God of War's Developers Wanted Atreus to Feel Believable

God of War Ragnarök is just a few short weeks away, and that means fans all around the world are gearing up to jump into the latest chapter of Kratos' story. Not that long ago, Newsweek had a chance to sit down with Eric Williams, game director of God of War Ragnarök, to talk about the coming game, and to learn more about how Williams took over from God of War 2018's director, Cory Barlog.

During the interview, Williams not only talked about taking over the direction of the game, but he also talked about how the team approached Atreus' evolution from God of War 2018 to God of War Ragnarök.

The general consensus, Williams told Newsweek, is that they wanted Atreus to feel real.

"We would ask people—OK, you're 15, what are the three things you're most proud of and what are the three things you're most embarrassed by?"

Williams says that the team would then take those things, and they would look at them and how they could correlate with God of War's world. One thing he mentioned was how as kids, many people will throw tantrums, because they think that it will get them something. Players can see this from Atreus some in God of War 2018, and perhaps in Ragnarök as well.

All of this was part of the team's plans to make Atreus feel like a believable character. Like the problems he was going through could be related to in some way.

"You start chalking those up," Williams told Newsweek. "And it's like, 'OK, this is interesting because it comes from an honest place.' It's like reality. Even if it isn't going to be a one-to-one story, the idea is the extraction point. People are still going to be able to connect."

And there are those extraction points that Williams mentions in God of War 2018, and even in what Newsweek has seen of God of War Ragnarök. You can see how Atreus has evolved and how he as a child in the first game responds to things.

Further, you can see the way that Sony Santa Monica has weaved the story to make Kratos and Atreus' newest adventure less of a redemption story and more of an exploration of a side of Kratos that we weren't privy to in the previous games.

God of War Ragnarök is set to release on November 9, 2022. When it releases, players can jump in and follow the next chapter of Kratos and Atreus' journey to understand the secrets they uncovered at the end of God of War 2018. Before you jump in, make sure you know the story, so that you can pick up on all the lore found in God of War Ragnarök.