Spoiler warning: I will mention stories from the previous God of War game.
This year’s PlayStation Showcase featured a ton of awesome games for Playstation gamers to drool over — especially the Marvel and Star Wars games. But none of the games featured were as eagerly anticipated or surprising as the God of War (GOW) Ragnarok Trailer. Sure, we were expecting to see a gameplay demo of GOW 5 by now, but what they gave us is a full-blown trailer, revealing a huge amount of what players can expect to see in the story.
The trailer itself is only around three minutes long, but it’s packed with details and hints that will keep gamers discussing and theorizing for weeks.
God of War Ragnarok Trailer Breakdown
If you haven’t watched the trailer yet, here it is:
Protagonists
Atreus
The very first scene on the trailer shows us Kratos in a cave. A few seconds later we see a horned silhouette, which is soon revealed to be Atreus carrying a deer carcass. This might be a cool reference to Marvel’s version of Loki, and as we can recall from the last game, Loki was the name given to Atreus by the giants.
Atreus is demanding answers about who he is, and who is this Loki he’s supposed to be. Later on, we’ll hear him telling Kratos, “Stop thinking like a father for a moment, and start thinking like a general.” I think it’s already obvious that exploring Atreus’ heritage will cause war between them and the gods, perhaps starting Ragnarok in the process, but more to that theory later. Overall, I think the stories of GOW Ragnarok will revolve more on Atreus finding out who he is.
Kratos
Surprisingly, there’s not a lot of change with Kratos, but there are some interesting details in the trailer. The first scenes show that Kratos doesn’t have the Blades of Chaos at the beginning of the game but, instead, equips it later on. It looks like he kept it stored away after the events of the previous game since the blades are rusty AGAIN! I’m pretty sure it’s just an excuse to upgrade the blades all over again.
The grappling moves with the blades of chaos are back! The set of moves that OG GOW players missed in the previous game will likely also add more puzzle elements and make a new set of badass combos together with the Leviathan Axe.
Main Antagonists
Thor
Thor is a new character in the game, but I think there’s not much to say yet. I think Thor is either coming to avenge his moron and cowardly sons, or he was sent by Odin for all the mess Kratos made. It’s funny that he asked Kratos, “Are you a calm and reasonable person?” Of all the people he could ask that question, he asked it to the man that killed all the Greek gods by himself!
Enough of that, have you seen Thor’s character design?
THAT IS A THICC BOY!
It’s a bit of a surprising design since people expected the character to look like Marvel’s version of Thor. Instead, it looks like we’re getting fat Thor from Avengers: Endgame. It’s also surprising because, if you recall, there’s a Thor statue, depicting the god as muscular and toned, in the first game that Jormungandr ate.
Despite all the hate and jokes it received, Thor’s character design is actually perfect for GOW Ragnarok. Here’s why:
- This is a more realistic portrayal of what men with strong builds look like. If Kratos had a hard time fighting a fit-bodied Baldur in the previous game, I bet fighting Thor will be even harder and more epic.
- Mimir called Thor a “Fat dobber” in the previous game, hinting that the god doesn’t have the slim, sculpted physique that the statue from the first game showed.
- This representation of Thor, especially with the red hair, is much more accurate to the traditional Norse depictions.
Freya
Due to events in the previous GOW game, Freya is pissed, and I’m sure most people saw her revenge coming in the next game. The trailer showed her transforming into a bird and then attacking Kratos.
One thing is for sure, she got her fighting spirit back. She even got some wings on her character design to go with it. But how she got them is still a mystery that we’ll talk about in more depth later on.
New Characters
Tyr
Alright, I hear you. Tyr is technically not a new character as he was mentioned tons of times in the previous game. But it’s our first time seeing him in the trailer, which not only surprised everyone but also brought up a lot of questions.
The trailer shows Tyr twice. First, in a scene where Kratos and Atreus found him imprisoned. Then, in a scene where Tyr stands up (surprise he’s huge!) presumably to join Kratos and Atreus. Seeing Tyr now is exciting since it’ll be two Gods of War teaming up, and who knows what these two can do?
Angrboda
We see Angrboda at the very end of the trailer saying, “You’ll get your answers soon enough.” This is presumably directed at Atreus. The director confirmed that Angrboda is one of the last giants in the GOW world, and it’s fairly obvious that she will play a big part in helping Atreus know his true nature.
Angrboda is an interesting character since, in Norse mythology, she is the mate of Loki, mother of Jormungandr, and Fenrir, and also the grandmother of Skoll and Hati. There’s already a hint that Atreus is related to Jormungandr in the first game when Jormungandr said to Mimir that Atreus looked familiar. Who knows? Maybe she’ll be Atreus’ partner.
Durlin
Durlin is a mysterious character. He doesn’t have a definite counterpart in Norse mythology. However, there are several theories online that he is a seafarer that accompanied Tyr while traveling to other pantheons. Durlin’s place is shown in the trailer. Like Tyr’s vault, it also contained references to other pantheons.
Theories
Atreus Causes Ragnarok
One interesting detail in the trailer is a scene where we see Atreus holding a blue sphere. If you study the sphere closely, like most runes in the previous God of War game, you can translate what it says.
We first see the runes ᚺᚨ. After Atraeus rotates the sphere, we see ᛏᛁ. This translates to Hati. In the previous GOW game, players found a Skoll and Hati shrine in the Wildwoods, where carvings showed two wolves chasing spheres that are supposed to be the sun and the moon.
It’s foretold in the game, and in Norse mythology, that the two wolves will swallow the sun and moon which shall mark the start of Ragnarok. The moon on the shrine looks awfully similar to the sphere that Atreus is holding in the trailer. Who knows? This might be the sphere that Hati will swallow to mark the start of Ragnarok.
Alternatively, since Atreus is also capable of summoning runic creatures from the first game, and the trailer shows him riding his summons, it’s possible he will learn to summon Hati, who would then start Ragnarok.
The theory of Atreus causing Ragnarok is not new, and there are a lot of theories from the previous game alone that all point to Atreus either bringing it on himself or at least playing a key role in starting Ragnarok.
Freya’s Fighting Spirit
In the first game, Freya was cursed. She couldn’t leave Midgard, and she couldn’t harm any living creature. So players are understandably confused about why the heck can she fight in the trailer.
The obvious theory is that she must have teamed up with Odin to get her spirit back. Even if that’s the case, how did she pull that off if she can’t leave Midgard? Well, this tweet from a new GOW castmember might give us a clue:
It has been said that Gna is a Norse goddess who does errands in other worlds and realms for Frigg. We know from the previous game that, according to Mimir, Freya is Frigg. We also know that Valkyries in the first game are harder to fight than the gods Baldur, Magni, and Modi.
Given these clues, I think it’s safe to assume that Freya got her fighting spirit back with the help of Gna, even though she isn’t a goddess as she is in traditional Norse mythology.
God of War: Ragnarok Trailer Promises Exciting Final Chapter to the Norse Mythology Series
The God of War Ragnarok trailer is one of the best game trailers ever released. There are tons of story previews and characters covered in the three minutes. From the dozens of details and hints, players can expect that the actual game will finally settle a lot of our unanswered questions.
Of course, there’s so much more to talk about regarding the new characters Tyr, Angrboda, and Durlin. There are still a ton of hidden details among the trailer that are waiting to be decoded. Are you as hyped as I am? Do you want more God of War content? Let us know by leaving a comment.
