20 Norse Gods That Should Definitely Be In God of War 4

Odin

In Norse mythology, Odin is the leader of the gods. He is basically the Norse equivalent of Zeus, but if you take away Zeus’ constant complaining and pure rage. Odin has his moments, but Odin is all-seeing, all-knowing, and, more importantly, all-powerful. He would be an “all-around” video game character, but he is far too powerful and far too wise for that.

Assuming Kratos has no ties to Odin and simply lives in this world, Kratos would likely find some reason to complain. Be it about his lack of control, his age, or simply knowing there is a higher authority, Kratos must have some sort of conflict in his life. Kratos would end up first butting heads with Odin, who, would outsmart in a contest of intelligence and then leaving to begin his climb to control over Scandinavia.

Of course, Odin would have to be the final boss as well, where he fights Kratos with his magical powers, used to both combat and confuse Kratos at the same time. Odin is inevitable, however, as the most prevalent god in Norse mythology. Odin is essentially the last step to Kratos’ second triumph over an entire pantheon of gods.

Thor

The MCU has done a fine job recreating the comic version of Thor, which did a decent job recreating Thor from Norse mythology. If there were any inconsistencies, one would be that Thor is far less intelligent in Norse mythology. He is kind of empty-headed in the MCU, but not close to that of what Vikings believed. Regardless, Thor is another no-brainer for Santa Monica. Thor’s brute strength offers too good a boss fight to pass up.

Thor, like Hercules from God of War III, does not require any previous characterization. Along Kratos’ journey, a storm is brewing, complete with lightning and thunder. Amidst the storm, Thor descends from Asgard to have a confrontation with Kratos before they have it out with each other. Taken directly from “Loki’s Quarrel” in The Poetic Edda, a book full of Norse poems, Thor says to Loki: “Be silent, perverse creature, my mighty hammer Miollnir shall deprive you of speech.” Thor says something overwhelmingly ominous like this to Kratos, thus beginning the boss fight with the god of thunder, ending with Kratos obtaining Miollnir.

Loki

Everyone is familiar with Loki. He was that one villain from The Avengers. He was also Thor’s brother if I remember correctly. Well, that last part’s not true, but the MCU was right on the money with their casting and writing of the roll. Loki is the god of mischief who rarely does anything good for anybody else, and if he did, it was definitely by accident. A shapeshifting maniac who roots for the bad guys, who better to taunt Kratos than Loki?

While Loki is most certainly afraid of Thor, he is not afraid of a good fight. Kratos would end up coming across the devious deity on his adventure in Scandinavia, only to realize how annoying Loki is, but realizes he may be a good asset in trying to locate Odin. Occasionally shapeshifting throughout the fight, and insulting Kratos for all his misdeeds, Loki would make for a great boss fight. Following the defeat of Loki, Kratos would finally locate Odin and come to realize that Ragnarok is rapidly approaching.

Baldr

Although Baldr is the god of peace and respected by most of the gods, he does have a few haters. These include Loki, who hates Baldr because Loki really hates anything that represents good. Baldr, as seen in The Poetic Edda, is very charming and does fight occasionally, so he is certainly on the table. Moreover, gamers know Kratos is not averse to killing the good guys, so Baldr would undoubtedly be on Kratos’ hit list.

Coming across Baldr at a time where he experiences dreams foretelling of his death, similar to “Baldr’s Dreams” in The Poetic Edda, Kratos would ask him where Baldr’s father, Odin was. Protective of himself and his family and one of the bravest gods, Baldr defends himself against the blind fury of Kratos. Baldr’s death would prove, once again, that Kratos is certainly not the hero of the story by any means.

Tyr

The original God of War and the Odin before Odin, Tyr was once the most powerful god and is probably the best balance between Thor and Odin. That is, he is the best combination of Odin’s wisdom and magic with Thor’s relentless force. Although unimportant by the time Odin was created, Tyr still remained within the pantheon and even overlapped with some of the stories Odin was involved in. As such, he would make for an equally entertaining appearance.

As mentioned, Tyr was kind of forgotten by the Vikings once Odin came along. So, this could make for this comical situation. Kratos is walking along a path that seemingly just connects from one skirmish to another, but he comes across a buzzed Tyr, who has just consumed an abundance of mead. He explains how much of a loner he is before Kratos realizes he is connected with the gods, leading to a heated confrontation wherein Kratos interrogates Tyr just before realizing it is a worthless endeavor and leaving him to sulk. So, Tyr ends up being less of a boss fight and more of a cameo, but he gives God of War 4 a much-needed dose of comic relief the franchise deserves.

