God of War Ragnarok introduces players to range of new characters from the Norse pantheon. This includes the likes of the tyrant Thor, the mastermind Odin, and the all-seeing Heimdall. However, this sequel also manages to build upon the beautiful cast that players already knew in God of War 2018.
Freya, a Goddess from Vanaheim, seeks revenge on Kratos at the start of the game for killing her son, Baldur, inevitably starting the events of Ragnarok. Over the course of the game, Freya begins to forgive Kratos and understands that Odin is really the mastermind behind her trauma. The game beautifully rewrites Norse mythology to fit this new narrative and creates an awesome reimagining of the Vanir Goddess. However, there are some major differences that separate in-game Freya from her Mythological counterpart(s).
7 Freya and Frigg
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Scholars have debated whether Freya (sister to Freyr) and the Goddess Frigg stem from the same individual. Frigg, in the Mythos, was actually Odin's wife which is where this story arc originates from. This combination is something the game takes quite literally, as these two characters from the mythos seem to be combined into the same individual in the God of War universe.
Throughout the game, most individuals refer to her as Freya, as this is the only name they know her by. However, Odin calls her "Frigg," highlighting the amalgamation of the two individuals from Norse mythology. It turns out that when the player finds Tyr locked away in Svartalfheim, he is actually Odin pretending to be the Norse God of War. This isn't clear at first, but in a second playthrough small hints do give away his true identity, one of these being him calling Freya "Frigg."
6 Freya Rules Over Folkvangr
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Folkvangr is the heavenly field that Freya rules over in Norse mythology. Here, she receives half of those that die in battle. The other half go to Odin's hall in Valhalla. Although she doesn't directly come across as a "ruler," she does seem to lead the Vanir and those in Vanaheim. In contrast to Odin, she does this in a much less dictatorial way when compared to Odin's iron fist.
This seems to be something the writers have entirely removed from the God of War story, as it would add to the already bloated narrative. Hopefully, players get a look at Valhalla and Folkvangr in a later installment of the series.
5 Freya Rides A Chariot Pulled By Cats
Freya's chariot is not present in any part of God of War (unfortunately). This chariot could have been implemented into the starting fight when she ambushes Kratos and Atreus on their way back home from hunting. Clearly, the writers didn't think this aspect of her character was important enough to include.
Players do already get a good look at plenty of animals in God of War such as Fenrir, Garm, Skoll, and Hati just to name a few. However, none of these are cats. Perhaps this is to preserve the focus on Fenrir as a character.
4 Her Daughters, Hnoss & Gersemi
In God of War 2018, players get a good look at Baldur, Freya's son, as he is the main antagonist in the game. Freya put a spell on Baldur that made him invulnerable to everything, except mistletoe. Inevitably, this is how he dies at the end of the game. Freya anguishes over the loss of her offspring, something Kratos is familiar with.
Unfortunately, players don't get to see Freya's daughters, Hnoss and Gersemi. With the extremely large roster in Ragnarok, these characters may have been lost on the player. However, this is probably not the main reason they weren't added. If Freya had other offspring, it would have taken away some of the impact of Baldur's death in the first game. As he is an only child of Freya, it really adds to the loss and makes her lust for vengeance even stronger.
3 Chaurli The Giant Tortoise
Chaurli quickly became a fan-favorite character in God of War 2018. Players first meet him when returning Freya's injured boar to her house. It turns out, the tortoise is the house! Unfortunately, Freya abandons Chaurli in the woods of Midgard when Baldur dies, and she begins her hunt for Kratos. Atreus finds him later in the game and understands his pain through his connection with animals.
Chaurli isn't actually present in any of the mythology and only serves as a character in God of War. Still, many are glad the writers included this behemoth, as it really adds to the size and scale of the universe they have created.
2 Connection To The Valkyries
As mentioned before, the writers have combined two characters into one with Freya. Her connection to the Valkyries comes from the character Freyja.
This suggests she relates more to the character who rules over Folkvangr, rather than Odin's wife Frigg.
This helps to cement the feeling that "Frigg" is more of a burden to Freya rather than just an aspect of her narrative.
1 Bonus: Aphrodite Comparison
When in the boat, Freya asks Kratos "Tell me more of your battle tactics." He begins to speak about Medusa. This is interesting, as Aphrodite is the one that tasked Kratos with killing the snake-headed goddess.
Scholars have noted the similarities between these two characters from separate pantheons, so it's interesting to see this comment made here. Clearly, something about Freya also reminds Kratos of her Greek counterpart.
God of War Ragnarok is now available on PlayStation 4 and 5.