【Game Time】God of War Series Part 4

Unlike many children from “ordinary families” who could own a “next-gen” console from a young age, I didn’t get my first game console until several years into my career. Since I’ve already bought it, and given my persona, it’d be a waste not to document something about it—hence this series.

Warning: Contains heavy spoilers for God of War 4 and partial spoilers for God of War 5, with speculation about God of War 6 and 7 at the end.

I haven’t played the earlier God of War games because, as I’ve heard, they were released on PSP or PS3. My journey started directly with God of War 4.

Kratos—affectionately nicknamed “Old Man Kratos”—was originally a Spartan warrior, the illegitimate son of Zeus (who sowed his wild oats everywhere) and a mortal woman, making him a demigod. Many say that while Kratos has aged in God of War 4, he’s become much more handsome. So, I looked up his past appearance:

And compared it to his current look:

Hmm, aside from the tattoos, you can’t say they’re identical—more like completely unrelated. But he does look much kinder now.

By the way, the pre-God of War 4 seriessince it didn’t involve a child companion had some adult content, like the scene with the goddess of love, Aphrodite. But in God of War 4, it’s all about serious monster-slaying and puzzle-solving.

Also, the tattoos on Kratos’ body have an origin story—they’re formed from the ashes of his wife and daughter, whom he accidentally killed.

At first, I didn’t know Kratos’ (the protagonist’s) past or what he’d done. The game opens with his wife’s death, and his son being utterly useless, so Kratos starts teaching the boy to hunt. I wondered, Why does this game need a kid yapping in the background? Can’t I just do this alone?

His wife was said to be from the race of giants (but why is her body so small?), named “Faye”—which, in Norse mythology, is another name for “Laufey,” the mother of Loki. Meanwhile, “Loki” is the name Faye gave their son, while Kratos named him “Atreus,” which sounds suspiciously like “Ares,” the Greek god of war. In the previous games, Kratos killed Ares and took his place as the god of war. Couldn’t these two agree on a name for their kid? But this might be a tradition, since Faye also gave Kratos a Norse name, “Fárbauti,” who in mythology is a giant and the father of Loki.

Kratos decides to fulfill his wife’s dying wish: to scatter her ashes from the highest peak in the world (which, in this setting, encompasses the Nine Realms). So, the entire game revolves around this goal—kill anyone who stands in the way. Truly, “slay all who block your path, gods included.”

Speaking of giants, I later looked up Greek mythology and found that the giants were born from Gaia, the primordial earth mother (in Chinese mythology, that’d be Nüwa), and her son Uranus. Greek gods have a weird tradition of incest and patricide—pretty messed up. So, don’t expect this game (or any Greek mythology-based game) to pass censorship for the Chinese PS market.

Then, a little guy shows up looking for trouble, and Kratos snaps his neck on the spot (though he doesn’t stay dead). The little guy is Baldur, the god of light in Norse mythology, symbolizing the sun. His death triggers “Fimbulwinter,” a major event in Norse mythology (akin to “Ragnarök”).

Baldur feels no pain (some say he feels nothing at all, but if he couldn’t even tell if he was full or had finished taking a dump, that’d be ridiculous—so no, it’s just no pain). He also heals quickly (basically Nine-Tails-level regeneration). This ability wasn’t innate; his overprotective mother, Freya, the Norse goddess of love and magic, begged for it. When Baldur was born, she saw him as small, pitiful, and helpless, plus there was a prophecy about Ragnarök—that Baldur would be the first god to die. So, she traveled across the Nine Realms, making every creature swear not to harm him. As a result, nothing in the Nine Realms could hurt him—except for one thing she forgot: mistletoe. And that’s what eventually kills him.

Actually, Baldur came after Kratos on Odin’s orders to kill every giant. Why? Don’t ask—just blame the prophecy. It said the giants would wipe out Odin’s Æsir clan and trigger Ragnarök, so Odin sent his two sons, Thor and Baldur, to exterminate the giants. Simple and brutal.

Also, because Baldur feels no pain, he’s desperate to experience it—making him a bit of a masochist. His inability to feel pain or die has also made him resent his mother, Freya, so much that he even wants to kill her (what’s wrong with these mythological gods?).

