God of War, the runaway elephant

While doing research for my God of War series I had a little bit of extra material that didn’t quite fit in with the other chapters. I’d like to share this final bit of concept work that never made it into the finished game, and perhaps give it some context. I’ve mentioned earlier on the blog that the Piraeus Lion was the best sub-boss in the series. There is an entire stage, and sub-plot in the Ghost of Sparta featuring Kratos stalking an escaped prisoner called the Dissenter. The player does this in the underground prison of Sparta. The atmosphere of the stage, level design, mood, and sound effects all lead up to a battle with the gigantic lion. It resonated with me more than any other sub-boss encounter in the franchise. The fact that they didn’t reuse the lion in any other part of the story made it mean more than any battle with a minotaur, or cyclops. I believe that the inspiration for the Piraeus Lion was due to another encounter that was planned in the previous game, the Chains of Olympus.

In the concept art for the game there is a war elephant. It is probably one of the best unused enemy designs in the series. It was so amazing that the studio even created a 3D model, and rendered a few scenes as to where this encounter would have happened. At the start of the game Kratos is with his Spartan army helping the Athenians defend Attica from a Persian invasion. This was an actual encounter from history. It was made fantastic with the inclusion of the Basilisk, an enormous fire-breathing reptile that was unleashed by the Persians. Kratos gives the monster chase, fights on the beach, and makes his way to the city gates. He breaks through the armored door by using a battering ram, and turns the corner. This is where he was supposed to see the war elephant for the first time, and its rider, a Persian King. The high walls of the city gate, and bridge make for a constricted fighting platform. Just as the locked cells in the jails of Sparta raised the stakes for the lion reveal.

In the final version of the game Kratos is on one side of a moat, there is a collapsed bridge between him, and some Persian archers on the opposite side. They are taking shots at the future god of war. Remember during this timeline Kratos hasn’t killed Ares yet. He isn’t at full-power, nor reputation. I like to think that it was the elephant that destroyed this bridge in the finished version of Chains of Olympus. I only wish the studio had placed it at the bottom of the moat to complete the story. Anyhow I think that this encounter highlights the approach that Ready at Dawn had over the pacing of the game when compared to Sony Santa Monica. Up until this point the GoW series followed a familiar template. The games start in the middle of the action. A fight scene teaches the basic controls. These are usually against humans, or human-sized monsters. Then an enormous opponent is introduced. It might be the Hydra, the Colossus of Rhodes, the Scylla, or the Basilisk. The fight against these enormous creatures seems impossible, but is manageable with the strength of Kratos, his indescribable toughness, and the magical Blades of Chaos. The rest of the game is a series of smaller encounters until a mid, or final boss is reached. The games would recycle the same characters again, and again throughout the quest. Sometimes they would be reskinned, were still cool looking, but essentially the same rivals. The lack of unique opponents was something that I would consider the only weakness to the GoW franchise.

Ready at Dawn wanted to break the cycle by introducing sub-bosses that were tailor-made to the game. They weren’t as enormous as the final bosses, but more grounded in reality. We’ve seen Kratos take on mountain-sized opponents, and while those fights are fun, we sometimes forget how amazing he is in close combat. That is why the developers had him take on the kings of the jungle. Fighting supernatural lions, boars, bulls, and serpents are the types of challenges that Hercules, Theseus, Jason, and Perseus conquered in their classic adventures. At the same time the creatures in the Chains of Olympus are more than typical wild animals. The Piraeus Lion is bigger than any horse. It is covered in arrows, and swords, showing that it is impervious to most weapons. While the War Elephant is armored, has blades on his tusks, and is trained to fight. To raise the stakes the encounters are set in a tight space. Ready at Dawn knew that they were delivering something memorable. These fights served the story. They helped develop the character of Kratos, and fleshed out the fantastic world he lived in.

