The 'God of War' series is a prime example. The original Greek trilogy didn't really require background knowledge, nor was there much need to look for it. Like many games of that era, it was quite straightforward: Kratos, blinded by revenge, simply had to smash every mythological monster and god standing in his way.

However, the sequel series that began in 2018, set in the Norse realm, is a different story.

Kratos, who once moved forward by destroying everything in his path regardless of the situation, now has a family, responsibilities, and something to protect. In Greece, he lived only for the day because his family and subordinates were all dead, but he could not afford to do that after arriving in Midgard.

With this slightly complex setup, the developers breathed life into the two-part saga—'God of War' and 'God of War Ragnarök'—by masterfully adapting the original myths. It is done so well that those already interested in Norse mythology will find themselves nodding in appreciation.

However, there is a limit to the fun you can have if you don't know the source material. That is why I have compiled this guide. For those who played without any knowledge of Norse mythology, here is the original lore, and a look at how Cory Barlog and the development team twisted and reinterpreted it.

In the Norse saga of 'God of War', the protagonist 'Kratos' is a foreign god. Even a casual player likely knows this. Kratos is a general from Sparta—a place far to the south of the Scandinavian Peninsula where Norse mythology is set—who killed all the gods that used him under the guise of revenge. While some, like Athena, pitied him or offered temporary help, they all eventually met their end as well.

Because of this global rampage, the Greek world in the game, where gods governing every aspect of life were wiped out, rapidly spiraled toward destruction. Kratos tried to end it all by taking his own life, but he failed and somehow drifted to Midgard. This means that, unlike the many characters in the game, the figure of 'Kratos' does not (naturally) appear in the original myths. The developers placed this 'Kratos' in the role of 'Fárbauti,' a figure with a somewhat ambiguous position and few surviving accounts in the original lore.

This 'Fárbauti' is described in various Eddas as the father of Loki and the husband of Laufey. The meaning of the name is quite striking: in Old Norse, 'Fárbauti' means 'dangerous striker,' 'angry striker,' or 'sudden striker.' The noun 'fár' carries meanings of hostility, danger, misfortune, or falsehood, while 'bauti' means 'to strike.' Combining these two words into a personal name essentially creates 'Fárbauti.' It is a name that fits 'Kratos' perfectly.

Once this perfect spot was assigned to Kratos, it naturally followed that his wife met in the local land would be 'Laufey,' and his son would be 'Loki,' the bringer of the end of Norse mythology.

Atreus, the game's second protagonist—or 'Loki'—is also a highly complex character. Loki displays significant duality even in the original myths. While he is depicted as a dualistic being in the sporadically transmitted 'Poetic Edda,' his evil side is heavily emphasized in the 'Prose Edda,' which was influenced by Christian thought.

The attributes of Loki recorded in the original myths are as follows.

And these attributes of Loki are all concentrated in Atreus, the game's Loki and son of Kratos. He reads runes for his illiterate father, is a demigod and half-giant as the offspring of the god 'Kratos' and the Jötunn (giant) 'Laufey,' transforms into a bear when his emotions flare up to beat his father, and shifts into a wolf in front of Angrboða. And, as will be discussed later, he possesses the other two attributes as well.

Laufey, the protagonist of the sequel and Loki's mother, is a figure who, like Fárbauti, is not treated as particularly significant in the original myths. One unique aspect is that in Norse society, where names were typically passed down through the paternal line, Loki is more frequently referred to as 'Laufeyjarson'—taking his mother's name—rather than 'Fárbautison,' which would follow the paternal line.

Because of this gap—the lack of a specific narrative and the fact that she is considered more important to Loki than his father—Laufey takes on a massive role. She is the reason Kratos and his son embark on their journey through prophecy, but more importantly, she is the figure who had the greatest impact on the emotional transformation of the protagonist 'Kratos.' The 'Leviathan Axe,' which Kratos uses constantly in the North, was originally hers.

In the 2018 'God of War,' Kratos uses only the Leviathan Axe for a long time, drawing an emotional line from his past and refusing to bring out the 'Blades of Chaos,' the weapon and mark of his former life. The weapon serves as a metaphor for Kratos separating himself from his past and trying to live in the present—a 'present life' that came from 'Laufey.'

