Looking back at God of War (2018) now, it’s clear that one of the biggest jobs the game had was to set things up for its sequel. Multiple questions are raised and then left unanswered throughout the game, and with God of War: Ragnarok being the last game in the series’ Norse saga, ideally, it should be answering all of them. Here, we’re going to go over a few questions we have from the first game that we’re hoping will be answered in Ragnarok.
NOTE: This feature contains full spoilers for God of War (2018).
THE HORN
This is a question that has been driving God of War fans nuts for over three years now. Halfway through the game, as Kratos is bringing a sick Atreus to Freya’s house, some mysterious unknown character blows the horn that summons the World Serpent- and then we never find out who it was. Theories about who this person could have been can be found in abundance, of course, with one of the more popular ones being that time travel is involved- and knowing how much God of War loves time travel, it’s hard to discount that theory.
FAYE
In spite of never having appeared on screen once throughout the entire game (except as a covered-up corpse in the beginning of the game), Faye casts a massive shadow over God of War (2018)’s story, and the revelation at the end that she was a Giant and basically led Kratos and Atreus throughout the entire journey all the way to Jotunheim really cements how crucial she is to the plot. But there are still so many questions about her- How did she and Kratos meet? Under what circumstances did she die? Was the only reason Baldur was after her that he wanted to kill her? And could she really foresee the future? Oh, and speaking of Giants being able to see the future…
THE MURAL
One of many surprising reveals at the end of God of War (2018) following Kratos and Atreus’ arrival in Jotunheim is that the Giants could see the future. The two of them see various murals in the realm that seem to be depicting events that happened to Kratos and Atreus during their journey, including their battle with Baldur. The question, of course, is how they knew all of these things were going to happen, but more important, how much else did they know? Because in another mural shows what looks like a dead or dying Kratos cradled in Atreus’ arms- and if that prediction is correct, then the future doesn’t look too bright for Kratos…
KRATOS’ PAST
What lies in Kratos’ future remains to be seen, but we sure as hell know that what’s in the past isn’t pretty. Atreus knows very little about that past- other than the fact that Kratos comes from a land named Sparta and that he killed his own father, Atreus knows basically nothing about Kratos’ past. Like the fact that he single-handedly killed the entire Greek pantheon and left that world completely destroyed. Or the fact that he killed his own wife and daughter in a blind murderous fit. That second bit is particularly important, and it’d be interesting to see how Atreus would react to it- so here’s hoping we get to see that in God of War: Ragnarok.
ATHENA
God of War (2018) felt like a clean break from all of its predecessor in most ways, but it has a few elements that tie it to them very strongly- from passing references of Kratos’ past to, of course, the Blades of Chaos. Right around the time that the Blades come back into the fray, so, too, does Athena- when it comes to her though, we still have quite a few burning questions. For starters, was that even the real Athena? We did see her in that same ghostly form throughout the entirety of God of War 3, but was that her again in God of War (2018), or was that just a figment of Kratos’ imagination? And if that was her, how much of a role (if any) is she going to play in Ragnarok?
HRAESVELGR
This isn’t as much of a burning question as some of the others we’ve spoken about in this feature, but it’s still something that has been gnawing at our minds. Hraesvelgr, a.k.a. that giant bird in Helheim, is hard to miss, given the fact that its massive figure looms over so much of the scenery in that realm, and yet, in God of War (2018), it only ever served the purpose of set dressing. Director Cory Barlog has indicated in the past that that was originally supposed to be a boss fight in the game before being cut out- so does that mean it will make a return in God of War: Ragnarok? Will we finally get to fight and brutally kill the giant bird?
THE ELVES
Early on in the game, Kratos and Atreus’ journey takes them to Alfheim, where, despite Kratos’ efforts, the two of them get caught up in a conflict between the Light and Dark Elves. But when Kratos kills the King of the Dark Elves just before leaving the realm, they realize that they may have misunderstood with the nature of the conflict. Clearly, there’s more going on here than meets the eye, and given the semi-cliffhanger that narrative arc ended on in God of War (2018), we’re dying to know how it will conclude in Ragnarok.
THE DRAGONS
The two dragons that Kratos and Atreus free in God of War (2018) aren’t part of the main story, and given the fact that they’re side quest exclusive, this obviously isn’t a significant question that needs answering- but we’re still curious enough about it. Sony Santa Monica has hinted in the past that the dragons could come back in the sequel, so if they do, what role will they play? Will they still be in the side quests? Will they be boss fights, or will they somehow turn out to be allies, given the fact that Kratos and Atreus freed them from captivity?
RAGNAROK
We know that when God of War: Ragnarok kicks off, Kratos and Atreus will be trying to prevent the titular world-ending event, but of course, we also know that they’re not going to succeed. Ragnarok is, indeed, coming, so the question is- how? If the game sticks to Norse mythology, then as soon as Fimbulwinter is over, Ragnarok will kick off, during which Loki’s children, the giants Fenrir and Jormungandr (a.k.a. the World Serpent) will kill Odin and Thor respectively. So is that how it’s going to go down in the game as well? We do know that Angrboda, the mother of the aforementioned pair of giants, is going to be in the game, which means there’s a pretty good chance they will be as well. But of course, God of War has a knack for twisting the mythologies it is inspired by in interesting ways to create unexpected surprises, and it’s very likely (if not guaranteed) that that will be the case in God of War: Ragnarok as well.
OTHER MYTHOLOGIES
God of War: Ragnarok might be ending the series’ Norse saga, but obviously, this won’t be the last game of the series. It’s way too big and successful for Sony to just let it die. That, of course, means that once Kratos is done with the Norse pantheon, he’s going to move on to another land with a new mythology. The most popular theory is that the next God of War saga will use Egyptian mythology, especially given the fact that that’s what Cory Barlog originally envision for the 2018 title. If that does happen though, will we begin seeing seeds of that in God of War: Ragnarok? Will it directly set up Kratos’ journey to the next land? Tyr’s vault in the previous game has very overt references to other mythology, which means he has obviously travelled between all of these realms, but is that going to come into play in God of War: Ragnarok in a more direct manner that sets up the series’ next saga?