One of God of War’s most memorable characters, aside from Kratos and Atreus, is Mimir, a talking head referred to as “the smartest man alive.” He spends much of the adventure attached to Kratos’ belt, providing additional conversation and commentary on the adventure. To celebrate the beloved character, special effects company Bar-El Studio recently completed work on an impressive animatronic talking Mimir head. Bar-El Studio published a video of the creation on Instagram, which developer Santa Monica relayed on Twitter, calling it “one of the single greatest tribute creations for God of War.” There have been many tributes to the renowned game, but very few match the level of depth of this one. You can check out a video showing off the head below:
This is one of the single greatest tribute creations for #GodofWar we’ve ever seen – Animatronic Mimir – The Smartest Man Alive! We’ll take one, this one, please.
Please check out the creators Bar-El Studio on their IG https://t.co/fpe0IIG8h4 pic.twitter.com/NQrw0wDz13
— Santa Monica Studio Is Hiring (@SonySantaMonica) January 7, 2020
As noted in the post, no CGI was used in the creation of the video. Comprised only of practical effects, the Mimir head blinks, has various facial expressions, and (most importantly) talks. You can give Bar-El Studio some love on Instagram to see exactly how Mimir was created. The company had been working on the project for months (as early as July of 2019), with many pictures documenting its progress.
Mimir is known as the Norse God of Knowledge and Wisdom and treats Kratos and Atreus to a number of stories in the game. Mimir entertains Kratos and Atreus (and by extension, the player) with thrilling tales of Norse mythology during God of War’s boat sections. These sections are a safe space, free from combat and more violent interactions that make up most of the game.
God of War is available for PS4 and is currently on sale for $14.99 on the PS Store as part of the Holiday Sale.