God of War: Ragnarök finally arrived not too long ago and some gamers already played through it like wildfire. Like me, for example. And though I enjoyed it a lot more than the previous release (and I loved that one, too), I have many questions now that I am done with my playthrough. Before you read further here’s the warning as there will be SPOILERS ahead for the new God of War: Ragnarök game.
Alright, let’s get started!
This is my biggest question, so of course it got the #1 spot. You remember the two dwarven blacksmiths introduced in the first game: Sindri and Brok. Thanks to our involvement, the two estranged brothers get to reconcile, and it all seems like a happy ending. Well, until God of War: Ragnarok rolls in and slaps you in the face with a plot twist. Not only do we find out that Brok was actually dead before and Sindri brought him back, but soon after that, Brok actually dies, but this time there’s no bringing him back. Sindri—naturally—breaks down immediately, putting all the blame on Atreus and Kratos for not realising sooner how Odin tricked them. In reality, though, it was only Brok who figured out that Odin tricked them by disguising himself as Tyr, and it cost him his life. Although Atreus tried to apologise, Sindri got his revenge and Kratos did his best to apologise as well, the dwarf is not willing to forgive. He leaves us all behind.
Playing through it, I could only just hope that Sindri will eventually realise that he still has family, not by blood, but a chosen one. But it never happened, and, even after Brok’s beautiful funeral, all the anger, disappointment, and sadness is written all over his face as he looks at Kratos. It broke my heart, and I was furious after I realised that we will have to wait for who knows how long to actually find out what happens to Sindri. Will he seek revenge on Atreus and Kratos like Freya did? Will he come around after a while? It would be such a disappointment if Sindri would become an enemy in the next game. I loved the friendship they built for him and Atreus in this one, and that's why his whole ending arc was incredibly heartbreaking. He will be a formidable foe, that’s for sure, as we finally got a real taste of what Dwarven magic is capable of. But, I hope they won’t go down that road of being an enemy.
Another big question is which direction will we go next? Atreus left his dad at the end of the game to find the remaining Giants alone. There were rumours of a solo Atreus/Loki game for a while now, and we actually got to play with him in this one, too. Finding more Giants would definitely be an interesting premise to follow through, and maybe we could get a bigger chance of reconciling with Sindri, too. However, one can’t help but wonder if that couldn’t just fit in a simple DLC run or a shorter game like Uncharted: The Lost Legacy was. I don’t think a God of War game could work without the actual God of War. As we will have to wait for an actual update for a bit longer, I think it’s safe to assume that we will get a solo adventure for Atreus in one way or another, but a reunion is inevitable.
Another big question of the day: will we ever find out what the mask does if someone actually puts it on? The search for its pieces took up quite a big chunk of the game only to have Atreus break it in half and throw it in the rift, closing it for good. According to Odin, it would have held the secrets to creation itself. The developers used quite a big chunk of Norse mythology for the game (whether it was changed or not), but there’s nothing like this mentioned anywhere. Unless, of course, we look at Jim Carrey’s The Mask movie where they connect the mask to the Trickster God himself: Loki. To be fair, it does look a lot like the mask in the movie so…. Makes you wonder. However, it seemed like a great idea that they didn’t quite know how to treat. It seemed so important, not just for Odin, but for Atreus and us gamers too, so it was a bit disappointing to not get answers about it. Maybe we will see it again in the future game? Or was it one of those things we will never get an answer to? Only time will tell.
At the end of the game, when Angrboda shows Kratos and Atreus a hidden mural, the God of War discovers a prophecy that makes it seem like he will take Odin’s place. He even gets a bit teary eyed as he takes it all in, seeing people celebrating him. After all, he was always driven by vengeance and a lot has changed since then. But the question is still there: is he stepping into Odin’s place? Tyr is back as the realm’s God of War (he was found after Ragnarök in Odin’s prison), and there’s a job waiting to be filled. There were rumors of Kratos meeting other gods from other myths, but this way an Atreus-focused solo game might be even more justified than before.
At this point the answer is more likely a no. I think we all expected an answer in this new game since we didn’t have any the last time, but Santa Monica Studio was like “NOPE.” The Norse gods in the game clearly know about the Greek ones, so the different Universe theory seems to be fragile. But how did Kratos end up in Midgard and meet with Faye? We still don’t know. I don’t think we will get an answer at this point, but it would be nice to get some kind of backstory.
These are my burning questions for the future. I just want Sindri to be okay. What are your burning questions after finishing Ragnarök?
