God Of War Story Breakdown: The Reboot Plot So Far

God of War Raganrök’s trailer shows an older Atreus and a more volatile Midgard. For those who feel a bit lost, here’s a recap of the story so far.

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From what can be gleaned from the God of War Ragnarök trailer, the sequel is wasting no time in picking up where the first left off, and will be finishing the Norse story of Kratos’ narrative. Atreus may be older, but the nature of his identity is still a mystery and the battle against the Asgardians is still brewing. For those who may not remember the events of 2018’s God of War or just want a refresher, here’s a recap of the story so far.

Prior to God of War, Kratos was last seen defeating his father Zeus and throwing himself from a cliff. At the end of his vengeful journey to kill the Greek Pantheon, Kratos finally took stock of what that journey did to the world around him. From being tricked into killing his own family, to opening Pandora’s Box and releasing unspeakable pain upon everyone, the grief was too much to bear.

Somehow, Kratos survived and managed to leave Greece to get to the land of mythological Norse gods known as Midgard. Once there, he would start a new life with his wide Faye, who was able to help him control his rage and begin reconciling with his past. Faye would eventually give birth to their son Atreus, who was prone to sickness. They lived well for a time, but she would die when Atreus was beginning to come of age, and this is where God of War begins.

God Of War Story Breakdown: The Stranger

The game begins with Kratos and Atreus gathering wood to build a funeral pyre for Faye. They place her there and, with her knife, Atreus lights the flame. Prior to death, Faye requested that they spread her ashes from the highest peak in all the Nine Realms, so Kratos gathers them into a small pouch. To make sure Atreus is ready for the journey, he takes him on a small hunt to see how much Atreus has learned. Unfortunately, in his grief, Kratos retreats into himself and struggles to be vulnerable and patient with his son.

This results in a failed hunt and Kratos frustratingly claiming that Atreus is not ready for the journey and his sickness may prove to be a liability as well. Before the conversation can finish, there is an unexpected knock at the door. Kratos tells Atreus to hide, and he opens the door to a smaller, leaner man covered in tattoos. However, it doesn’t take long for the man to size Kratos up and arrogantly says, “I thought you’d be bigger. But you’re definitely the one.” As the conversation continues, Kratos tries to convince him to leave but the man notices two beds in the house.

Not yet realizing that this will be one of the God of War’s hardest enemies to beat, Kratos gives a final warning before the man punches him. Kratos punches harder, but it doesn’t faze the stranger who launches Kratos entirely over his house with a second blow. The two duel for a while, but Kratos realizes the severity of the situation when the man exclaims, “I can’t feel any of this!” Kratos ultimately knocks the man down into a chasm and returns to Atreus. Regardless of whether he thinks Atreus is ready, Kratos knows they are no longer safe at home and that they must leave.

God of War Story Breakdown: Journey To The Mountain

It doesn’t take long for the pair to start running into some of the most important people in their journey. First are the dwarven brothers Brok and Sindri, who can somehow teleport to different places in Midgard. They upgrade Kratos’ axe and give Atreus mistletoe arrows, which Kratos uses to repair Atreus’ broken quiver strap shortly before they meet the Witch of the Woods. Finally, they meet the world serpent Jörmungandr in the Lake of Nine, who imbues Kratos’ axe with a poison buff and reveals the Golden Temple that serves as a bridge between realms.

Upon reaching the slope towards the peak of Midgard, the pair are met with an impenetrable black fog that blocks their path. Luckily, the Witch tells them that the Light of Alfheim can penetrate the fog and is able to get them there. She gives them the Bifrost, which is a sort of key that can be used within the world tree, Yggdrasil, to unlock the gates of almost every realm. The two successfully retrieve the Light of Alfheim and return to the mountain, now able to ascend to its peak.

As they climb the sides of the mountain, they overhear a tense conversation happening above. The Stranger, who survived, is joined by Thor’s sons Magni and Modi as they interrogate a prisoner named Mimi in hopes that he knows where Kratos and Atreus are. They eventually leave and the two meet Mimir, a one-eyed man bound to a tree by Odin. When Mimir learns why they are there, he has a bit of bad news for them.

He reveals that the highest peak in the Nine Realms is actually in the realm of Jötunheim and, more disappointingly, that the gate to Jötunheim was blocked by Odin and Thor. He also revealed that the Stranger is an Aesir (Norse God) named Baldur, who is under a spell that prevents him from being killed or injured. Mimir does have good news though, as he knows another way to get into Jötunheim. To help them get there, and to free himself from his prison, he has Kratos decapitate him and take his head to the Witch to revive it.

God Of War Story Breakdown: The Burden of Godhood

Before Kratos removes his head, Mimir reveals that the Witch is an Aesir named Freya. Given Kratos’ history with Gods so far, Greek and Norse alike, he is angry at Freya for not telling him that she is a god, but Freya and Mimir are able to talk Kratos down when they point out that Kratos hid his godhood as well. After noticing the cough getting worse, they begin to wonder why Atreus is so sick despite the vitality that comes with godhood, but Kratos tells them that Atreus doesn’t know. Shocked, Freya and Mimir urge Kratos to tell Atreus but the agitated God of War grabs Mimir and Atreus instead, leaving Freya’s hut and making Mimir vow to conceal the truth.

