The God of War series is one of the most popular video game franchises of all time. Ever since the first game came out in 2005, God of War has spawned multiple sequels and various extensions in other media such as novels, comic books, and others. The games are often regarded as some of the best action titles of all time.
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One of the things that make the God of War series so beloved is its harsh, heavy-hitting, and unrelenting combat mechanic. Even though the entire system went through a massive overhaul with God of War in 2018, this fact still remains true. Boss fights, most especially, really make the combat mechanic shine and they force the players to pay attention to the screen, engaged to spectacular effect.
Updated July 28, 2022, by Ritwik Mitra: The God of War series is one of the most popular action titles on PlayStation consoles. The original trilogy was a spectacle from start to finish, documenting Kratos' quest for revenge after the gods betrayed him and took his family from him. After the end of this trilogy, the franchise was dormant for the longest time, before God of War (2018) brought it back from the throes of obsolescence to make it one of the biggest names in the gaming industry once again. This time around, Kratos is a dad who tries to keep his brusque nature under wraps as he tries to be a good role model for his son. Throughout the God of War series, Kratos has fought his fair share of massive bosses and tough threats that have challenged players quite a bit. Here are some of the toughest bosses that Kratos has faced in the God of War series.
15 Hildr – God Of War (2018)
The Valkyries are some of the toughest foes that players can face off against in the God of War reboot. All of them have quick attacks, powerful moves, and surprises that will frustrate players who don't take their time and read the moves of these bosses before applying a strategy of their own. However, there's one particular Valkyrie that players need to deal with as soon as possible, since waiting around will ensure a game over for the player sooner rather than later.
This Valkyrie is Hildr, who is present in the infamous land of Niflheim. The irritating mist here will slowly eat into Kratos before killing him after a set amount of time has passed. Players can get some armor to increase the time they can spend in this mist, but that requires a fair bit of grinding that most people might not bother to do, especially if they just want to beat the Valkyrie and get it over with. This leads to frustrating runs where players encounter the Valkyrie as soon as possible... only for their life to ebb away just a few short moments before victory.
For what it's worth, players don't need to escape the area after beating the Valkyrie to register her loss. Dying right after beating this boss might seem anticlimactic, but most players won't mind after defeating one of the more irritating Valkyrie encounters in the game.
14 Aegaeon The Hecatoncheires – God Of War: Ascension
This battle has the same problem as the rest of God of War: Ascension, which is that Kratos can't pull off any worthwhile attacks unless he builds up combos. Since Aegaeon's attacks are hard to consistently dodge, players will likely have to chip away his health one or two strikes at a time.
On top of that, this is a multi-stage battle that involves quick platforming and fighting waves of enemies to reach the next arena. Players must stay on their toes as the camera zooms and rotates all over the titanic opponent. Oftentimes, the perspective zooms so far out that players can't see what they're doing. That's a problem when combat hinges on dodging and combos. All of these issues combine to make Aegaeon an ungodly (sorry) annoyance.
13 Poseidon – God Of War III
Poseidon, the god of the ocean and ruler of the seven seas is a persistent and tough opponent. Players fight this mighty god right at the beginning of God of War III. This boss is relatively tougher to fight considering the fact that players are still stepping into this game without upgrades and such.
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Poseidon has a total of three phases, each tougher and more aggressive than the last. The god uses many move sets in his arsenal to prevent Kratos from climbing Mount Olympus, including his famous trident. He will also blast the area with lightning strikes while riding On his massive crab creature.
12 Persephone – God Of War: Chains Of Olympus
The Persephone boss fight at the end of God Of War: Chains Of Olympus is both challenging and exciting. The wife of Hades and the queen of the underworld will battle Kratos tooth and nail. She may not have the heaviest damage in the series, but she most certainly has some of the most erratic and aggressive movements.
Once Kratos manages to put Persephone's health low enough, she will begin to fire projectiles that Kratos can deflect and send back at her. The thing is, though, that she can also deflect it right back at Kratos. This creates this ping-pong-like exchange where players will constantly have to time their deflections right if they want to put the queen of the underworld down for good.
11 Hades – God Of War III
The god of the underworld and the ruler of the dead is nothing but intimidating. While initially offering assistance to Kratos, as Hades is known to despise the god of Olympus, he now clashes blades with the god of war due to being under the influence of Pandora's Box.
Hades is a towering figure with hard-hitting attacks Kratos should watch out for if he wishes to win against the god. His chains are unrelenting and he will be assisted by his underworld minions. Kratos eventually overpowers this imposing creature and gains his soul and weapon, but it won't be a walk in the park.
10 Sisters Of Fate – God Of War II
The Sisters of Fate is considerably challenging because Kratos will fight not one, not two, but three different bosses. This isn't just a boss fight where players have to "overpower" the sisters either. This boss fight is the perfect balance between skill, strength, and puzzle-solving, fitting when fighting the literal weavers of destiny.
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This boss fight consists of Kratos fighting one sister alone, then fighting two at the same time, and then finally eliminating the last one. It is one of the best boss fights to ever grace the series and it is also remarkable for being one of the most challenging ones.
9 Svartaljofurr – God Of War (2018)
Svartaljofurr, or the King of the Dark Elves, has attack patterns that are as complicated as his name. This intense boss fight is challenging, frustrating, and highly satisfying in the end. The King of the Dark Elves will constantly make sure the players will fight him in his comfortable home court, darkness. This is one of the reasons why this boss fight is so challenging.
