Watch the God of War documentary and prepare for two hours of high highs and low lows

The God of War documentary is here, and it's just under two hours of rare insight into the creation of a modern-day classic. Titled Raising Kratos, it was made with years' worth of behind-the-scenes footage from Sony Santa Monica Studio as well as looks back at God of War's roots. Though it's an official feature-length production from PlayStation, the documentary still faces up to difficulties that the development team faced over the game's five-year development. It also addresses the way the God of War series went out with a whimper before the reboot. Remember God of War: Ascension? No? Exactly.

This kind of developer access makes me green with envy. Just look at this frank discussion with director Cory Barlog from the morning before the big God of War reveal at E3 2016.

"I think I've been rehearsing that demo for a month," Barlog says. "It's just nine minutes, but to me it's the most important nine minutes of this game. That's the one where everybody's either gonna go 'What the fuck are you doing' or 'What the fuck are you doing, that's awesome!' I have no idea what the answer is going to be either."

The answer was the much-more-positive "what the fuck" but development didn't get any easier from there. Watch the full documentary for more in-the-moment discussion with developers, and - let's be honest with ourselves - to see if you can catch any more God of War sequel teases.

God of War is still number one on our list of the best PS4 games, and it may be a while before that changes. If you don't mind spoilers, check out our video guide to 7 things we want to see in the sequel. 

Connor Sheridan

I got a BA in journalism from Central Michigan University - though the best education I received there was from CM Life, its student-run newspaper. Long before that, I started pursuing my degree in video games by bugging my older brother to let me play Zelda on the Super Nintendo. I've previously been a news intern for GameSpot, a news writer for CVG, and now I'm a staff writer here at GamesRadar.

Latest in God of War
God of War 3
God of War PSP's seamless loading was only possible because a Jak & Daxter game was also running in the background
God of War Ragnarok
God of War's 20th anniversary announcement comes without a remaster, but PlayStation is giving us some sick new God of War Ragnarok skins and a 67-inch Jörmungandr plush
God of War Ragnarok
God of War turns 20 this month, but before you get too excited, Santa Monica Studio says "there are no planned announcements" at its celebratory panel
Cropped cover art for God of War: Ascension, showing Kratos with chains on his arms.
God of War: Ascension's online multiplayer is still kicking almost 12 years on, but its veterans will destroy you on sight: "Everyone who plays this right now is literally a God"
God of War: Ragnarok
God of War actor Chris Judge says it's "absolutely not true" that he teased new content as "you can't tease something you know nothing about"
God of War: Ragnarok
Days after shutting its AAA game studio filled with former God of War and Overwatch talent, Netflix announces a "new initiative" powered by AI
Latest in News
Hollow Knight
Hollow Knight: Silksong gets unprecedented second update in 2 weeks, with a Steam page tweak pointing to a 2025 release
World of Warcraft
My newest MMO hero is World of Warcraft Priest 'Chimneytime,' who got an official "warning" from Blizzard for making too many people get trapped inside chimneys
One Piece
One Piece co-showrunner announces he's stepping away from the "life changing journey" of working on the Netflix show to "focus on myself and my mental health"
Peacemaker
Peacemaker season 2 star says the show feels like the DCU's "cool kid" as it's one of James Gunn's "first babies": "I'm excited to see how that expands and grows"
John Boyega in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
John Boyega was tired of "doing a lot of falling" in the Star Wars sequels, so asked director J.J. Abrams for a "level of growth" between The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker
Silent Hill f screenshot showing the protagonist
Silent Hill f hasn't actually been banned in Australia, but it's not out of the woods yet