The studio was still able to create a memorable stage despite having to make cuts in the final version of the game. On the back of the Elephant was a Persian King. He undoubtedly taunted Kratos at the gates of Attica, just as he did in the final version. This character was massive. He was as big as Alric, the Barbarian King that almost killed Kratos in God of War, and had returned for a rematch in God of War II. The Persian King was going to be every bit Alric’s equal, and then more. He was on an elephant after all, which was much bigger than a draft horse. He also fought with a gigantic scimitar instead of a hammer, giving him a lethal reach advantage. He could even summon an Efreet, a sort of fire demon to create a burning ring around him. Alric did not gain magical attacks until he was already dead. On his back the Persian carried golden spears. Although he doesn’t use them in the game I have a feeling these would have been his ranged attacks against Kratos. He could have easily struck the Ghost of Sparta from across the stage thanks to his high perch.

The final version of the battle had the Persian taunting some slave girls when Kratos shows up. He says the Spartan is nothing but a messenger for some puny gods. This is of course raises the ire of Kratos. Traditional Persian soldiers surround, and attack him while the king hacks away. It’s a fun battle, and I can almost imagine that the War Elephant would have been a two-part fight. Kratos would have to find a sweet spot to fight on the bridge. If too close then the elephant could have swiped him with his tusks, thrown him to the ground with his trunk, or trampled him with his feet. If Kratos were too far then the king could have rained spears down on him. Once the elephant was defeated then I bet the king would have fallen back, and entered the slave girl room.

While large, and strong the King shares something in common with the Dissenter from Ghost of Sparta. They are both bullies when they think they are winning. Despite talking big they instantly change their tune once Kratos has them beat. The Dissenter called Kratos an impostor, and that Ares was the true god of war while Kratos is getting pounced on by the lion. The King mocks Kratos when they first meet, but then tries to bribe Kratos when he is knocked down. He offers him gold, and women. Kratos turns down the bribe, and then bashes a gold chest over his face. The brutal ending of the king was as satisfying as it was to the Dissenter. I have a feeling that the same person at Ready at Down had scripted both encounters.

If I had any programming, or modeling experience I’d love to restore this battle the way it was originally meant to be seen. Even if just to watch Kratos get thrown around by an elephant for a minute. I’m grateful that the artists shared their work online, and that Sony also posted additional content. So many game studios never publish art books, or share their concept work. It will hopefully inspire future designers to push the boundaries of their own art, and think about how to plot out a game, or story. I’d like to know if there was a concept character, or stage from God of War, or any other game that you wish had made it into production. 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!

God of War, the story of the Suicide Tree

While doing research for my God of War series I had a little bit of extra material that didn’t quite fit in with the other chapters. I’d like to share this little bit of concept work that never made it into the game, and perhaps give it some context. The first is actually a grotesque monster whose origins may be the most disturbing in the franchise’s history. In the early drafts of the game there was a proposed location, that evolved into a monster. Let’s take a look at the literal roots of this creature. Kratos is pulled into Hades during the events of the Chains of Olympus. He is trying to figure out where Helios, the god of the sun, has disappeared to. The team at Ready at Dawn Studios wanted to make the realm of Hades, and the pits of Tartarus look truly unique. They wanted the landscape to appear as dangerous as the monsters lurking within. They proposed a sort of mini boss that grew from a tree. You could see it in the concept art. The tree was covered with bodies hanging by their necks. It was also known as the Tartarus Suicide Creature.

The studio went so far as to create a portion of a level around this beast. In at least one rare screenshot you could see where this encounter would take place. I’m not for certain if this was meant to be in Hades, in Tartarus, or in the mist created by Morpheus in the city of Marathon. There were no buildings, or other signs of life in this location. We could see a curtain of fog hung in the distance. There were gentle rolling hills with waist high fields of grain. There was nothing else on the stage except for a tree with a thick trunk, and exposed gnarled roots. Ropes with multiple skulls hung from the short branches. You could almost imagine Kratos coming up to the tree when it suddenly started rising from the ground. I’m betting that it would have been hiding, or protecting the entrance to the deepest bowels of Hades. It would have been a scary sight.

