It’s a given that gamers will be seeing a sequel to 2018’s God of War in the coming years. The game won numerous awards in the industry with particular praise for its storyline and introduction of Kratos' son, Atreus.
This boy is expected to have a larger role going forward, and fans’ hopes are to see more variety in Atreus’s characterization and gameplay quality. Since players are still waiting for God of War Ragnarok to come out, it’s the appropriate time to get out wish lists and look through the things we want to see from Atreus in the next game.
Updated January 16, 2022 by Ritwik Mitra: God of War's reboot was a fitting return to form for the legendary Kratos. After being notably absent for many years, the God of War came back with a mature attitude and a son that helped him grow as a person. Atreus is easily one of the most interesting characters in God of War, and players can't wait to see how this budding God evolves over the course of the series. Keeping this in mind, here are some things that fans want Atreus' character to commit to in God of War Ragnarok.
15 Betray His Father
Given the prophecy present in God of War, this is obviously one of the most major things fans expect from Atreus in God of War. It's possible that this betrayal will spark Atreus' development into Loki.
Of course, it would also be great if Atreus breaks this prophecy and lives in harmony with his father. Given the narrative chops of Santa Monica Studios, it goes without saying that more and more people would be willing to check out Atreus with this new persona in God of War.
14 Interact With The Norse Gods
There are several famous Norse gods that are yet to appear in the rebooted God of War series. It's pretty much confirmed that Thor will be a major part of the series, and fans can't wait to see how this god will interact with Kratos and Atreus.
Of course, there are other major gods in Norse mythology that are interesting in their own right. Watching Atreus interact with these larger-than-life figures is bound to be a blast and something that fans would expect from God of War Ragnarok.
13 Talk To The Greek Gods About His Father
Of course, Kratos' past should not be ignored either. In fact, it would be great if Atreus could learn more about his father from these Greek gods as well.
After all, it's not like Kratos burned all his bridges in Greece. Having some characters come back and enlighten Atreus of the true nature of Kratos would be an amazing moment, and would be a great way to build his character.
12 More Ranged Attack Powers
Atreus was an invaluable source of damage in God of War, and helped Kratos through many sticky situations. It goes without saying that he's going to be a valuable addition to a player's combat capabilities in Ragnarok as well.
However, players can only wait and see what powers they will actually have in the final product. Hopefully, this game would feature more ranged powers in Atreus' arsenal, including new elemental arrows that could be great fun to use.
11 Listen And Learn More From His Father
Atreus wasn't exactly the most perfect son around, with the child acting out at times in God of War. While this was a way to show how the character is developing, it definitely led to one of the weakest moments in the game.
That being said, God of War Ragnarok can give Atreus the opportunity to finally listen to and learn from the vast experience of this father. Given that Kratos might not head the God of War franchise after a point, it only makes sense that Atreus learns from the very best before taking matters into his own hands. It would be great to see him grow and mature.
10 Dive Deeper Into Darker Material
Atreus was shown giving into the evil tendencies Kratos once had, which manifested once he found out he was a god. Following this, Atreus became brash and arrogant, before he regained his kind nature after causing catastrophe for himself and Kratos.
Now that fans know that this kid is supposed to be Loki, there needs to a dark version of Atreus soon enough. It won’t make sense for Atreus to continue being a nice boy when he’s supposed to be the God of Mischief, and the next game should show Atreus became more vicious in nature. This ties into the possibility of him betraying his father.
9 Have Access To Melee Weapons
It was Kratos that players mainly used in the previous game, with Atreus’s role being solely to provide back-up to his father. The only time the player could use this boy was when they needed some arrows in their favor. Though it would be great to see him expand his arsenal of ranged attacks, it would be very “been there, done that” if that’s all Atreus will do in God of War V.
His progression from a hapless kid to a warrior means that Atreus must learn how to fight with melee weapons the way his father does. The game should have a feature where players get to control Atreus’s actions while he holds weapons needed for close range attacks.
