Dante

You seem to have forgotten that without the original series the new series has no true depth. Kratos's new journey in comparison to his old one means nothing if you haven't experienced it. In the end Kratos had to be a monster before he could control himself. To ignore the events of GoW Ascension all the way to GoW3 makes Kratos's evolution from a god of war into a god of hope meaningless. What makes GoW 2018 and Ragnarok so impactful is remembering that this same man who would give his life to save the world and sacrifice everything to protect his son is the same man that burned all of Greece and killed everyone for the sake of his own never-ending, self-serving vengeance.