Why Is Kratos Falling Off A Cliff? The Viral 'God Of War' Meme Explained

God of War: Ragnarök may be the newest entry in the long-running God of War franchise, but it's not the one going viral right now. Over the last few months, a video from the original God of War game on the Playstation 2 has been spreading in image macros and video edits on sites like Reddit, YouTube and TikTok, used to portray someone diving headfirst into something they maybe shouldn't. Here's the full context.

What Is The 'Kratos Falling' meme?

The video of Kratos falling comes from the 2005 PlayStation 2 game God of War, the first entry in the massively popular franchise. The bleak scene happens in the game's cinematic opening. Kratos walks off the edge of the highest cliff in Greece to end his years of suffering. Right as he's about to hit the rocks below, the player gets pulled backward three weeks and the game begins.

The scene was first edited on YouTube in 2020 by a user who added the song "Dusk Till Dawn" by Zayn and Sia to it, but it didn't become popularized until around July 2022. That month, a Redditor over at /r/Chadposting posted a fairly dark meme combining the video with "Dream On" by Aerosmith, gaining over 2,500 upvotes and helping inspire a viral format.

How Is 'Kratos Falling' Used In Memes?

The Kratos Falling video is mostly used in memes as a video or GIF along with additional captions. Sometimes the captions are literally about someone or something falling or jumping into something with confidence, even if it's something they really shouldn't jump into. Other times, the meme is used with more hyperbolic captions.

Some of the more talented animators and editors have even reanimated the scene or placed Kratos in a new setting, like a Minecraft world. The meme is trending on pretty much every social media platform there is, but it's seen notable popularity on TikTok and YouTube. On the former, it's sometimes even set to a squeaker version of 'Dream On' by Mischiviator, adding another goofy ahh layer to the meme.

For the full details on the Katos falling meme, be sure to check out our entry on the meme here for even more information.