He will constantly berate Kratos and Atreus with light waves and unpredictable attacks, many of which will make the arena even darker than it already is. Kratos will need to dodge and parry constantly and have at least access to multiple healing stones to finally best this formidable foe.
The worst part about this fight is that it appears fairly early on in the game when players don't really have too many choices when it comes to the moves and Runic Attacks they can pull off. It's when a player beats this boss by putting everything they've learned in the game to the test that the combat really opens up and shows its full potential.
8 Theseus – God Of War II
The king and hero of Athens, known for completing the six labors, is a boss in God of War II, and he is one of the toughest in the game and in the series. He is fast and unrelenting. To make the boss fight even more difficult, as if Theseus himself isn't enough, he will also summon two minotaurs to aid him in battle.
Theseus and Kratos, both sons of Poseidon and Zeus respectively, seem like equal combatants. However, Kratos proves to be too powerful for the Athen hero. He will not go down without fighting fiercely, though. Kratos will need to dodge and parry perfectly to eventually defeat Theseus.
7 Baldur & Freya – God Of War (2018)
The final boss fight of the latest iteration of God of War is lengthy, challenging, and a whole lot of fun. While Freya isn't technically an "enemy" here, not yet anyway, Kratos and Atreus will also have to deal with her summons and magic as she desperately attempts to break off the fight between her son and the father-son duo of Kratos and Atreus.
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Baldur himself is as aggressive as ever. Although he loses his magical invincibility in this fight, he remains as formidable as ever, if not more. Baldur will switch from ice to fire forms which will force Kratos to also switch from using the Leviathan and the Blades of Chaos accordingly. It's an amazing final boss fight that sets the tone for what's to come in Ragnarok as well.
6 Magni & Modi – God Of War (2018)
It figures that the sons of Thor would be tough, and each of these guys is predictably durable on his own. Magni and Modi take a lot of abuse from both melee and ranged attacks. Even worse, Kratos can only get a few hits on them before they retaliate with an unblockable, widespread counterattack.
Fighting them both doubles the difficulty. The close-quarters camera limits players' vision, so one of the brothers could easily outflank Kratos from offscreen. Atreus can only do so much to draw their attention. The developers know that, too, since they exploit these out-of-sight strikes whenever the brothers turn off the lights. Great.
5 Charon – God Of War: Chains Of Olympus
One wouldn't expect a ferryman to put up such a fight, but Charon's scythe gives him a surprisingly wide area of attack. That's not counting the energy projectiles that he routinely fires, one of which can trap Kratos in a long, damaging loop that drains his health in one fell swoop. Just getting close enough to attack is a chore.
That difficulty is amplified by Charon's movement. He's frustrating in the same way as the sirens and Medusas of these games: he's a thin target who constantly slithers around. Dealing heavy damage with Zeus's Gauntlet is easier said than done, so players must slowly whittle down his health with light attacks from the Blades of Chaos. After a while, though, this becomes counterproductive when Charon repeatedly heals himself. It's no wonder all the dead people (except for Kratos) simply resign themselves to the Underworld; it's easier than fighting the ferryman.
4 Ares – God Of War
Ares, the original god of war, unless Kratos unseats him off of his throne and title. This was no easy feat and his boss fight is a testament to that. The battle between Ares and Kratos is one of the first truest combats between two gods. Ares will prove not only how strong and powerful he is, but also how dirty he is willing to play for the sake of winning a fight.
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In this boss fight, Kratos will have to fight the god of war and face many of his painful attacks, few of which are unblockable. He will also be forced to face his past as he attempts to protect his deceased family against illusions of himself. Finally, god will clash with god as they end with a lifeforce tug-of-war until Kratos finally gains the upper hand and gains the title of God of War.
3 Zeus – God Of War II
This is a long, relentless battle that thankfully sports a few checkpoints. Zeus begins as a giant, pounding the arena with punches too fast for someone his size. These would be tough to avoid in themselves, but their large area of effect keeps Kratos from getting close enough to strike. Of course, the only way to slow Zeus down is to defeat his sirens, which are already some of the more annoying enemies.
When the King of Olympus deigns to fight at human height, his speed increases further. Zeus frequently dashes out of reach, so combos are out of the question. Though his base attacks don't have the same reach, stealing the Blade of Olympus lets him blast Kratos from across the arena and block melee strikes. Dealing any damage essentially requires magic. Considering Kratos's limited supply, he'll spend most of the battle just trying to survive.
2 Zeus – God Of War III
Patricide is a common theme in Greek mythology and God of War follows suit with this ever-ending theme. At the end of God of War III, Kratos finally gets the chance to face his own father and defeat him once and for all after falling at his hands once before.
This time, Kratos is more powerful, but Zeus is also stronger and more aggressive. He also has so many tricks up his sleeve and Kratos will have to fight him in multiple phases, including one where both will essentially have to fight in a traditional side-scrolling manner. Kratos, with patience and resilience, will ultimately tower over the god of the gods as he beats his father to a bloody pulp.
1 Sigrun – God Of War (2018)
Those that have played God of War (2018) and had the privilege (or unfortunate circ*mstance) of facing Sigrun know that there is no boss fight in the history of the franchise that is as tough as this one. In fact, many will debate that this boss fight is one of the most difficult ones in video game history.
Before facing Sigrun, Kratos and Atreus will have to face eight valkyries. Fighting Sigrun is kind of like facing all those eight valkyries at once. She has almost every single move set the other valkyries had, she hits like a truck, and her movements can become so erratic and unpredictable. Many will have to die and start all over again just to finally put this creature to rest, but it will not be easy.
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