There was something about the tree, and environment that was unnerving. The collection of skulls was of course a huge warning sign, but that was only part of the draw. How did they get there? How long has this tree been used to hang the dead? Were they there by choice, or punishment? Spooky forests are nothing new in classical literature. We can all think of a fairy tale that takes place in some creepy woods. Hansel & Gretel, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty are all stories that share pivotal scenes where the protagonists are lost in the woods. There was one forest that itself became a character in a story. The forest of the suicides was detailed by the Italian author Dante Alighieri in his poem known as Inferno. The forest was made of living trees, which were actually the souls of people that had killed themselves. The spirits could only speak if their limbs were broken. They were tortured by harpies that would break their limbs just to hear them wail in pain.

There was a game based on Dante’s Inferno. It was developed by Visceral Games, and published by Electronic Arts in 2010. In it a templar knight named Dante visited the nine levels of hell written about in the poem. He was trying to save his love Beatrice from Lucifer, who we might think of as Satan. It wasn’t hard to see how the dark origin of Kratos, and his adventures didn’t help inspirit the creation of this title. Many publishers were eager to recreate the success that Sony had with the God of War franchise. Unfortunately no amount of sex, violence, or eerily-similar puzzles, encounters, and music was enough to get audiences to switch titles. Of course game play also had a lot to do with the success of GoW. Sony Santa Monica had given us a dark, and twisted forest previously. The Bog of the Forgotten was the early portion of the Island of Creation. In it we could clearly see bodies hanging from the trees. It gave the swamp an ominous feeling. Ready at Dawn wanted to see if they could turn that location into a character.

Illustrator Justin Murray sketched out his idea for the Suicide Tree. He was responsible for a lot of the character designs in the Ghost of Sparta. His tree was oozing with personality. It could have been one of the rare places in the franchise where the terrain evolved into a living monster. Sadly many great ideas have to be cut due to time, and money. This would become one of them. Since the studio had already gone to the trouble of creating a model for it they found a way to incorporate it into the finished game. When Kratos reaches the Gates of Hades we see the tree at the edge of a cliff. Still as ominous as ever, even without any additional context. I’m glad that the studio found a way to use this set piece. I’m grateful that the artists shared their work online, and that Sony also posted additional content. So many game studios never publish art books, or share their concept work. It will hopefully inspire future designers to push the boundaries of their own art. I’d like to know if there was a concept character, or stage from God of War, or any other game that you wish had made it into production. 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!

The God of War Challenges, how the journey continued after the games

I’ve played through hundreds of video games in my lifetime. A small percentage of which I would consider among the best. The God of War series was unique because it was amazing across the board. Every title in the franchise looked great, played great, and provided the perfect challenge. As a mythology geek the stories, and characters kept a fire burning inside me. Also unlike other games once you played through this games the adventure didn’t necessarily end. You could raise the difficulty, and give it another try. Either in the search of secrets to unlock, or simply for the challenge. Sony Santa Monica seemed to know they had a great thing early on. They made sure to put in a lot of content, in addition to the main game. They wanted audiences to enjoy the experience they had created in different ways. This is how they came up with the Challenge of the Gods.

These were mini challenges featured in the series that allowed players to test their ability. Whether it was fighting a certain type of opponent, trying not to get hit, or wiping out a regiment, there was something unique to each trial. The challenges weren’t straightforward either. To raise the stakes most gave Kratos limited time, magic, or energy in order to complete. They may have seemed impossible at first, but players learned that there were attacks, and combos that made them possible. Audiences had to go with trial, and error in order to find which moves worked best. Doing this repeatedly actually made them better players. Suddenly the harder play throughs seemed less daunting. Completing the challenges rewarded the player with all sort of bonus content. You could earn concept art, making of videos, special skins, or other features that you could unlock during a play through. Of all the bonus games the one I enjoyed the most was featured in the Ghost of Sparta. You could fight within a Combat Arena. These were customizable battles that took place on a large circular stage. You could configure these fights in a number of ways. You could select the types of enemies, the number of enemies, the difficulty of them, and even whether or not they respawned. You could also choose to have infinite energy, or magic as well.

