This piece contains spoilers for the first half of God of War Ragnarok.
Prior to 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:God of War Ragnarok's release, game director Eric Williams that, in the eagerly anticipated sequel, Kratos would no longer call Atreus "boy.” And, as difficult as it is to believe after saying “Boy!" in a thundering voice was memed to death in the wake of 2018's release, it's true. Kratos only calls his son by his given name.
Names are important, in reality and in God of War Ragnarok. The name someone chooses to go by — either by picking a new name for themselves, or by selecting which nicknames they do or do not find acceptable — tells us a lot about them, and about their relationships with the people using the names. In The Fabelmans, for example, Steven Spielberg's lightly fictionalized teenage stand-in, played by Gabriel LaBelle, is constantly correcting people when they call him "Sammy” Fabelman. It's Sam.
For Atreus, that process seems to have happened between games. Whether Kratos switched to calling him Atreus of his own volition or at Atreus' insistence, Kratos only calls him Atreus. His son has grown into a teenager between games. He’s taller, stronger, and his voice is deeper. Kratos no longer infantilizes him. Well, until he does.
This is a game about growth. About the growing pains as Atreus evolves into a young man and leader, and the resulting uncertainty that that growth causes for his father. As a result, it's also about watching them grow apart. The pair are separated for long stretches of the game. Atreus and Sindri go to visit Freya without Kratos. Atreus falls into Jötunheim and goes off on a lengthy solo adventure through the Ironwood with Angrboda. Kratos travels with Brok and Freya through Vanaheim while Atreus is back at the house. At the point I'm at in God of War Ragnarok, Kratos and Atreus have spent about as much time apart as they have together. That's a huge shift from God of War (2018), where the two — save for a few key moments — were inseparable.
As Kratos✅ and Atreus are separated, they talk to their companions about their frustrations with each other. All of the companions tell Atreus that he is making the wrong decisions. Sindri tries to talk him out of going to see Freya. Mimir agrees when Kratos says he worries Atreus will lead them astray with his approach to Ragnaไrok. And, when Freya and Kratos return from Vanaheim, all of the companions believe it would be wrong for Atreus to go to Odin and take Kratos’ side against Atreus.
Feeling angry, alone, and like everyone is against him, Atreus turns into a bear, knocks Sindri aside, and bursts out of th꧅e house, running toward the gate. At its threshold, he turns back into his human form, stands up, and b𒁃egins to ready the door. When Kratos appears at the hole in the wall and yells, "Boy!" Atreus hits the door hard and disappears to another realm.
That moment felt like a breaking point in the status quo of Kratos’ and Atreus’ relationship. In attempting to exert control, Kratos reveals that he doesn’t see Atreus as his own person who is capable of making෴ his own decisions yet. And, in his impulsive handling of his frustration at being challenged, Atreus reveals t𓆉hat, maybe, Kratos is right.
Atreus has the weight of the world on his shoulders — including the knowledge that prophecy foretells the death o꧃f his father — as he attempts to avert or win Ragnarok. Kratos is dealing with a proble📖m that requires emotional intelligence, not brute strength, and struggling as he, mostly, rises to meet the challenge. Neither is entirely in the wrong, which is what makes their conflict so engaging to watch.