Best Of 2022: God Of War Ragnarok’s Twist On Norse Mythology Is An Excellent Subversion

Spoilers for God of War and God of War: Ragnarok

“Baldur is endowed with invincibility against all threats, physical or magical,” Mimir explains to Kratos and his son Atreus in God of War 2018. As soon as Sindri gave the young god a bundle of mistletoe arrows, I knew that Balder’s fate was sealed.

I’m no Norse mythology expert, but the fables of Odin, Thor, giants, and Vanir are something I’ve been interested in for years. I know a little myth. From the story of Thor being tricked into creating the tide after drinking the sea, to the story of building the walls of Asgard, Loki and the horse, by the way. Some players were wondering how Kratos could stop the Unkilling God, but I knew the answer was already in front of me, neatly docked in Atreus’ quiver. While the exact details of Balder’s eventual death may differ in God of War compared to the Norse mythology from which it is drawn, mistletoe, and therefore Atreus, still play a key role in the death of their terrifying foe. is playing

Most of what we know about Norse mythology comes from two old Norse texts from the 13th century: the Poetic Edda and the Prose Edda. I briefly looked into both, but most of my knowledge of these old pagan tales comes from Neil Gaiman’s Norse mythology. Because of this, God of War never threw too many curveballs, with one major exception. The final reveal that Atreus is actually Loki was pretty shocking, especially since it introduced some issues with the timeline of events. adheres fairly closely to the mythology from which it was drawn, only deviating noticeably when it comes to the portrayal of certain characters and their prominence in the story. plug.

Going into God of War Ragnarok, I expected more of the same—a more nuanced spin on an otherwise established mythology. I could lavishly admire so many different aspects of Santa Monica Studios’ charming sequel, but what stands out as the most worthwhile is its ability to subvert those expectations in a charming way. Up front is how often the game’s story toys with established knowledge of Norse mythology.

Fenrir is one of the clearest examples. At the beginning of God of War Ragnarok, one of Atreus’ pet wolves, Fenrir, dies in the boy’s arms shortly after first meeting him. Considering Fenrir played a pivotal role in Norse mythology, killing Odin by eating him whole during the end-of-the-world events of Ragnarok, this is a surprising turn of events. One of the children, the other two are Hel, Goddess of the Underworld, and Jormungandr, the World Serpent. Eysir prophesied that all three would bring great misfortune to the gods because of who her father was.

In Norse mythology, Loki is often portrayed as a cunning trickster who acts as both companion and foe to the other gods. It redeems the prankster somewhat by portraying him as someone who has both ugliness and ugliness. When the wolf died, Atreus inadvertently put Fenrir’s soul inside the knife and later implanted it inside the body of the giant wolf, Garm. However, it is not outlandish for Atreus to resurrect him in this act and consider him his creator. is. Rather than swallow Odin whole during Ragnarok, Fenrir appears to provide the heroes with an escape route. He is not a vengeful force in Norse mythology. One of his reasons for that is that Atreus is a much different character than the original Loki, often deciding against violence as a first response.

Jormungandr’s role in God of War looks more like Norse mythology when he sees a giant snake face off against Thor in the Battle of Ragnarok. much more interesting than the story of Watching the game’s massive finale moment from a distance is breathtaking. The world serpent looms over the horizon, colliding with Thor, a tiny speck of lightning, and crashing into the portal of Alfheim when it takes a powerful blow from Thor’s hammer, Mjolnir. The serpent of the world and the god of thunder are arch-enemies and are prophesied to kill each other in Ragnarok. Legend has it that Thor stopped the serpent with a deadly blow from his hammer, but moved forward nine steps before Jormungand succumbed to the deadly venom that covered him. so fierce as to send them back to a time long before the birth of the , Mimir told Kratos and Atreus the prophecy in 2018 God of War.

Jormungand in that game, who feels strangely familiar with Atreus when we first meet him, is the same person who was traveled back in time by Thor. While this is happening, the serpents of the present world are hibernating under the ice of the Lake of Nine. He was not born centuries ago, but when Atreus and Anglboda headed for her grandmother’s home in Jotunheim, the realm of giants. So Atreus revives the soul-less Orochi by giving him the soul of a giant, just as he grafts Fenrir’s soul into Garm’s body. Although not Jormungand’s father, he uses his immense power to bring the world serpents to life. It is highly probable that the two clashed while the giant was still alive in his original body.

There are many other examples of the war god Ragnarok subverting my expectations of Norse mythology, but the one involving Atreus is the most fascinating. It’s a method, but it still does its job.

This reinterpretation of ancient mythology has always been part of God of War’s DNA. It started in Greece, pitting Kratos against Zeus and the rest of the Greek pantheon before heading north to Midgard and beyond. The great thing about ancient mythology, especially Norse mythology, is that it leaves a lot of room for interpretation and a lot of blanks waiting to be filled by your own imagination. Many of the characters in Norse mythology hardly even do that. They are just names mentioned incidentally. Baldur is said to be popular, but he is dead. He has no dialogue or personality, but Santa Monica Studios turned him into a multi-layered villain. It came from seeing the events of the 2020s transform for new viewers. It speaks to the enduring fascination of these millennia-old myths, and their brilliant reinterpretation will bring God of War Ragnarok to the year 2022. has played a major role in elevating it to one of the best games in the world.