The Combat Arenas were first introduced in God of War II as the Arena of the Fates. They featured the stages that were created for the Challenge of the Titans. Each location was reminiscent of areas featured in the game. There was the Summit, which looked similar to the place where Kratos, and Zeus had their final battle in GoW II. There was the Barbarian, which was the location in the bogs where you battled The Barbarian King Alric. Lastly there was Daedalus, a circular platform with mechanized wings. Not every arena had to be a place visited in the game. It just had to carry the same design, and tone from the series. For example there was the Forest, which took place on a stone path in the middle of a rainstorm. There were no forest locations in the Ghost of Sparta, but it still matched the look of the game.

Each arena location told a story. Some were bold, others very subtle. For example the arena labeled Arctic. It had a frozen atmosphere similar to the Mounts of Aroania. If you looked in the distance however you could actually see a temple, and a statue of Zeus. This hinted as to where his temple was located in the GoW universe.

 

There was the Desert. Possibly the nicest looking background. A steady breeze blew sand across the ground. The sun was past midday. You could just about feel the heat. I imagined that this place was not too far from the Desert of Lost Souls from the first GoW. I greatly enjoyed the look of all these places, could appreciate fighting within them as long as I wanted, and with whichever enemy I chose.

One of the most unique stages was Hades. It looked different than how it appeared in either GoW III, or the Chains of Olympus. It was dark, and mysterious, with harpies flying in the background, and lava waterfalls skirting the perimeter. It was certainly not a place that a mortal would want to visit.

In my opinion there was a toss up between the two best arenas in the game. One of those was Atlantis. In the previous blog I talked about how the sunken city had been on the drawing board since GoW II was in development. This was around 2005. That stage wouldn’t formally be introduced until the Ghost of Sparta in 2010. The stage was part building, and part magical barrier where we could stare out in the abyss. It was the sort of fantastic world that Sony Santa Monica, and Ready at Dawn could bring us into.

You could really appreciate the planning for the stages if you looked at the concept art. Atlantis wasn’t the only location that the studios had always thought about taking Kratos through. In very early GoW II plans they were thinking of setting a chase, or action stage, through the city of Sparta, as they were under attack. There would be a huge battle, with flaming arrows streaking back, and forth across the sky.

Some of those plans, and settings were adapted by Ready at Dawn. The burning arrows, and spears were used in the opening moments of Chains of Olympus. The intact city of Sparta was put in the Ghost of Sparta. Whereas the city being destroyed became Crete, and Heraklion during the eruption of the Methana Volcano, as well as the collapse of Atlantis. Ready at Dawn honored the developers at Sony Santa Monica by putting an actual Troy arena in the game. Best of all playing the Challenge of Ares, the Challenge of Athena earned you red orbs that you could spend in the Temple of Olympus, and unlock all sorts of goodies. The best surprise in the game was the Grave Digger’s Shovel. It allowed you to unlock a special character in the Combat Arena.

There had been a lot of speculation as to the identity of the Grave Digger from the series. Many had guessed that he was Zeus in disguise, especially since he referred to Kratos as son. It was nice to see this get officially confirmed in the game. When the arena stage begins we see the Grave Digger standing in place, for a second I thought I would actually be able to see him swing the shovel in combat. However he instead raises it to the sky, and a lightning bolt transforms him into Zeus, and the shovel into the Blade of Olympus. He not only fights with that, but in his left hand he has the Gauntlet of Zeus. The most powerful weapon from the Chains of Olympus. To say Zeus is O.P. would be an understatement. He doesn’t have a block button, but instead he’s blindingly fast. Rather than roll he can dash out of the range of most attacks. Also he doesn’t use any magical attacks. If you press the directional button, the ones that activate magic for Kratos, he instead makes one of four statements. “Feel the power of Olympus! I will crush you! Insolent Fool!” and the always classic “Die mortal!” The studio went so far as to actually animate his mouth when he talks.

It was great having Zeus as a playable character, but the team did make one change with his weapons. The Gauntlet of Zeus was a right hand weapon, but he sports it on his left. It’s a minor detail, but one that I noticed because of how much I replayed the Chains of Olympus. I’d like to know if you had a favorite challenge in the GoW series, or if there was one that you felt was absolutely impossible. 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!

