Quick Time Events

Kratos about to start the Quick Time Event of killing King Midas.

A Quick Time Event (or QTE) plays an integral part in the God of War Series, as they appear in every game, and are an important factor in overcoming boss battles, certain minigames, and even minor enemies.

Overview

In order to activate a QTE, the enemy must first be sufficiently weakened. Upon reaching that point, a chain of actions can be started, which will severely weaken, or even kill, the enemy.

Failing to properly execute the chain will result in Kratos' attack being countered, thus getting hurt himself; in rare cases, killed (e.g. in the Helios light reflection minigame with Persephone, where Kratos dies if a wrong command is pressed). In some cases, these actions can be skipped altogether, having Kratos instead resort to attacking and killing his enemies in normal fashion.

Completing a QTE against regular enemies often grants red or blue orbs, even though exceptions exist where they grant more red orbs than usual, or in the case of the Minotaurs in the first God of War game, only green orbs.

Trivia

• In God of War I, II, and Chains of Olympus, the QTE buttons (square, circle, triangle, X) appear near the center of the screen, while in God of War III, Ascension, and Ghost of Sparta, the button commands appear around the four walls of the screen.
  • In Ascension, QTE are interspersed with Prompt Executions, in which Kratos has to attack his enemy or dodge when the enemy tries to fight back. This is the case with the Hooded Gorgon, Juggernauts, and Manticores.