Kratos is a video game character and the primary protagonist of the God of War series. The character first appeared in God of War, released in 2005. In this game, Kratos is on a quest for revenge, a theme continued throughout the God of War series.

The series has become a flagship title for the PlayStation brand, appearing on both the PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable, with a game in development for PlayStation 3. God of War: Betrayal was the first game in the series released for a non-Sony platform, and the first mobile game in the series. The character went through many stages of development, with his final design being chosen due to his "Greek" and "brutal" characteristics.

Kratos uses a distinctive main weapon in all of the God of War games. The "chain blades", a pair of swords attached by chains to Kratos' arms, were chosen to show an "animalistic" nature while allowing a fluid combat animation. The character has received a mostly positive critical reception, being described by reviewers as a "sympathetic antihero", while his gameplay was perceived as "a nightmare to his enemies, but a dream to control".

His role in the first game's plot received a similar reaction, particularly his "tragic fall and brutal ascension to the peaks of Mount Olympus". National Entertainment Collectibles Association has produced a series of action figures featuring Kratos' appearance in God of War II. The main idea when creating Kratos was to design someone that looked "brutal", while separating its appearance from what is considered the traditional Greek hero.

The character's look was supposed to feel violent and impulsive. One of the early concepts was to have a fully masked character, but the idea was abandoned when such designs seemed "soulless", lacking a defined personality. During the creative process, game director David Jaffe focused on the "brutal" factor; this led to the team focusing on the character's primal aspect.

At a point all traditional armor was removed from the character, in order to conserve his "individualism". Numerous designs were drawn, ranging from one resembling a member of an African tribe to several using traditional Greek armors. Various changes were done to these drawings in order to make the character seem as "Greek" as possible.

Some of the models included unconventional elements, including an infant being carried on Kratos' back. Others were deemed to include excessive detail, these included hair and other "flowing things" which were discarded after they were considered a bigger effort when creating the virtual models. The chain blades were selected as Kratos' signature weapons because the team considered that they emphasized the character's animalistic nature while at the same time making his combat more fluid.

Similar to 0 things you like: