Summary
Ever since the firstGod of Wargame launched on the PlayStation 2 almost two decades ago, the franchise has been one of Sony’s biggest. Telling the story of the vengeful Spartan warrior turned-god Kratos, the series is known for its epic storytelling, unique take on Greek mythology, and incredible gameplay.
Kratos has becomeone of PlayStation’s best anti-heroes, and he’s done so by slicing his way through two whole pantheons of gods. While most of the gods Kratos has faced have been mighty immortals, not all of them have put on such a convincing showing. In fact, some of them have come across as downright weak.
When picking the gods for this list, we took into account game lore, feats, and the role the gods played in the story.
Magni and Modi kind of come as a pair, so they’re worth lumping together. Seeing as they’re both sons of Thor,one ofGod of War’s most powerful gods, one might think the two brothers would be pretty strong. And to be fair, inGod of War 2018, they dogive Kratos a pretty good fight. At least for a while.
Both brothers boast super-human strength and the ability to manipulate lightning. Their first fight against Kratos and Atreus is a grueling one, and at times the duos seem fairly well-matched. That is until Kratos buries the blade of his ax firmly in Magni’s skull. Thecowardly Modi then runs away,only to be stabbed in the neck by the child Atreus much later in the story.
The two brothers might seem strong at first, but it has to be remembered that inGod of War 2018, Kratos is rusty and fighting without all the toys and powers he picked up in the original games. Even worse,Modi got taken out by Atreus, which is a little embarrassing. Still, they put up a decent fight for a short while, landing them in last place.
Any comic book fan knows that speedsters are underrated. Hermes is basically thegod of speedsters. Sadly for him, he’s also proof that over-reliance on one power and too much arrogance can make even the most blessed gods weak.
God of Warhas featured a lot of noble gods, but Hermes isn’t one of them. With his incredible speed, he should have been able to quickly put down Kratos, who couldn’t land a hit on him. Instead, hewasted time joking around and gloating, handing Kratos the chance to corner him. Cornered and forced to fight Kratos one-on-one,Hermes was no match for Kratosin the strength department. With his enemy unable to run away, Kratos easily overpowers Hermes and takes off his legs before killing him. Seemingly powerful at first, ultimately Hermes' arrogance and stupidity meant he was no match for everyone’s favorite God of War.
Persephone is one of Greek mythology’s most tragic characters, and that’s reflected inGod of War: Chains of Olympus. Not originally a villain, the game sees Persephone plotting with the Titan Atlas to destroy the world. More of aplotter than a fighter, her combat skills are ultimately found to be lacking. To say she’s the Queen of the Underworld, she also wields none of the usual powers fans would associate with such a role.
In her ultimate battle against Kratos, Persephone puts up a valiant fight, using her powers to telekinetically throw rocks at him, summon beams of energy, and fly around the arena to avoid his attacks. Unfortunately for her, she’s stillno match for Sony’s angriest mascot, and Kratos uses the Gauntlets of Zeus to smash her to death. It’s one ofthe darkest endings in the franchise, leaving a once noble goddess dead and Kratos once again alone after choosing to abandon his beloved daughter.
4Hephaestus (God Of War 3)
Powerful, Just Not In Combat
Poor old Hephaestus had a face only a mother could love. A surprisingly important god, he acted as asmith to the Olympiansand was the one they came to when they wanted a shiny new toy. Gifted in pyrokinesis and electrokinesis, Hephaestus was such askilled alchemistthat he could basically create something out of nothing. It was he who created Pandora, the goddess who would later become the key to killing the mighty Zeus once and for all.
So what’s he doing here? Despite his gifts, Hephaestus was absolutely no good in a fight. Trusting Hephaestus over Helios wasone of Kratos' smartest decisions, but sadly, Hephaestus was ultimatelyforced to unwillingly betray Kratos. When the two finally came to blows, it was a short and very one-sided fight. Kratos easily disarmed Hephaestus before electrocuting him with the Nemesis Whip and impaling him in the stomach with an anvil spike. Kratos barely broke a sweat, and Hephaestus died begging the ashen warrior to spare Pandora. Despite the betrayal, Kratos never seemed to hold any ill will against his former ally.
3Mimir (God Of War 2018)
He’s A Head
It’s pretty easy to see why Mimir ranks so highly as one of the weakestGod of Wargods. He’s literally asevered head that Kratos carriesaround for most of the 2018 release. Still,God of Waris one ofthe best games inspired by folklore, and it does the legendary Mimir a disservice to discount him as just a severed head.
Originally a Fae king, Mimir became an Aesir god after becoming Odin’s trusted advisor. Despite being thewisest of the gods, Mimir eventually got on the increasingly paranoid Odin’s bad side. This resulted in Odin transforming Mimir into a tree and sticking him on top of a mountain. Odin then tortured the poor god for ten years until Kratos turned up and decided to play woodcutter. Mimir might not be physically strong, and he’s no good in a fight, but the fact hesurvived Odin’s torturefor so long has to count for something.
2Aphrodite (God Of War 3)
A Lover Not A Fighter
Aphrodite appears in the originalGod of WarandGod of War 3. Players never get to learn that much about her, but the little bit fans know suggests she’sone of the weaker gods, at least physically. She plays the most prominent role inGod of War 3when she offers Kratos some information he needs in exchange for a “good time.” The player is free to say yes or no, although agreeing results in one of the franchise’s most cringe-worthy minigames.
From what we see of Aphrodite, she hasno physical feats and no combat powers. All that can be said for her is that her beauty is so spellbinding that it manages to stop the normally kill-happy Kratos from murdering her on sight. That’s about it. As powers go, being pretty is one of the least impressive, earning Aphrodite a top spot.
1Hera (God Of War 3)
Snap Goes The Neck
God of Warhasa ton of strong female characters, and anyone who knows about Greek mythology might think Hera would be one of them. Wife to Zeus in the original mythology, Hera wassecond only to her husband in godly power. In theGod of Waruniverse, though, she’s pretty much the opposite.
Hera spends most ofGod of War 3being as manipulative and bitter as possible, and her primary role throughout is to act as a thorn in Kratos' side. Towards the end of the game, she makes the mistake of taunting Kratos one too many times by referring to Pandora as “that little w***e.“Kratos responds by snapping her neck like a particularly skinny stick. Hera barely sees it coming. There’s no big confrontation, no epic boss battle, just a snap. Even more humiliatingly, Kratos then uses her corpse to solve a pressure plate puzzle. An embarrassing end forGod of War’sweakest god.
