The sequel to
one of the best reboots ever made pulls out all the stops in making everything bigger, bolder, and
better.
- The first thing we see shortly after the game starts is a vicious fight between Kratos and Freya, now able to fight.
- Although quite unsettling and a Tearjerker, seeing the formerly pacifistic Freya be so badass as to be able to nearly kill Kratos four times is very impressive. Her Roaring Rampage of Revenge and persistence shrugs off being forced away and thrown into the air as if it was nothing, and she sure has some serious skill, speed and strength to be able to get the jump on Kratos as much as she did.
- And yet despite the fact this is but one of the many tries Freya has made to kill him, while having only one hand, as the other is busy driving the sled, Kratos still doesn't fight seriously and keeps a calm head without succumbing to his rage. Freya's shots were decent, but Kratos manages to beat her back again and again. One can only imagine if he had been really fighting to kill her, how he would have dispatched her. Even when he is impaled on a sword and struggling to keep Atreus on the sled, he still composes himself and physically turns the tides on her. And his finishing move is not even a direct attack on Freya, simply taking the sword he's disarmed her of and using it as a brake to halt the sled, simultaneously launching Freya up into the air and a tree where she falls wounded and can only watch and scream in rage as Kratos leaves with Atreus, surviving yet again.
- Freya’s second fight against Kratos is awesome as well. Freya ambushes the Spartan now in her full Valkyrie regalia and absolutely holds her own against the God Killer, at one point spiking him into the ground from mid-air and shooting him twice in the chest with arrows before he can even react. She even opens the fight by landing on Kratos and executing the infamous face stomp that has probably sent more players in the previous game to the loading screen than any other attack in the entire franchise, likely knowing this was the move that had the best chance of taking Kratos out in one shot.
- One small moment in Thor's introductory scene - the camera frames him from behind while he's standing a good distance away from Kratos and Atreus, and from what we can see, he's already pretty intimidating. But then, as he approaches, the camera stays on Thor, and we see that the God of Thunder absolutely towers over our protagonist, being at least a full head taller than even the Ghost of Sparta himself.
- On a second viewing, the knowledge that Thor is actually a recovering alcoholic for years despite his legendary heavy drinking completely recontextualises his actions. Whilst attempting to remain polite and non-confrontational with his hosts, he is at several points clearly tempted by the alcohol, especially when Kratos refuses to let Atreus have a drink and instead makes Thor take the cup instead, but despite the situation requiring that he drink the mead to show that it's unpoisoned and safe, Thor's desire to be a good father for Thrud's sake means that he never lets a drop touch his lips. Even when Odin enters and insistently pushes the cup towards him, his love for his daughter still makes him hold out and refuse, forcing Odin to drink it himself. Faced with the two people who had murdered his sons and having to remain 'calm and reasonable' towards them, forced to bring them alcohol despite his addiction to it, and even having the drink pushed into his face by the abusive father he's desperate to please — all of that still isn't enough to make Thor break his vow even in a situation where it would be very understandable to have a sip of alcohol. It's the first hint that there is genuinely more to Thor than the vicious drunken brute everybody sees him as, and what Odin tells him is all he can ever be.
- The beginning fight with Thor blows the fight with Baldur out of the water. The God Of Thunder proves to have earned every bit of his reputation as Odin's most dangerous warrior and the butcherer of the Jotnar and numerous others of the Aesir's enemies... By fighting Kratos to a stalemate, something no one else has ever managed, not even Baldur with his invulnerability, despite not being able to straight up kill him due to Odin's orders. All the while, he trash talks Kratos and goads him to show the real God of War and the Godkiller he is!
- How Thor starts the fight. When Odin implicitly gives him the greenlight, Thor chuckles, gets up from his seat, and seems to take a step away from the table. Then he says, "'Bout time," immediately calls Mjolnir with a Badass Fingersnap, and sends Kratos flying into the atmosphere, the Spartan barely having time to grab his axe. As Kratos scrabbles against the Hammer, Thor catches up to him, now full of vigor and menace, telling the Ghost of Sparta that he's going to exact a blood payment for his family.
- Thor's resilience is truly remarkable. Being hit by Kratos does make him bleed, but it barely affects him at all. Even being impaled with the Leviathan Axe doesn't do much but make him grunt and finally admit that a real fight is beginning. As is Thor's strength. He is truly a mountain of a man worthy of the title "God of Strength" to be able to send Kratos flying dozens of feet with his blows. In fact, he creates a shockwave just by punching the ground or clapping his hands! To make it even more impressive, he's also stupendously fast for someone of that size and can zip across the arena in seconds.
