God of War is an  developed by  and published by . It was released worldwide on April 20, 2018, for the , with a  port released on January 14, 2022. The game is the eighth installment in the , the eighth chronologically, and the sequel to 2010's . Unlike previous games, which were loosely based on , this installment is loosely inspired by , with the majority of it set in ancient  in the realm of . For the first time in the series, there are two protagonists: , the former Greek God of War who remains the only , and his young son, Atreus. Following the death of Kratos' second wife Faye—Atreus' mother—the two embark on a journey to fulfill her request that her ashes be spread at the highest peak of the . Kratos keeps his  a secret from Atreus, who is unaware of his divine nature. Along their journey, they come into conflict with monsters and .

Described by creative director  as a reimagining of the franchise, a major  change is that Kratos makes prominent use of a magical  instead of his signature . God of War also uses an , with the game in , as opposed to the  of the previous entries. The game also includes  elements, and Kratos' son Atreus provides assistance in combat. The majority of the original game's development team worked on God of War and designed it to be accessible and grounded. A separate short , , was released in February 2018 through  and follows Atreus on his first adventure. Three days before God of War's release, a smartphone companion app called Mímir's Vision was made available, providing additional information about the game's Norse setting.God of War is a   video game. It features an , a departure from the previous installments, which featured a  (with the exception of 2007's   ). Cinematographically, the game is presented in a , with no  or . Although the previous main installment,  (2013), introduced  to the series, this installment is -only. Regarding the level structure, director Cory Barlog said "it's open, but it is not an ." Due to its openness, a  feature is unlocked later in the game. Swimming, an ability in previous games, was cut; players instead use a boat to traverse bodies of water. Unlike previous games, which allowed players to jump freely at anytime, jumping can now only be done at designated areas, such as at a rock face or ledge. Throughout the game, players battle  foes, like , , and , as well as  and the , beings warped by  magic, among many others.  appear as optional . Among the many , players can free the imprisoned  , , and — who were turned into dragons—in addition to battling one called Hræzlyr, a story-based boss battle