At this point we are way past the argument whether to call it God of War 4 or just simply God of War as its developers intended for us to do, because Santa Monica Studio and Sony Interactive did a great job with their semi-reboot of the series with a completely different era for Kratos. The overall setting is changed, gameplaying style has been revamped and a secondary character added to the fold for an all-new take.
Not only Kratos and his son Atreus goes up against gods and mystical characters, we see some deep character bonding among them two. That's a nice way to appeal your game to a newer generation, who will come to appreciate the series the same as veteran fans who grew up playing the previous installments. If you think God of War is just a button-mashing title then prepare to change your opinion very soon. The game did not receive overwhelmingly positive reviews from all over for nothing.
According to Creative Director Cory Barlog, God of War will take 25-35 hours of your time to complete. So, our friendly advice is that you should go and play the game before you advance any further because we are about to go spoiler-filled discussion from here on. If you still go any further, just remember that you have been warned.
WARNING: THE FOLLOWING CONTAINS POTENTIAL SPOILERS FOR GOD OF WAR.
Years have passed since he slew the Olympian gods, Kratos now has changed. He is out for a journey with his son to pay final respects to his wife and Atreus’ mother Faye, who wanted her ashes to be spread from top of tallest mountain among Nine Realms. Before they could embark their perilous journey, they are met by a “Stranger” who starts a fight with Kratos. Soon enough, it is revealed that he feels no pain, which makes him practically invincible and he happens to be a Norse god.
Throughout the entire game, this guy keeps interrupting Kratos and his boy in their quest and it turns out he is a son of Odin named Baldur. There is also a witch who helps around the father-son duo in their journey throughout for some mysterious reason. Her name is Freya and she is another character from Norse mythology we will know more in a bit. It was the time when Kratos and his son go to see Freya for resurrecting Mimir’s head when we learn that she too, is a god.
Mimir requests the God of War to kill him as he was being tortured by Odin himself and Freya is his wife. Also, she happens to be the mother of Baldur, who is unkillable because of a spell his mother cast on him so that nothing from Earth can harm him except one; mistletoe. The spell also took his ability to feel anything at all, which is the sole reason why he picks up fight with Kratos so that he can finally feel pain and die.
Atreus had some special mistletoe arrows in his possession that he received from blacksmith Sindri as a gift. Freya saw those when resurrecting Mimir and instantly frightened for Baldur's life. This is because, her son can be killed with these arrows, which she wanted to avert anyhow and demanded that Atreus burn them all. However, burning mistletoe arrows did not stop the inevitable at all in the end. Baldur was actually after Faye who was from Jotunheim and he ended up mistakenly attacking them because they were carrying her ashes.
In his final encounter with them, the spell on Baldur is broken when he is hit by a mistletoe arrow from Atreus. Upon defeating him, Kratos spared his life when Atreus convinced him to do so but an enraged Baldur then confronts his mother Freya. For cursing his life by trying to interfere with it he attempts to strangle her when Kratos was forced to intervene and ended up killing him by snapping his neck. Freya was willing to die to make things right but now that her son is dead, she swears vengeance upon God of War.
After she is gone, Kratos begin telling Atreus his own story of how he came to become who he is today from Sparta to be a god and slaying many other gods that eventually led him to kill his own father Zeus. Too shocked at this revelation, his young son muses if this is what all gods ends up doing and is it the destiny of all gods after all! His father begs to differ and suggests that they can all be better by learning from their mistakes. What he did not know then is that by killing Baldur, he actually prompted Ragnarok sooner than it was meant to be and that is by at least 100 winters.
Now that both Baldur and Freya out of their way, they reach to Jotunheim to find the tallest mountain top and fulfill their quest to honor Faye's last wish. There, they learn from a broken mural that she was actually one of the giants. Interestingly enough, it also foretold everything that has happened so far from when they begin this journey and came across everyone in their path including World Serpent Jörmungandr, the blacksmith brothers and even the final battle with Baldur.
Could it be that Faye actually wanted both Kratos and Atreus to know about her own origin and so she requested for them to do this? Well, possibly. Because, his mother and her people actually named him Loki and this journey was all about discovering his roots. There was another piece of art that Kratos missed on his first time which depicts a grown-up Atreus holding his dead father in arms but whatever mystery that suggests will possibly revealed in a sequel.
Whatever new direction God of War wants to go from fighting Nordic gods and monsters in its future sequels are more than a few. Since the original trilogy of the franchise was based on Kratos taking on key-figures from Greek mythology and by that end, he ended up killing them all. This rebooted series begins into the heartland of Norse mythology and it is quite needless to say that Odin will probably be the ultimate antagonist of this new series. Although, he was never shown throughout the game but his family members and those who know him were all over.
To back that up, the god of thunder; Thor shows up at their doorstep in the game's secret ending, when Kratos and Atreus returns home from their journey. His brother Baldur is dead now, his sons Magni and Modi are not alive as well, so he has enough reason to be pissed at them and seeking vengeance for all the right reasons. That is a very solid teaser in advance for the next game whether it turned out to be God of War 2 or God of War 5. Interesting thing will be to see how they tie up Loki being his adopted brother according to Norse legacy.
Also, Ragnarok is teased and that means a great event that will bring the ending of all. If prophecy follows, Odin and Thor are going to die along with Loki, unless Kratos somehow finds another way for his son. Until that all unfolds to us, you can enjoy God of War, which is currently available worldwide for playing exclusively on PlayStation 4.