- Whenever Kratos and Thor wrestle and get in unarmed scuffles. Thor expertly counters almost anything Kratos can throw at him and hits back hard, throwing him off repeatedly. And here you thought Baldur was awesome enough in his martial arts, but Thor here repeatedly puts Kratos in the ground!
- Thor also proves himself not to be a mere brute like he might appear. After Kratos tries to fake him out with an axe throw to bring down a nearby pillar, the big man recognizes it for the trick it is and bats it out of the way. In his own words, "Clever won't work on me."
- Once Thor finally brings out his hammer, he sends Kratos flying high into the air and they fight all the way, with Thor evenly grappling Kratos using Mjolnir against his axe before winning the grapple by slamming his head into the ground before he could react. He then actually manages to briefly knock out Kratos, sending the player to a loading screen... only for the thunder god to shock the Ghost of Sparta back to life, so consumed by his love for battle that he wants to decide when their clash ends.
Thor: (chuckling) Oh, no.
I say when we’re done.(shocks Kratos back to life with Mjolnir)Thor: I’m not leaving ‘til I see the
real you.
GET UP! - When the Leviathan Axe and Mjolnir collide in the middle of the battle in an almost Beam-O-War/Blade Lock, the resulting explosion creates a bolt of frozen lightning. And the fight is just getting started.
- It's not the only one, either. Much later, you can explore the Crater, another region in Vanaheim. A second frozen lightning bolt sits in the center, and it was made in the exact same way... but not by Kratos. Turns out, Faye fought Thor there, as multiple side quest characters in the area will elaborate on. She allegedly fought so ferociously that, like Kratos's row with him, their battle permanently altered the landscape and left the Crater in its current state. Kratos is understandably shocked by the revelation that his wife, who he remembers as infinitely kind, patient, and compassionate, would even be capable of such rage, let alone fighting the God of Thunder to a stalemate.
- Thor's exit is also cool. He actually manages to Neck Lift Kratos after breaking the Guardian Shield, something no one ever did in the previous game, and flat-out admits Kratos may have handled himself this far while holding himself back, but he is not like the other enemies he's fought in the Nine Realms, including his sons. When Kratos, finally realizing he's right, breaks out of it and brutally punches Thor hard enough to knock loose at least one tooth, it only briefly knocks him back and he actually finds it impressive that Kratos is finally taking him with all seriousness, stating that with the blood debt payed, he's looking forward to their next match, before calmly flying away. Not an ounce of fear or exhaustion.
- There's also a subtle detail as Thor monologues: his diction starts to become clearer, sharper, like the energy of the fight is shocking him out of his malaise and back into the honorable warrior he used to be.
- To give Kratos his credit, he is specifically stated by Thor to be not going all-out either, not to mention he doesn't have the Blades of Chaos and he also was not actually at his peak condition, as he had only a few moments of sleep after previously searching for Atreus. He is put on the ropes for much of the fight, yet he still persists in not becoming the monster he used to be. Despite the fact that it ultimately proves to not be enough, Kratos still keeps up pretty well through the fight and lands his own fair share of shots, even managing to blitz Thor for once and stab him with the Leviathan Axe before he could hit him again. Whenever they wrestle, Kratos did not stay down even as he is subjected to vicious beatings, always managing to gain his own turn and lay a barrage of punches on the God of Strength. Even Thor has to admit that Kratos is really formidable despite being a "lesser" version of the monster he once was, stating he could see why Kratos was able to defeat his sons. And as an added cherry on top, that huge wound Kratos gives him in this fight? It never fully heals. Thor sports that axe gash on his belly for the rest of the game, dried blood and all.
- Kratos does not want to kill Thor and is willing to explain himself for the death of Baldur and Magni, but after Thor rebukes all his explanation and keep insulting Kratos, the God Killer lets him have it when Thor dares bring up Modi.
Kratos: You put him last, even in death!
Thor: The
FUCK you say?!
Kratos: Modi sought us in fear of you. He died of the wounds you gave him.
- Kratos' battle with "Björn", an utterly massive bear (that's actually a transformed Atreus). After getting overpowered by the beast, Kratos awakens his Spartan Rage to send the beast back. When both rise to their feet, the bear roars at Kratos, and he roars back.
