God of War Ragnarök makes story time: That happened in the first part
Once upon a time there was a father and his son. The story of God of War begins with the death of Atreus’ mother and Kratos’ wife. In order to fulfill their last wish and to scatter their ashes on the highest peak of all worlds, father and son embark on a new, not entirely harmless, journey.
Once upon a time a long time ago…
On the PlayStation Blog and in a video, the developers from Santa Monica Studio summarize the story of the first part of Kratos’ Norse saga. Below are spoilers for the 2018 game. You played the first part and want to refresh your knowledge before the release of God of War Ragnararök? Then you’ve come to the right place.
The father, who wants to put his bloody past behind him, and the son, who wants to prove his strength to his distant father, must work together on the road full of obstacles. Immediately after the mother’s funeral, Kratos gets into a fight with Baldur, who provokes our god of war.
But not all Midgardians want to fight Kratos – such as the Huldu brothers, Brok and Sindri, who offer their services as dwarven forges. After all, the two had once forged the leviathan ax for their friend and Kratos’ late wife Faye. A short time later, the goddess Freya, disguised as a forest witch, explains to father and son how to use the Bifrost.
When Kratos and Atreus reach the highest peak, Baldur awaits them there and has brought Thor’s sons, Magni and Modi, to support him. The trio taunts Odin’s former advisor, Mimir, who is suspected of betraying the father of the gods and has been fused into a tree as punishment. Kratos learns from this clever man that they have only climbed to the highest peak in Midgard – but not to the highest peak of all worlds. This is in Jötunheim and is difficult to reach.
Atreus learns of his origins
Freya shows up and finally shows her true colors as a goddess and advises Kratos, who doesn’t want to trust her, to tell his son that he is a demigod. Kratos ignores this advice and sets off for Jotunheim with Atreus and Mimir. The journey does not go peacefully, because the three get caught by Magni and Modi – Magni is killed by Kratos. Modi flees, taking it upon himself to eventually kill Kratos in order to restore his honor.
Atreus deals with his childhood illness during the fight and falls unconscious. Kratos brings his terminally ill son to Freya, who needs the heart of a creature from Helheim to save him. Armed with the Chaos Blades, symbols of his bloody past, which he now acknowledges, the father enters the realm of the dead to save his son. After Atreus regains consciousness, Kratos reveals to him that both are gods. His illness disappears, but the newly acquired knowledge about himself makes Atreus arrogant.
Modi tries to kill Kratos again to regain some respect from Thor, but he is weakened by his father’s beating and dies at the hands of Atreus. Ktratos notices his son’s cruel behavior and realizes that it is his job as a father to raise Atreus to be a better person. But on their way to the world of giants, Kratos, Atreus and Mimir are ambushed by Baldur again.
A mother’s love
Instead of trusting his father and jumping through the portal, the son tries to take on Baldur alone. With Atreus in tow, Baldur tries to lure the two to Asgard, but Kratos diverts Bifröst to Helheim at the last second. There he discovers the reason for Baldur’s behavior – a spell placed on him by his mother Freya. His fate was set at birth, to be killed at the hands of another. In order for Baldur to live free from this destiny, Feya’s spell protected him from all dangers, but also rendered him completely insensible.
Baldur, who unsuccessfully begged his mother to lift the spell, has harbored a grudge against her ever since. Kratos and Atreus are able to flee to Midgard and reconcile. But shortly thereafter, Baldur attacks again, this time Greya intervenes. Kratos and Atreus fight as a team while the mother tries to stop the fight.
When Baldur wants to deal a fatal blow to Kratos, Atreus jumps in between. His mistletoe arrowhead touching Baldur breaks the spell and, ecstatic with all these new feelings, he rushes back into battle. He even asks them to kill him. Freya begs Kratos not to do it, but Kratos agrees to Baldur’s request. Despite this, Baldur tries to strangle Freya, but Kratos, reminded of his own mistakes, stops him and saves Freya’s life by killing Baldur. Freya swears revenge on Kratos for taking her only child – even if it was only to save her life.
With Mimir’s help, father and son finally make it to Jötunheim and enter a giant temple. There they discover a secret that Faye left for the two of them. Atreus is not only a demigod, but also a half-giant. Atreus also has a second name: Loki. Back in Midgard, the two discover that the Firmbulwinter that precedes Ragnarök was triggered by the death of Baldur.
Reference-www.eurogamer.de