There are several ways to show your love for a particular video game, and for some folks, tattoos are the way to go. When it comes to God of War, Kratos has a red design that wraps around most of his body. There’s a tragic reason for that particular marking, but many God of War fans have found ways to honor Kratos’ legacy with body art. Here are some of the best examples.
Related: The best God of War Ragnarok wallpapers for PC and mobile
‘Back’ to the Beginning
This is a good place to start. It’s a full back tattoo that depicts events from the beginning of the God of War franchise, showing Kratos doing battle against a legionnaire.
Battle on the Back
This second back tat takes us to the current Norse saga, where Kratos fights in much colder environments. Your first encounter with a troll like this comes during the opening events of the 2018 game.
Blades of Chaos Bandages
Kratos’ iconic Blades of Chaos are bound to his flesh, seared into his forearm after his pact with Ares. This excellent black-ink work represents that, with a nice negative space logo on the elbow to boot.
Colorful Blades of Chaos
Not every God of War tat needs to be super gritty or totally shaded with black. This excellent example shows the trademark Blades of Chaos over a swirling pattern of bright colors that really pop.
Eustace Bagge, the God Slayer
As we said, not every tattoo needs to be serious. Someone decided to take a very silly Reddit post and put it on their forearm permanently. This isn’t the only meme you’ll see on the list.
Father, Son, and Calf
The red and black shading on this calf tattoo is top-notch. Kratos and his son Atreus are framed perfectly within the series’ omega logo with the Leviathan Axe between them. This could honestly be official art for the franchise. It’s not the first time we’ve said that about a God of War tribute.
Full Sleeve, Full Story
This epic sleeve recaps some major events from the 2018 game. We see the first troll fight from the tutorial section, as well as Kratos and Atreus’ first encounter with Jörmungandr the World Serpent.
God of Derp
Here’s the other meme, and it’s a classic. There are some excellent examples of faces and serious expressions on this list, but this ain’t one of them.
Mimir and the Missing Eye
The severed-head companion from the Norse saga gets the spotlight here. The line work is simply gorgeous, and the use of white ink (often a no-no in the tattoo world) to represent Mimir’s one working eye is an inspired choice.
Odin’s Runes
Finally, we have a tribute to Odin the All-Father. We won’t pretend to know what the runes mean, but they sure do look pretty. The ravens are a nice touch too, especially since you’ll have to hunt them down again in Ragnarok.
