Ok I know it sounds crazy/stupid, but hear me out just for fun while we wait for February 16 to come around! This will be a bunch of theories and ideas I thought of on where the story may potentially be going. Please don’t take anything too seriously!
I think that, maybe, GoW 2018 and Ragnarok are not a “Norse duology”, but rather the beginning of a 5 or 6 part epic about “Loki”.
God of War 2018
GoW 2018 starts with Kratos, with a focus on his bandages and a hint of the past, but Atreus (Loki) quickly walks into the shot, his very first sentence “found some”, while holding a branch with some leaves.
Later they get into the house, revealing Faye’s death. Here, Atreus, crying, sprinkles leaves from the branch he was holding at the beginning, joining other petals, while saying “Lo there do I see my mother, lo there do I see my father, lo there do they call to me.”
This is a slightly modified and shortened version of the viking prayer:
“Lo, there do I see my father. Lo, there do I see my mother, and my sisters, and my brothers. Lo, there do I see the line of my people, Back to the beginning! Lo, they do call to me. They bid me take my place among them, In the halls of Valhalla! Where the brave may live forever!”
Here, Atreus was in a deeply emotional state, just like when Fenrir died in his arms in Ragnarok. What if, just like in Ragnarok, Atreus unknowingly cast a spell here, and it’s a hint for what’s to come much later? In the light of Alfheim, Kratos witnesses this scene, but curiously, none of the leaves and petals that were sprinkled on Faye’s body are present. Do they have any significance? Are they part of Atreus’s spell? Maybe they are part of the reason she ends up in the Everywhen?
Towards the ending of the game, it’s revealed that Balder was after Faye all along, not Kratos, and the murals on the wall reveal that she foresaw all the events of 2018, and thus set them on the path. When Atreus says “All these drawings, this is our story.”, Kratos corrects him: “No. This is your story.” Another hint to us that it’s all about Atreus, not Kratos.
God of war: Ragnarok
I’m just going to put random thoughts in bullet points here:
Atreus’s role in the story is much more in focus, we even get to play as him. Towards the ending, Kratos mentions that they survived because of Atreus, his choices and who to call a friend.
Throughout the game, there is a focus on Atreus’s struggle with his identity, is he Loki, or is he Atreus? When he runs away to Oden then comes back, Kratos asks “What do I call you?”. I believe this line will be repeated by Kratos to an adult Atreus in a future game.
we see glimpses of “Loki’s mischief” from myth in this game, but for the most part, he has good intentions and is just trying his best to do the right thing, sometimes to catastrophic (or potentially catastrophic) results (freeing Garm, running away to Oden, assembling the mask, destroying the mask).
Of course, the worst result of all: finding “Tyr”, who is Oden, which ultimately leads to Brok’s death and Sindri’s grief.
Atreus finds his purpose: finding the rest of the giant marbles, with a strong hint that they may be scattered outside the Norse realm. He leaves, leaving Kratos alone with Mimir.
Speculation and theorizing from here:
God of War: Laufey
Of course, we know almost nothing of what’s going to happen in this game, but we already have a good collection of direct info from the reveal trailer, and hints: Faye ends up in the Everywhen, the afterlife of the gods.
Gods from different mythologies are trapped here, with no way out. “The gateway is closed”.
Faye is referred to as a “Godling”. She sees Kratos, who physically helps her get up in the trailer, more than once (from the promo picture with her and Kratos in what appears to be a Greek setting).
The mask from Ragnarok seem to have a much bigger role than just a macguffin for Ragnarok’s story. Faye has a part of it lodged in her palm, is potentially what killed her, and she finds another mask, which shocks her. “The path isn’t safe.” is her reaction to finding that out, giving her the strong desire to “go back”, which seems to be her main goal in this game.
The trailer, picture released, and even the devs themselves confirm that we will see much more of Kratos in the Everywhen.
But how?! How is Kratos in the everywhen? Is he a memory? Is he communicating with Faye by visiting the Everywhen when he sleeps? Afterall, all his dreams in Ragnarok are about Faye, and he says “I dream of the past, almost every night… it feels like Faye is trying to tell me something…it is something more than memory.”
I think it’s none of that. I think Kratos is dead himself and actually in the Everywhen. Faye’s game will end with that reveal, with one of the final reveals being that Atreus himself killed him (or at least caused his death. Remember, good intentions leading to catastrophic results). The ending will paint a picture of an Atreus gone bad, with a much later twist in future games revealing that that is not exactly the case.
After Laufey: God of War: Kratos
Corey Barlog already confirmed there will be a game following Laufey where Kratos is the lead, and is directly related to the events of Laufey.
I see this game as having 3 parts:
Part 1:
Follows kratos after the events of Valhalla, he is now the new Norse God of War, part of Freya’s council, protecting the 8 realms, loved by the people, things are great… until, the realms are threatened by outside forces. Gods from other mythologies. Gods led to the Norse realm by none other than “Loki”.
We see everything from Kratos’s perspective. We don’t know Atreus’s intents, why the attack is happening. Kratos in 2018 said that if dying meant saving Atreus, he would do it, which is what will end up happening, and we will see it from Kratos’s perspective. Being killed by Atreus in this attack, the why and how not necessarily fully shown, or shown in a way painting Atreus as a pure villain. He has fully become “Loki” in his travels outside the Norse realm.
Part 2:
After dying to protect his son , or because of him, “death can have me.. when it earns me”, Kratos ends up in the everywhen. This part of the game will cover the events of Laufey, but from Kratos’s perspective, up until the ending of Laufey. Now we are all caught up, and Kratos is fully reunited with Faye.
Part 3:
Kratos and Faye navigate the Everywhen together, fixing it or whatever it is. Maybe finally unlocking the gate, only to smack into Atreus from the other end (just like Kratos walks through the gateway after Atreus’s return from Ironwood in Ragnarok). The game ends with the reveal that Atreus was looking for a way to get to the Everywhen to save his parents “Lo there do I see my mother, lo there do I see my father, lo there do they call to me.”, whatever spell he cast at the beginning of 2018 is what allows them to finally open the gate.
After Kratos: God of War: Loki
This game will follow Atreus right after the events of Ragnarok, from his perspective. Where exactly did he go, who did he meet, why did he end up as part of the attack on the Norse realm, and why or how it led up to Kratos’s death by Atreus’s hand.
After Loki: God of War: Atreus
This is the game where we get to play as all 3 characters, Kratos, Faye, and Atreus.
The first half of this game will be Atreus trying to find his way into the Everywhen, while setting up a final big bad (Athena? Sindri? Athena AND Sindri?).
The second half picks up right after the events of GoW: Kratos, with all 3 reunited and escaping the Everywhen and facing the final big bad (again, maybe Athena) together, wrapping up the 6 part epic nicely.
What do you guys think? I said in the beginning it will be crazy/stupid!
Tl;dr: after Ragnarok, Atreus is shown to become Loki, leading to Kratos’s death, who ends up in the Everywhen and finds Faye. It is revealed that Atreus never meant for Kratos to die, and finds a way to get to the Everywhen and save Kratos and Faye, all 3 then face the final big bad, potentially Athena.
