One of the most notable changes to God of War isn’t Kratos’s new axe. It’s his full beard. Of course, nothing is sacred, and Sony Santa Monica decided to release a rendering of a clean shaven Kratos, without his new beard. In fact, this new image of Kratos comes without any trace of hair at all. Even his eyebrows are missing! If you want to view the full high-definition beardlessness, click on the image below.

Apparently the Leviathan Axe doubles as a straight razor, because that is a tight and clean shave. Once you get past the horror of baby-face Kratos, it’s fascinating to see how much detail went into aging the Ghost of Sparta’s ashen skin and signature red tattoo. Even his scarring looks aged.
For a quick comparison of Kratos with the beard and this eerily uncanny shaved Kratos, check out the side-by-side below.
Personally, I think the beard is a good look for the God of War, and he should definitely keep the eyebrows. This reminds me of seven years ago when I completely shaved off my beard for my wedding and my then fiance, now wife hated it. I’ve never clean-shaven since. I think Kratos ought to take that same advice, and I sincerely hope that the clean-shaven image isn’t concept art for a future game.
With or without the beard (but thankfully, it’s with) we gave God of War a perfect score along with myriad other outlets, and it is well-deserving of those accolades. There was also a brand new secret discovered using ...