In Sons of Sparta, it is revealed who Atreus is named after.

God of War: Sons of Sparta combines Norse and Greek legends in some interesting ways, including a cheeky Easter egg referencing Kratos' most iconic lines and finally resolving the plot of the 2018 game.

It hasn't been that long since God of War fans have had anything of interest (Valhalla is less than three years old), but that didn't stop this week's State of Play from being a special treat for them. The classic God of War trilogy is about to get a full remake, but Sony Santa Monica has something to keep us occupied until then.

Of course, I'm talking about Sons of Sparta, a 2D metroidvania that takes place long before Kratos became the Greek god of war. Series creator David Jaffe has made it very clear that he's not a fan of the game, but most people seem to dig Sons of Sparta and its influence on the series, even linking the two series a bit.

Of course, Sons Of Sparta has the “BOY” meme.

Atreus' bloodline also gets its due love

The first way Sons of Sparta shows its love of Norse stories from the distant future of Kratos' future is evident the moment you start playing the game. As RossTweetsGames shared, Sons of Sparta's easiest difficulty mode is simply titled “Boy,” which is a very clear reference to what has basically become Kratos' catchphrase in recent years.

Now that we've talked about cute early game Easter eggs, mild spoilers for Sons of Sparta follow.

That's not it only However, Sons of Sparta connects to the Norse series in a way that it actually has a much larger lore base. As YouTuber DeCrazyGaming points out, Sons of Sparta includes a character named Eis (voiced by Jack Quaid) who helps Deimos and Kratos. However, Eis is just a nickname for this character.

After the boss battle with Arate, Kratos asks Eis if he is always this happy, even during battles. Eis replies that his head is saying “Atreus, it's time to panic” and this drops the bombshell that Kratos is the soldier he named after his son after all. It's a blink-and-you'll-miss-it feature, but it's nice to see a plot that was introduced eight years ago finally being resolved.