Ghost of Sparta, Kratos finds his brother, and battles death

When we last saw Kratos he had returned to Atlantis to find the Death Gate. It was the portal to bring us into another world. The conspiracy to kidnap his brother was starting to come into focus. Sparta was attacked by an unknown army when Kratos was a young man. A large warrior on a war horse took his brother Deimos. Kratos tried to fight back but was knocked away by the warrior. A female warrior was accompanying him, she said the Fates had said the one with the markings was destined to cause the fall of Olympus. Now that they had the marked one they were to leave the other boy alone. They rode away. We learned that it was Ares, and Athena that had attacked Sparta that night.

Ares needed to ensure Deimos would never fulfill the prophecy. Had he killed the boy then his soul would have ended up in Hades. Once there he could have gone to the fields of Elysium, or the pits of Tartarus. In either case he would have grown up in the land controlled by the Olympians. He would be able to train with other deceased warriors, and recruit like-minded souls. Eventually he would have raised an army like his brother, and then overthrown Olympus. Ares had to take Deimos as far from Olympus as possible. In this case it was the Domain of Death. The Olympians had no power over the forces that existed before them, the Primordial realms. He left Deimos in the charge of Thanatos, the god of death. The only way Ares could have entered this world was if he had a key. In his case he had the Skull of Keres, the goddess of death. He kept it hidden in his temple on Sparta.

This portion of the game had brilliant design. It was as well themed as the other locations featured in the Ghost of Sparta. As far as we could see there was no sun, or moon in this place. There was no horizon. The realm of death went on to the infinite. In the background we could see a massive building.

Kratos made his way to the Temple of Thanatos. Avoiding supernatural birds, and vines that would strike him. The Bane of Thera allowed him to burn away the living plants.

When he reached the doors to the temple Thanatos spoke to him. It was the third time the effect had been used in the game. Thanatos was not happy that Kratos had trespassed into his domain. He challenged the Spartan to continue if he wanted to meet his destiny.

The only atmosphere in this place was a steady breeze. What I thought made is unique was that the wind carried dust. In every portion of this world there was dust. It was cascading down the walls. It was flowing down stairs, and pouring in through the cracks. I could only assume that this was the dust from where all things were made, and how we would end up. There were a few versions of the Bible through history that had a version of the phrase “From dust you have come, and to dust you shall return.” This was from the book of Genesis.

The Temple of Thanatos was eerie. The constant wind brought life to the stage even though there were no residents. The scale of this place seemed too massive for a solitary being. Of course it was all designed to be imposing. It was eternal, it existed before time, and would exist after the end of the universe.

There were several massive traps scattered within. They were large, brutal, and powerful enough to kill a god.

There was a rotating bridge separating the temple from the vault that held the prisoner Deimos. Fire would periodically shoot across the bridge, making it impossible to get across.

Kratos would need the Arms of Sparta to figure out the trap. He could use his shield to reach the bridge rotating mechanism. Then he could temporarily jam the gears on the vault with a spear attack. The gate on the vault would close, and allow Kratos a moment to rotate the bridge.

The fire would continue whether the gate was opened or closed. While it was down the face of Thanatos could be seen glowing with every burning pulse. It was an awesome site.

Kratos eventually reached the inner vault, and found his brother suspended by chains.

It wasn’t enough that Thanatos had imprisoned him. He had tortured Deimos for decades. His mind was not what it once was.

When Kratos lowered him it wasn’t a warm reunion. Deimos was filled with hate. It gave him strength, and power well above that of a normal human. The birthmark covering his body was now glowing with a similar rage to what filled Kratos.

Thanatos had left Deimos with large metal gauntlets. He would be able to use them against his brother, or any person foolish enough to release him. Deimos brutally attacked Kratos during the boss fight, and hit Kratos hard enough to break his gauntlets. Kratos would not strike back because he still cared for his brother. Once Deimos stopped pummeling his brother Thanatos showed up. He was enormous, taller than even Zeus. He grabbed Deimos with his claw-like fingers, and walked away. He knew Kratos had killed his daughter, and now he was going to return the favor. He jumped away from his temple. Despite his injuries Kratos followed after.

