God of War Theory: Kratos’ Son Is Actually Evil

[Warning: Spoilers for God of War below]

The ending of 2018’s God of War provides context as to where the series could go in the future, and it specifically implies that Atreus may have been evil after all. Once the child’s true identity is revealed upon completion of God of War, it becomes all the more apparent what will happen to Kratos and his son going forward.

God of War’s story follows Kratos and Atreus as they attempt to reach the highest peak in the nine realms in order to spread Faye’s ashes – Kratos’ wife and Atreus’ mother. The two must find a way to travel to Jotunheim, the land of the mysterious giants, to complete this quest. For much of the game, it’s unclear to the father and son why she made such a difficult request. But once the pair reach their destination, everything comes full circle.

Kratos and Atreus make several startling revelations upon finally making it to Jotunheim, including that it appears Kratos’ wife Faye was originally a giant. But perhaps the most surprising of them all has to do with Atreus’ true identity.

What Makes God Of War’s Atreus Evil?

Kratos and Atreus are met with a hall filled with countless paintings when they first enter Jotunheim. Upon closer inspection, it’s revealed that the paintings tell the story of Kratos and Atreus’ journey to reach the highest peak in the nine realms. Even more, however, the paintings seem to prophesize the story of Atreus – one of them even foresees Kratos’ own death. But perhaps the most important detail the paintings reveal is that Atreus is referred to as ‘Loki.’ In one of the final scenes of the game, Kratos tells his son that his mother originally wanted to name him Loki, but Kratos pushed for the name Atreus to honor a Spartan warrior killed in battle.

This detail is critical because it reveals that Atreus is Loki, who plays an important role in Norse Mythology. The representations of Loki have varied but he’s commonly seen as a trickster who acts as both a friend and foe to the Norse gods. This appears to contrast with Atreus’s helpful, friendly demeanor – he’s shown to be much more caring and sensitive towards others than his father, which is counter-intuitive to the image many people have of Loki. Then again, Atreus was also shown to struggle with his Spartan Rage, just like Kratos did. At one point in God of War Atreus becomes uncharacteristically cruel and harsh as he struggles to control his powers,  which may be foreshadowing that Atreus will cause a lot of chaos and turmoil in the future.

The revelation that Atreus is Loki will likely have consequences for future installments in the God of War franchise. Based on the giants’ paintings, it appears that Kratos’ death is looming. Given that the painting depicts Atreus holding Kratos as he takes his final breath with words like ‘father,’ ‘mourning,’ and ‘betrayal’ scribbled in Norse runes, it appears Atreus may knowingly or unknowingly play a part in his father’s death. Moreover, Loki was discovered by Odin as a child, and some accounts say the God adopted Loki as one of his own. So, a future game could explore not only the death of Kratos but also how Atreus (aka Loki) first encounters Odin and becomes an adopted brother to Thor. God of War’s revelation that Atreus is Loki seems to imply the child has been a trickster from the beginning, but at the very least, it allows players to foresee where the future of the franchise is going.

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