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

Spoilers forward for God of War and God of War Ragnarok

“Baldur is blessed with invulnerability to all threats, physical or magical,” Mimir explains to Kratos and his son Atreus in 2018’s God of War. Yet as quickly as Sindri, the dwarven blacksmith, gave a bundle of mistletoe arrows to the younger god, I knew Baldur’s destiny was sealed.

I’m not an professional on Norse mythology, however the fables of Odin, Thor, the giants, and Vanir are one thing I’ve had an curiosity in for quite a few years now. I do know the broad strokes surrounding Ragnarok and a number of the smaller myths, starting from the story of Thor creating the tides after being tricked into ingesting the ocean, to the story of the development of Asgard’s walls–which ends with Loki being impregnated by a horse, by the way. While some gamers have been questioning how Kratos was ever going to cease an unkillable god, I knew the reply was already sitting proper in entrance of us, neatly docked on Atreus’ quiver. The actual particulars of Baldur’s eventual demise could differ in God of War in comparison with the Norse mythology it pulls from, however mistletoe–and by extension, Atreus–still play a vital function within the loss of life of its fearsome antagonist.

Most of what we learn about Norse fable comes from the Poetic Edda and the Prose Edda, two Old Norse texts from the thirteenth century. I’ve briefly explored each, however most of my data of those outdated pagan tales comes from Neil Gaiman’s Norse Mythology, a superb e-book that retells lots of the Norse myths whereas making them palatable for a contemporary viewers. Because of this, God of War did not throw too many curveballs my means aside from one main exception. The last reveal that Atreus is in reality Loki was a reasonably surprising one, not least as a result of it launched some points relating to the timeline of occasions. For probably the most half, nevertheless, God of War sticks pretty intently to the mythology it is pulling from, solely notably deviating in relation to its depiction of sure characters and their prominence within the story. Oh, and there is not normally an offended Greek god, both.

Going into God of War Ragnarok, I used to be anticipating extra of the same–more refined spins on in any other case well-established mythos. I could not have been extra improper. For all of the reward I may lavish on so many various features of Santa Monica Studio’s spellbinding sequel, the one which stands out as most deserving is how usually the sport’s narrative toys with established data of Norse mythology earlier than subverting these expectations in fascinating methods.

Fenrir is among the clearest examples. At the start of God of War Ragnarok, Fenrir, who’s considered one of Atreus’ pet wolves, dies within the younger boy’s arms simply moments after we first meet him. This is a stunning flip of occasions contemplating Fenrir performs a pivotal function within the Norse myths, killing Odin by consuming him complete in the course of the world-ending occasions of Ragnarok. You see, Fenrir is considered one of Loki’s three kids, the opposite two being Hel, the goddess of the underworld, and Jormungandr, the world serpent. It’s prophesied by the Aesir that every one three will convey nice misfortune upon the gods due to who their father is.

In Norse mythology, Loki is commonly depicted as a crafty trickster who operates as each a companion and enemy to the opposite gods. The similar might be stated of Atreus, although Santa Monica Studio considerably redeems the mischief-maker by depicting him as somebody able to empathy and kindness as effectively. This essential change in characterization can also be mirrored in Fenrir. When the wolf dies, Atreus inadvertently locations Fenrir’s soul inside his knife, later transplanting it contained in the physique of the large wolf, Garm. Fenrir may not be Loki’s son within the conventional sense, however Atreus resurrects him with this act and it isn’t outlandish to contemplate him his creator. It’s a novel twist on the Norse fable that falls according to God of War’s depiction of the younger god. Rather than swallowing Odin complete throughout Ragnarok, Fenrir reveals as much as supply our heroes an escape–saving lives moderately than ending them. He’s not the vengeful power he’s in Norse mythology, and that is partly as a result of Atreus is a vastly totally different character to the unique Loki, usually deciding towards violence as a primary response.

Jormungandr’s function in God of War extra intently resembles the Norse fable, as we see the large snake sq. off towards Thor in the course of the battle of Ragnarok. However, the conclusion to their encounter–and the implications born from it–are far more fascinating than the unique story. Seeing the second from afar in the course of the sport’s large-scale finale is breathtaking; the world serpent looms over the horizon as he collides with the tiny speck of lightning that’s Thor, crashing into the portal for Alfheim when he is struck by a mighty blow from Thor’s hammer, Mjolnir. In Norse mythology, the world serpent and thunder-god are arch-enemies, prophesied to kill one another come Ragnarok. The legend states that Thor finishes off the serpent with a killing blow from his hammer, solely to take 9 steps ahead earlier than succumbing to the lethal poison Jormungandr has coated him in. In God of War Ragnarok, the combat ends when Thor hits the large snake so onerous that it splinters the world tree, Yggdrasil, and sends Jormungandr again in time to a interval lengthy earlier than his birth–a prophecy that Mimir tells Kratos and Atreus about in 2018’s God of War.

The Jormungandr in that game–who finds Atreus oddly acquainted once they first meet–is the identical one who will get hit again in time by Thor. While that is occurring, the present-day world serpent is hibernating beneath the ice within the Lake of Nine. He wasn’t born centuries in the past, however moderately when Atreus and Angrboda head to her grandmother’s home in Jotunheim, the realm of the giants. There, Atreus revives a big snake with a lacking soul by giving it the soul of an enormous, just like how he transplants Fenrir’s soul into Garm’s physique. Once once more, Loki is not Jormungandr’s father within the conventional sense, however he makes use of his large powers to provide life to the world serpent. As Mimir posits, this additionally explains why Jormungandr has a private vendetta towards Thor earlier than they even encounter each other. It’s very doubtless that the 2 clashed when the large was nonetheless alive in its authentic physique.

There are loads of different examples the place God of War Ragnarok subverted my expectations of Norse mythology, however these involving Atreus are probably the most fascinating. Loki is an integral character within the Old Norse texts and Atreus nonetheless fills that function, albeit in a vastly totally different means.

This reinterpretation of historic mythology has at all times been part of God of War’s DNA. It originated in Greece, pitting Kratos towards Zeus and the remainder of the Greek pantheon, earlier than heading north to Midgard and past. The beauty of historic mythology– and particularly Norse mythology–is that it is open to interpretation, with loads of blanks ready to be stuffed in by your personal creativeness. Quite a lot of the characters in Norse fable are barely even that; they’re simply names talked about in passing. Baldur is described as being standard, after which he is lifeless. He has no dialogue, nor a tinge of character, but Santa Monica Studio turned him right into a multi-layered villain. There are moments in Ragnarok that excited me due to my current data, however probably the most gratifying thrill got here from seeing these occasions reworked for a brand new viewers. It speaks to the enduring enchantment of those thousand-year-old myths, and their incredible reinterpretation performs a significant function in elevating God of War Ragnarok into among the best video games of 2022.