The God of War remake urgently needs to change these sequences. It would be a shame if this doesn’t happen!

Kratos may be set to return to his roots in a potential remake of the classic trilogy - but one controversial detail risks ageing very badly.

Brutal violence has always been God of War’s calling card, yet blood and gore are not the only concerns for a modern remake. The infamous “spicy” scenes from the original games, treated as a cheeky gag in the 2000s, now read as awkward, shallow and, at times, embarrassing. If Sony truly revisits the Greek saga, these sequences cannot be carried over on autopilot.

Kratos and the God of War remake: the problem with sex QTE mini-games in the classic trilogy

Across the first three numbered God of War titles, Kratos does not merely tear through gods and monsters. He also takes part in sex mini-games involving courtesans, servants and even Aphrodite herself. The games framed this as “adult” and irreverent content, but mechanically it boiled down to a button-pressing mini-game.

In practical terms, these scenes typically followed a familiar pattern:

• The player encounters female characters in bedrooms or private quarters;
• An interaction prompt appears, usually delivered with a comic or provocative nudge;
• A QTE (a quick time event: a timed sequence of button inputs) begins;
• The camera cuts away to sheets, toppled vases or statues while moans play in the background;
• The player is awarded red orbs (in the first two games) or a trophy (in the third).

Back in the PlayStation 2 era and the early PS3 period, this approach was marketed as a “mature” flourish. Today it often looks like an adolescent trick - and the issue intensifies in a remake with contemporary visuals, where realism and detail are higher and audiences are far more alert to empty sexualisation.

God of War grew up as a narrative. If a remake refuses to mature these scenes as well, the dissonance will be impossible to ignore.

Kratos changed - and a remake cannot pretend nothing happened

Classic-trilogy Kratos is portrayed almost like a force of nature: ruthless, volatile and frequently sadistic. He burns a soldier alive in Pandora’s Temple, uses a servant as a counterweight in a lethal mechanism in God of War III, and treats most NPCs as disposable tools.

The Kratos of God of War (2018) and Ragnarök, however, is a substantially different figure. He remains capable of terrifying violence, but he is weighed down by guilt, tries to master his rage, and shows care and responsibility towards Atreus. The emphasis shifts away from violence as spectacle and towards trauma, fatherhood and the possibility of a second chance.

Placing that “new” Kratos alongside PS2/PS3-era sex QTE scenes would create a jarring clash. Over the past several years, Santa Monica Studio has also shaped the franchise’s public image as something more considered - a series interested in complex themes rather than cheap shock value.

Keeping shallow sex mini-games would be like yanking on the handbrake of the series’ evolution simply to satisfy the nostalgia of a small minority.

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When there was subtext… and how it got lost along the way

There is an odd wrinkle here: the first God of War did attempt to give emotional context to these “no-strings” encounters. Notes found near Kratos’s bed imply he seeks sex as a desperate attempt to numb the agony of having killed - unknowingly - his own wife, Lysandra.

When metaphor turned into fan service

As the series progressed, that dramatic layer largely evaporated. What could have functioned as an expression of the protagonist’s guilt became a franchise “signature”, repeated almost out of obligation. The tone drifts from Greek tragedy to teenage joke.

If a remake of the trilogy aims to speak to the narrative weight of God of War (2018), it cannot recycle these moments as a throwaway “naughty bonus”. They require substantial revision - or replacement with something that better fits Kratos’s journey.

What a remake needs to change in these sequences

There are several practical ways to deal with the legacy of these mini-games without erasing the series’ identity. Concrete options include:

• Remove sex QTEs while keeping only subtle references, conversations and implications that support Kratos’s personal tragedy.
• Rework intimate encounters into story scenes, centred on dialogue and internal conflict rather than reflex-based button prompts.
• Reposition rewards: no red orbs or trophies as a “prize” for sex; character progression should stem from combat, exploration or dramatic choices.
• Increase the agency of female characters, giving them motives, voice and genuine impact on the story rather than purely decorative roles.
• Use Kratos’s past as an open wound, showing how these encounters expose loneliness, guilt and an inability to process grief.

Sexuality can still exist in God of War - but as part of Kratos’s tragedy, not as an easy-trophy mini-game.

The risks of keeping the old format in a modern game

If Santa Monica Studio simply repeats what it did in 2005, it runs several very real risks:

Risk	Likely outcome
Perception of gratuitous sexualisation	Negative press and backlash from part of the audience, souring the launch
Dissonance with modern Kratos	A sense that two irreconcilable versions of the character exist in the same franchise
Clash with current industry expectations	Unfavourable comparisons to games that portray sex with greater maturity
Broken immersion	The player is jolted from epic drama to second-hand embarrassment in seconds

Taken together, the result could be a remake that is technically impressive yet narratively dated - trapped in a very specific mid-2000s mindset.

How these changes could make the experience stronger

Revisiting these sequences with a different approach is not censorship; it is creative opportunity. By swapping a mini-game for denser storytelling, the studio could deepen Kratos’s pain, better illustrate his spiral of self-destruction, and bring the classic trilogy closer in tone to the newer entries.

Picture a remake in which Kratos, when approached by courtesans, is struck by visions of Lysandra and his daughter. Instead of a QTE punctuated by off-screen moans, the player witnesses an uncomfortable exchange, a flare of restrained rage, or a moment where he pulls away, unable to connect with anyone. The emotional punch would land harder than any bundle of red orbs.

Terms and context worth explaining to today’s audience

QTEs - quick time events - were widely used throughout the PS2/PS3 era. The game prompts the player to press specific on-screen buttons rapidly to complete a cinematic action. In God of War, QTEs were used both for violent set-pieces (such as ripping a god’s head off) and for sex scenes. These days, the format is often criticised for reducing meaningful control and turning pivotal moments into reaction tests.

Another key system is the use of red orbs as a “currency” for upgrading weapons and abilities. Tying that system to sex mini-games, even when optional, creates a mechanical link between progression and sexual reward. In a remake, it would be more coherent to attach advancement to heroic feats, discoveries, combat challenges or dramatic decisions - reinforcing Kratos as a warrior in conflict rather than a crude punchline.

Two additional considerations for a modern God of War remake

A remake would also have to contend with modern ratings expectations. Content that once slipped by as a wink-and-nudge gag may now draw sharper scrutiny under contemporary classification and platform standards. Handling intimacy through implication, character writing and consequences - rather than reward loops - could preserve the adult tone while avoiding the sense of exploitative design.

There is also an opportunity to broaden representation without rewriting history. The Greek saga already contains themes of power, coercion, desire and divine manipulation; a remake could explore those elements with clearer character perspectives and stronger narrative framing, ensuring intimate material serves story and theme rather than functioning as a detached novelty.

A plausible future for the Greek trilogy

If the goal is to rebuild the original trilogy with the same seriousness applied to God of War (2018), these sequences need to be rethought from the ground up. This is not about erasing the past; it is about reinterpreting it in light of what the franchise has learned. Kratos can remain brutal, contradictory and troubled - but a remake does not need to stay hostage to sex mini-games that the wider industry has long since left behind.