However, there comes a point when Kratos finally brings out the 'Blades of Chaos': when his son 'Atreus' falls ill with a fever, and he needs a way to dispel the chill of Helheim. Personally, I consider this the most symbolic and iconic scene in God of War (2018). In the process of going to retrieve the 'Blades of Chaos,' Kratos faces the past he had been ignoring and overcomes it.

Through this process, Kratos shifts the reason for his 'new life' from his wife 'Laufey' to his son 'Atreus,' transforming Atreus from 'a child left over from a perfect new life with his wife' into 'the only remaining trace of his wife and the reason to continue his new life.' Because the original Laufey had no significant lore, she could be assigned a pivotal role that deeply influences Kratos' story.

If the 'Kratos family' cleverly carved out a space in the gaps of the original myths, the major gods of Norse mythology underwent a significant level of reinterpretation. The interesting part is the method of this 'reinterpretation.' The developers did not grant the Norse gods new attributes. The characteristic of Norse mythology is that the 'Eddas' themselves were transmitted sporadically, making the personalities of the gods incredibly complex. The developers portrayed the gods in the game simply by adjusting the 'angle of view.

In the case of Baldur, the final boss of God of War (2018) who made a massive impact from his very first appearance, the Baldur of the original myths is the most beloved god in Asgard. His mother, Frigg, doted on him so much that upon his birth, she extracted an oath from all things in the world that they would not harm him. However, she neglected to get this oath from mistletoe, which she deemed too weak and insignificant. This decision later becomes the reason Loki goads Höðr (Baldur's brother) into killing Baldur with a mistletoe branch, which in turn marks the beginning of Ragnarök.

In the game, Baldur also appears as an immortal. However, he is mentally unstable. No matter how much he is beaten, he does not die, but at the same time, he cannot feel anything. With no pain or death, there is no danger; with life being too easy, there is no fun; and in a situation where all emotions are fading, only rage remains, directed at his mother, 'Freya,' who made him this way.

This narrative of Baldur reinterprets the 'immortal' setting not as a mythological tale, but as a modern psychological drama. While the narrative process itself is quite different, the broad framework remains intact: Baldur is immortal, his mother tried to protect him but failed, and Baldur meets his death at the hands of Loki. Consequently, Fimbulwinter arrives, and Ragnarök begins.

'Freya,' Baldur's mother, is a special case. In the original myths, Baldur's mother is 'Frigg,' who is actually a separate goddess from Freya (though some interpret them as the same). The game uses the setting that the two are the same person. Therefore, the game's Freya possesses both the attributes of 'Frigg'—Odin's ex-wife and Baldur's mother—and the attributes of 'Freya'—a Vanir goddess, Queen of the Valkyries, and a master of 'Seiðr,' the representative magic of Norse mythology.

This leads to changes. The narratives of 'Baldur's death and the path to revenge' and 'helping Kratos and Atreus through Seiðr magic,' which would have been separated if following the original myths, are tied together. This creates a character who is a Vanir goddess, has a tragic history due to a political marriage with Odin, and is a Valkyrie Queen who had her Valkyries taken away. It creates a highly complex and unique character who can be an ally to Kratos while also naturally clashing with him over her son's death.

As anyone who has played the game knows, the Freya in the game is portrayed as a very complex and unforgettable character: friendly yet dangerous, blind yet human, and an enemy who is simultaneously a reliable ally.

'Thor' also received a unique modification. In the game, Thor is a great warrior who slaughtered countless giants on the orders of his father, Odin, but he is portrayed as someone who drowns his guilt, the loss of his sons, and self-loathing in alcohol. This is similar to the story of 'Kratos,' who lost everything precious to him while being used by Zeus in the past; in the game, Kratos and Thor reflect each other like mirrors.

However, Kratos and Thor show a decisive difference in their 'period of change.' Kratos shows coercive and self-righteous aspects for a while after arriving in Midgard, but he gradually changes through his journey with Atreus and his interactions with various people. Seeing Atreus becoming violent, he tries to restrain his own violence and expands the narrow fences of his heart to accept others.

However, 'Thor' cannot escape the shackles of Odin. He beats his son Modi, who returned after losing his brother, eventually leading Modi to his death, and despite his family's pleas to stop drinking, he remains perpetually intoxicated. Only at the very end, persuaded by Kratos to become a better being, does Thor refuse Odin's orders and look back at his family, but it is already far too late.