8 Be A Playable Character For Almost Half Of The Game
Kratos has been fated to die in the near future, or so it seems. With the plan to take out the series protagonist, it will be a natural progression to bring in Atreus as the new protagonist of God of War. In order to pull this off, the next title should have the player become accustomed to him.
For this reason, Atreus should be the playable character for at least about half of the game, where players have enough control of him to understand how he works. This was the method used by The Last of Us, and players now have Ellie as the main character in the sequel.
7 Have A Closer Relationship To Kratos
God of War was about the failures and successes that Kratos and Atreus met with over the course of their long journey, where the road was riddled with issues they had with one another. By the story’s end, these two seemed to be firmly bonded.
The sequel doesn’t have to show Atreus going back to resenting Kratos for whatever reason, and could instead show father and son as having a greater bond. This would give true impact to Kratos’s death since Atreus’s pain at losing his father would be backed up by the good times players saw them have. What's more, if betrayal does happen, the closeness between them would make it all the more emotional.
6 Have Brutal Killing Sequences
Atreus did have a couple of moments where his rage got the better of him; however, those were few and far between. This time around, it shouldn’t be treated as something out of character whenever Atreus kills in a brutal way. Rather, his style should be shown to be closely resembling Kratos.
This would set him up as the successor of his father’s signature style, meaning players won’t be missing the beautifully brutal action set pieces where Kratos takes out huge enemies. Of course, Atreus’s own improvisations should be added in, as well.
5 Show Flashbacks With His Mother
Fans only had Atreus’s word for how wonderful his mother seemingly was, with no shape and form provided to Faye whatsoever for our imaginations. It made sense to go this route at the time, seeing as the game was supposed to be about Kratos and Atreus.
However, this time around, Faye needs to be seen in flashback sequences with her son to really hit home why Atreus preferred her over Kratos so much. Since it’s also possible that Faye will be revealed as a villain in the next game, the flashback scenes will show what was once a loving mother and son relationship.
4 Be Noticeably Older
It was nice to get into the shoes of an innocent kid, and this highlighted the impact of him learning how to survive in a hellish world, but that’s not how Atreus should be shown all the time. It’s much better to have his appearances show him aging with each game.
This is why an older Atreus is the way to go, as players will see how the boy is handling his teenage years and his rebellious phase. It would also give justification for Atreus becoming more viscous in nature, along with refreshing the character's image.
3 Voice Acting Improved
For the most part, there wasn’t much to complain about with Atreus’s voice acting, but by no means was it perfect. While the actor did a good job of conveying the character’s innocence, he fell short in the times when Atreus was supposed to display his rage.
Now that fans are looking at an older, more violent Atreus, the voice acting’s main point of focus has to be the moments where Atreus isn’t being a nice guy. If players see the same performance as the last game in this regard, then Atreus’s evolved character will fall flat.
2 Meet His Elder Sister
It would take a miracle for Calliope’s spirit to somehow show up in the Norse world, but crazier things have happened in the God of War series for us to hold on hope. The previous game fell short of our expectations where Kratos’s references to his original family were concerned, and Atreus needs to know he wasn’t the only child.
The best-case scenario would be showing Atreus landing in Hades’ underworld in God of War V, where he would traverse his way to Elysium the same way Kratos had done in Chains of Olympus. Through this route, Atreus can finally meet his elder sister, giving way for an expanded arc about family.
1 Undergo A Transition Into A God
Atreus had unlocked the powers of a god he’d been keeping locked inside in the previous game, but these weren't focused upon in the slightest. It’s only natural for the story to move further now and show us how varied his god abilities are.
Seeing as he’s fated to be the God of Mischief, players might be in for an Atreus who is a master of magic-based attacks. This way, a new take on the gameplay of a God of War game will come about as players will be primarily using magic instead of melee attacks.
God of War was released on April 20, 2018 for the PlayStation 4 and on January 14, 2022 for PC.