God of War: Ragnarok has just come out, and it’s already receiving rave reviews from both critics and gamers alike. Much of that praise has been levied towards the characters, especially the fantastic takes on the Norse god pantheon. They manage to be faithful to the spirit of the myths while adding unique spins of their own.
Of course, not every god can get the same amount of fleshing out in the story. Some are bound to be left by the wayside while others are a driving force for the story. Regardless, all of them are wonderful in their way, even if some don’t get the screen time.
11 Sif
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Lady Sif is a wonderful addition to the cast, but unfortunately, she only appears a few times throughout the entire game. Not much of her personality was gleaned from these interactions either, mostly revolving around her relationship with Thor, Odin, and Thrud.
Still, Sif made the most out of her brief appearances. Much like Freya, Sif was a very protective mother and radiated a sense of authority. One has to be strong to marry the likes of Thor, after all, and Sif proves herself to be one of the more decent Aesir that Kratos meets.
10 Tyr
Tyr may not have been physically present during the critically acclaimed God of War (2018), but his spirit was felt through his notes and prophecies. Tyr fought against Odin himself, and despite being Kratos’ counterpart, doesn’t manage to beat Odin, and was imprisoned as a result.
Unfortunately, the Tyr that Kratos and Atreus initially met in the game was simply Odin in disguise. That means the Tyr that the player interacts with throughout the entire game was the villain all along, ala Mad-Eye Moody in Harry Potter. That leaves the real Tyr, found in the post-game, with little of his real personality revealed.
9 Freyr
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Freya’s long-separated brother is the first new major Vanir that Kratos meets beside Freya herself. Freyr is a charmingly snarky man, who doesn’t take kindly to Kratos and company stomping their way across Vanaheim. Thankfully, Freya cuts the tension before blows are exchanged.
While Freyr is a very likable ally, he spends a significant chunk of the game kidnapped by Heimdall. Not only that, he spends the rest of the time until Ragnarok nursing the injuries he sustained during the escape attempt. While his final stand was an awesome moment, he, unfortunately, didn’t have too much presence before the end.
8 Thrúd
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Unlike her mother, Thrud spends a lot more time with the player, mostly in the Atreus sections. Thrud is the spitting image of both her mother and father. She has her father’s brash temperament and strength, but Lady Sif’s patience and diplomacy.
It’s implied at first that she would be a bully, but she and Atreus get along surprisingly well. Her relationship with her father even gets an entire segment, one that gives both her and Thor a lot of character depth. Her presence drops off near the endgame, but she does play a crucial role in the final fight against Thor.
7 Heimdall
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Unlike the MCU’s powerful yet kind Asgardian Heimdall, this version is a complete and utter villain. His precognition gives him the same kind of invincible swagger that Baldur had in the first game. Only unlike Baldur, there’s no curse driving Heimdall to be a sadistic enemy.
Heimdall simply relishes in the pain and insults he slings toward others. He even talks back to Thor himself, and the god can only grunt in frustration, knowing that even his power wouldn’t be able to hit Heimdall. That being said, his hard-earned defeat at the end of the second act of the game makes Heimdall nothing more than a starter villain before the fight with the Allfather himself.
6 Mimir
Once again, Mimir is the stalwart companion and exposition throughout the game. He always has some kind of answer for where Kratos needs to go, or just a colorful comment to provide on long walks to the next fight. There’s also a surprisingly serious side to him in this game, especially concerning Odin.
Where with even the likes of Thor, he’s willing to throw a few jokes around, he has nothing but scorn for Odin. Although he isn’t as much of a “main character” now due to splitting screen time with the rest of the cast, he still gets plenty of love. He even gets the much-needed closure here with Sigrún, the Valkyrie Queen.
5 Odin
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The Allfather is every bit the manipulative trickster that he was in mythology, only with a more sinister edge. Odin in this game talks less like a wise old man, but almost like a mob boss, striking deals with a smile while secretly holding a knife in his back. Many times, the game tricks the player into thinking Odin might not be as evil as first thought.
The game even manages to trick the player even further by making them unknowingly like Odin as a genuine friend. Only, it wasn’t as Odin, but masquerading as Tyr. This twist puts Odin’s “trust” in Atreus in an entirely new light, and makes players reel back in disgust ranking Odin highly in God of War’s villains' gallery.
4 Atreus/Loki
Atreus has become just as much of the main character as his father was in the first game. Although older and more capable, he still has much to learn about the nature of godhood. Not only that, but he also has to explore the secrets of his giant ancestry. Much of the game focuses on this just as much as it does on Ragnarok.
Unfortunately, one thing that holds Atreus’ segments back is they can start to drag at points, especially in the first dream sequence. Still, even those provide some insightful looks into the prophecy, as well as give players a fresh style of gameplay with his shape-shifting.
3 Freya
Freya goes through quite the character arc in this game, especially after the grief she suffers in the first one. She’s reintroduced as the very first boss that Kratos and Atreus fight, and it’s clear that both of them don’t want to fight back. They spend most of the fight trying to escape her clutches.
However, as she and Kratos are forced into an alliance, they begin to rebuild their former friendship, with Freya’s bitterness slowly being steered toward the real source of her pain: Odin. Once more, Freya becomes a staunch ally of Kratos, joining his newfound family, though with a few promises of “Murdering Odin” being made to cement it.
2 Thor
In the absence of Baldur, Thor fulfills the role of heavyweight enforcer for the Allfather. This take on Thor is very unique. Instead of the cheerful and even comedic version of Thor that people are familiar with, this Thor is somber and stoic, almost annoyed at having to fight Kratos more than anything else.
He barely even cracks a smile. However, this all changes in Thor’s hard boss fights. The veneer of strained politeness falls to reveal an utterly furious man who wants to protect his family from the man who he believes ruined everything. However, through Atreus’ eyes, the player finds out just how deeply depressed Thor is in this universe, and the God of Thunder manages to evoke sympathy.
1 Kratos
Kratos, even moreso than in the 2018 game, is a completely different beast from before in Ragnarok. Although he is still frustrated at his son’s wayward tendencies, Kratos no longer lashes out in anger as much as he did before. He’s become the voice of reason for others.
Freya and Atreus now fulfill the role of emotional time bombs, and it’s up to Kratos to defuse any situation where they fight. Although he doesn’t always succeed in this, the fact that he’s even become a peacekeeper, despite being the titular God of War, showcases just how much Kratos has grown as a character.
Source:gamerant.com