As the developers said, 'Thor,' a god as powerful and unrivaled as Kratos, functions as another possibility and a mirror for Kratos in the game. The narrative of Thor—a great warrior and god who achieved high military honors, but who lived only as he was told without his own choices and eventually met tragedy while covering up his guilt—emphasizes the narrative of 'Kratos,' who awakens from a self-righteous warrior into a father, head of the household, and guardian through the many events he experiences in the game.

The interpretation of 'Odin,' the final villain of 'Ragnarök,' is also interesting. Despite being the main villain, Odin surprisingly maintains much of the original setting without major changes. The original Odin is portrayed as a very greedy mage god full of thirst for knowledge. He sacrificed one eye to gain knowledge, hung himself from Yggdrasil, sacrificed himself to himself to discover runes, and even dressed as a woman to learn Seiðr magic—he stopped at nothing to achieve his goals.

In this process, he foresees Ragnarök, falls into obsession, and becomes the protagonist of a self-fulfilling prophecy by oppressing Loki's children, which leads to his own death. The Odin in the game also maintains this personality of stopping at nothing for his goals and the mastermind attribute of knowing everything.

In the game, Odin's greatest goal is portrayed as the 'monopoly of everything.' He collects all knowledge and prophecies for this reason, but there are still many things he does not know, and the existence of 'rifts' that he cannot see beyond also haunts him. The reason he tries to use Atreus is not to stop them, but because Atreus is the only being who can find and interpret the 'mask' that can look beyond these rifts.

Furthermore, there is no such thing as 'good' in him. The countless ravens Odin handles in the game are created by torturing the souls of children received as sacrifices. The original Odin also showed a destructive personality no less than the game's depiction, intervening in human wars to manipulate victory or defeat and deliberately causing the death of heroes he liked to secure Einherjar (warriors of Valhalla).

Many people are unaware of this due to the dignified appearance in the Marvel Universe or the wise image in other media, but Odin was a cold-blooded god in the original myths who prioritized only his goals, stopping at nothing. Because of this, unlike Thor, who was an object of respect among Viking warriors, Odin was considered a god closer to an object of fear.

The image of a dignified father teaching Thor, "Are you the god of hammers?" is merely a Marvel creation. The original myths are closer to a god who stops at nothing for his goals and is somewhat distant from normal ways of thinking.

Contrary to what people often think, Loki appears in the original myths not as Odin's son, but as his blood brother, and the two are known to have met by chance during their travels. As the son of a Jötunn (giant, Fárbauti), he is of a different race from other gods, is very handsome, and has the ability to transform into all living creatures in the world. He is the troublemaker of the Nine Realms and the god of lies and deception, just as in the original myths.

Among the matters related to this 'Loki,' one of the most important is Loki's three children: 'Fenrir,' 'Jörmungandr,' and 'Hel.' These three children are one of the most important elements of 'Ragnarök,' the finale of Norse mythology. As mentioned earlier, Odin hears the prophecy of Ragnarök in the process of indulging in vast knowledge. This prophecy states that Loki's three children will oppose the gods of Asgard when Ragnarök occurs, so Odin and the gods of Asgard oppress and ostracize Loki's children. This leads to the flow where Loki, separated from his children, turns against Asgard, with whom he was once close.

It can be seen as one of the 'self-fulfilling prophecies,' a common story structure that appears frequently in Greek mythology. Like the story of 'Oedipus,' where both father and son end up committing the very crimes they tried to avoid, ultimately causing the tragedy they feared.

The Fenrir of the original myths appears as a gentler wolf than one might think. Although he is a wolf, he married a female giant and had two children. These two children are 'Sköll,' who chases the sun, and 'Hati,' who chases the moon. As mentioned, he had a fairly good personality and got along well with the gods of Asgard, mainly enjoying a strange (...?) game of being bound and breaking free. However, the gods who saw the prophecy tricked Fenrir with Gleipnir, a chain that cannot be broken. When Fenrir, suspicious, demanded a guarantee, Týr put his arm into Fenrir's jaw, losing it, and Fenrir remained bound until Ragnarök. Of course, when Ragnarök comes, he achieves the feat of swallowing Odin, the highest god. Though he is killed immediately after by Vidar, Odin's son.