Thanatos landed on the Suicide Bluffs in Athens. He was going to drop Deimos just steps away from where the original GoW game started. It was a brilliant callback to the title that launched a franchise. Kratos saved his brother, and they reconciled. Deimos remembered the advice that Kratos gave him as a child. “A Spartan never lets his back hit the ground.” He nodded, and gave Deimos the Arms of Sparta. The two started a hunt for the god of death.

What followed next was an amazing battle. Both Kratos, and Deimos could strike at the same time. Thanatos used a giant sword to deflect the Blades of Athena, and spear attacks. When the duo were getting the upper hand Thanatos would transform into a giant beast. The creature was far larger than the monster Erinys could turn into. Little by little they were able to break through Thanatos’ armor-like skin. Just as they had the god of death weakened he struck the brothers. Slamming them each against the cliffs with tremendous force. The godly strength of Kratos saved him, but Deimos was mortal. He didn’t survive the final strike.

Kratos destroyed the giant monster form with his rage, then beat the human-sized Thanatos with his bare hands. As the god of death coughed up golden blood he filled in the blanks to the story. He told the god of war that the Sisters of Fate had already determined the marked warrior would destroy Olympus. There was no way to escape his fate. Kratos punched through his chest, and finished him. With his brother gone it was a hollow victory.

Kratos carries his brother up the cliffs, where an old friend is waiting. The Grave Digger appeared to Kratos as Crete was burning, and advised him to give up his quest. Now it was too late to do anything to avert his destiny. He has a hole prepared for his brother. Kratos lays him in the ground, and the Grave Digger begins covering him. Kratos wonders what he has become, the Digger replies “Death, the destroyer of worlds.” Athena appears through the portal of Olympus, and says now that he no longer had any ties to the mortal world she would fulfill her promise. She would wipe Kratos’ memories. He would no longer remember his family. Not his wife Lysandra, his child Calliope, his mother Callisto, or brother Deimos. He would remember only his life as a god. Kratos refuses, and uses the portal to return to Olympus. He vows to make the gods pay for what they did to him. His disdain for Olympus has grown tenfold. Athena regrets her decisions and apologizes under her breath, calling Kratos her brother. The seeds have been planted. We just witnessed the events leading into GoW II.

After the end credits we are treated to a special cut scene. The Grave Digger places the body of Callisto into the grave next to Deimos. He had a third grave prepared, and says “Now only one remains.” Then we see Kratos wearing his God Armor, sitting on the throne of Ares. It was a brilliant ending to a brilliant game. I said it at the start of the blog series, and I’ll say it again. This might be my absolute favorite GoW game, and easily one of my favorite games of all time. I’d like to hear from you. Did you play the Ghost of Sparta? What did you think? Did you have a favorite game in the series? I’d like to hear about it. 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!

Ghost of Sparta, Kratos faces himself, and returns to where it all started

In the previous blog we covered Kratos’ battle with Erinys the daughter or death, his arrival at Sparta, and the fight with the Piraeus Lion. Kratos is trying to find out what happened to his brother Deimos. He was taken as a child by Ares, and assumed killed. On her deathbed Callisto the mother of Kratos, and Deimos says the truth is found within the Temple of Ares. Kratos takes a secret passage through the Jails of Sparta, and climbs out the other end. He is now at the Mounts of Laconia. Once agains the team at Ready at Dawn Studios created a unique environment for the game. It had its own weather, and color scheme. The hills were a deep clay red. Kratos scales the breezy peaks at dusk.

He arrived at the Temple of Ares just at nightfall. We could see Spartans pulling down a statue of Ares. The leader of his men told Kratos that they would soon be erecting a new statue in his honor. Kratos went into the temple, where the visage of Ares said to face himself, and learn the truth. Kratos went behind the throne reserved for Ares, and discovered a polished black stone, perhaps onyx. In its reflection he could see himself as a young man, he had no tattoos, and without the Blade of Athena.

The younger version tries to pull him into the mirror. The two have an ugly fight. The younger reflection hurling insults at the god of war. Saying that he didn’t protect his brother, that he was a coward, that he abandoned him. Kratos gets the upper hand, shatters the wall, and forces the reflection back into the rock. Inside he discovers the source of its magic. There is a skull of a creature, it has horns, and larger than a human skull. It is the Skull of Keres, in Greek mythology the goddess of death. Kratos now realizes that he has to return to Atlantis, or what’s left of it.

