God of War Story Explained (Everything You Need To Know)

Updated:

26 Sep 2022

As the anticipation for God Of War: Ragnarok grows, there may be many who want to leap into the next adventure of Kratos and his son but are unfamiliar with the plot of the previous game.

Kratos was last seen beating his father Zeus and jumping over a cliff before God of War. At the conclusion of his mission of vengeance to destroy the Greek Pantheon, Kratos took stock of what his trip had done to the world around him. From being deceived into murdering his own family to breaking Pandora's Box and unleashing unimaginable suffering on everyone, the agony was unbearable.

So, in case you don't have enough time to complete 2018's God of War, here is a summary of the full plot.

Odin is the main antagonist in the new God of War series

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Yes, you read correctly; the Norse gods orchestrate the game’s events. And although Odin is absent, every character is aware of him, and their dialogues provide insight into his nature – he is driven by a mixture of curiosity and ruthlessness. In order to discover the mysteries of death, your buddy Mimir recounts the time he hung himself and walked the realm of the dead until he was cast out and returned back to life. Or there was the time he seduced, courted, and married the Vanir goddess Freya to increase his understanding of Vanir magic, only to banish her to Midgard once he had gained the necessary knowledge.

Baldur, and Freya are linked

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Similar to Norse mythology, God of War's story connects these two heroes. The witch from the game's trailers is Freya. She cures Atreus, raises Mimir from the dead, and is the mother of Baldur. Baldur is seeking to murder Kratos, unbeknownst to her. Mimir suggests that Odin may have deceived Baldur into believing that engaging in combat with Kratos is the only way for him to experience anything, whether pain or pleasure. Baldur is first introduced as a mystery stranger who is immune to Kratos' assaults. Later, other characters reveal that he is, in fact, Baldur.

Baldur dislikes his invulnerability for the whole of the game, despite shrugging off large chunks of rock hurled at him and surviving Kratos snapping his neck. This is because, according to Norse legend, Freya makes every thing in the universe pledge not to harm her son, save for the lowly mistletoe. This error ultimately leads to his downfall. All of this is reduced to the vagaries of Vanir magic in the game.

Kratos murders Baldur, but Atreus helps

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Jormungandr permits them to sail into his guts, and just as the snake starts to writhe, they collect the eye. In an attempt to flee, they are ejected from Jormungandr's mouth to discover Baldur attacking the snake in an effort to lure them out. Once again, they begin to fight, but Freya intervenes and stops them. In reaction to meddling with their battle, Baldur makes it apparent that he intends to murder her after he kills Kratos and Atreus, and before anybody can answer, he hits Atreus in the chest. Atreus rushes back and regains his breath, but as he and his companions regain their composure in preparation for a second assault, they observe Baldur captivated by an arrowhead that has wounded his hand.

Freya shrieks in fear upon realizing what has occurred. When she first met Kratos and Atreus, she destroyed the mistletoe arrows, vaguely claiming they were dangerous, but the real reason is that the spell of invulnerability she cast on Baldur can only be broken by mistletoe, and the arrowhead holding Atreus' quiver strap together is a surprise, Baldur running it directly into his hand. Even Baldur was unaware of the mistletoe's capacity to shatter Freya's influence; nonetheless, now that he can feel pain again, he battles with even more ferocity.

Kratos and Atreus finally defeat him, but Freya breaks the battle long enough for Kratos to regain his composure and grant Baldur a second shot at life. Freya, in a last act of devotion, sacrifices her life to Baldur as he starts to choke her, since Baldur cannot learn to let go of the past. Kratos takes Baldur against her desires and pushes him away; when Baldur questions why he even cares, Kratos just says "Here, the cycle stops. We must be superior to this "before breaking his neck. With this last act, Kratos starts his quest to become a stronger warrior than he was in Greece, while Freya begins her voyage of revenge, which is briefly shown in the teaser for God of War: Ragnarok.

Atreus is Loki

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If the fact that Atreus was responsible for Baldur's demise, similar to the events in Norse mythology in which Loki engineered Baldur's doom, wasn't enough, the game pushes the point home further. When Kratos and Atreus eventually reach Jotunheim, the land of giants, they see that everything that has transpired is etched on the realm's walls.

Atreus observes that he is called Loki. Kratos reveals that Loki was the name his wife and Atreus' mother Faye desired for their son before deciding on Atreus in honor of a deceased Spartan army friend. And yes, it is also revealed that Faye was a giant who, based on the writings in Jotunheim, predicted all that transpired. Including a barely visible scribbling that claims Kratos and Atreus were killed by an unknown entity.

God of War ends with incoming Ragnarok

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With Baldur dead and Freya gone, Kratos and Atreus go to the summit of the icy peak in Jotunheim to fulfill Faye's last desire. As they reach the summit of the building, a fresco showing Atreus' mother interacting with giants while wielding the Leviathan Axe is shown. The artwork represents the tale of this God of War game, from Kratos and Atreus' first encounter with the world serpent and the mountain monster through the stonemason and the recent struggle against Baldur. The giants have foreseen Atreus' story. As it turns out, Kratos wasn't the only father holding secrets. Atreus is somewhat big since his mother was a giant.

Faye had sent them on this mission to the mountain with the knowledge that they would locate it and with knowledge of how this voyage would unfold. This was Loki's prophecy. Kratos explains that Atreus is Loki, the original name Faye had for Atreus. Kratos also discovered an extra painting on the wall that Atreus overlooked before they scattered Faye's ashes over the valley of the dead giants. The painting portrays a dead Kratos in the arms of a perhaps bigger, older Atreus. There is something in the air, similar to a ghost, joining their lips like a serpent.

Conclusion

Atreus gets a premonition of a future confrontation with Thor, who is presumably displeased that Kratos murdered his sons, in the last scene of the credits. God of War: Ragnarok will be a continuation of the story. With a lot of suspense, I’m very excited about the coming installment. I hope you found this article fun to read!