Best Villains of This Console Generation
7. Baldur, God of War
Last year’s God of War brought the series and its protagonist, Kratos, to all new heights and told one of the most compelling video game stories we’ve ever seen. Part of what makes this story click is the focus on a small cast of interesting characters, and a great villain.
From the very beginning of the game, Baldur shows incredible strength, holding his own in a brutal fight with the God of War himself. However, it’s the intrigue of Baldur’s troubled past and the sympathetic moments we see him in that make him so compelling.
While Baldur is brash, arrogant and a bit annoying on the surface, his character goes far deeper than the game first lets on. As the story progresses, he goes from a despised enemy to someone more tragic and harder to define.
And, like the best villains do, Baldur brings out new and interesting elements from our hero, and the interactions between Baldur and Kratos are incredibly powerful. While the writing for Kratos and Atreus gets lots of deserved love, let’s not forget the villain that helps shape them.
