12 Theories That Are Expected In 'God Of War: Ragnarok'

There's finally been a much more satisfactory trailer for the next God of War game to sink our teeth into, and it's just brimful of possibilities. Once again there are jaw-dropping graphics, stunning set locations, and seemingly another very meaty story to be told. Let's dive into what the next installment of Norse mythological mayhem could hold. 

Atreus, now revealed as Loki the son of Laufey, is a child of the frost giants and has a huge part to play in antagonising the gods. The 'God of War' series is well known for taking a chainsaw to traditional god lore and turning it on its' head, and seemingly the Norse tradition of Ragnarok will be brought about by Kratos and his mischievous son. Let's look at some of the aspects of the trailer, and see what it means for our anti-heroes. 

1. Thor

At the end of the last game, the god of thunder came knocking at Kratos' door, and oh boy was he pissed. Kratos had killed his sons Magni and Modi (self defensively) and his brother Baldur. Understandably he wished to confront his family slayer. 

Hopefully, Thor will be a recurring fight much like Baldur, I'd hate for him to be a big opening fight then have his hammer straight away, I was hoping for him to be this games' big bad. But who knows, I'm sure the game will dazzle me like every one of its predecessors. 

In Norse mythology, Thor fights and kills the Midgard serpent during Ragnarok, but in death, the serpent spits a venom that kills him. This may or may not be the case this time, depending on the serpents' allegiance. 

In the mythos, Thor's sons Magni and Modi survive Ragnarok and begin the world anew, carrying their fathers' hammer between them. However they got well and truly decimated in the first game, so who knows what rebirth (if any) will occur?

2. Freya/Frigga

The helpful witch in the first game was revealed to be none other than Freya, Baldur's mother, who tried so hard to enchant everything not to harm her son. This resulted in Baldur's lack of feeling, which is why he sought out Kratos for a physical challenge. Baldur couldn't forgive his mother for nulling his feeling, and it fractured their relationship.

Freya's deference towards Kratos in this game however will have changed drastically, given how he killed her son. She is seen shape-shifting from eagle to the woman in the trailer, before attacking Kratos.

She will prove to be a very dangerous and interesting enemy. She seemingly resents Odin, but may ultimately take the side of the gods against Kratos. She has a liking for Atreus, but her feelings will undoubtedly sour as he transitions into Loki.

Hopefully, it won't come down to killing her but hey, she can't miss with my boys. Confusingly she is called Freya in the games even though the wife of Odin is named Frigga. Freya is an unrelated goddess descended from giants, twin sister of Frey.

3. Ragnarok

Naturally, the Norse end of days will occur, it's right there in the title. Ragnarok begins with the bitter cold, and heavy snow. As we see often in this new trailer, Kratos and Atreus are adrift in blankets of heavy snow, so it's clearly already begun.

Traditionally, the children of Loki: Hel, Fenrir wolf, and Jurmungandr the Midgard serpent all unite with the armies of Hel, and Surtr with his flaming sword.

They all meet the gods of Asgard in the field of battle. It will be very different in this interpretation, but Kratos definitely has the power to end worlds and kill gods. He's done it before. Many times. Could Kratos command the legions of Hel somehow, or just be his usual one-man army? 

4. Jurmungandr 

Traditionally, Jurmungandr is the nemesis of Thor, and they kill each other during Ragnarok. Given Thor's disdain of Kratos, there could well be an 'enemy of my enemy' alliance. 

However, while it's possible that the serpent could ally itself with Kratos' cause, it might be unlikely in this particular timeline, as the first game alluded to a 'time shift' battle with Thor that knocked the serpent into the past. It vaguely recognises Loki/Atreus, unknowingly seeing the child version of his father. 

Additionally, the corpse of the Midgard serpent can be seen in the background of the cover art. This may be a hypothetical image given the plot but seems likely in the course of things. If so it's a major spoiler in plain sight, which is disappointing if true. 

5. Angrboda

The image reveal of a young Angrboda, future wife of Loki is significant to the tie-in of the aforementioned time shift battle. She is traditionally the mother of Hel, Jormungandr, and Fenrir.

Given that she is depicted as a child here, same as Loki/ Atreus, the evidence of a time shift battle is even clearer, as they've only just met, are children, and clearly haven't yet birthed the giant snake that already exists.

Given God of Wars' unpredictability and 'loose play' with tradition, it could well be that Loki doesn't have a romantic relationship in this timeline with her at all.

But in the traditional Norse, she is nevertheless the mother of his demonic children and is resurrected by Odin for her wisdom of future events. In the trailer, she cheekily informs them that they 'don't have all the answers'. At least her presence strongly indicates a possible return trip to Jotunheim, from where she hails.