In the game's universe, 'Fenrir's' first appearance is the role of leading 'Kratos' to Midgard. This is not depicted in the game but is known through the official novel. After Greece was mostly destroyed, three giant wolves appeared before the wandering Kratos, subdued (?) him, and dragged him to Midgard. Later, Kratos sees the lore about Fenrir, Sköll, and Hati in Týr's storage and learns the identity of these wolves. Though he doesn't know why they dragged him there.

And, upon reaching 'Ragnarök,' the birth of 'Fenrir' is shown. He was an ordinary wolf, but at the moment of his death, Atreus unknowingly stores Fenrir's soul in a dagger. Later, in the process of subduing 'Garm,' the watchdog guarding the entrance to Helheim, Atreus stabs the dagger into Garm's crown, and Fenrir's soul enters Garm's body. Thus, a Fenrir is born who has a massive body and claws that can tear through dimensions, but acts like a country puppy. Though he doesn't swallow Odin like in the original myths.

There is an interesting part of this 'Fenrir' setting that follows the original myths. Looking at the lore of 'Garm,' the guardian of Helheim, there is a description that when Ragnarök occurs, Garm's loud howling becomes the trigger for Fenrir to break his shackles and be freed. In terms of the wording, it is correct. Garm is subdued with a scream, and Fenrir regains a body and is freed.

Summarizing the situation, Fenrir is not portrayed as the physical offspring of Loki (Atreus). However, both Loki and Angrboða contribute significantly to Fenrir's birth: Loki is the one who stored Fenrir's soul and transplanted it into Garm's body, and Angrboða is the one who inspired the soul magic by showing Loki the soul marbles of the giants. Though it appears that he uses his abilities unknowingly when storing Fenrir's soul.

'Jörmungandr' is also depicted in a similar form. The original Jörmungandr appears as a serpent that is abandoned in the deep sea as soon as it is born, grows endlessly, clashes with Thor, and eventually dies with Thor at Ragnarök.

In the game, it is depicted that while Atreus and Angrboða were searching the house of Angrboða's grandmother, 'Grýla,' they breathed the giant's soul they had into a dying giant serpent, giving it life. While not a physical offspring 'born' by Atreus and Angrboða using their power (?), the two of them are the reason Jörmungandr gained life and survives.

The original setting that both Fenrir and Jörmungandr are Loki's offspring thus leads to the setting that they are creatures born through the efforts of Loki and Angrboða, even if not biological children. 'Hel,' the only daughter among the three children in the original myths, is not depicted in the game; instead of Hel, 'Hræsvelgr' guards the place in Helheim.

Various hypotheses follow this 'Hel,' and here, a very interesting game-only setting is added. Both 'Fenrir' and 'Jörmungandr,' the creatures of Loki and Angrboða, are beings who have experienced time travel.

First, 'Fenrir' appears as the role of dragging 'Kratos' to Midgard, as mentioned above. This is before Fenrir in terms of time, even before Loki existed, yet Fenrir appears. Jörmungandr, when Ragnarök occurs, confronts Thor with his massive body like in the original myths, but Thor's attack is so powerful that it cracks Yggdrasil (the World Tree), and Jörmungandr is blown into the past through space-time by this attack.

The giant serpent Jörmungandr encountered in God of War (2018) is the 'serpent that was hit by Thor during Ragnarök and flew through space-time.' Perhaps because of the memory of being hit by Thor, he tries to eat Thor as soon as he sees his statue, and he also plays a role in the final battle against Baldur. Later, in a conversation with Mimir, it is revealed that this Jörmungandr came from the future, saying he came to the past while fighting Thor at Ragnarök. Perhaps to avoid colliding with his past self, the giant Jörmungandr does not show his face at Ragnarök.

'Hel' has not officially appeared yet, but considering that the other two offspring from the original myths even brought in the setting of time travel, perhaps another form of narrative is prepared for 'Hel.' Though no one knows if we will see her in the future.

The twilight of the gods, 'Ragnarök,' the finale of Norse mythology, also has room for examination. The original 'Ragnarök' begins with four omens after the death of 'Baldur.' A severe winter, 'Fimbulvetr,' lasts for three years; the 'Age of Wolves' arrives, rampant with incest and fratricide; Sköll and Hati finally swallow the sun and the moon; and as the three roosters of the Nine Realms and Garm begin to howl, the forces of Jötunheim and Valhalla are summoned.

God of War (2018) depicts 'Baldur's death,' the first omen of Ragnarök. The process is quite different, as he dies at the hands of Kratos rather than Höðr, but in any case, it is Loki (Atreus) who brings about Baldur's death with mistletoe, just like in the original myths.

