10 Things to Remember Before God of War Ragnarok

The dwarven brothers who set out to make a name for themselves crafted the mighty Thor’s hammer and become disillusioned as they watched the Mad God of Thunder use their craftsmanship to ruin the lives of so many in the world of Midgard. In an attempt to correct their mistake, they created the Leviathan Ax for Atreus’ mother Faye, which Kratos now wields, but this was still not enough to mend the rift growing between the two due to their guilt and they went their separate ways. Throughout the course of God of War 2018, we watch as the brothers rekindle their bond and eventually find their way back to one another to help Kratos and Atreus complete their quest. The pair will certainly be a major part of the sequel as well and might have a few new trinkets to help the father/son duo in their journeys through Ragnarok.

Kratos’ Acceptance

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Throughout the majority of God of War, Kratos carries the guilt of his past. He keeps his distance from Atreus and becomes even more closed off after Faye’s death. Eventually, after Atreus grows ill and nearly dies, Kratos has no choice but to tell Atreus of his origins and therefore, Atreus’ birthright. By game’s end, Kratos has told Atreus of his battle with Zeus and how he killed his own father and finally upon reaching Jotunheim, accepts his scars from the chains of Olympus and proclaims he has “nothing more to hide”. Longtime fans of the series know this is far from the truth but is an enormous step for Kratos in accepting the actions of his past as a way to move forward. However, there’s still much Atreus doesn’t know and much of this is sure to come to light as the two face down the upcoming Ragnarok.

The World Serpent, destined to fight Thor come Ragnarok and the true last remaining giant in all of Midgard, also happens to be a close personal friend to Kratos and Atreus. Jormungandr is integral to the journey of Kratos and Atreus and even comes to their aid in their climactic battle against Baldur and Freya. While at present, only Mimir seems to be able to communicate with the Serpent, who Mimir remarks is a sparkling conversationalist, Jormungandr expresses empathy for Kratos and Atreus’ loss of Faye as well. Jormungandr has a deep hatred for Thor and will undoubtedly be an integral part of the upcoming battle against the remaining Aesir in God of War Ragnarok.

Kratos and Atreus don’t meet many Aesir gods during their travels, but as for the few they do meet, Kratos clearly wants to keep his distance for fear of past events and actions coming to light. His experience with Gods in the past also keeps him hesitant to trust any God's word no matter how altruistic they seem. Even Tyr. Out of the main 4 Aesir the duo do come across, 3 are dead by the end of the game and all of these deaths have consequences that we the players have yet to experience. Magni and Modi, the sons of Thor, are killed after their chance encounter with Kratos and Atreus, and we already know that he will be coming, seemingly for revenge. The one Aesir we’ve only heard mention of is Odin but his eyes were constantly watching the pair on their adventure through the eyes of his many ravens.

Realm travel is essential in Kratos and Atreus’ quest to spread Faye’s ashes and their journey takes them to many corners of the Nine realms, but not all of them. While the pair are able to unlock many realms with their Bifrost, several of the realms have been locked by Odin. However with Ragnarok in full effect it seems in the sequel, travel to all nine realms will be available. During their quest, Kratos and Atreus find a prophecy about Tyr hidden by Odin. In the corners of the panel are sigils from Otherworlds outside of Midgard such as the Omega symbol from Kratos’s time in Greece. The remaining sigils are the Egyptian Eye of Horus, the Mitsudomoe of Japan and most interestingly, the Celtic symbol for Christianity. While it’s unlikely the pair could travel to all these new Otherworlds, we can always hope and speculate on potential sequels.

Tyr

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Tyr, the Norse God of War who fought for peace between the realms. Though completely absent from God of War 2018, Tyr’s presence is still felt throughout Kratos and Atreus’ journey. When Tyr attempted to broker a peace deal between the Aesir and the Jotnar, Odin betrayed Tyr, only seeking the Jotnar’s wisdom and abilities to predict the future, and thus Odin was banished from the Jotnar realm. The few remaining Giants in Midgard were slaughtered by Thor in retaliation. In an attempt to prevent further bloodshed, Tyr helped the Giants escape Odin’s wrath and hide the realm gate to Jotunheim in the space between realms. After these events, Tyr was suspected to have been killed and Odin attempted to undo all the good this peaceful God of War accomplished in the nine realms.

The End Reveal

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The journey of Kratos and Atreus is undeniably an unforgettable one but even players who had invested dozens of hours uncovering any tidbit of lore they could discover had the rug completely pulled out from under them by game’s end. Beyond the reveal of Atreus’ true name - more on that in a bit - Kratos and Atreus discovering that Faye was actually Laufey The Just, a Giantess of Jotunheim, was certainly something few gamers saw coming. Even more shocking was the reveal that their entire journey had been prophesied by the Giants and was of such importance they had transcribed it on the walls of their great hall. The final image of Atreus clutching what appears to be Kratos’ dead body was of particular interest to many, but there is even more speculation that this is not Kratos at all but someone else of importance in Atreus’ life.

The Witch of the Woods is the first friendly face the father and son encounter on their journey and her helpful and motherly nature to Atreus enamored us from the start. As their quest continued and the pair discover that she is in fact Freya, the former wife of Odin and an Aesir God, their relationship becomes a bit more intense. Despite this, she continues to help Kratos and Atreus even with Kratos’ guard on high alert. The reveal that she was Baldur’s mother and responsible for Baldur’s invincibility brought their relationship to an end completely as Freya would stop at nothing to protect her son. Upon Baldur’s curse being lifted and his subsequent death, Freya swore complete and total revenge on Kratos. With Freya now on the warpath, the next confrontation promises to be one of the most emotional encounters in the series.

After all the shocking revelations the developers unloaded on the player by the time Kratos and Atreus reached Jotunheim, there was still one more they had up their sleeve to leave players’ jaws on the floor. The revelation that Atreus’ true name chosen by Faye was Loki put not only the events of the game into a new perspective but all the talk of Ragnarok leading up to that point fell into place. Baldur’s death at the end of the game by Kratos and Atreus is the ignition point that begins Fimbulwinter and sends Atreus looking for answers to who his mother wanted and prophesied him to be. While we’re not sure if Atreus’ version of Loki will have many of the same powers as the mythological one, his quest to discover the reason behind his name appears to be a driving force for him in Ragnarok.

Ragnarok

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After Baldur’s death, Fimbulwinter is upon Midgard. Ragnarok is the long-prophesied end to the Aesir Gods and the majority of Norse mythology is based around this prophecy. Nearly all the major characters within God of War have a role to play in the upcoming apocalypse and Atreus and Kratos are right in the middle of it. While Atreus seems to believe there is a way to prevent or stop Ragnarok entirely, Kratos, having been the reason all Greek mythology ended, seems to want nothing to do with it. The events surrounding Kratos and Atreus’ actions as well as those of Odin and Baldur may have inadvertently set their greatest fear in motion. Had Odin never sent Baldur looking for Faye, Kratos and Atreus would not have killed him and brought about Fimbulwinter, but in the end it appears it was Odin’s obsession with prophecies that could inevitably lead to his downfall.