Chains of Olympus, an unseen threat lurks in the shadows...

At the start of the Chains of Olympus we see Kratos helping the Spartan, and Athenian armies defend Attica from the Persian Navy. Right away I was invested in the game, as it captured the spark of the original God of War. The developers at Ready at Dawn Studios took a sudden turn after Kratos had killed the Basilisk. The sun fell from the sky. The world was plunged into darkness, and Kratos ran to the city of Marathon to investigate. I think the fact that Kratos ran from one town to the other was a nod to the fabled story of Pheidippides the herald that ran from Marathon to Athens to announce that the armies had defeated the Persians.

Kratos discovered the chariot of Helios, the sun god, had crashed in the city.

There was something ominous about the fog that rolled into town. It was dark, and crackled with blue electric sparks. Monsters began appearing from the smoke that enveloped the city. You could hear people yelling to stay out of the fog. That little detail really impressed me.

If there was one thing that I felt lacked in the GoW series it was the lack of regular citizens. I understood that in the middle of war then people would have hidden. They wouldn’t be wandering the streets. Yet at the same time having gorgeous open environment, and never seeing another person made the world feel empty. Just having audio cues from the citizens of Marathon calling out made the events feel more real.

If you got too close to the fog then Kratos would take damage. The only way to break through the supernatural mist was to push a box that was burning. Or light a cart full of hay, and roll it along the desolate streets.

The spirits, and monsters that attacked Kratos looked unique. In previous GoW titles we saw the minions of Hades, Poseidon, Ares, or Zeus take on the god of war. They mostly looked like zombies in armor. This time the creatures had freakish looks, and creepy glowing eyes. They were not from this world, or the realm of the gods. They were known as Shades.

These new types of enemies were created from the world of nightmares. Their design was a unique balance of mythological monster, and night terror come to life. As he fights his way through the city Kratos hears a familiar sound, but can’t place the origin.

Kratos eventually makes it to the chariot of Helios which is absolutely massive. The chariot actually has a temple dedicated to the god on top. He finds a statue of Athena so he can communicate with her. Athena sounds weak, she is quickly losing consciousness. She explains that Morpheus, the god of dreams, is vying for power. Somehow he has taken down Helios, and the Olympians are falling into a slumber they cannot wake from. Now in the darkness his armies, and his powers grow.

Sadly we never see Morpheus in the game. He is spoken about in narrations, and cut scenes, but the actual god is never present. I’m almost certain he would have looked amazing. If he was anything like the Shade monsters then I’m sure he would have been a memorable boss fight for Kratos.

The story of Chains of Olympus is recalled through the Morpheus Armor / Skin featured in GoW III. It gives players a hint of what Morpheus’ costume might have looked like, or how his powers would have affected Kratos.

Kratos explores the temple, and fights off all sorts of monsters sent by Morpheus. He discovers a statue of another goddess that begins asking him for help. It is Eos, the sister of Helios. She tells Kratos that he needs to free the Fire Steeds, they are three Horse Gods of Wind: Euros, Notus, and Zephyros. Their spirits are trapped within the temple. They normally pull the chariot across the sky.

Eos says she can help Kratos find them. She sends him to get the Sun Shield from Helios’ throne. Which will unlock the secrets of the temple.

It is not only a skeleton key, but also a new weapon that Kratos earns. It allows him to block attacks like a traditional shield. If he powers it up then he can reflect the attacks of opponents back to them. This is just like the Golden Fleece armor in GoW II.

Eos continues to guide Kratos through the various chambers in the temple. One of which is a secret portal to Mount Olympus.

As Kratos explores the Caves of Olympus he comes across the Lance of Triton, this allows him to breathe underwater, and unlock secret passages.

There is a strong contrast between the Temple of Helios, and the Caves of Olympus. Every corner of the temple has polished marble, and braziers illuminate every corner. There are majestic statues, with gold, and bronze trim, as well as various planters adorning the walls. The caves are instead rough, and secretive. There are torches illuminating the passages. The statues, halls, bridges, and doors are carved from stone. The colors are warmer here than in the almost sterile temple.

This is all great level design from the team at Ready at Dawn Studios. I’m eager to keep pushing forward, and enjoy the secrets revealed to Kratos.

He makes his way to the heart of the caves where we see Eos. She is emitting a warm glow. In mythology Helios is the god of the sun, his sisters are Selene the goddess of the moon, and Eos the goddess of dawn. It’s kind of sad we never saw Selene in the series, I wonder what she would have looked like.

It stands to reason that Eos glows like her brother. However just like Athena she sounded weak under the darkness of Morpheus. She implores Kratos to go further into the caves, and find the Primordial Fire. This was the same fire that Prometheus stole to give humanity.

The fire allows Kratos to further power up the Sun Shield. He now gains a second magical attack. This one is called the Light of Dawn. It allows Kratos to hurtle fireballs at opponents. Having a ranged magical attack helps fight opponents at a distance. It opens up the challenge, and stage design as well.

Of all the characters in the series I think Eos is the prettiest, and not just because she goes around topless. It was nice to see her show kindness to Kratos, and humbly ask him for help. The thing about her brother was that we never got a good look at him through the entire game. The studio did plan his design, and costume. They just didn’t get a chance to model, and animate him with the game engine.

Later in the title we see a bright glow in the distance, and obscured by an enemy, it is supposed to be Helios but we never get a good look at him. Even in the end cinema we see his shadow, and hear his voice, but we don’t see him in full frame. That is until GoW III.

Kratos leaves the Caves with his new powers, and returns to the Temple. He releases the Fire Steeds one at a time.

As he returns to the front of the chariot he hears the familiar sound again. Only now he recognizes it. It is a flute, and the song playing is the one he taught his daughter Calliope. Is Morpheus trying to trick Kratos? Or is something else at play in the darkness?

Eos explains that the steeds will lead Kratos to her brother, wherever Morpheus may have taken him. The chariot rises into the sky, and then quickly plummets through a black tempest. Kratos passes out in the darkness, and is taken back in time. He sees his daughter, and he remembers carving a reed flute for her. He regainst consciousness as the chariot is now tumbling through the sky. They have passed into the realm of Hades, the underworld. The Fire Steeds have no power here so they retreat back into the temple. Kratos leaps into a craggy outcropping. The next portion of the game takes us deeper into the world of GoW than ever before. At this point I could not be more on board with what was happening. I'm going to dig in deeper on the next blog. I hope you return for that. As I said in the previous entry if you played Chains of Olympus did you have a favorite part? Or character? Let me know in the comments section please. As always if you would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!