Setting As with the previous games in the
God of War franchise,
God of War: Chains of Olympus is set in an alternate version of
ancient Greece, populated by the
Olympian gods,
Titans, and other beings of
Greek mythology. With the exception of
flashbacks, the events are set between those of the games
Ascension (2013) and
God of War (2005). Several locations are explored, including the real-world locations of the ancient cities of
Attica and
Marathon, the latter including fictional settings of the Temple of
Helios and the Caves of
Olympus, and several other fictional locations, including the
Underworld, which features scenes at the
River Styx,
Tartarus, the Fields of
Elysium, and the Temple of
Persephone. Attica is a war-torn city under assault by the
Persian Empire and their pet
basilisk and is the site of
Eurybiades' last battle. The city of Marathon is covered in the black fog of the Dream God,
Morpheus. Just beyond the city is the Temple of Helios, which sits atop the Sun Chariot, which has plummeted to Earth in Helios' absence.
Boreas,
Zephyros,
Euros, and
Notos, the gods of the
north,
west,
east, and
south winds, respectively, reside in the temple and guide the chariot. The Caves of Olympus is a cavern below Mount Olympus and houses the dawn-goddess
Eos, the Primordial Fires, and a statue of
Triton. The Underworld is the underground realm of the dead and is host to the River Styx and the ferryman of the dead,
Charon. Tartarus is the prison of the dead and the Titans where the massive Titan
Hyperion is chained. The Fields of Elysium are home to deserving souls that roam peacefully and are overlooked by the Temple of Persephone.
Characters The protagonist of the game is
Kratos (voiced by
Terrence C. Carson), a former Captain of
Sparta's Army, and once servant to the God of War,
Ares. He now serves the other Olympian gods in hopes that they will free him of his nightmares. Other characters include Kratos' mentor and ally
Athena (Erin Torpey), the Goddess of Wisdom; Eos (Erin Torpey), the Goddess of Dawn and sister of Helios; Persephone (Marina Gordon), the Queen of the Underworld and the main antagonist; and
Atlas (
Fred Tatasciore), a four-armed Titan imprisoned in Tartarus after the
Great War. Kratos' deceased daughter Calliope (
Debi Derryberry) briefly reunites with him in the Fields of Elysium and his wife Lysandra appears in a flashback. Minor characters include Helios (
Dwight Schultz), the captured Sun God; Charon (Dwight Schultz), the ferryman of the Underworld; and the
Persian king (Fred Tatasciore), leader of the Persian forces attacking Attica.
Plot battles the
basilisk in the city of Attica. About halfway through Kratos' ten years of service to the Olympian gods, he is sent to the city of Attica to help defend it from the invading Persian army. After successfully killing the Persian king, decimating his army, and slaying their pet basilisk, Kratos observes the Sun fall from the sky, plunging the world into darkness. As he fights his way through the city of Marathon, the Spartan witnesses the black fog of Morpheus covering the land. He hears a haunting flute melody, which he recognizes as a melody once played by his deceased daughter Calliope. Finding the Temple of Helios, Kratos learns from Athena that Morpheus has caused many of the gods to fall into a deep slumber due to the absence of light. Before she succumbs to slumber, Athena tasks Kratos to find Helios, return him to the sky, and break Morpheus’ grasp on the world. The Spartan eventually locates Helios' sister, Eos, who tells Kratos that the Titan Atlas has abducted her brother. Eos advises Kratos to seek the Primordial Fires, which he uses to awaken the fire steeds of Helios. The steeds take the Spartan to the Underworld, where he has two encounters with Charon at the River Styx. Although Charon initially defeats Kratos and banishes him to Tartarus, the Spartan returns with the Gauntlet of Zeus and destroys the ferryman. Kratos soon spots Calliope and chases after her. After locating the Temple of Persephone and confronting the Queen of the Underworld, Kratos is given a choice: renounce his power and be with his deceased daughter (at a cost to mankind) or proceed with his mission. Kratos sacrifices his weapons and power to be reunited with his daughter but discovers that Persephone is embittered by Zeus' betrayal and her imprisonment in the Underworld with her husband
Hades, whom she did not love. While he was distracted by his reunion with Calliope, Persephone's ally Atlas was using the power of the kidnapped Helios to destroy the Pillar of the World, which would also end Olympus. As the resulting destruction of the Pillar will also cause the souls of the Underworld, including Calliope, to be lost, Kratos reluctantly abandons his daughter forever in order to save her life. Taking back his power, Kratos battles Persephone and Atlas, binding the Titan to the Pillar before slaying the goddess. Although victorious, he is warned by a dying Persephone that his suffering will never end. Atlas, forced to hold the weight of the world on his shoulders for eternity, also warns Kratos that he will eventually regret helping the gods and that he and Atlas will meet again. Kratos then rides the Sun Chariot back to the mortal world and into the sky as Morpheus retreats. In a
post-credits scene, Kratos is still riding Helios' chariot back into the sky and after seeing the return of the Sun, Kratos loses consciousness from the exertion and plummets to the ground. At the last moment, Kratos is saved by Athena and Helios, and Athena tells Helios that "He will live." ==Development==