Highlights

  • The relationship between Kratos and Freya in God of War is intriguing and could lead to interesting developments in future games.
  • Mimir is a convenient companion and a great source of Norse lore in God of War, but his constant chatter and puzzle-solving assistance can be grating.
  • While Kratos and Mimir's relationship is strong, there may be a need to tone down companion assistance in the next game to address player feedback.

God of War is at an interesting crossroads with its franchise and it still appears uneager to flee from the Norse saga that has resuscitated its popularity. Presenting Kratos as a gruff, bearded father wielding an axe in the middle of snow-blanketed woods was the perfect direction to take the character following his stoic progression from God of War’s original Greek saga, and the characters he’s met along the way have helped to define who he is even further. If Kratos is staying behind in the Norse lands while Atreus heads out elsewhere, Santa Monica gets to continue reprising these influential companions to great effect.

The budding relationship Kratos and Freya have could amount to something intriguing in a new game as they continue to share more with each other and their respect for one another blossoms, transitioning from acquaintances to enemies and now to companions. God of War’s Mimir, however, has been around for a similarly long time and has seemingly become a permanent fixture on Kratos’ hip. Ragnarok’s Valhalla DLC suggests Mimir isn’t going anywhere as far as Kratos is concerned, and there are a few positives and negatives concerning keeping Mimir around any longer.

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God of War’s Mimir Has Become Attached to Kratos’ Hip Literally and Figuratively

God of War’s Mimir is a Convenient Companion and Norse Lore Encyclopedia

God of War’s initial Norse saga installment boiled down to the dysfunctional and strained relationship Kratos had with his son, Atreus. That said, Mimir became an equally important and present NPC who was never a third wheel in any conversation or interaction thereafter.

Much of God of War ’s gameplay amounted to travel via canoe on the Lake of Nine , and yet Santa Monica was able to make this navigation far more intriguing and informative by taking that as an advantage to dump lore and world-building via Mimir’s head.

Mimir’s stories are interrupted and picked back up when players dock and disembark, giving good reason to paddle around idly and collect spare hacksilver from the lake to hear a tale or anecdote all the way through. Ragnarok has far more companions than its predecessor and Mimir remains a foundational companion nonetheless, but separating Kratos and Mimir in Atreus’ absence could offer relief from how prominent Mimir has become as a companion who oftentimes fills silences rather than contributing to a meaningful conversation.

God of War’s Mimir is a Ball and Chain in His Relationship with Kratos

On the one hand, Mimir is nearly fully dependent on Kratos, lest someone else decide they want to carry him around for the rest of their lives. Sigrun might be in the running to take Mimir off Kratos’ hands, though Santa Monica probably wouldn’t relieve Kratos of his hip accessory unless he had another perpetual companion like Freya in an upcoming game to supplant Mimir.

Unfortunately, one issue that the franchise has made glaringly clear is that Mimir may always be there to backseat players like he did in God of War Ragnarok. Hardly any puzzle could be solved by the player’s own intuition and consideration before Mimir could chime in with the answer and, while this definitely extended to most of the player’s companions and not Mimir alone, it is particularly troubling with Mimir since he’s almost always attached to Kratos and can always put forth those unsolicited interpolations.

Santa Monica will probably be toning down companion assistance for its next game since puzzle backseating was a fairly vocal gripe for Ragnarok, but it can also become grating to constantly hear him speak without reprieve a lot of the time. God of War Ragnarok’s Valhalla DLC was the latest instance of this, where the well-meaning remarks he’d make after a failed run could easily be mistaken as a condescending poke if players are distraught, having lost a hopeful run.