertainment president Jim Ryan confirmed that a God of War television series was in development for Prime Video.

[218] The series was officially ordered in December 2022 and is being produced by Sony Pictures Television and Amazon Studios in association with PlayStation Productions, and it will premiere on Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide.

[222] In October, however, it was reported that while multiple scripts for the first season had been completed and although both Sony and Prime gave praise, Fergus, Ostby, and Judkins left the project as the studios wanted to start over and go in a different direction.