- In the previous game, Atreus' first words upon learning that he's a God is to ask if he can turn into an animal. A moment later it's "You sure I can't turn into a wolf?" In Ragnarök, Atreus gets his wish. Granted, he struggles to control it at first and his first transformations are involuntary following moments of personal distress, but after spending a little time with Angrboda in Ironwood, he starts getting better at controlling it and it ultimately becomes his version of Kratos' rage meter: Atreus will turn into a vicious wolf to utterly trash his enemies and it's glorious to behold. Later, his control has gotten so good he even transforms into a wolf just to have a fun race with Angrboda who's riding a magic fox. He later uses the bear form at the end of the duo's fight with the Valkyries Hrist and Mist to utterly lethal effect. And during the final battle in Asgard, Atreus transforms into a bear once more to save Sindri, and you're given full control of the beast for one fight, using sledgehammer paw swipes to send Einherjar flying while their weapons bounce harmlessly off his hide.
- After Atreus has spent a whole fight being knocked about in the mud by Heimdall (who's been dodging or parrying every last one of his attacks), they both hear a crack of thunder. Suddenly, Thor steps between Heimdall and Atreus, telling the Watchman to cut it out. Heimdall acts like the same smug bastard who's been giving Atreus his tour through Asgard, asking Thor what he could do to stop him. The God of Thunder only needs seven words:
Thor: Look into my eyes. You tell me. (briefly glances down at the arrow in Heimdall's hand)
Heimdall: (discards the arrow; visibly rattled) ...You are a sick man.
- The implication that Heimdall can see numerous ways that Thor would murder him makes it even better.
- The Norns aren't present for long, but they get props for turning a brief meeting with them into a devastating "The Reason You Suck" Speech that shocks both Kratos and Freya out of their Never My Fault mentality, simply by revealing a simple truth; they aren't prescient. Rather, they're just very good at reading people and potential futures, which allows the trio to guess with incredible accuracy what their personality flaws and hang-ups will lead them to, and they bluntly inform Kratos that it's the gods' own Selective Obliviousness that turns their advice into inescapable doom. This was definitely not what either Kratos or Freya wanted to hear, but as shown by them making an effort to be better in the rest of the game, it is what they needed.
- Credit to Mimir, however, for managing to briefly make them shut up: when Verdandi begins her "The Reason You Suck" Speech listing all of Mimir's titles, Mimir cuts in halfway before she can list out his flaws and owns up without shame to his Know-It-All tendencies, then defiantly taunts the Norn of the Present when she does not respond with the title she neglected to mention - Smartest Man Alive.
- The forging of the Draupnir Spear, where The Lady of the Forge, a mermaid, takes the self-duplicating ring, a spear tip, the sound of the wind, and a drop of godly blood from Kratos; and weaves it all together into a brand new God-killing weapon. She doesn't even need a hammer or anvil like Brok or Sindri would; as Brok said earlier, it's not the form of something that matters, but its nature. Even Kratos admits in his journal entry that the Lady's work was unlike anything he had seen before.
- Not only that, but it's unique in another very poignant way. The Blades of Chaos are cursed weapons bound to him by the Greek gods, and the Leviathan Axe previously belonged to Faye; the Draupnir Spear may very well be the first weapon Kratos has ever owned that was forged specifically for him.
- Right afterward, Kratos gets a chance to test the spear out against a horde of enemies, and wields it with full proficiency. This isn't a case of Instant Expert, it's a return to Kratos' roots.
Brok: That's the stuff! Ain't yer first time with a spear, I reckon!
Kratos: It is the first weapon a Spartan learns!
Brok: Weh-hell! Ain't this just like old times, then?
Mimir: Couldn't have put it more forebodingly myself...
- Odin appearing in Svartelheim to appeal to Kratos. It's as intense as it is awesome. Mimir is also backing Kratos all the way, not once taken in by Odin's deception. When Odin pushes Kratos once too many, Kratos delivers a scathing, ice-cold Badass Boast and not-so-subtle death threat that reminds us of just why only one of the Greek Pantheon still exists at this point:
Kratos: My son is not your key.
Odin: (sighs) Do they not have metaphor in your homeland?
Or rather, did they? I'm sorry, that's not fair. I know
you're not the god you once were. And now is your chance to prove it.