They travel to the frozen remains of a deceased blacksmith Giant, whom Thor killed ages prior, to retrieve a piece of his magic chisel in order to open enchanted doors that stand in their way. They finally reach the tip of the still-glowing chisel, embedded deep within an icy cavern, but Magni and Modi appear before they can break off a piece. Following one of God of War’s intense boss fights, the two manage to kill Magni, force Modi to flee, and retrieve a piece of the chisel. Upon returning to the Lake of Nine, Modi ambushes them and unleashes a torrent of lightning on Kratos. Atreus attempts to save his father but his emotional state begins to activate his inherited godly rage, which is immediately overwhelming and causes him to collapse.

Kratos is able to use his rage to rise and fight back, forcing Modi to flee once more. Terrified and confused, Kratos rushes Atreus back to Freya in hopes that she can save him and, on the way, Mimir remarks that his “sickness” likely stems from the internal conflict of “a God believing himself mortal.” This is confirmed by Freya and Kratos, gently holding Atreus, solemnly asks, “I did this to him…?” After Freya reveals that the heart of Hel’s gate guardian can save Atreus, Kratos knows that he must wield the weapons of his past and accept who he is in order to save his son.

Kratos rides the river home, all the while being haunted by an apparition of Athena. He walks into his house and moves some floorboards to retrieve the Blades of Chaos, which he had tried to rid himself of before only for them to continue coming back. He wraps the chains around his arms as Athena taunts him and reminds Kratos that he is a monster. While he has always agreed, he now sees it from a new perspective in that now, facing his past to save his son, is he is no longer her monster. With his fiery blades, he travels to the frozen wasteland of Hel and retrieves what he needs to save Atreus.

Atreus is revived shortly after and Kratos reveals their godly lineage, which instantly becomes a big problem for the God of War because Atreus immediately lets it go to his head. While on their way back up Migard’s mountain to open the gate to Jötunheim, Modi appears once again. This time though, he has been severely beaten by Thor for letting Magni die and Atreus, in his arrogance, goes against Kratos’ orders and mercilessly kills Modi. They are greeted by Baldur as the reach the top of the mountain and, once again, Atreus rushes in to fight. Their fight causes the entrance to Jötunheim to change to Hel and all three of them manage to throw themselves in.

God Of War Story Breakdown: The End

Atreus now realizes his arrogance was misplaced and begins to cooperate once again. As they travel through Hel, they see Baldur fighting with an apparition of his mother, Freya, leaving the party stunned by the realization of Baldur’s lineage. They make it to a boat that will take them out of Helheim, but the boat ride reveals Kratos’ secret past with Zeus. After seeing Modi be brutalized by his father, Baldur swearing to kill his mother, and learning that Kratos killed his father, the thought of possibly of continuing the cycle begins to haunt Atreus. Upon returning to Midgard, Mimir has one last idea to get them to Jötunheim, but it requires retrieving his other eye from a hidden compartment within a statue of Thor – which Jörmungandr swallowed at the beginning of their journey.

Jörmungandr allows them to sail into his stomach and they retrieve the eye just as the serpent begins writhing. In their attempt to escape, they are shot out of Jörmungandr’s mouth to find Baldur assaulting the serpent in an attempt to draw them out. They begin to fight once again but Freya arrives to intervene and stop them. In response to interfering with their fight, Baldur makes it clear that after he kills Kratos and Atreus, he’s going to kill her; and before anyone can respond, he punches Atreus square in the chest. Atreus flies back and catches his breath, but when the two regain focus in anticipation for a follow up attack, they see Baldur entranced by an arrowhead that’s pierced his hand.

Freya screams in horror as she realizes what has happened. When she first met Kratos and Atreus, she quickly destroyed the mistletoe arrows after vaguely declaring they were dangerous, but the real reason is because the spell of invulnerability she put on Baldur can only be broken by mistletoe, and the arrowhead being used to hold Atreus’ quiver strap together comes as a surprise, Baldur running it right into his hand. Even Baldur didn’t know about the mistletoe’s ability to break Freya’s spell, but now, with the euphoria of finally being able to feel pain, he fights with even greater abandon.

Kratos and Atreus ultimately best him, but Freya interrupts the fight long enough for Kratos to calm down and offer Baldur a chance to live. Sadly, Baldur can’t learn to let the past go and, in a final gesture of love, Freya offers her life to Baldur as he begins to choke her. Despite her wishes, Kratos grabs Baldur and pulls him off and when Baldur asks why he even cares, Kratos simply responds, “The cycle ends here. We must be better than this,” before snapping his neck. With this final gesture, Kratos begins his journey towards being better than he was in Greece and Freya begins her journey of vengeance – a moment of which is briefly seen in the God of War Ragnarök trailer.

Click here to view the above trailer on YouTube.

With this, Kratos and Atreus finally reach Jötunheim’s peak. On the walls of the mountain’s cave, Atreus and Kratos find a painting which reveals that Faye was a Giant and, using her foresight, had already seen their adventure play out and left clues to guide them through it. Kratos notices the end of the mural showing what looks like Atreus holding him as he’s seemingly dying, but he removes the thought from his mind to join Atreus and spread Faye’s ashes. As they fly, the clouds part to reveal a graveyard of Giants, killed by Thor and the Aesir. As the pair walk away, Atreus asks why the mural says the name “Loki” when referring to him, to which Kratos says that it was Faye’s chosen name for him.

As they return to Midgard, Mimir tells them that Fimbulwinter, which is a three-year-long winter that precedes Ragnarök, has begun about one hundred years ahead of schedule. While they understand the meaning of this, they return home to take a moment to finally rest. However, in the secret ending to 2018’s God of War, Atreus has a prophetic dream in which their house is rocked by thunder and when Kratos opens the front door, he finds Thor waiting for them.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/god-war-story-breakdown-reboot-plot-kratos-atreus/