6. Tyr

Tyr is the Norse god of war, who traditionally loses a hand in the mouth of Fenrir when the gods cruelly trick him into an unbreakable chain muzzle. Tyr is sympathetic and stands with Thor in the last battle before succumbing to his wounds.

He is seen as a towering figure in the 'God of War' trailer, as it appears that Kratos tries to enlist his help. What could that be for? Would Tyr turn against his godly kin? He's locked up for some reason and believed dead by most, which suggests at least a spat with his fellow gods. He may be harbouring some ill-feeling, which Kratos could easily exploit.

Tyr has both his hands in the trailer here though, so at least some lore is being omitted. Therefore it's possible that we shan't be seeing Fenrir at all unless this event happens later at the Ragnarok battle. Although the character reveals posters he is holding his wrist, which may foreshadow his Norse origins.

7. Other realms 

The first God of War game allowed passage into five of the nine realms via the rainbow bridge called the Bifrost, inside the World Tree Yggdrassil. The other four were blocked off as they didn't feature in the plot and were seemingly too superfluous to waste graphical time and energy on.

Now however we have access to all nine realms, hopefully with expanded maps in each of the ones we've already visited. A personal hope of mine is that we're able to hop into other realms without Yggdrasil at all, merely using a weapon to open the Bifrost as fast travel. It's possible given the PS5's superior loading times thanks to its SSD drive.

The big realm to visit is of course Asgard, and God only knows what kind of bloodbath and massacres await us there. 

8. Weapons

Kratos will be armed of course with his trusty Blades of Chaos, and the new fan favourite Leviathan Axe. However, there is room for more iconic weapon retrieval in this Norse franchise so never say never.

Kratos has been known to pluck useful items from his enemies in the past. Eyes and heads sometimes. Could we wield Thor's hammer Mjolnir perhaps? Although I highly doubt that Kratos could be considered worthy of picking it up: he's done some shit in the past.

Maybe Gaugnir the spear of Odin? Or more likely the flaming sword of Surtr with which he brings about Ragnarok? Such a weapon would be a death knell to the Asgardian gods in Kratos' hands.

9. Mimir

Everyone's favourite talking head makes a reappearance in the new trailer, and will hopefully have more pearls of Norse wisdom in his delightful Scottish accent. 

In Norse lore, Mimir was a norn in charge of guarding the well of the wisdom roots of Yggdrassil, until he was tricked by Odin into letting him drink from the well, and Odin beheaded him. He kept him alive for the need of his wisdom. Mimir doesn't get off as lightly in this iteration either, but hopefully, he'll survive enough to give sage advice to the protagonist's family. 

10. Odin

The one-eyed 'All Father' may make an appearance, as he is the Norse equivalent of Zeus and overseer of all the gods. He fights Fenrir at Ragnarok but as Fenrir hasn't been spotted yet, perhaps Odin won't yet either.

However it's been confirmed that this game will complete the storyline and only be a duology, so if this is to be Ragnarok proper, and given how much he was name-dropped in the first game, it's almost 90 percent certain that he'll appear.

He's probably been omitted from the character posters and trailer to add more intrigue and secrecy to the plot. 

11. Frey

Brother of Freya and son of Odin, Frey had many gifts from the Dwarves Brok and Eitri (mysteriously called Sindri in God of War), including a sword that would fight for him and a ship he could fold away like cloth.

He seems to be the Norse equivalent of Perseus, a warrior blessed with godly gifts. And we all remember how much we enjoyed fighting Perseus in God of War 2.

While he hasn't been mentioned and isn't as popular as his brother Thor, there certainly seems to be a recurring theme of family vengeance, and he could make for an interesting side-boss to creatively maim in the 'God of War' fashion. 

12. The writing on the wall

As Kratos and Atreus traverse the tunnels of Jotunheim at the end of the first game, they come across some scrawls that depict their journey. A banner flutters in the wind, unseen by Atreus, which reveals a picture of Atreus kneeling over a dying Kratos, which Kratos chooses not to share with his son.

Could this be the end of Kratos? Will we play only as Atreus in future installments? Or as a new protagonist in another mythos, such as Egyptian, Celtic, or Roman?

Or could this ending be avoided, given the 'timeline shift' battle that occurs in the future? Anything goes in these brutal games, though hopefully in death Kratos will find the peace that he's been searching for, albeit undeservedly given his dark deeds.

There are a lot of questions that need answering that this fantastic franchise has made us ask. 'God of War' is Sony's flagship title, and has been their IP for nearly seventeen years.

Santa Monica Studios manage to deliver a breathtaking, jaw-dropping installment with every release, and even though 'Ragnarok' has tentatively been delayed to the vague date of 2022, there isn't long to wait now to see what excellent, epic scenes await gamers; who wait with bated breath to see how Ragnarok ends, and what it has in store for our heroes.