Kratos: Return my son.
Or you may meet the god I once was. - Something else impressive in this moment: Kratos immediately aims the Draupnir Spear at the All-Father when he appears. Odin's brought Durlin along as a meat shield, but no matter in which way he turns his old one-eyed head, the brand new weapon's tip continues to point at him, steady as a rock no less, until Kratos decides to hear him out.
- When Kratos drops his threat on Odin, you can notice the All-Father actually sways back a little, and his next sentence begins with what sounds like a swallowed lump in his throat. For all of Odin's status, power and silver tongue, it means nothing to the Ghost of Sparta, and this is our most obvious clue that Kratos can, and does, scare Odin.
- Heimdall's boss battle (after killing his mount) starts with him taunting Kratos' every move, dodging attacks from the Leviathan Axe, Blades of Chaos and Draupnir Spear alike... until Kratos manages to stun him enough times to actually punch the untouchable Aesir god across the face, leaving a small cut on his cheek. Heimdall's reaction says it all:
"You... You ACTUALLY HIT ME!"
- Special mention must be brought to HOW Kratos manages to hit Heimdall. As pointed out in this post on reddit
Kratos is testing Heimdall's reflexes each time he stuns him: first he goes for strong, sweeping attacks that Heimdall dodges; then switching to closer, fast attacks that Heimdall actually has to block. Finally, on the third attempt, Kratos sticks with the close, fast attacks, but mixes things up with a counter to Heimdall's block, catching the smug Aesir off-guard. The reason why this works? Kratos is a highly trained warrior who's been in more battles than Heimdall can imagine. The arrogant little shit never stood a chance. - The dull THWACK when Kratos finally lands that first hit across the annoying little shit's face. Most Wonderful Sound doesn't even begin to describe it.
- It crosses over into Nightmare Fuel, but watching Kratos unleash the smallest part of the God of War That Was and slam Heimdall's face into the ground over and over before choking him to death is, thanks to the Aesir's smugness and vicious taunting and threatening of Atreus, deeply satisfying.
- Kratos carrying the injured Freyr through the forests of Vanaheim... While simultaneously making short work of the monsters employed by the Aesir with one hand. He barely even bats an eye as he easily cuts through the enemies with his axe or uses his bare hand to crush them.
- Though it has a tragic ending, Brok Spotting the Thread and giving Odin-as-Tyr a tongue-lashing that angers him so much that it causes the plotting king of Asgard to ruin his own plans by revealing himself and killing Brok out of rage. Most impressive about this feat is that not even Mimir, the world's smartest man, or Freya, who was married to him for a number of years and saw first-hand his two-faced manipulative nature, could figure out that Odin was impersonating Tyr, while Brok figures it out based entirely on his own intuition (and a suspicion of "Tyr" that's been building ever since the latter took over his cooking), pointing out that Tyr not only very conveniently has a back entrance to Asgard that he's never mentioned until now, but also that he suddenly calls Atreus "Loki", a name nobody else in Kratos' group uses, and is trying to move the mask away from the rest of the group. When you think about it, Brok is the only reason Kratos and his allies are even able to defeat Odin at all by preventing the latter from pulling off his quiet Xanatos Gambit and then fully motivating all of them to start Ragnarok with his death, and he even gets to Face Death with Dignity in the end. Hell of a way to go...
- After Brok's death and Odin's deception being revealed to the heroes, a shell-shocked Atreus tearfully wishes to return back to their home in the woods with Kratos, with the forlorn Greek God of War even leaving behind the Gjallarhorn to Freya as they return, simply stating that they're done. In a funk as he struggles to process how everything's gone wrong, Atreus request they they hunt down a deer once more, the presentation echoing the initial E3 demo reveal of the Norse chapter, even having Atreus using the same aiming reticle that he had when lining up his shot on the unaware beast... only for Kratos to gently put his hand over the arrow and lower it to the ground, letting the animal flee. Aware from the Norns now that he has always had free will in the horrible events to keep occurring, Kratos recognises how he and his son are only repeating their past steps without truly moving forward from them. As the crux of his Character Development throughout the duology, Kratos finally decides to truly 'break the cycle' by doing what he could never have imagined before — facing up to his responsibility in causing such tragedy and doing what he can to mend it, or if not, to 'Be Better' than the man he once was. A lesson he imparts to Atreus as they set off to find Sindri and face up to his justified tirade against them for what he's lost, no matter how painful it is for them. It's a quiet moment, but it marks the point that Kratos stops causing hurt and starts trying to heal, even though the task may be impossible.