The Spartan leader in charge of demolishing the statue of Ares returns to Kratos, and gives him the spear, and shield that once belonged to him. These weapons were treated with great care, and respect, with the hopes that they would be returned back to the god of war. He seems to know that the next part of the journey is going to be the most dangerous portion yet.

As Kratos begins his travel through the Mounts of Laconia, and returns back to the Mounts of Aroania he comes across a frozen path. Inaccessible from a strong wind that freezes everything in its ascent. Kratos uses his shield to push against the wind. He reaches the source of the blizzard. It is the Shrine of Boreas. Frozen into the ground is the Horn of Boreas, the third, and final magic that he unlocks on his quest. Kratos can swing it overhead, and freeze his opponents. It is very similar in function to the Gorgon heads that he could use in previous games, except instead of turning to stone the enemies turn to ice, and can be shattered.

Kratos descends into the Canyons of Sorrow. We are starting to get close to Crete, and the still erupting Methana Volcano. We can see the sky starting to change from deep blue to ash. There is a path through the Canyon that is criss crossed with lava flows. Here we find the Rivers of Lament. We also discover a strange skinny man climbing through the caves, and telling the Spartan to stay away. As we follow him we find some items made of solid gold. There is a young woman face down in the earth, she is made of gold. We see ropes, and handprints along the walls made of gold as well. Even a few enemies are frozen in gold. The strange man is King Midas, and he is lamenting turning his daughter into gold. He was cursed by Dionysus with this power, and is clearly going mad. There is not a clear path through the Rivers of Lament so Kratos decides to end the king’s suffering, and make a path at the same time. He drags Midas against his will and hurtles him into a lava fall. It instantly turns to gold, with Midas trapped within.

It was a brilliant crossover with the classic tale of King Midas. Kratos came across all sorts of other fabled characters in his adventures, including Medusa in GoW, and Icarus in GoW II. Kratos makes it to the Port of Atlantis. In the distance we can see an enormous whirlpool, a collection of rocks, and a sunken city. Kratos takes his men, and sets sail to the heart of the whirlpool. The trip is very dangerous. Triton warriors continuously to leap into the ship the closer we get to The Vortex. Harpies, and lightning bolts start pelting the crew from above. The ship begins to speed up as it gets closer to the city. The ship gets dangerously close to the rocks on the edge of the whirlpool when a lightning storm breaks the mast, and hull apart. Kratos gets swept overboard, and pulled into the heart of the city.

A broken statue of Poseidon is cursing the Spartan. He vows that Kratos will pay for destroying his city, and condemning his worshipers. The Ancient City of Atlantis is breathtaking level design Even as it is deteriorating we can tell that it is surprisingly advanced. Water seems to be completely under the command of the magic, or technology powering the city. Between several columns we can see that we are underwater, a magical barrier keeps the pressure of the deep away. Atlanteans are running in terror, fearing that they have been abandoned, and their glorious city has come to ruin.

We get to the heart of the city, a place called the Nexus of Atlantis. It is the center of the whirlpool, and we can see four enormous statues of Poseidon are braced against the forces of the ocean. The sea is cascading in massive sheets over their shoulders, and yet somehow it never fills up the Nexus. The Death Gate is opposite of Kratos, however the bridge connecting it to the temple will not rise. The four statues of Poseidon are mechanized, but something is blocking them from raising the bridge. Kratos has to travel in, around, and under the Nexus in order to complete his mission. We swim through massive tunnels. We see enormous mechanisms, pumps, culverts, and drainage channels keeping the city from filling up completely. The forces under the Nexus are powerful enough to sweep away the god of war. He has to use all his strength, and pull himself along with the Blades of Athena in order to navigate the tunnels.

