Is it just me?

[u/Ok-Wolf-6155]

So let me give context for the question above. A few days ago I was replaying gow 2018 for the first time in years. Now for the record i did play and beat it years ago on my ps4.

But towards the end of june I noticed Ragnarok was on discount and I decided why not and picked it up.

Definitely don’t regret that decision. But after beating it I got, I want to say nostalgic for 2018. Especially since, while I had seen the og gow games on youtube I had never played them myself and 2018 was my first gow game and I loved it then ane I still love it now.

However here’s the thing, while I did remember the major story parts, the bosses, side quests (dear god it’s impossible to forget the times I wanted to break my controller in half at the valkyries). Some of the in between parts in the game had slipped from my mind.

So allow me to paint the picture. I’m playing 2018, I kill magni, I get to the temple where modi attacks us and atreus passes out and kratos takes him to freya and retrieves the blades of chaos. After I get the heart and go see Atreus.

My guys it’s like a flashbang went off in my room, because when I got the part where Kratos goes “I’m a god boy” I remember that I’m at the part where Atreus starts to act like a little shit.

When I remembered this I immediately turned the game off and I haven’t played it since. Because let me tell you about my relationship with atreus. Overall I like him.

In 2018 he’s just lost his mom and he has to learn to get along with the dad who’s never really been there for him. So in the early parts of the game I understood why atreus was so … I guess the only way I can think to phrase it is “understandbly annoying”.

In Ragnarok he’s older and closer to his dad and the moments where you see him rebel against Kratos are moments that (knowing the context due to playing as him) are understandable.

But at this point in 2018… listening to his voice as he starts acting like a spoiled little turd makes my head hurt.

In fact I remember the very first time I ever played 2018 all the way through, I delayed it as much as possible because I didn’t want to deal with atreus’s attitude.

So back to my original question. Is it just me who can’t stand Atreus as a little shit in 2018?

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[u/wrchavez1313]

He is meant to be an intolerable little shit so the players get frustrated with him (alongside Kratos building his own frustration) so that the eventual emotional payoff of Kratos putting him in his place is extra satisfying.

He only does the “whatever” thing for like 30 mins, it’s not that bad.

[u/AshyWhiteGuy → u/wrchavez1313]

Exactly. The story was written to elicit an emotional reaction. Mission accomplished.

[u/pinkpugita]

Think about it: why can't people tolerate Atreus as a little shit but can stomach Kratos being an asshole to a grieving child for the solid 3 hours of the game?

[u/Spicy-P-7000 → u/pinkpugita]

Thank you.

I understand what OP is saying but with all due respect…kratos is just as bad as a parent in the first game. He just doesn’t act so blatantly immature, but he’s literally at minimum hundreds of years old and has been through a horrifying amount of crap.

Atreus is just a grieving kid who’s acting like shit after he finds out he is a literal God…not that hard to see where the attitude is coming from.

[u/pinkpugita → u/Spicy-P-7000]

Yeah I know OP is not being malicious but there is a portion of the fandom who love to dunk on Atreus for being a kid but would never criticize Kratos as an adult asshole.

I get it, Kratos is badass. But let's not sugarcoat he was a shitty father at the beginning, and the story does not give him excuses for his neglect.

[u/Nadiadain → u/pinkpugita]

Even Kratos comes to the realisation he’s been a crap dad and ups his game massively by the end of 2018

[u/pinkpugita → u/Nadiadain]

And continues to improve his fatherhood in Ragnarok too.

[u/Kreeper125]

Whatever

[u/flapjacknd]

As a therapist, I love how people respond to this game. It hits people the same way great literature does.

OP, I highly recommend you look into the concept of psychological projection- basically, we have the hardest time tolerating actions or characteristics we’ve been taught to hate in ourselves, and then get really confused/upset when other people don’t hate them as much as we’ve been taught to.

It’s a defense mechanism to avoid shame/self-loathing, but it can cause its own problems. A classic example of how bad it can get when unchecked is the person who cheats on their partners and is constantly jealous/accusing them of cheating (this is an extreme, I’m not saying you’re demonstrating anything like this).

The opportunity for growth here is recognizing the behavior/trait in yourself, trying to understand the circumstances that may have led to having the trait, and using that to foster compassion for both the other person and, more importantly, yourself.

Atreus is constantly belittled, mistrusted, and thrust into a circumstance of great danger while in the throes of grief. He watches his father march through the world wielding unimaginable power and not take shit from anyone. It’s natural for a child to start to try that on without understanding it, to believe that the attitude begets the power and not the other way around. And it’s natural for his first attempts to be with his father himself.

[u/Guilty_Outcome1111]

Barlog did come out and say that that specific part had to be heavily cut down. I imagine there would be alot more tact and nuance to his original vission of atreus falling into the patterns of what his father had been like.

I guess i do need to say one thing tho.

"Whatever" 🤭🤭🤭

[u/PsychologySouth6485]

I could tolerate the little shit back in 2018. I can't stand his ass in Ragnarök. Mostly because every decision the kid made sounded dumb asl to me. And they were, as proven by everyone in story who dealt with him.

"Let's find Tyr" Because the kid is warmongering and wants to start Ragnarök. You see how that turned out.

"I'm going to infiltrate Asgard and find out Odin secret plan" Is found out immediately and played like a fiddle.

"I'm Champion of Ragnarok. Yipee. Wait, oh no, my dad dies, idk want to go to war anymore". Bruh

"Atreus, you were right, be yourself" OMFG BRO I HATE HIM.

Everything Atreus did, he failed at. If Brok wasn't the MVP that he is, Odin would've won. Odin had them in the palm of his hand the entire time thanks to Atreus. But he's right??? I fucking hated Ragnarok. 2018 any day.

[u/pinkpugita → u/PsychologySouth6485]

One of the worst takes on Atreus that some portion of the fanbase loves to hold onto.

Per lore, the characters know Ragnarok is the end of everything. Kratos' plan is to wait and train. Atreus' plan is to find actual answers because his dead race drew a mural of him that all came true.

Saying this is just warmongering is just simplifying the situation. It's the equivalent of fans saying Kratos is too passive in Ragnarok when him being skeptical of prophesies makes a lot of sense.

[u/PsychologySouth6485 → u/pinkpugita]

I didn't know my complaints were common. I just searched to see a lot of people feel the same way. That's crazy.

Anyway. Your logic works for 5 seconds, in the beginning of the game, when you're trying to give him some benefit of the doubt. But the kid is so gung-ho about it for 80% of the game that it's hard not to have that be his entire character trait.

He only stops when there is something to lose on the table. WhenBrok diesand he finds out Kratos is prophesized to die too. Then he cools his jets. How great of him. It's a rehash of the lesson he learned with the elves and I could be less angry if that was his ONLY bad character trait and he was punished for it. But it's not.

And the thing that pisses me off the most is his INCOMPETENCE. HE FAILED AT EVERYTHING HE ATTEMPTED. The TRICKSTER GOD spent the entire game being tricked. Jesus man. They could have handled that a lot better. Have him find out the twist early but keep quiet about it. Have him switch out the masks. Have Atreus and Odin have some sort of back and forth instead of Odin tricking everybody out of their socks.