If you thought Sony Santa Monica Studio was being bold in quasi-relaunching the God of War franchise in an all-new setting, with a different playstyle, and in adding a secondary character protagonist, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet.
God of War – which could have been called God of War 4 – not only pits Kratos and his son Atreus against the gods, creatures, and mystical settings of Norse Mythology, but it embeds them within it. Allow us to explain how the best rated PlayStation 4 exclusive God of War plays out.
Related: Our God of Review Explains Why It’s a MUST-PLAY
God of War begins by setting players out on a personal quest to lay the ashes of Kratos’ lover and Atreus’ mother at the top of the tallest mountain but before they can set out on this dangerous journey, they’re interrupted by “The Stranger” who instigates a fight with Kratos. The Stranger we quickly learn is seemingly invincible, feels no pain, and is a Norse god. He’s the main antagonist of sorts who’s after Kratos the entire game. We eventually learn that he’s actually Baldur, a son of Odin of Norse mythology.
So if he’s the bad guy, who’s the mysterious friendly witch who knows more than she lets on but who helps Kratos and Atreus? She’s Freya, another key figure of Norse mythology. We learn that this witch is actually a god too, once the leader of the Vanir, when Kratos and Atreus take Mimir’s head to Freya to be resurrected (Mimir asks Kratos to kill him and do this since he was being trapped and tortured by Odin). Freya was the wife of Odin.
Freya is the mother of Baldur and just like in Norse lore, she has used magic to protect her son#site-top > div.main-wrap > div.site-wrapper > div.page-content > div.top-content.width-adjust > article > div.article-body > div:nth-child(16) > picture > img
Baldur against anything from Earth except for one basic, unexpected thing: mistletoe. It is for this reason Baldur is seeking Kratos, to seek pain and death, and he believes that thanks to Odin. Freya notices the special mistletoe arrows that were a gift to Atreus from Sindri (the game’s dwarf merchant) during Mimir resurrection sequence and is immediately alarmed and shocked, demanding that Atreus burn any like this should Atreus find more. We now know this is because these arrows can kill Baldur.