The City of Atlantis, Ruins of Atlantis, and especially Nexus of Atlantis are some of the most amazing environments ever featured in the GoW series. At the start of the game we get a glimpse of the Port of Atlantis, how it appears in its prime. Following the eruption of the Methana Volcano the top layers are broken off, and what we see is the oldest parts of the city. Like other ancient civilizations we discover that the Temple of Poseidon was built on top of older ruins. Surprisingly even the Sunken City of Atlantis has technology, to keep the ocean from swallowing it whole. This was part of the mythology behind the legends that created Atlantis. Sony Santa Monica had plans for Atlantis going all the way back to the development of God of War II.

Concept artists Cecil Kim, Charlie Wen, and Stig Asmussen came up with the earliest plans for the fabled city. The studio was looking at the stage as one giant vertical encounter. It was going to exist between the Isles of Creation, and the Spire where the Sisters of Fate lived. In the earliest drafts of the game the Isles of Creation was a gigantic volcano. The front portion was a bog, similar to how it turned out in GoW II. The heart of the island was an underground city that Kratos would have to navigate. From there it would be a series of paths, and encounters in order to reach the base of Atlantis. This was very similar to how the Caldera, and Volcano Core of the Methana Volcano turned out in the Ghost of Sparta.

Sony Santa Monica had worked three or four months creating models, levels, and stage designs for Atlantis. Kratos would swim swiftly by following a deep sea current, similar to the East Australian Current scenes from the movie Finding Nemo. He would cut through a series of caves, as well as use portals to get him closer to the middle of the city. Players could see the size, and breadth of the city from magical barriers where water couldn’t enter the buildings he walked through. What made the stage truly special was that the Tower of Atlantis. It rose from the sea floor through a hole in the ocean. There were no rocks separating the ocean from the tower. It was some form of magic that kept the elements apart. From a below it appeared as if it was raining underwater. The tower had its own waterfalls cascading from the various levels. A completed stage would have undoubtedly looked as amazing as what Ready at Dawn Studios had delivered.

What many GoW fans never realized was that there was actually a part of the stage completed. Members of the team that got a chance to play through it lamented that audiences would never know what it was like. The Playstation Blog actually shares a page from the design document showing the game play specifically for the Atlantis Tower. Along the way to the top players would be teased a boss encounter. We would be able to see the Kraken circling the tower from the ocean side of the waterfall. As Kratos reached the top it would leap out of the water, and land on a platform. You would have to defeat it, and then reach the Pegasus (and not the Phoenix), perched on top in order to continue onto the Sisters of Fate. This idea was so well put together that Sony Santa Monica would revisit it in God of War Ascension. But that is a blog for another day.

In the Ghost of Sparta we have a version of Atlantis that is every bit as fantastic as the earlier concepts. However it is a hybrid magical technology that allows the Atlanteans to master the ocean. We saw it with the first magical weapon Kratos picked up, the Eye of Atlantis. But we also see it in the city proper. The water in various portions is electrified. The electricity can be harnessed to run the pumps that keep the water from flooding the city, and generate a barrier to keep the ocean from crashing inward. That electricity, and not Poseidon is what struck Kratos, and his ship as he approached the whirlpool. Electricity powered the statues of Poseidon as well.

Kratos is able to steal a gear from an Automaton, and repair the statues that were blocking the bridge in the Nexus. When he returns he is able to use the Eye of Atlantis to power all four statues. In doing so they raise the bridge leading to the Death Gate. The game actually manages to go full circle. Which was something that made me extremely happy. When the adventure started we saw the Death Gate underneath Atlantis. It existed before the city, and even before the Olympians. The gods had enough reverence to the Primordials as to not mess with them, or their temples. They instead built around these places. The next time we saw it all of the Atlantean construction had been stripped away. Only the bridge, and portal itself remained.

The only way to reach, and activate the gate was by using the magic of death. Kratos used the Skull of Keres as a key. It would allow him to travel to the realm of death. This place was not the same as the underworld controlled by Hades. This was a place of true death for mortals, and gods alike. The final part of the Ghost of Sparta would have us visit the unknown, and see if Kratos could find his brother. I’m going to dig into that on the next blog. Until then I’d like to know which part of the game you liked best so far. Was it Atlantis? Was it the mountain stages? 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!