If there is any promise when you get a God of War game, it's that there are going to be epic fights. No game from that series is without a jaw-dropping battle. You are fighting gods, titans, and creatures of myth, after all. The creators knew that they had to make the fights as epic as the creatures themselves, and they delivered.
Kratos has fought with many iconic creatures in incredible set pieces. Out of all the bombastic boss battles, though, which are the best of the best? Here is a list of what we think are the most memorable and epic.
Updated on December 20th, 2022 by Doruk Kaptan: God of War as a franchise has evolved a lot over the years. Starting with semi-humble beginning back in the PlayStation 2 era, the series is considered a powerhouse nowadays, casually being talked about as one of the best out there.
Even with the newest entry, Ragnarok, one thing that hasn't changed is the incredibly epic set pieces and challenging boss battles. When your content is focused on mythology, the games lend themselves to big-scale and memorable boss fights. Here are the best God of War bosses from the series' history.
15 Hydra (God Of War)
Let's start at the very beginning, with the first boss of the first game. The game decided to throw you right into the thick of what God of War will be all about by having you fight a nine-headed hydra immediately. It deserves to be on this list just for the sheer timing of it all. Welcome to God of War.
It has aged since the game first came out, but this fight is still very entertaining, fast-paced, and of course, epic. This was a great way to give players a taste of what was to come.
14 Icarus (God Of War 2)
What made this fight so epic was you spent the entire time free-falling. Kratos is being his usual violent and destructive self and needs Icarus' wings to reach the Sisters of Fate. Icarus does not want to give them up, so Kratos has to take them by force. Kratos and Icarus are both falling as Kratos has to defeat him and take his wings before they hit the ground.
While the fight was cool, Icarus was a pretty harmless guy. That is why it's near the bottom of the list. The reward also outshines the fight itself, so there's that.
13 Sigrun (God Of War PS4)
If you've even casually thought about fully completing the God of War PS4 game, you've probably heard about players' frustration with Sigrun. While there is not too much story significance or character development attached to this fight, it's one of the most memorable due to difficulty.
Especially if you've made the decision to play on a higher difficulty, Sigrun can be incredibly deadly and take hours to beat. The Valkyrie Queen is lightning fast, with hard-to-predict attacks, and doesn't give you much reaction time to adapt on the fly. Sigrun proves that a boss doesn't have to be an iconic god or a story hurdle to be memorable.
12 Hercules (God Of War 3)
Hercules in God of War is definitely not the Hercules you know from his Disney movie. He's enormous, brutal, and has giant lion gauntlets that look like the last thing you want to be punched by. Also, he's Kratos' half-brother, which is a little strange to think about.
Like other boss fights, you get his weapon after a victory. Also, you beat him to death with his own gauntlets in a very violent fashion. Classic Kratos.
11 Hermes (God Of War 3)
Defeating the fastest god there is definitely had its memorable moments. It was fun to slowly chase Hermes, who kept throwing insults at Kratos through Olympus. It was a race of the turtle versus the rabbit, and we know from that story that some abilities beat speed. The battle was less of a fight and more of an exciting chase.
Once you have Hermes restrained and unable to escape, Kratos rips his legs off to get his boots. That in itself is pretty memorable, and it was doubly satisfying due to how annoying Hermes was leading up to the confrontation.
10 Sisters Of Fate (God Of War 2)
The Sisters of Fate boss fight is one of the best ones of them all. The fight pits Kratos against the two sisters, and the fight is in three phases. All three phases are distinct and utilize different mechanics, almost like a collage of God of War 2's mechanics.
The most fun part is when Kratos is taken to the past, and you fight on the sword bridge from the climax of the first game. This boss battle is intense, scored beautifully, and is incredibly fun to play—an example of why God of War 2 is such an amazing game.
9 Cronos (God Of War 3)
This boss fight was a prime example that size does not matter on the battlefield. Cronos is the largest being Kratos has ever taken down. The titan is so big that he's not just the boss, but he is the level itself. You are climbing all over his body like it's a moving castle.
The fight had a moment of predictability when Cronos tried to eat Kratos, and Kratos obviously cut himself out from the inside, but it was amazing to watch him take on this ridiculously huge enemy.
8 Hades (God Of War 3)
The god of the underworld certainly makes for a memorable fight in God of War 3. The creators had to work in a world where tons of different designs and adaptations had already been created for this character, and they still delivered a unique and epic version of the god. Hades got a giant, buff, and monstrous design with a wielding helmet to hide his face and two massive hooks that rip souls from bodies.