Atreus: Why? Now it's running.
Kratos: And so are we... When an animal is wounded, it must stop the bleeding. Or it will die. We have been wounded. And this... this is a distraction.
- Surtr, after empowering the Blades of Chaos and getting stabbed into his heart, falls off the edge into the void. Atreus, after a short battle, calls out to him. Worried that their attempt to take a third option blew up in their faces spectacularly. Then...
- After Sutr falls into the Spark of the World to transform into the giant creature seen in his shrine, the Valkyries Hrist and Mist show up for a boss fight. The Awesome part is towards the end of the fight, where both Kratos and Atreus activate their Rage mode, with Atreus transforming into his giant bear form to perfectly tag-team with his father on finally defeating Hrist and Mist, matched by the associated achievement "Better Together." And where Kratos goes for the (relatively) cleaner kill of a Neck Snap on Hrist, Atreus rips Mist in half by clamping his jaws on her wings and burying a claw in her spine, using them as leverage to almost casually sever her body at the waist, a savage echo of his father's handiwork from ages past.
- The moment Kratos agrees to be the General of the allied army against Odin and Asgard. It was a position that has haunted him since last time he was, he simply allowed himself to do as he pleased, killing everyone to get where he needs to be, even his followers. Now, he's a general for the right reason, with a group of warriors with all of equal value, for a noble cause.
- Kratos blowing Gjallarhorn to signal the beginning of Ragnarök.
- Ragnarok. Once again, Kratos is bringing war to the Gods. But this time, he's doing it for the sake of freeing everyone else from Odin's tyranny, and unlike with the Titans, the Valkyries, the unified Light and Dark Elves, and all of his other allies for this fight really are in it together. Even better, when it's clear things are going south and Odin's set up Human Shields to slow Kratos and Atreus's forces down, Kratos immediately changes the plan to save as many innocents as possible from The End of the World as We Know It while they still can, volunteering for a Suicide Mission to destroy the Flaw himself as to not spend any more of his remaining armies lives either. The old Ghost of Sparta didn't give a damn about lives spent (even accelerating his supposed allies' deaths if they had the misfortune of being in his way) as long as he had victory, but Character Development has taken Kratos so far that he would rather ensure as many innocents and brothers-in-arms survive over victory at any cost. Gone is the old Villain Protagonist despised by many, and in comes Kratos the Ideal Hero.
- And the first unit to storm onto the battlefield? THE ELVES, Light and Dark flying together in formation for the first time ever as Freyr cheers them on. Sure, Thor dulls the moment by almost immediately plowing through the swarm on his way to fight Jormungandr, but they take the losses in stride and mob the Einherjar.
- The duel between Thor and Jormungandr. Not only is it an awesome background set piece, it gives us glimpes of Mjolnir's true power. Early in the fight, Thor absolutely ragdolls the World Serpent with a direct hit to the face, and later on, Mjolnir hits the Serpent so hard that the the World Tree itself cracks, sending him back in time.
- Sindri doesn't bring a Dwarven army to fight in Ragnarok. Instead, he singlehandedly dismantles the war machines his people built with a little contraption and one swing of his smith hammer.
- When Atreus and Sindri are overwhelmed by Odin's forces, Atreus harnesses his Spartan Rage and transforms into his Bear form and absolutely rips his opponents to shreds. It serves as Atreus picking up on his father's lesson, “In moments of crisis, panic does nothing. Harness it, let it serve you", and it shows.
- During Ragnarok, Thor proves why he's Odin's right-hand warrior. Despite the fact that he's been excessively drinking, Thor demonstrates that he's still Asgard's greatest warrior and the God of Thunder and Strength worthy of being feared by the Giants. He defeats Jormungandr in a visually stunning battle by sending the Jotunn back in time with a single blow from his hammer, straight after having manipulated lightning strikes to hit him! He immediately follows this up with a destructive battle with Kratos without any signs of fatigue, with both combatants now fighting for real.
