These God of War Minigames Are Ridiculous, Memorable, and Highlight How Much Kratos Has Changed

The God of War series was never necessarily squeamish about anything. The games took hyper-violence as a challenge, infused horrific concepts with mythological characters, and featured casual nudity whenever it had an opportunity to. The result was a game that at times felt like the id of a teenage boy unleashed, explaining why there was so much brutality and the inherent appeal of the game’s strangest secret minigames.

In each of the original God of War games, players had an opportunity to have sex with a woman (or women) that took the form of a minigame — literally rewarding the player with orbs necessary for upgrades if they succeeded. It was a bizarre touch that became a running joke with the fandom, serving as an infamous example of sex as represented in mainstream gaming. However, later games made those minigames surprisingly emotionally resonant, and it would be a shame to see that layer of the franchise removed.

God Of War’s Sex Minigames Are Legendarily Ridiculous

One of the strangest things in the original God of War trilogy was the hidden sex minigames — but the sequel trilogy made them crucial to Kratos as a character. In each of the three original God of War games (as well as PSP spin-offs like Ghost of Sparta), the player’s adventure sees Kratos come across women in sultry situations. This includes two women in a bed in the first game, two women in a bathhouse in God of War II, and the Greek Goddess Aphrodite in God of War III. In each of these encounters, Kratos has the option to have a sexual encounter. Although the camera pans away, players are tasked with certain button prompts or controller moves, turning the moments into minigames with a red orb reward for a job well done.

Even when compared to many of the other ridiculous aspects of the game series, these moments stand out in God of War as truly bizarre touches. Especially in retrospect, they feel very much of their time — although, as explained by Santa Monica Studio writer Alanah Pearce, it was actually women who wrote the scenes and infused them with a focus on female pleasure as well. It also does a good job of illustrating Kratos as an effective physical presence but who lacks the sort of emotional maturity needed for anything beyond physical lovemaking, serving as another clue to the character’s interior. Still, there’s an oddness to having the action-packed God of War games come to a quick halt for a quickie that makes these scenes even more infamous.

Why The Sex Minigames Need To Be In The God Of War Trilogy Remake

With the upcoming God of War remakes, Santa Monica Studio has an opportunity to update or tweak things in those games that might not land as well with modern audiences. However, one thing they can’t get rid of is the sex minigames. For one thing, they’ve become so infamous over the years that it would be odd for them not to appear in some form. While they will likely follow the original game’s direction and put all the action off-screen, the minigames feel like such a piece of the original trilogy’s DNA that they need to appear in some form.

More than anything, though, the minigames are important because of what they say about Kratos in retrospect. During the original trilogy, Kratos is a man consumed by nihilistic rage over his servitude to Ares and the loss of his family. He treats everyone with casual disdain or indifference, including during those sex minigames. Those moments highlight how Kratos is still only being used by others for his strength and skill and that he’s accepted his use as a tool instead of a person. By contrast, the 2018 God of War revisits an older Kratos who has been shaped by the events of the trilogy into a more humble and human figure. This Kratos is one who could actually form a romance and a relationship with a woman, who connects with her enough to make honoring her passing a major part of the game narrative.

This is a completely different type of Kratos, whose love for Faye isn’t shown on screen and isn’t trivialized as a minigame. It highlights the depth of the growth Kratos has gone through by impacting how players connect with him. The sex minigames were ridiculous, over-the-top, and spoke to a Kratos who didn’t care. The lack of one underscored how much Kratos had changed for the 2018 game and its sequel, which are major aspects of both games. Kratos voice actor T.C. Carson certainly agrees, saying recently that he believes the remakes will include the minigames. The remake of the trilogy needs to keep the games to ensure this effective emotional throughline continues to exist, serving as an unlikely but memorable connection between the two eras of the series.