Not only do you defeat him, but you use his own weapon against him to rip his soul out. The atmosphere during this fight is amazing, too, as you've just fallen down to the underworld and the gloomy setting is at full display.
7 Zeus (God Of War 3)
Despite being the most important fight in the entire series, it's somewhat in the middle ground in terms of its epicness. Zeus does not have much in terms of surprises. The most interesting part of his fight was that it took place inside Titan Gaia herself. There are also a ton of quick-time events. Not only do you finish off Zeus, but you also kill Gaia in the process.
The ending of the fight was a little overdone. The ghost of Zeus comes and knocks Kratos out. Kratos then finds the ghosts of his wife and child, comes back, and punches the living daylight out of Zeus until the screen is covered with blood. It was quite cathartic to lay it on Zeus until you were satisfied or your fingers got tired.
6 Heimdall (God Of War Ragnarok)
God of War Ragnarok was a great game that finally showcased Kratos's transformation from a rage-filled monster into a wiser man that does not seek conflict. With that being the case, the Norse gods continuously taunting Kratos became even more infuriating. Just let the man be.
Heimdall is a great example of an annoying opponent that's very satisfying to take down. He's known for seeing the future to an extent and thus evades your attacks. Thus, you have to use your parries and Draupnir Spear to even land a hit on him. The fight was not as large-scale as some other entries on this list, but the stakes were high, as Heimdall's death also marked the beginning of Ragnarok.
5 Ares (God Of War)
While epic and large-scale boss fights are a classic way to open a God of War game, the final battles are also quite exciting. The finale of the first game in the series is one of the best ones. After opening Pandora's Box, Kratos becomes a giant, and a Kaiju battle ensues between the old and soon-to-be gods of war.
You have to plow through Kratos's ghosts to defend your family as a sort of psychological torment from Ares. Then your blades are taken away, so you pick up a bridge in the shape of a sword, and a very interesting boss battle begins. Kratos and Ares share a health bar in this fight. So you have to dodge Ares's attacks in a sort of tug-of-war game. Despite its age, this boss fight deserves all the praise.
4 Poseidon (God Of War 3)
Kratos fights the god of the sea pretty early on in God of War 3. Despite being at the beginning, it was epic enough to feel like a final boss fight. The god creates a colossal monster made of the sea, complete with him riding on a water chariot carried by horses. Epic.
The most satisfying part was when Kratos burst through the monster's chest to reach the god controlling it on the inside. Then it just gets brutal when you see Kratos gouge the god's eyes out from the god's point of view.
3 The Stranger (God Of War 4)
Like Poseidon in the third game, the stranger from the fourth game acted as an epic and over-the-top introduction. The power put into the fight is seamless and earth-shattering all at once. You also are not fighting someone in a monstrous form. You are fighting a stranger who appears as just a man, making him seem all the more equal to Kratos.
From flying through the air, breaking boulders, and crashing into trees, the fight gets messy, and it's a lot of fun. Baldur's taunts and cockiness only make you want to beat him up more, which is always satisfying when you manage to do so.
2 Magni And Modi (God Of War 4)
Like the Greek god fights from the previous games, the Norse gods of the fourth game proved to be epic. Not only that but this time, Kratos isn't alone. It's a tag-team battle between two groups of two. The mechanics recognize this and even create a sort of mini-game between Kratos and Atreus where the two need to time their attacks right against Magni and Modi while also protecting themselves at the right time.
Magni and Modi's attacks are quite fun too. There is a part where they chant in Norse and beat a sword against a shield to make the sound of thunder, and the level goes dark. Knowing these two are the sons of Thor and that winning entails a bigger conflict down the line makes it all the more exciting.
1 Thor (God Of War: Ragnarok)
Speaking of Thor, he was the boss fight to kick off the latest game in the series, Ragnarok. After a tense introductory scene and an intriguing dialogue with Odin, Thor decides to make you pay the blood debt for killing his sons. The characterization of Thor is amazing, taunting Kratos and practically pushing him to give into his old ways of rage and destruction.
The fight itself has amazing moments, like when the Berserker Axe and Mjolnir clash, creating a solid lightning bolt, and when Thor brings you back from the death screen, claiming he's not done with you yet. This fight is so amazing and tense that the rest of the game almost fails to live up to this epic moment.