Heimdall

Played by the great Idris Elba in the MCU rendition of Norse mythology, Heimdall is the guard of Asgard who occasionally has words with Thor regarding whatever troubles Thor. Even though he is a guard, however, Heimdall is no laughing matter. He is still a god, called a “white god” and is “powerful and sacred” according to The Prose Edda. In other words, Heimdall would make for just as good a fight with Kratos as the rest of the bunch.

When Kratos’ journey approaches its end, Kratos comes across Heimdall. “Step aside, Heimdall,” says Kratos in his scratchy voice, as he approaches the halls of Asgard. Armed with a sword and a keen sense of hearing, Heimdall is very attuned to his environment and, thus, would make for a challenging boss. Heimdall’s defeat would only signify that Kratos is one step closer to power over the Vikings and people of Scandinavia.

Vafthrudnir

Vafthrudnir is a bit of a stretch here, as he is technically not a god, but a jotun. The jotun are a race of giants within Norse mythology that are, however, equally as formidable a force as the gods. Like the gods, each jotun serves a different purpose, but a jotun capitalized on in The Poetic Edda is Vafthrudnir, a wise giant who duels Odin in a contest of wits.

Kratos comes across Vafthrudnir, sitting in his hall, who realizes his presence. He first challenges Kratos to a challenge of wits, but when Kratos loses, he comes to fists with Vafthrudnir. “Fists” is actually a strong term because Vafthrudnir is a giant, so Kratos and Vafthrudnir have a fight and a huge spectacle. At the end of the fight, when Vafthrudnir is dying from the Kratos’ wrath, Kratos states that Vafthrudnir may be wise, but has little strength, in true Kratos fashion.

Freyja

The goddess of battle, Freyja is one of the only female deities who is bloodthirsty, much like our uncooperative anti-hero. Within Norse mythology, Freyja gets captured embarassingly often. That said, Freyja is still a formidable foe who would give any other god a run for their money.

Freyja appears largely anywhere in Norse mythology. It seems she is always on the run since she gets captured constantly. Kratos’ encounter with her would likely be by accident, like with Tyr. However, unlike Tyr, who is drunk in his insignificance, Freyja appears sober and well. Furthermore, Kratos then realizes who Freyja is. Since gamers know that Kratos is debaucherous in his relations with women, God of War 4 is bound to have a similar situation. Cue Freyja, who attracts Kratos almost instantly, leading to an intimate relationship between the goddess and Kratos. This would prove that Kratos gets what Kratos wants.

Frigg

Frigg isn’t known for much more than simply being the lead goddess and the wife of Odin. She intervenes in a lot of situations, particularly ones in which she holds stakes. In Norse mythology, she tries to prevent Baldr’s death, attempts to sway Odin when making impactful decisions, and otherwise simply puts in her two cents whenever she is involved.

Like Tyr, Frigg would act more as a cameo and have less player interaction. There would undoubtedly be some exchange between Kratos and Frigg, perhaps involving the death of Baldr, but other than that Frigg would not experience any Kratos-like violence. Alternatively, Kratos and Frigg could come to blows over the death of Baldr, resulting in a rather easy boss fight involving Frigg’s magic. That boss fight may be one that acts as taste of what Odin’s boss fight, as they have overlapping abilities. Killing the wife of the chief of the gods would send the message that Kratos means business.

Njord

The god of wealth and prosperity in Norse mythology, Njord oversees the well-being of Asgard, Valhalla, and Scandinavia. The death of Njord largely means the death of the economy within the Norse realm. There aren’t too many situations where Kratos would possibly come into contact with Njord, but there are a few that could end in aiding Kratos’ well-being.

Njord lives in a land far away from Asgard. Even if this is the case, Kratos has been far from his goal in many other situations, so to end up in Njord’s lair isn’t too far a stretch. After a short exchange with Njord, in which Njord reveals he is the god of wealth, Kratos, in his self-serving behavior, sets out to kill Njord in a boss fight in order to gain his wealth and power to oversee the prosperity of the gods and Scandinavians. Not a combatant by any standards, Njord easily loses to Kratos, who then gains Njord’s powers. While seemingly not an important god, killing Njord would give Kratos one of the means for success in bringing down Odin’s empire.