Not only Kratos and his son Atreus goes up against gods and mystical characters, we see some deep character bonding among them two. That's a nice way to appeal your game to a newer generation, who will come to appreciate the series the same as veteran fans who grew up playing the previous installments. If you think God of War is just a button-mashing title then prepare to change your opinion very soon. The game did not receive overwhelmingly positive reviews from all over for nothing.
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| God of War Ending Explained |
According to Creative Director Cory Barlog, God of War will take 25-35 hours of your time to complete. So, our friendly advice is that you should go and play the game before you advance any further because we are about to go spoiler-filled discussion from here on. If you still go any further, just remember that you have been warned.
WARNING: THE FOLLOWING CONTAINS POTENTIAL SPOILERS FOR GOD OF WAR.
Years have passed since he slew the Olympian gods, Kratos now has changed. He is out for a journey with his son to pay final respects to his wife and Atreus’ mother Faye, who wanted her ashes to be spread from top of tallest mountain among Nine Realms. Before they could embark their perilous journey, they are met by a “Stranger” who starts a fight with Kratos. Soon enough, it is revealed that he feels no pain, which makes him practically invincible and he happens to be a Norse god.
 |
| Baldur, The Stranger |
Throughout the entire game, this guy keeps interrupting Kratos and his boy in their quest and it turns out he is a son of Odin named Baldur. There is also a witch who helps around the father-son duo in their journey throughout for some mysterious reason. Her name is Freya and she is another character from Norse mythology we will know more in a bit. It was the time when Kratos and his son go to see Freya for resurrecting Mimir’s head when we learn that she too, is a god.
Mimir requests the God of War to kill him as he was being tortured by Odin himself and Freya is his wife. Also, she happens to be the mother of Baldur, who is unkillable because of a spell his mother cast on him so that nothing from Earth can harm him except one; mistletoe. The spell also took his ability to feel anything at all, which is the sole reason why he picks up fight with Kratos so that he can finally feel pain and die.
 |
| The Death of Baldur |
Atreus had some special mistletoe arrows in his possession that he received from blacksmith Sindri as a gift. Freya saw those when resurrecting Mimir and instantly frightened for Baldur's life. This is because, her son can be killed with these arrows, which she wanted to avert anyhow and demanded that Atreus burn them all. However, burning mistletoe arrows did not stop the inevitable at all in the end. Baldur was actually after Faye who was from Jotunheim and he ended up mistakenly attacking them because they were carrying her ashes.
In his final encounter with them, the spell on Baldur is broken when he is hit by a mistletoe arrow from Atreus. Upon defeating him, Kratos spared his life when Atreus convinced him to do so but an enraged Baldur then confronts his mother Freya. For cursing his life by trying to interfere with it he attempts to strangle her when Kratos was forced to intervene and ended up killing him by snapping his neck. Freya was willing to die to make things right but now that her son is dead, she swears vengeance upon God of War.
 |
| The Frost Giant Prophecy |
After she is gone, Kratos begin telling Atreus his own story of how he came to become who he is today from Sparta to be a god and slaying many other gods that eventually led him to kill his own father Zeus. Too shocked at this revelation, his young son muses if this is what all gods ends up doing and is it the destiny of all gods after all! His father begs to differ and suggests that they can all be better by learning from their mistakes. What he did not know then is that by killing Baldur, he actually prompted Ragnarok sooner than it was meant to be and that is by at least 100 winters.
Now that both Baldur and Freya out of their way, they reach to Jotunheim to find the tallest mountain top and fulfill their quest to honor Faye's last wish. There, they learn from a broken mural that she was actually one of the giants. Interestingly enough, it also foretold everything that has happened so far from when they begin this journey and came across everyone in their path including World Serpent Jörmungandr, the blacksmith brothers and even the final battle with Baldur.
 |
| Story of Atreus |
Could it be that Faye actually wanted both Kratos and Atreus to know about her own origin and so she requested for them to do this? Well, possibly. Because, his mother and her people actually named him Loki and this journey was all about discovering his roots. There was another piece of art that Kratos missed on his first time which depicts a grown-up Atreus holding his dead father in arms but whatever mystery that suggests will possibly revealed in a sequel.
Whatever new direction God of War wants to go from fighting Nordic gods and monsters in its future sequels are more than a few. Since the original trilogy of the franchise was based on Kratos taking on key-figures from Greek mythology and by that end, he ended up killing them all. This rebooted series begins into the heartland of Norse mythology and it is quite needless to say that Odin will probably be the ultimate antagonist of this new series. Although, he was never shown throughout the game but his family members and those who know him were all over.
 |
| Hammer of Thor |
To back that up, the god of thunder; Thor shows up at their doorstep in the game's secret ending, when Kratos and Atreus returns home from their journey. His brother Baldur is dead now, his sons Magni and Modi are not alive as well, so he has enough reason to be pissed at them and seeking vengeance for all the right reasons. That is a very solid teaser in advance for the next game whether it turned out to be God of War 2 or God of War 5. Interesting thing will be to see how they tie up Loki being his adopted brother according to Norse legacy.
Also, Ragnarok is teased and that means a great event that will bring the ending of all. If prophecy follows, Odin and Thor are going to die along with Loki, unless Kratos somehow finds another way for his son. Until that all unfolds to us, you can enjoy God of War, which is currently available worldwide for playing exclusively on PlayStation 4.
