The release of God of War is just a day away, and with eight years between God of War III and the reboot, God of War, many fans are wondering what the franchise was all about. It’s fairly safe to say that the new title is a far cry from its predecessors, both in combat and in story, but it is also good to look back and see how far the series has come. The story trailer is a good place to start, giving plenty of hints of what is to come as well as what happened in the past, but Kratos’ story arch is more complicated than that.

Without giving too much away, the new God of War features the main character, Kratos, many years older and different from his previous incarnations. In the past games, the story was largely like that of any Arnold Schwarzenegger movie circa Commando – Kratos is mad, and he kills everything. The Kratos of the new game is much more like John McClane in Live Free or Die Hard – he’s tired of being a hero, he is more interested in being a dad, and his legacy is sort of one that has made his life suck. The tone of the game has set that Kratos is much removed from his past deeds – which also fits with the changes made to the series’ combat and scope.

The Kratos of the past three games – which all focused on Greek mythology, was probably inspired by the Greek hero Diomedes. Diomedes was a hero famed for his power in the Trojan war, a war that pitted Athena’s favored army against Ares’ favored army. Diomedes was so powerful that when Ares came down to stop him from decimating the Trojans, he wounded Ares, forcing him to flee. Since Kratos serves Athena and challenges Ares, it’s highly likely this was inspiration for his character.

In the original game, Ares grants Kratos his powers and his iconic weapons, the Blades of Chaos, but after being tricked into killing his own family, Kratos sides with Athena, who becomes his guide to kill Ares and avenge himself. But Kratos also takes huge inspiration from the Greek hero Hercules. Like Kratos, Hercules was tricked into killing his family, and like Kratos, it haunts Hercules long after. Kratos’ rage and shame are what end up defining him across all three games, and is something heavily hinted at in the new title.

Even after Kratos kills Ares and is granted the title God of War, he is haunted by his sins. This is made worse when Kratos is once again betrayed by the Gods when he will not serve them. He is killed by Zeus and cast into the Underworld. Here, he discovers the Titans, giant beings once killed by Zeus whom he can ally with if he can turn back time using the fates.

Along his journey, Kratos discovers that he is Zeus’ son (also like Hercules), which explains his incredible strength and power. After learning of Zeus’ fear of his power, Kratos leads a revolt by the Titans to overtake Olympus. After decimating nearly all of the Gods, and the Titans who betray him, Kratos’ final act is to defy Athena and undo all the damage he has done to Greece. The game ends with Kratos refusing to ever be the pawn of a God again, and he leaves Greece, and all that he has done, behind.

The new God of War begins in the years after Kratos abandons Greece and has fled to lands far to the north. His son, Atreus, knows nothing of his past, and Kratos prefers it this way. He is clearly not entirely over his own sins of killing his previous family, and this will certainly play a large role in his feelings towards Atreus. The rage that Kratos felt in the old games is also heavily hinted at when Atreus rages in the video, showing that Kratos will have to try and quell his own demons in his younger son.

Of course, there will be deviations, and there is plenty of Norse mythology that Kratos will interact with and overcome. But like the previous titles, God of War is a series about Kratos and his journey, so while it is important that he has killed virtually all the Greek Gods, the Titans, and even the Fates, it is more about Kratos’ journey. We’ll just have to see how the new game handles his growth, and if maybe we don’t see any inspiration from Norse figures as well.