Highlights
- God of War may hint at the exploration of different mythologies, but it seems Kratos could actually remain in the Norse mythology to repair damage caused by Odin.
- Atreus' quest to find the giants may lead him to another mythology, with Egypt being a popular assumption.
- The next installment of God of War should prioritize the capabilities of the PS5 and not be anchored to the limitations of the PS4 era.
God of War is in a bit of a pickle now that it’s introduced the premise of potentially hopping from mythology to mythology. Because this premise is so full of possibilities and fans will inevitably have one they are anticipating more than others, Santa Monica Studio has to choose carefully where Kratos and Atreus will travel in the franchise’s future. Now that father and son are separated it gives Santa Monica an opportunity to depict two different mythologies at once if it wanted to, but the post-credits epilogue of God of War Ragnarok suggests Kratos is planting roots in the Norse mythology.
Atreus seems to be going off on his lonesome to wherever he believes the giants may be, and it is still incredibly likely that quest will lead him to the plains of some other mythology. Egypt is a top contender in peoples’ assumptions at the moment, but that remains to be seen. Kratos, however, seems content to stay in the Norse mythology’s nine realms to help repair the damage caused by Odin, especially because he’s seen his fate as a benevolent god. But while God of War has already absorbed all the Norse content it could, the franchise also deserves to leave the PS4 era in the past.
God of War Can’t Afford to Hang Around the Norse Mythology Any Longer
It’s been mentioned before in pre-release marketing that God of War Ragnarok would be the final entry in the franchise’s Norse saga. This was incredibly disappointing for many fans to hear considering how seminal the frigid wilds of Midgard were to the series’ refurbishing, and it also meant that Santa Monica would have to find a way to stuff Odin, Thor, and any other inspired Norse mythology content into this one installment. It did so well enough, though Thor’s story felt undercut for the sake of needing to be an antagonist whom Kratos could trade blows with, and where it left off with Kratos and Atreus meant it could begin to depart from the mythology on good terms narrative-wise.
Rather, Kratos doesn’t seem to be going anywhere. God of War Ragnarok seems to make it clear that Kratos could have another entire story told in the nine realms as opposed to leaping out to another mythology, and perhaps now that will be Atreus’ sole purpose instead. If so, it may be difficult for Santa Monica to stretch that narrative out further and give Kratos any real purpose in Midgard.
God of War's Future Can’t Be Anchored to the Past PlayStation Generation
Saying that God of War's sequel is anything less than a technical marvel on current-gen PlayStation hardware might be egregious, but it is interesting to imagine how much more technically impressive it could have been if Santa Monica had abandoned the PS4 version. The PS4 version didn’t fail to satiate players like some other non-exclusives have since the PS5 initially launched, and there are surely PS5-exclusives that have disappointed fans nonetheless, but games that are exclusive to PS5 hardware are typically able to perform much better since they don’t need to suffer a downgrade for accessibility.
That accessibility is wonderful for fans who have not yet gotten their hands on a PS5, but by the time the next God of War releases it would be absurd if fans were still unable to. In a couple of years’ time, the PS4 generation will hopefully have been shelved in order for developers to concentrate fully on the PS5’s capabilities. Insomniac’s Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 will be enjoying its boons as a PS5-exclusive, and there is no reason why the next God of War can’t either, regardless of where Kratos and Atreus’ journeys take them.
