With the release of God of War Ragnarok, many players are not sure where to start. Since there are 8 games in the main story of the series there are plenty of games for you to play. Hence it can be a bit confusing on the right order to enjoy the story best. So in this guide check out how many games there are in God of War and the order from where you should start playing them.
How many Games are there in God of War?
There are a total of 8 mainline games including the game God of War Ragnarok.
- God of War (2005)
- God of War II
- God of War: Chains of Olympus
- God of War III
- God of War: Ghost of Sparta
- God of War: Ascension
- God of War (2018)
- God of War: Ragnarok
There is also a mobile game known as God of War Betrayal. It is apparently canon but adds very little to the story. So you can skip playing this game. Speaking of the story here is the order in which you should play them.
Which Order Should you Start playing God of War in?
There are three ways you can start playing the series from. You can either start with God of War (2005) to play in its release order or start with God of War: Ascension to play in its Chronological order. And finally, you can start with God of War (2018) where the game is set in Norse mythology, unlike the previous 6 games that were set in Greek mythology. You still get to learn about Kratos’s past in this game. Before we go any further there will be minor spoilers about some games. So here are all the orders that you can play the games in:
Start from Release Order
- God of War (2005) – This is the game that started the whole series. Without getting into too many details, the story revolves around Kratos being tasked by Athena to find Pandora’s Box. This will give him the power to defeat and overthrow Ares. After this game, you can play the other games in the following release order:
- God of War II
- God of War: Chains of Olympus
- God of War III
- God of War: Ghost of Sparta
- God of War: Ascension
- God of War (2018)
- God of War: Ragnarok
Start from Chronological order
God of War: Ascension is the first game in terms of chronology. The story in this game takes place after Kratos is tricked into killing his own family, which makes him furious and break his blood oath with Ares. Here you go through the journey of how Kratos breaks this oat and learn why he began his service to the Gods.
The Chronological order of the games is:
- God of War: Ascension
- God of War: Chains of Olympus
- God of War (2005)
- God of War: Ghost of Sparta
- God of War II
- God of War III
- God of War (2018)
- God of War: Ragnarok
Start from Norse Mythology
This story of God of War (2018) takes place several years after the events of God of War III. Now Kratos lives his life in Midgard with his son, hiding from him that he is a God. The story starts with the death of Kratos’s wife Faye. Her last wish is for her ashes to be released from the highest point in the Nine Realms. So players go through the journey of Kratos and Atreus fulfilling Faye’s final wish. While a mysterious Norse god Baldur attacks them. There are only two games for you to play from the Norse mythology.
- God of War (2018)
- God of War: Ragnarok
I suggest you also check our guide on all games in order to learn more about the play orders of the game and the entire story of all the 7 games released prior to Ragnarok.
That covers this guide on how many games are there in God of War and which game you should start playing. While you play Ragnarok be sure to check our guide on the list of all characters from Norse mythology.