In the subsequent 'God of War Ragnarök,' we can see the full-scale signs of Ragnarök; the game begins during 'Fimbulwinter,' the severe winter. Afterward, Atreus and Kratos conflict over how to deal with the situation, and Atreus nearly causes a disaster by failing to control his emotions and turning into a bear, showing the 'Age of Wolves' in a somewhat short, metaphorical way.

Sköll and Hati were imprisoned by Odin's scheme, and even the 'moon,' Hati's target, was hidden, but Kratos and Atreus retrieve the moon in Vanaheim and release Sköll and Hati. In this process, the problem of Vanaheim, which was suffering from plants overgrowing because only daytime continued, is also solved. There is no particular depiction of the roosters, but... well, Garm howls. Because he was beaten so much by Kratos.

However, the result of this 'Ragnarök' is completely different in the original myths and the game. If the original Ragnarök led to the end of the entire world and the opening of a new era, the game's Ragnarök is reduced to the 'end of the order built by Odin.'

To properly see this change, we must consider two attributes: one is the 'prophecy' that serves as the original start of Ragnarök, and the other is the 'message' the game intends to convey.

In the original myths, the first being to prophesy Ragnarök is an unnamed prophetess, referred to as 'Völva' in Old Norse. In the first poem of the 'Poetic Edda,' 'Völuspá' (Prophecy of the Völva), Odin hears from the prophetess about the birth of the world, the fate of the gods, Ragnarök, and the world thereafter. Afterward, Odin's preparations, stopping at nothing to prevent Ragnarök, begin, and he acquires a paranoid and ruthless aspect.

In the game, Odin learns of Ragnarök through the prophecy of a figure named 'Gróa.' However, Gróa only conveys an incomplete prophecy, and the real prophecy is hidden in his sanctuary in Alfheim. Just like 'Fárbauti' and 'Laufey' earlier, they made a figure with no major narrative in the original myths a key character.

And there is another device. The three Norn sisters met during the game are prophets who read the past, present, and future, respectively, according to the game's setting, and they say this about prophecy: "Prophecy is not seeing the future. It looks that way because you always make the same choices."

Ultimately, the concept of 'prophecy' in the game is closer to the 'most likely reality' inferred based on a person's tendencies and essence, rather than an unfathomable power to see the future. And here, the core message the game intends to convey is added.

'We must be better'

This is the ultimate message that the Norse two-part saga of 'God of War' intends to convey. Kratos, who used to coercively point out 'be better,' begins to act altruistically to become a better person himself, and eventually even smiles. Kratos, who would have turned Thor into 'Tho/r' with his original personality, says to Thor, who self-deprecatingly says we are just destroyers.

"Not anymore. We must stop. We must be better, if only for our children."

Thus, by becoming a 'better being,' the prophecy in the game is naturally broken. Because the essence has changed from the Norn's method of prophecy, which is 'inference based on a person's essence.'

Freya lost her son, but she suppressed her desire for revenge and stepped forward for a greater cause and the Vanir gods, becoming a better being. Atreus blindly followed the prophecy and set out to find 'Týr,' but he turns away, rejecting the prophecy in the Jötunheim mural that he would remain by Odin's side. 'Týr' is a god of war, but he does not want war. Appearing after the ending, he has already become a 'better being' and is active (?) as Kratos' psychological counselor.

In this process of Kratos and Atreus becoming better beings together with countless people through their journey, only Odin does not change. Throughout the game, he seeks knowledge, stops at nothing for it, and views everyone else merely as tools.

Because he could not change, Odin could not even prevent the realization of the fake prophecy and met his ruin. However, those who chose to become better beings meet a result different from the prophecy. 'Laufey' damaging the Jötunheim prophecy was because she wanted her husband and son not to believe in the prophecy but to become better beings through their own choices, and the fact that 'Kratos,' a god who was not worshipped by anyone, eventually becomes the guardian god of the Nine Realms, not death, is also because they did not follow the prophecy but became better beings through their own choices.

Therefore, the Ragnarök of the original myths, an unavoidable ruin, struck only Odin, who was the only one who could not change.

'Becoming a better being, and that only then can we create a better future' was ultimately the message this game intended to convey, and the core of the grand narrative spanning two parts.