If you played 2018's God of War purely as a Kratos fan enjoying the "god out of water" story, there's a chance you missed a bit of twisted mythology laying seeds for things to come. Kratos even being in the world of Norse myth has upset a balance and prophecy to angering degrees, which played out a bit in the first game and as the titular descriptive for its sequel suggests, he may have a larger hand in bringing about the end of the world than even he realises.



Now there's a bit to take away from all of that, but here's the official word on it all from the PlayStation Blog:

As the All-Father moves his pieces to the board, Kratos and Atreus must decide if they will be bound by fate or look beyond what is written and make their own destinies.

That's a short and sweet sentence on proceedings, but the allusion is very real -- you see, in Norse myth everything was destined. Weaved in a tapestry of fate by the Norns, there was no escaping what was woven for you -- it's why the Vikings in antiquity were so successful and so feared, because they didn't fear death. If death was unavoidable; if it were woven as your destiny, then it didn't matter when you died because whenever that was, it was your time.

In the myth, Ragnarök is shown to Odin who does not want to see it come to pass, partly because he is instrumental in making it happen and also because his hubris knows no bounds, and so he goes to great lengths to defy the Norns and the destiny awaiting him. Loki, who we now know is Atreyus -- a giant born, is father to Fenrir, the wolf who will kill Odin and swallow the sun in the prophecy that is Ragnarök; unavoidable, set in motion.

So, the tease of agency and decisions to be able to break what is fated is a tantalising one indeed, and today's trailer showcases Atreyus seemingly playing out his role in bringing about Ragnarök, likely unbeknownst to him. Tyr, the Norse god of war is seen befriending Kratos who frees him (likely helping the prophecy fulfil) from his bonds (where we can assume Odin has had him locked up in an effort to thwart Ragnarök) while Freya's role in all of this isn't finished yet either as she removes the mistletoe from Atreyus which allowed him to kill Baldr and... dang, there's a lot here.

I think what we can surmise to a degree is that Odin has worked tirelessly to remove elements set to make Ragnarök happen from the fray, with everything Kratos (you) does undoing all of that and therefore unwittingly making it all happen anyway. How Atreyus fully embraces life as Loki and what Thor's hand in it all means, alongside Fenrir and his fur sons, Garmr or Sköll, who we might also be looking at as the wolves ready to devour the light (at the tail end of the trailer), have to play out for them in the game is super exciting.

Check out some new screens below. And in addition to the new trailer, Sony also unveiled a God of War Ragnarök DualSense controller which will be available alongside the game this November 9, check it out first: