God of War is a 2018 action-adventure game developed by Santa Monica Studio and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment for the PlayStation 4. It is the eighth installment in the God of War series, the eighth chronologically, and the sequel to 2010’s God of War III. A port to Windows was released in 2022, marking the series’ debut on personal computers.

Unlike previous games, which were loosely based on Greek mythology, this installment is loosely inspired by Norse mythology, with the majority of it set in ancient Scandinavia in the realm of Midgard. For the first time in the series, there are two protagonists: Kratos, the former Greek God of War who remains the only playable character, and his young son, Atreus. 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. Kratos keeps his troubled past a secret from Atreus, who is unaware of his divine nature. Along their journey, they come into conflict with monsters and gods of the Norse world.

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; his signature double-chained blades serve as an alternative method of combat. God of War also uses an over-the-shoulder free camera, with the game in one shot, as opposed to the fixed cinematic camera of the previous entries. The game also includes role-playing game elements, and Kratos’s son Atreus provides assistance in combat. The majority of the original game’s development team worked on God of War and designed it to be accessible and grounded. A separate short text-based game, A Call from the Wilds, was released in February 2018 through Facebook Messenger and follows Atreus on his first adventure. 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.