- Thor gave Kratos such a hard time the first time they fought primarily because Kratos only had access to the Guardian Shield, the Leviathan Axe, and his fists, and was actively trying his best to avoid giving into a blind rage, whereas Thor may have not been allowed to kill him, but he sure as hell didn't give him any kid's gloves either, only really letting up when Kratos was in danger of dying. But in this second fight, Kratos can now bring to bear the full extent of his arsenal of available weapons and tactics in a fight and is aware that he has to take Thor seriously. By expertly transitioning between the weapons he has as well as unarmed combat, Kratos overcomes Thor in a protracted smackdown, calmly and effectively handling Thor's furious assault and managing to deliver numerous hits as well as swiftly reverse the few shots Thor gained on him and use it to his advantage. When he was the Ghost of Sparta, Kratos' adaptability in a fight and willingness to use the environment around him were arguably his greatest assets, and here, he puts that same versatility to use to counter Thor's singular, but powerful, fighting style.
- Early in the fight, Kratos uses the Blades of Chaos to rip Mjolnir out of Thor's hands and THROW IT BACK AT HIM. He then grapples to Thor and stabs him in the still-open wound from their first fight, causing him quite a bit of pain.
- Later on, when Thor has Kratos in a chokehold, he saves himself at the last moment my summoning several Draupnir Spears to overpower Thor. The Spear has definitely earned its place in Kratos' legendary arsenal.
- At the end of the fight, Kratos uses the Leviathan Axe several times to deflect Mjolnir and eventually disarm Thor. The one time he misses, he no-sells the exact same hit that KILLED HIM in their first fight.
- Credit to Thor though. Despite Kratos's greater weapon versatility, Thor with just Mjolnir manages to still give Kratos a hell of a fight due to his relentlessness, as no matter how many damaging blows, stabs or punches he lays into him, Thor just powers through it with relentless determination to end Kratos. Fists, Blades, Spear and Axe — he takes it all head-on and keeps coming. The God of War is even forced to use a knife he has only used in cutscenes prior to end the fight, emphasising that Thor forced Kratos to throw everything and the kitchen sink at him just to end the fight on another stalemate where Thor could be reasoned into ceasing their fight for the sake of their loved ones.
- While it also serves as both heartwarming and sad, Kratos manages to convince Thor that it's possible to become a better person despite all the atrocities he's done, and uses Thor's love for his daughter Thrúd as someone to change for, and to try and make the world a better place for the sake of their children. This actually gets through to the god of thunder, and actually seems resolved to better himself because he loves Thrúd. Moments later, Thor refuses to kill Kratos when Odin commands him, and it's the first time in Thor's life he's stood up to his abusive father and realizes how awful he truly is.
- It's a testament to Kratos' newly learned self-control that not only does he avoid giving into his rage and killing Thor, but he overcomes the god of thunder's fury-driven strength with his adaptability, tactical know-how, and knowledge of who Thor is, which he uses to end the fight without anyone needing to die. Not only does he overcome Thor, but he remains strong enough afterwards to finish a drag-out brawl with Thor's father, Odin, while previously after strenuous fights with gods, Kratos would end up exhausted and/or emotionally broken by the experience.
- The final battle with Odin, Kratos and Atreus put up a great effort, but Odin's magic does stop them in their tracks. Right when he believes he's won, he falls under a trap spell himself, from his ex-wife, Freya, who has regained her Valkyrie wings and joins in the fight. In the end, Odin is completely and utterly outmatched by the three working together in perfect sync, laying on him a No-Holds-Barred Beatdown that's been in the making for centuries. By the time it's over, Odin lies bloodied, barely even able to crawl away, and exposed for what he is and what he's always been: a sad and pathetic little man reduced to impotently raging at Atreus for "destroying everything" and outright refusing to change even in the face of death, leaving Atreus no choice but to sadly put his former mentor down for good.
- During the fight with Gna if you get caught by the infamous head-stomp grab (which you will many, many times) and don't die, Freya will come to your rescue by shooting arrows into Gna's chest, throwing her off and then decking her in the face. There's something gratifying in watching Freya, Vanir Goddess of Nature and Beauty, who throughout both games has fought with magic, graceful swordplay and valkyrian fury, just straight full-fisted slug someone.
- Mimir, thanks to the Hulda Brother Project Number 9, can fire an attack as well, shooting pure Bifrost energy out of his eyes. Still very unpleasant, as he's said twice before, but he's ready to take the pain and go to bat for his friends now that he has the power to do so. Firing it when he launches his one-liner against Odin during the final fight makes the delivery even better.