After temporarily fending off Baldur, Kratos and Atreus set off. While hunting, the boy shoots a boar, leading them to meet the “still-charmingwidow” Freya (I thought she was a widow, but no—her husband is that old geezer Odin. Damn you, Odin!). At first, she introduces herself as a witch, and I just went along with it, only later realizing she’s also a goddess, part of the Vanir clan in Norse mythology—the goddess of love and magic:

From this, we learn that Norse mythology features two divine clans and three demigod races. The Aesir, led by Odin, and the Vanir, led by Njörðr, the god of the sea (who doesn’t appear). These two factions divine clans were locked in fierce conflict until a truce was brokered through marriage alliances. Typically, such alliances involve a prince from one side marrying a princess from the other, but Norse mythology once again defies expectations: Odin, the leader of the Aesir, married Freyja of the Vanir (who essentially served as a hostage), while the Aesir sent Odin’s intellectually challenged (literally) brother Freyr (who doesn’t appear) and the wise giant Mímir (who appears later) to the Vanir as hostages. Besides these two divine clans, there are three demigod races: giants, elves, and dwarves. Among them, the dwarves are the craftsmen behind many legendary weapons, such as the Leviathan Axe and Mjölnir, the hammer of Thor.

Here, we encounter two dwarves whose roles in the game involve upgrading Kratos’ weapons and advancing the plot and side quests. One of them, Sindri, is hilariously portrayed as a germaphobe—unusual for dwarves, who are typically depicted as light-fearing creatures living in filthy underground forges. He explains that a Vanir witch once used magic to show him bacteria invisible to the naked eye, and since then, he’s been unable to tolerate dirt, knowing it’s teeming with countless microbes (that Vanir witch should consider a career in medicine—her magic works better than a microscope). She told him oak wood could inhibit bacterial growth, so he replaced all his tool handles with it.

Notably, along the journey, players encounter ravens (called Huginn and Muninn), shrines of Týr, and murals depicting him. These ravens are manifestations of Odin, serving as his eyes—hence his epithet, the Raven God. Odin’s appearances or teleportations are often accompanied by a swarm of ravens before vanishing. In Norse mythology, Odin has two ravens perched on his shoulders: Huginn (Thought) and Muninn (Memory).

As for Týr, he is the Norse god of war. But wait—wasn’t Loki the god of war? Actually, Loki only became one later. In Norse mythology, Loki is primarily the god of mischief.

Earlier, Freyja’s introduction occurs when Atreus shoots a boar named Hildisvíni, who is Freyja’s close companion (and attendant). In God of War: Ragnarök, Hildisvíni appears in human form.

Freyja immediately recognizes Kratos as a god and realizes Atreus is unaware of his divine heritage. She admonishes Kratos, saying it’s wrong to withhold the truth, as Atreus will inevitably discover it. Perhaps due to growing up without a mother, Atreus develops a fondness for Freyja, setting the stage for his later solo visit to her in God of War: Ragnarök, where she spares his life. After leaving Freyja, Kratos and Atreus arrive at the Lake of Nine, where much of the subsequent story unfolds.

I looked into the Lake of Nine and found no corresponding tale in Greek mythology—it seems to be an original creation, described as the “hub of the Nine Realms,” a gateway to any of the realms. Thus, the area is dotted with statues and shrines of gods, as well as side quests like one involving a man who, desperate to meet a god, loses his son to divine cruelty and vows revenge, only to fail and meet a bitter end.

Why nine realms and not ten or eighteen? In Norse cosmology, the world is structured around Yggdrasil, the World Tree, with the nine realms positioned across its branches and roots:

• Midgard, the realm of humans.
• Asgard, home of the Aesir, situated between the sun and moon, connected to Midgard by the Bifröst (the rainbow bridge), located at the top of Yggdrasil. The rainbow bridge might remind you of Marvel’s Thor—yes, it’s the same mythological reference.
• Helheim, the realm of the dead, at the roots of Yggdrasil.
• Niflheim, the misty, frozen land of the north, where those who die of illness or old age dwell.
• Muspelheim, the fiery realm in the south.
• Jötunheim, land of the giants, in the east.
• Vanaheim, home of the Vanir, in the west.
• Alfheim, realm of the light elves, between Midgard and Asgard.
• Svartalfheim (or Niðavellir), home of the dark elves or dwarves, between Midgard and Helheim.

At the Lake of Nine, they encounter Jörmungandr, the World Serpent—a name that sounds almost Buddhist. In Norse myth, Jörmungandr is the son of Loki (who, in this universe, is Atreus’ Norse identity) and has traveled back in time from the events of Ragnarök, as later explained by Mímir, the god of wisdom. The serpent’s fated enemy is Thor.

Jörmungandr’s massive body fills the lake, raising the water level and blocking certain paths. Later, when the serpent departs, the water recedes, unlocking new areas and quests, showcasing its sheer size.

