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Listen to the epic ‘God of War’ soundtrack right now on Spotify

Gabe Gurwin
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The Music of God of War with Composer Bear McCreary | Countdown to Launch

God of War releases on Friday, April 20, and we were pretty big fans of Sony Santa Monica’s massively retooled sequel. In addition to the fantastic visuals, compelling story, and engaging combat, the game’s soundtrack is absolutely killer — and you don’t have to own the game to hear it. The God of War soundtrack is now available on Spotify.

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The soundtrack was composed by Bear McCreary, whose work can be found in the films 10 Cloverfield Lane and Happy Death Day, as well as Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed Syndicate — now free for Xbox Live Gold members.

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The God of War soundtrack feels appropriately Scandinavian, with emotional chants, supported by horns and strings in a title track so powerful, you can’t not murder some monsters after hearing it.

Soaring vocals are a theme throughout the soundtrack, with the song Ashes, featuring a female vocalist, sounding slightly similar to Sins of the Father in Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain.

With the integration of Spotify and PlayStation Music on the PlayStation 4, you can essentially make the God of War soundtrack the soundtrack to any game you want. Why not try it out with God of War III: Remastered, just to see the contrast in tone between Kratos’ vengeful past self and his more reserved and introspective side showcased in the new game.

Kratos’ relationship with his son is also explored through McCreary’s work. In a developer video, McCreary said the three-note melody looped through much of Kratos’ theme is meant to be “stern,” conveying the mentoring relationship between the two characters and the lessening of Kratos’ unbridled rage.

“The fact that I could distill [that feeling] down to those three notes — it meant that if he walks into a scene or if he takes the upper hand … if he does anything, Kratos is here,” McCreary added. “He’s taking command, you know?”

It’s unclear if McCreary has inserted any subliminal messages into the God of War soundtrack, but it wouldn’t be out of the question for the series. We just aren’t sure which beverage he’ll choose to reference this time.

God of War releases exclusively for PlayStation 4 on April 20.

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Gabe Gurwin
Gabe Gurwin
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Gabe Gurwin has been playing games since 1997, beginning with the N64 and the Super Nintendo. He began his journalism career…
God of War Ragnarok: all Ratatasks and rewards
Kratos and Atreus sail on water in God of War Ragnarok.

As pressing a matter that the end of the world (aka Ragnarok) is in God of War Ragnarok, there's always time to diverge from the main path and do some side activities. The game is a realm-hopping adventure, and essentially every place you visit has something optional you can do. There are main side quests, called Favours, but also smaller objectives you can do throughout your playthrough called Labours.

Many Labours are tied to your skills or various collectibles, but there is one special set called Ratatasks. Named after the caretaker of the world tree Yggdrasil Ratatoskr, this mystic squirrel will present you with four categories of tasks, each with multiple tasks, tiers, and rewards for completion. There are a ton of these, so knowing which ones to go for if you want the best rewards will save you quite a bit of effort. Frost up your ax and get ready to unleash your Spartan rage as we go over every Ratatask and their rewards in God of War Ragnarok.
How Ratatasks work

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God of War Ragnarok has much healthier things to say about parenting

