God of War (2018) the PlayStation exclusive title, has finally arrived on PC on 14th January 2022 and is now available on Steam and Epic Games Store for purchase. This absolute beauty of a third-person action game follows the evolving relationship and journey of Kratos, the God of War, and his “boy” Atreus to the highest peak in all of the nine realms.
If you are new to the world of gaming or have generally never played any God of War titles before, you must be wondering “whether I need to play the previous installments of the God of War to understand the story of God of War PC?”
God of War (2018) PC takes place in a distant future, far from the events of any previous installment, and could be called a soft reboot of the series, so there is no need to play any other God of War game before playing the God of War PC.
Players can enjoy the game’s storyline as a brand-new stand-alone experience. It has no direct connection to any of its previous installments except some minor hints to Kratos’ backstory.
Aaron Kaufman, SIE Santa Monica Studio’s senior community strategist, clearly announced this during a media event in 2018. He said,
You definitely don’t need to play the previous God of War games to enjoy this one, and that was a very deliberate decision by the team. It was really important to us that we didn’t explain Kratos’ past or where he was from because we want people to focus from the first frame on this journey going forward.
Aaron Kaufman, SIE Santa Monica Studio
But, if you are still curious about Kratos’ origin and want to play some really great action games in general, here is the list for release and chronological order of the God of War titles.
Release and Chronological Order of God of War Series
I. Release Order
| Year | Title | Platform |
| 2005 | God of War I | PS2 |
| 2007 | God of War II | PS2 |
| 2008 | Chains of Olympus | PSP |
| 2010 | God of War III | PS3 |
| 2010 | Ghost of Sparta | PSP |
| 2013 | Ascension | PS3 |
| 2018 | God of War | PS4 |
II. Chronological Order
- Ascension
- Chains of Olympus
- God of War (2005)
- Ghost of Sparta
- God of War II
- God of War III
- God of War (2018)
Note: The list above only contains PlayStation exclusive titles.
If you do not want to spend extra time playing the previous games but still want to understand the backstory, here is a brief explanation of the events leading up to God of War PC.
All You Need to Know Before Playing God of War PC – Story So Far…
I. God of War (2005)
Kratos, a spartan army commander, offered his life/soul to Ares, the Greek God of War, in exchange for victory in a lost battle against the Barbarian army. Ares grants him his wish and binds Kratos to the Blade of Chaos, the iconic dual-wielding curved swords, as a reminder of his oath.
Kratos becomes a pawn of Ares and starts murdering in his name, slowly losing his humanity. Being driven by anger and bloodlust, Kratos is tricked by Ares into killing his own wife and daughter.
Kratos vows revenge against Ares and is also cursed by the Oracle to wear the ashes of his wife and daughter for the rest of his life, giving him the iconic white look and nickname “The Ghost of Sparta.”
Athena (Ares’ Sister) further orders Kratos to kill Ares, which he willingly does, making him the new God of War.
II. Ghost of Sparta
In Ghost of Sparta, Kratos sees the death of his mother and the brother, who was kidnapped long ago by Ares at the command of Zeus, the King of Gods. Athena offers Kratos to make him a full-fledged god, but Kratos turns her down and declares vengeance against all the gods.
III. God of War II
Worried by the growing powers of Kratos, the gods plan to kill Kratos. Zeus and Kratos contend in a death battle, and as Kratos is about to land the final blow, Athena jumps in front of Kratos’ blade and reveals that Zeus is his father and that if Zeus dies, all of the Olympus will fall, killing all the gods. Kratos replies, “I have no father.”
IV. God of War III
Kratos builds an army along with the Titans and starts climbing Mount Olympus. They manage to defeat Posideon but are struck down by Zeus. The Titans do not help Kratos as he falls to his death. Kratos then defeats Hades, the underworld god, and is again challenged by Zeus in a final battle. Kratos finally kills Zeus and Gaia the Titan.
With Zeus and Gaia gone, Kratos has killed all the gods and titans. The story ends when Kratos stabs himself but the trail of blood going over the cliff hints that he is still alive.
After this, we again see Kratos but far from Greece, now all grown old, along with a son named Atreus in God of War 2018.
About God of War(2018)
Developed by Santa Monica Studios, God of War is a single-player action-adventure game. Unlike the previous installments of the franchise that deals with Greek mythology, this installment is set in Norse lore.
Before dying, Kratos’ second wife’s last wish is for her to be cremated at the highest peak of the nine realms. Therefore, with his son, Atreus, Kratos embarks on a difficult journey teeming with monsters and gods to fulfill his wife’s final request.
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