They press on, attempting to climb the mountain, but are halted by a dark mist.

They then learn that Týr’s temple lies at the lake’s center, housing the Bifröst, which allows travel between realms. Using it, they journey to Alfheim to retrieve a light source to dispel the mist. The elves are embroiled in civil war, and Kratos, adhering to a non-interference policy, refuses to take sides, stating he only needs the light. Despite this, he ultimately helps the light elves defeat the dark elf leader, securing victory and the light source before continuing their ascent.

Before the Dark Elf boss died, he said, “You don’t know what your actions mean.” I thought it would foreshadow something, like the ugly-looking Dark Elves actually being the oppressed righteous side. But turns out I overthought it—nothing came of it by the end. Ugh.

The Light Elf section here seems like a simple plot-stretcher with no connection to Greek mythology, so there’s no background story or character introductions from Greek myths either.

Later, atop the mountain, we encountered the earlier Baldur, along with two other useless sons of Thor—Modi and Magni. No idea what they were saying, but we didn’t fight them at the time. After they left, the father-son duo emerged and met Mimir, the God of Wisdom, who had been imprisoned by Odin for 100 years. He begged Kratos and his son to free him, offering to guide them to the realm of the Giants in return. But he was fused into a tree and couldn’t be pried out. What to do?

This plotline is familiar to “Cheng Xin” (*a reference to a character from The Three-Body Problem). The solution is → “Only the brain needs to be delivered.”

Of course, “only the brain” is an exaggeration, but something similar—just the head would suffice. So, his head was chopped off and brought to Freya for revival. Naturally, after revival, only his head remained, and from then on, he became a literal “head-on-a-belt” guy, constantly strapped to Kratos’ waist. I often wonder: when Kratos farts, isn’t Mimir the first to suffer?

Mimir is a giant in Norse mythology tasked with guarding the Well of Wisdom. Odin sought knowledge and wisdom from him, eventually sacrificing an eye to obtain it—which is why Odin is one-eyed.

Mimir revealed that the highest peak in the Nine Realms isn’t the mountain he was trapped on; the true tallest mountain is in Jotunheim, the realm of the Giants. But they needed some item (I forgot what) to get there, so they went searching for it and ran into Thor’s sons, Modi and Magni. In Norse myth, these two are destined to inherit Thor’s hammer after Ragnarök, when Thor and Jörmungandr kill each other. But in God of War 4, Magni gets killed on the spot, while Modi flees.

Later, the boy’s old illness flares up, requiring the heart of a guardian from Helheim, the realm of the dead. Well, since they’re already here and it’s for the kid’s sake, off they go. But in Helheim, their current weapon, the Leviathan Axe—imbued with frost magic—is ineffective in the already freezing realm of the dead. They need a weapon native to the underworld: the Blades of Chaos.

Speaking of the Leviathan Axe, it was forged by the dwarf brothers mentioned earlier. Originally made for Laufey (Kratos’ wife), she used it until her death, after which Kratos took it up. It’s enchanted with frost magic. The name “Leviathan” doesn’t exist in Norse mythology; its traceable origin is in the Bible, where it means “rift” and refers to a massive sea monster symbolizing evil.

Since I hadn’t played the previous God of War games, this part didn’t resonate much with me, so I looked up the earlier lore. Turns out, before God of War 4, Kratos used the Blades of Chaos to slaughter the Greek pantheon. Later, vowing to live a normal life, he swore off using them and stashed them away.

So when Kratos retrieves the Blades of Chaos, the weather and background music turn terrifying, and the ghostly voice of Athena—the Greek Goddess of Wisdom he’d previously killed—flickers into view, calling him a “monster!”

But Kratos doesn’t hesitate. He wields the god-slaying Blades of Chaos once more—all for his son’s sake.

Kratos eventually secures the guardian’s heart and cures the boy’s illness—though technically, the kid didn’t need curing. Gods don’t get sick or die from illness, so why did Atreus fall so ill he couldn’t walk? Because he didn’t know he was a god! (This veers into idealism—if you don’t believe you’re a god, do you lose divine traits like immunity to sickness? Absurd.) To save his son, Kratos follows Freya’s advice and reveals the truth: they’re both gods.

Upon learning he’s a god, Atreus gets a bit cocky and asks, “What kind of god am I?” Kratos says he doesn’t know—every god must discover their own uniqueness. Unfortunately, they then run into Modi, Thor’s son, who’d fled earlier.

