God of War rebooted the series with a brand new Kratos and son Atreus in tow, starting off strong with one of the best villains the series has seen so far. Baldur not only stood as Kratos’ biggest threat so far, but the opening and continuing conflict that extended throughout the game stands apart from other games of its caliber.
However, now that Baldur is gone, the next God of War has a high bar set for it when it comes to introducing the next antagonist and making his presence as threatening as the previous one. This will likely come in the form of Thor visiting Kratos’ home, as was shown in the last game’s secret ending, and will need to go full throttle from the beginning in order to meet the expectation set by Baldur.
Shortly after a lengthy introductory sequence that builds the relationship between Kratos and Atreus, Baldur is introduced as The Stranger, a mysterious intruder who appears and begins making strange demands. It only takes seconds for players to completely understand the villain’s character, including his brash attitude, impatience, and his true strength once Kratos finally strikes back. This moment also goes a long way to show the new Kratos as well, with the way he attempts to calmly speak to the man and the fact it isn’t until he’s been hit multiple times that he finally starts defending himself.
The entire moment is this incredibly tense build-up to the moment when Baldur punches Kratos clean over the house, splintering logs with the Greek god’s body along the way. What follows is an intense boss fight that gets the player fully accustomed to the game’s new combat mechanics, requiring the player to dodge, block, and counter in order to make any progress. It isn’t the most difficult encounter, but this initial introduction of God of War‘s antagonist sets up for the continuing conflict of the two, and some of the most epic moments in the series.
Beyond the scope of players’ first encounter with Baldur, ending with Kratos snapping The Stranger’s neck, is the way that the antagonist continues to reappear throughout the story. At times, he becomes an intimidating presence, clearly still on the hunt for Kratos and Atreus, while in more active moments he bursts in from seemingly out of nowhere to start another cinematic conflict. This eventually leads to the final confrontation against Baldur, who becomes one of the most menacing villains Kratos has faced, with the moment being magnified by Freya’s interference.
While the intro fight outside of Kratos’ home is brutal and intimidating, and the flight on the back of a dragon is epic, it’s difficult to top the final encounter and the almost bullet-hail way it throws new things at the player. Not only is this the culmination of everything that players have done up until this point, but with the fight happening alongside Freya controlling a dead giant like a puppet to stop the player, even the environment becomes a dynamic part of combat. This is what Thor in God of War Ragnarok has to live up to now, the grand scope of fighting the same god over the course of the game who can’t feel, can’t die, and caps off the experience screaming like a maniac.
Thor is going to have to not only meet God of War‘s expectations on PS5, but measure up to Baldur when he is finally introduced to the series, likely as the primary antagonist of the next title. It’s more than likely that, like in the previous title, players still won’t be seeing Odin, and Thor is going to have to take all of the intimidation of Baldur and crank it to eleven. So, looking at what has already been shown of the legendary god, it’s likely that the subtle approach isn’t what Santa Monica Studio has in mind, and players can expect to see things get heated right from the start.
From what has already been shown in God of War‘s secret ending, it seems as thought Thor’s introduction has already been started, with the god appearing out of nowhere and calling lightning down on Kratos’ home. While the short scene ends with a close-up on one of the most anticipated, legendary weapons to appear in God of War, players can assume that a fight is only seconds away. This then gives Santa Monica Studio two options for how to move forward: have Thor scream his intentions like a classic villain or have the angry god simply attack without a word to completely contrast the introduction of his brother Baldur.
However, what’s likely more anticipated than the conflict between Kratos and Thor is the facing off of God of War‘s Leviathan Axe with Mjolnir, one of the most powerful weapons in Norse mythology. This could be a defining moment for the next game, and for the continuation of the series throughout this new Norse reboot as Kratos is immediately knocked down from the heights reached after defeating Baldur. From there, the best way to introduce this weapon and character that have both been teased for an entire game already,would be to have it shatter the Leviathan Axe.
On a video game level as well, this could help to explain Kratos’ return to a base level at the beginning of the game, something that previous God of Wars have done before. The shattering likely wouldn’t be permanent, instead creating a new way for Kratos to reforge the weapon upgrade it again through Brok and Sindri, though they may be reluctant to help at first. Regardless, starting the game on a loss could set up Thor as a true threat and prepare the story to separate Kratos and Atreus as the two will have to begin working individually before coming together to defeat the new god and Mjolnir.
A God of War sequel is in development for PS5.
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