God of War 4: How the Franchise Could Tackle Other Mythologies

While we’ve already taken a look back at God of War‘s history this week, we now want to take a look at the series’ future. Sony Santa Monica has already been on the record that they’re working on the next game in the series, but no details have been made available. In fact, the way the God of War III ended, we think it might be time for a reboot.

God of War has always focused on Greek mythology, so we feel like it’s time for Kratos (in some form or another) to tackle some different challenges. Like take on some other mythological gods. While there are no shortage of different mythologies, we thought it’d be fun to take a look at how things would change in Egyptian and Norse mythology in particular.

Norse Mythology

More and more people have taken an interest in Norse mythology as of late, and that can largely be attributed to the success of Marvel’s Thor movies. Characters like Thor and Loki all have roots as Norse gods, and they are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to interesting figures. As there are plenty of other Norse gods that could fill an entire trilogy of new games.

Who wouldn’t want to see a version of Kratos battling the one-armed god of combat Týr? We definitely would, and a storyline could even feature the wolf that took the arm of Týr, Fenrir. Fenrir isn’t a normal wolf, though, as he’s actually the son of Loki. Loki actually has a whole host of unique children, one of which is a sea serpent named Angrboða, that could make for some awesome boss battles.

Just like in Greek mythology, there’s plenty of family issues to play around with here. The all powerful Odin has plenty of sons, which include the god of thunder, Thor, his mysterious brother Meili (who would actually make for a great role for a playable character due to the lack of information on him), and the giant Váli. Contrary to Marvel’s comic books Loki and Thor have no relation in actual Norse mythology.

Most interestingly, we already know how we’d like to see a Norse mythology focused God of War series end and that’s with a retelling of Ragnarök. Otherwise known as the fate of the gods, Ragnarök was an epic battle that saw over 15 gods die. These weren’t random deities either, as they were major gods including Odin, Thor, Loki and Heimdall. Oh, and the battle destroyed the majority of the universe. How could there be a more epic ending than that?

Egyptian Mythology

God of War

While it would be awesome to set a game in Scandanavia, there’s no arguing that it would be even cooler to explore the ancient world of Egypt. Imagine battling deep within a pyramid, or taking on a giant Sphinx. Not only is Egypt one of the most breathtaking countries, it has interesting locales that would be a blast to see on PlayStation 4.

The games could even see the player help Osiris, the god of life and death, dethrone Ra, the Sun god, as the king of gods. Then just like in Egyptian mythology, a betrayal could occur. Osiris’ own brother Seth would kill the newly crowned Pharaoh, setting up a brand new antagonist to kill.

Besides the many storyline opportunities, one of the main reasons we’d love to see Egypt is that the gods just look cool. Most of them are combinations of animals and humans, so we can only imagine what Sony Santa Monica’s artists could do with the style. For example, the demon Ammit has the head of a crocodile, a leopard torso, and the legs of a hippopotamus. It’s absolutely insane imagery, and it could lead to some awesome boss fights.

The Future is Bright

No matter which way Sony Santa Monica goes with the God of War series, we’re excited to see what comes next. There are so many interesting ways to continue one of PlayStation’s best series that it’s hard not to be giddy about the first proper PS4 outing. Whether the first-party studio changes mythologies or just sticks to the Greek setting, there’s still a lot of fun to be had and gods to kill.

Let us know in the comments how you would like to see the series continue. If it’s a reboot, then make sure to let us know which mythology you’d like to see tackled!

Essential Reading:

God of War Mythology

Examining God of War’s Mythological Accuracy
Ares

In God of War: Despite saving the life of Kratos, Ares would quickly become a villain. He tricked Kratos into murdering his own family, and was the primary antagonist of God of War.

In Greek Mythology: Despite having such a large role in the God of War series, Ares is largely a side character in Greek mythology. He is perhaps best known for fathering over forty children with the likes of Aphrodite and the Amazon Queen Otera.
Athena

In God of War: Athena largely acts as an aid to Kratos throughout the God of War series. Her rivalry with her brother Ares is one of the series main sources of conflict.

In Greek Mythology: Much like in the games, Athena was known for helping out heroes. This included helping Perseus behead Medusa and Heracles defeat the Nemean lion.
Atlas

In God of War: After not siding with the Olympians, Atlas would be forced to hold the Pillar of the World on his shoulders for all of eternity. It was there that he would battle with Kratos, and then years later aid the Ghost of Sparta.

In Greek Mythology: After losing to the Olympians, Atlas was forced to hold up the Heavens for the rest of eternity. He didn't manage to do much after that, besides getting tricked by Heracles
Castor and Pollux

In God of War: Unlike their mythological counterparts, Castor and Pollux are straight up evil in God of War. The conjoined twins battle with Kratos early on in the Temple of the Oracle.

In Greek Mythology: Castor and Pollux were fathered by Zeus while he took the form of a swan. Naturally, the two hatched from an egg (Greek mythology gets weird). Unlike the games, they were generally regarded as swell guys that helped out humankind whenever they could.
Cronos

In God of War: Once the leader of the Titans, Cronos now crawls the desert with Pandora's Temple on his back. Cronos is one of the few characters that appear in all three main God of War titles.

In Greek Mythology: Cronos had the strange dietary choice of eating his own children. His son, Zeus, ended up not being a fan of the whole eating babies thing, and ended up overthrowing his father.
Zeus

In God of War: After Kratos opened Pandora's Box, his father (and ruler of Olympus) Zeus slowly grew evil. Zeus ended up being Kratos' greatest enemy.

In Greek Mythology: After growing up with some understandable trust issues, Zeus overthrew the Titans and lived on Mount Olympus. He would rule the Olympians and fathered several notable children, such as Heracles, Athena, Ares, and Perseus.
Hades

In God of War: Despite being a background character in the first two titles, Hades became a major antagonist in God of War III. His video game representation is fairly faithful to his mythological background. Interestingly, Hades' look changes throughout all three games.

In Greek Mythology: The son of Cronos and Rhea, Hades was the god of the underworld. His three-headed hellhound Cerberus guarded the entrance to the home of the dead.
Hercules

In God of War: Hercules (who sports his Roman name for whatever reason) grows jealous of Kratos' accolades. He feels that his half-brother is Zeus' favorite son, and vows to kill him as his thirteenth labor.

In Greek Mythology: After being driven mad by Hera, Heracles killed his family. To atone for his sins, Heracles underwent 12 difficult labors. The Greek hero once conceived 50 sons in one night.
Kratos

In God of War: Kratos is drastically different in God of War. Instead of being the son of a Titan, Kratos is the son of Zeus. As the protagonist of the series, he accomplishes more than any other Greek mythological figure.

In Greek Mythology: Kratos is the son of the Titan Pallas and the Goddess of the river Styx. His most notable appearance in mythology was helping bind the Titan Prometheus, who gave fire to mankind.
Poseidon

In God of War: Poseidon helps out Kratos in the series until the ghost of Sparta releases Thera who destroys Atlantis. After this, Poseidon vowed to never forget Kratos' actions and ended up being the first boss fight in God of War III.

In Greek Mythology: One of Cronus' children, Poseidon rules over the sea. He has many children, including Arion, a talking horse. You read that right.