Modi’s in rough shape, though. After losing to Kratos and returning alive while his brother died, Odin beat him half to death for the disgrace. Now, with no fighting spirit left, he’s no match for Atreus, who’s brimming with newfound godly confidence. Ignoring his father’s protests, Atreus kills Modi, boasting, “I’m a god—I do what I want!” But Kratos has always believed being a god is a curse.

Furious, Kratos snaps, “Killing a god comes with a price!” Atreus retorts, “How would you know?!” Player’s inner monologue: You really don’t wanna know…

Then Baldur shows up again, and during the fight, he destroys the portal to Jotunheim. Left with no choice, they must retrieve an item from the World Serpent’s body to open a new path via the Lake of Nine. So, into Jörmungandr they go.

After retrieving the item, they emerge—only to face Baldur yet again. This time, since Atreus had unknowingly crafted mistletoe arrows (the one thing that can harm Baldur), he shoots Baldur, who promptly meets his end.

Although Baldur deeply hated his mother Freya—even attempting to strangle her here—Kratos killed Baldur to save Freya. Yet, Freya still harbors immense hatred toward Kratos for killing Baldur, swearing to take revenge. Alas, the feud is set in stone.

Later, Kratos confesses his past to his son. Upon learning how formidable his father was—having slain many gods—the son becomes more obedient (though that’s not the real reason, of course).

Eventually, they reach the highest peak of Jötunheim, the realm of the giants, to scatter the ashes. Along the way, they encounter prophetic murals, one depicting a god of war dying beside his son. The son doesn’t see it, as the mural is partially obscured, but Kratos does. Is patricide an inescapable theme in Greek mythology?

The scenery during the ash-scattering is breathtaking. From the summit, countless giant corpses stretch into the distance, piled higher than mountains, one after another. This is Odin’s handiwork and the purpose of Laufey’s journey: to show them what Odin did to the giants, unforgivable.

However, it’s later revealed in God of War 5 that the clever giants didn’t actually perish but committed suicide, hiding their souls as a pretext for eventual resurrection. Jörmungandr, the World Serpent, is created when Atreus injects a giant’s soul into a dead serpent in God of War 5.

At the game’s end, the timeline jumps five years ahead. Kratos is abruptly awakened from sleep and rushes outside to find a hooded, heavyset man standing at his doorstep. When Kratos asks who he is, the stranger remains silent, instead revealing his iconic weapon—a hammer crackling with lightning: Mjölnir, the hammer of Thor. With that, the game concludes.

In God of War 4, some of the Nine Realms are locked by Odin and thus inaccessible. It’s expected that God of War 5 will unlock them as the story progresses—something to look forward to.

From what I’ve gathered about God of War 5 so far, the returning characters include Kratos and his son (obviously), Odin, Thor, Freya, Freya’s boar-turned-human companion, Tyr the god of war (famous for losing an arm), the giant wolf Fenrir, the two dwarf brothers, Mimir (just his head), Angrboða (a giantess from Norse mythology, Loki’s mistress, whose children bring about Ragnarök), and Heimdall (the operator of the Bifröst in Norse mythology, god of light and dawn). Others I might have missed.

At the very end of God of War 5, Kratos kills Odin and becomes the new ruler of the Norse pantheon, rebuilding the order of the Nine Realms. Meanwhile, his son sets off to find the hidden souls of the giants who committed suicide, leading him to Egypt (since his girlfriend Angrboða has Egyptian ties—she’s portrayed as a Black girl in the game). It’s not impossible that God of War 6 will feature Kratos traveling to Egypt to slaughter gods while searching for his son.

In God of War 7, Kratos might venture to the mysterious East, seeking true Mahayana Buddhism to find inner peace—or perhaps searching for immortality for his son. There, he could encounter the Jade Emperor, who rules with brutal tyranny under the guise of “maintaining stability,” or the Buddha of the Western Paradise, who lures followers with promises of bliss while allowing his minions to wreak havoc, or even Allah, who promises martyrs 72 eternal virgins and 80,000 slaves in paradise (I’m not making this up—look up “72 virgins”). Disgusted by these hypocritical and far more depraved deities compared to the Norse and Greek gods, Kratos might just wipe them all out.

Wild guess: Kratos might team up with “Stormborn Stoneborn Sun Wukong, the Unburnt, Queen of Meereen Monkey King of Flower-Fruit Mountain, Khaleesi Lord of the Water Curtain Cave, Master of the Ruyi Jingu Bang, Great Sage Equal to Heaven, Wrecker of Heaven and Slayer of 100,000 Celestial Soldiers, the Victorious Fighting Buddha, the Stone Monkey.” Heh~

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