As young creatives in entertainment industries get older and have children, more stories about reluctant but caring fathers are popping up in mainstream media. On the film and television side, movies like Logan and shows like The Mandalorian and Obi-Wan fit this mold. Sony has championed this kind of story on the video game front with 2013's The Last of Us and 2018's God of War, both stories about complicated dads forced to take care of a child (whether their real kid or a surrogate one). God of War Ragnarok, on the other hand, is more than just a "dad game," as it has a solid message that anyone can learn from to improve their personal relationships.
Instead of glorifying a parent-child relationship with some abusive and manipulative tendencies, God of War Ragnarok stresses how important it is to respect, listen to others, and give people space when they need it. Even if you aren't a dad, God of War Ragnarok still has a poignant message about communicating that anyone can take to heart.
This article contains light spoilers for God of War Ragnarok.
Communicating the problem
The typical dad narrative follows a set premise: A fierce warrior with a troubled past must learn to love something on his own. By the end of their journey, they've shared some tender moments with their child, whether they be blood-related or found, and decide they'll do whatever it takes to protect them. While these stories can be emotional and entertaining, they often have some unsavory undertones. These stories tend to herald characters who are overprotective of those they are close to, but justify it by showing that it comes from a place of love.
As a result, some of gaming's worst dads can be over-glorified. The Last of Us' Joel, for example, ends the game as a selfish man willing to deprive the world of a cure just because he doesn't want to lose another daughter. Still, he's remembered as a hero within the series and its fandom, with one of his most misguided lines being used to promote HBO's upcoming TV adaptation ("You have no idea what loss is."). These narratives still work on the whole; they just aren't shining examples of healthy relationships.
https://twitter.com/Naughty_Dog/status/1587837418748657665
Sony games have been getting more thoughtful about this. Joel suffers serious consequences for his terrible actions in The Last of Us Part II. On the flip side, God of War Ragnarok allows Kratos to improve as a person, critiquing his more ignorant actions and thematically offering lessons that anyone can learn from.
Although Kratos seemed to have a better relationship with his son by the end of God of War, we see that he's regressed back to being overprotective and restrictive to Atreus in Ragnarok. That behavior comes even as Atreus is getting older and trying to come to terms with his own identity. Throughout the game's opening, Atreus and Mimir constantly call out when he's not communicating, with Atreus going further and encouraging him to end Fimbulwinter.
Kratos makes it clear that all he cares about is Atreus' survival and spending as much time with him as possible before his prophesied death. He shocks Atreus by going out of his way to help his son free a trapped creature in an early side quest. Still, the first part of God of War Ragnarok highlights how Kratos ultimately struggles to communicate with Atreus, so his actions and comments feel spiteful and selfish, even when he wants to be helpful.

Kratos consistently pushes Atreus away at multiple points in the game, and so he goes on his own journeys. Kratos' failure is no longer because of inexperience; it's a communication issue. Throughout God of War Ragnarok, Kratos must learn that he can still be a guiding hand for Atreus but must also listen to his son and give him space when he needs it. Whether you're a parent or not, that's a good mindset to apply to any personal relationship.
In-game comms 
The dangers of a lack of communication also reflect in other parts of the game. In the side-quest The Lost Treasure, Kratos encounters a father who died while searching for treasure on his own to prevent his son from being hurt. Upon further investigation, Kratos learns that the son also died because he tried doing the same thing with another treasure and didn't let them know. In an effort to protect each other, that father and son didn't communicate and suffered because of it. This otherwise insignificant side-quest thematically stands as a warning for how Kratos and Atreus' relationship could end up if they continue to be dysfunctional and not communicate.
Kratos and Atreus do hit a rough patch before things get better. Atreus ultimately defies Kratos on one of his adventures, meeting a character that he quickly begins to see as a more ideal father figure. He's kinder and more communicative -- though it becomes clear that his comments may have insidious ulterior motives. God of War Ragnarok demonstrates that relationships can't be constructive unless everyone is honest and open with each other.

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Every action game should take notes from God of War Ragnarok’s skill tree
Kratos looks at the Leviathan Axe.

Not every piece of God of War Ragnarok is a step up from its 2018 predecessor, but there's one area where it's an undeniable improvement: action. Like his last adventure, Kratos uses his heavy Leviathan Axe to chop up enemies and his Blades of Chaos to rain hellfire down. Both tools feel the same in the sequel but have been altered with the addition of elemental abilities that bring an extra set of moves and decisions to combat.

What stands out to me most about the game's evolved combat though is something a little less flashy. God of War Ragnarok features a handful of skill trees that let players unlock more combos. That's a bit run of the mill, as it's become a staple of Sony's first-party exclusives in recent years. However, Ragnarok's skill tree goes one step further than most games with a new customization system that encourages players to actually use those skills once they've been unlocked. The feature is so effective that I hope every character-based action game takes notes from it from here on out.
Use your skills
The skill trees in God of War Ragnarok function about the same as any game that includes them. Kratos earns experience points when he slays monsters and those points can be spent to unlock new skills. Both the Leviathan Axe and the Blades of Chaos have their own three-pronged skill tree, as does Atreus. Every time Kratos levels up a weapon using resources, more skills become available to purchase. By the end of the game, players have access to a fairly wide range of moves that'll have them holding down buttons, comboing moves together, and more.

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