- One of the lines from Freya reveals that the reason Kratos cannot use anything from his home land is because, with the death of the Olympians (and that realm being messed up seven ways to hell), all the power died. Except the Blades of Chaos still work, which either means that Athena - who is revealed to have survived all this time in the last game - is letting them work, the Blades are fuelled by Kratos himself, the "primordial fire" Surtr claims they possess transcends pantheons and realms, or the Blades of Chaos, like everything relating to Kratos and the Greek Pantheon, have decided to metaphorically flip off the Gods of Olympus and work of their own choice.
- In Valhalla, Kratos gets another old friend as once he advances far enough, much like 2018 prompted you to unleash Spartan Rage, you're once again directed to press L3 + R3... and once you do, Kratos brings out the Blade of Olympus. And you get to keep it as one of your Spartan Rage options.
- The fact that Kratos is able to manifest the Blade of Olympus alone further solidifies his status as the unquestionable World's Strongest Man. While Zeus needed a lot of time and focus to create that blade and he also channeled the powers of "both the Heavens and the Earth", Kratos just replicates all that power through the sheer power of his memories fueling his rage. Repeat, Kratos essentially conjures up the weapon that ended a war between god-like beings with no need for external sources, and it's as formidable as it was back when Kratos previously used it, gameplay wise. After two whole games spent of Kratos holding himself back from showing off too much, you finally get to see what he would have been capable of through his sheer raw power, and the fact that Legacy is the longest Spartan Rage option around only further solidifies that Kratos can keep up such power without issue if he really wants to. Also, Legacy is capable of parrying unblockable attacks. See that ugly red ring that normally means "dodge or die"? Time it right like always and it won't even matter, with the Blade of Olympus bouncing the blow away as a deeply satisfying metallic chime rings out and the rage meter actually refills slightly with each parry. If you know how to play well, Legacy Rage can last damn near forever and make you almost invincible.
- Like the Blades of Chaos, the Blade of Olympus uses almost the exact same combos as it did in the Greek era. Only this time around, Kratos’ slow, methodical swings allow you to really "feel" its weight and power in a way the wild swinging from the original games never could. Furthermore, you can charge the blade to perform even more powerful attacks that can heal Kratos. The light attack combo finisher is always fun to charge, as it unleashes a huge wave of energy that destroys everything in its path and creates an extremely satisfying ringing/booming sound.
- When Kratos goes against Valhalla's rules, it decides to drop him and Mimir off mid air, with their demise and a one way ticket to hell as their punishment. When it really looks like it's the end, Sigrun comes in clutch and grabs them both, despite her not even being allowed in Valhalla for his trial to begin with. She manages to fight through the scorching pain and teleports the three of them back to safety. Sigrun is badly burned, but she will heal with time, her actions saving both Kratos and Mimir from a permanent end - in a way, paying back the two for saving her and her sisters from their fates in the previous game as well.
Kratos: We are forever in your debt.
Sigrun: And I am forever in yours.
- The fact that all of this even happened is pretty impressive on Kratos' part, considering he managed to rip open a metal cage that was supposed to be unbreakable.
- The final boss at the end of a run in Valhalla, and the one who invited Kratos there, is none other than Týr. After spending the entire main game being portrayed as a pacifist by Odin, the Norse God of War proves he is just as worthy of the title as Kratos himself. Each time you defeat him, Týr will add new weapons and attacks to his arsenal until he is wielding four different weapons at once, all of the elements, and a wide variety of ranged and magical attacks.
- There's also the end of his fights, which involve Týr doing a Punch Catch on Kratos and then explicitly yielding to him. In other words, even when you beat Týr, you haven't really beaten Týr; he's only stopping the spar because he respects Kratos enough to do so, implying that in a life or death struggle he could go further.
- The initial ending of Valhalla. Kratos finally opens the door behind Týr...and sees his younger self sitting on Ares' throne. He laments how self-destructive, selfish and horrible his actions were and how he isn't sure he is fit to be a better example of a god to the realms. But then he remembers Pandora and her words about "hope", having resonated within him after so many years. He embraces being able to become something better and ultimately accepts his new role but not as a God of War...but a God of Hope.
- In Valhalla, it is possible to reach the throne room without dying before the first exit. While all you get is additional dialogue on the way there that you won't hear on any run afterwards, it does provide a decent challenge for players - and if you're able to pull this off, even on the easiest difficulty, you're truly a God of War yourself.
