God of War Ragnarok will take us to the biggest of the Norse realms
The first story details of God of War Ragnarok have been inadvertently revealed, confirming the game will feature all nine realms of Norse Mythology.
The PlayStation Store description of God of War Ragnarok was recently updated, giving us our best look yet at the upcoming sequel’s plot. While brief, it goes beyond the even briefer announcement trailer that was recently released (thanks, The Gamer).
“Fimbulwinter is well underway,” the description reads. “Kratos and Atreus must journey to each of the Nine Realms in search of answers as Asgardian forces prepare for a prophesied battle that will end the world.
“Along the way they will explore stunning, mythical landscapes, and face fearsome enemies in the form of Norse gods and monsters. The threat of Ragnarok grows ever closer. Kratos and Atreus must choose between their own safety and the safety of the realms.”
Elsewhere, the description suggests Ragnarok will pick up the main narrative thread left handing in the first. We’ll be helping Atreus as he “seeks knowledge to help him understand the prophecy of ‘Loki’ and establish his role in Ragnarok”.
Sounds like there’ll also be plenty of father-son bonding time, too, as “Kratos must decide whether he will be chained by the fear of repeating his mistakes or break free of his past to be the father Atreus needs”.
New horizons
It sounds like Ragnarok is taking things up a notch. God of War only includes six of the nine Norse realms, and a handful of those are minor challenge areas rather than fully explorable worlds.
Midgard, the mortal realm, serves as the game’s main explorable region. Alfheim, the home of the light and dark elves, is the second zone you enter. Muspelheim, the realm of fire, contains a series of arena challenges; while Niflheim includes the Mist Echoes labyrinth. You also promptly escape from Helheim, the Norse afterlife for those who die dishonorably; and visit Jotunheim in the game’s final moments.
It looks like God of War Ragnarok will complete the set. The final three realms are Asgard, Vanaheim, and Svartalfheim. Chief among those is Asgard – the home of the Aesir gods and the seat of power in Norse mythology. In many ways, it's the largest and central realm of them all, where the most well-known Aesir gods live.
It’s divided into several regions of its own. Valhalla is ruled over by Odin, so we could end up entering the golden hall. Bilskírnir, meanwhile, serves as the seat of Thor, who’s already confirmed to be appearing in the game.
Vanaheim is also important. It’s the homeland of the Vanir gods, a sorcerous pack of deities who were once at war with the Aesir. Freya – who’s set up to be Ragnarok’s chief antagonist – belongs to them. According to God of War’s lore, she was cursed by Odin to prevent her from leaving Midgard, but we might spend a fair bit of time in Vanaheim given its importance in the Aesir-Vanir conflict.
Finally, Svartalfheim is the homeland of the dwarves. Although it received little mention in the first game, Brok and Sindri – the two dwarven blacksmiths who help you – are returning in this next installment. Maybe they’ll let us in.
There are still a lot of questions, including how much of these realms we’ll see. It’s likely we’ll get to explore a new area of Midgard, and maybe even return to Kratos’ woodland home. Here’s hoping we can delve into Muspelheim and Niflheim more than the first game allowed.
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