Everything You Need to Know Before Starting God of War Ragnarök

God of War Ragnarök is set to release on November 9, 2022, continuing to journey that Kratos and Atreus began in God of War 2018. When the new game releases, PlayStation fans will be able to jump in. While many are currently playing through the first game, not everyone has the time to go back and replay through God of War 2018, or they might have forgotten something important that happened. Here's what you need to know about God of War's story before jumping into God of War Ragnarök in November.

A lot happened in the God of War 2018. With a 20 hour campaign, and over 50 hours of content beyond that, the story in God of War 2018 has a lot of little details that this guide won't go too in-depth in. Instead, this article will cover the most important bits that players need to know going into God of War Ragnarök, pieces of information that will greatly affect how the story flows in the opening moments. It should be obvious at this point, but spoilers for God of War 2018 await readers below.

For starters, let's talk about where things kicked off in God of War 2018. The story opens with Kratos and Atreus dealing with the loss of Faye, Kratos' wife and Atreus' mother. Atreus has just gotten over a sickness that has plagued him since he was young, and Faye's dying wish is to have her ashes scattered on the tallest peak in the realms.

The two have a run-in with Baldur. He was sent by Odin to check in on the house and its inhabitants. Baldur and Kratos get into a fight, which Kratos manages to win. This leads the two from their home toward the tallest peak in Midgard. They meet a couple of dwarves along the way named Brok and Sindri, who will no doubt continue to be important to the narrative in God of War Ragnarök.

They also encounter a mysterious Witch of the Woods, who is later revealed to be Freya, Baldur's mother, and Odin's exiled wife.

When Kratos and Atreus reach the highest peak in Midgard, they discover Baldur there, interrogating a man named Mimir. Baldur and a couple of others leave the area, and then Kratos and Atreus talk to Mimir, behead the man, and then have his head revived by Freya. This leads to Mimir joining Kratos and Atreus on their journey, becoming a fountain of information and knowledge.

The two continue their journey into the Nine Realms as they look for a way to open a path to Jötunheim, the land of the giants. Along the way, they once more run into Magni and Modi, the two men accompanying Baldur at Mimir's peak. The two fight Kratos and Atreus, and Magni is killed before Modi flees. Modi finds the pair again later, though, hoping to kill Kratos. He almost does, but Atreus manages to trigger his Spartan Rage ability, and then Kratos fends off Modi again after Atreus falls unconscious.

This all leads Kratos to make a trip to Helheim, the realm of the dead, to get the heart of a specific creature so that Freya can heal Atreus. Kratos makes the journey back home to pick up the Blades of Chaos, his iconic weapons from the original entries of the franchise. Kratos retrieves the heart and Atreus is saved, at which point Kratos reveals that he is a god, too.

That reveal causes Atreus to become extremely arrogant, and he kills Modi despite Kratos telling him not to. The two (with Mimir in tow) return to the peak of Midgard to open a door to the realm of the Giants, but Baldur is there. He takes Atreus hostage and Kratos and Baldur end up fighting in the Realm Travel Room, where Baldur attempts to take them to Asgard; however, Kratos opens the portal to Helheim at the last moment.

A lot happens in Helheim, too. Kratos learns that Baldur is invulnerable because of a spell cast by his mother, Freya. Kratos and Atreus fight with the god, but eventually manage to escape back to Midgard. During another attempt to get to Jötunheim, Baldur attacks the two again; this time Freya intervenes, though. This angers Baldur even more, and Kratos and Atreus fight with the invulnerable god, eventually impaling his hand with a mistletoe arrowhead that Atreus kept as a binding for his quiver.

With the mistletoe arrowhead impaled in his hand, Baldur can finally feel, and it drives him into a renewed, mad vigor, as he fights harder against the two. However, they manage to subdue him, and Freya steps in once more to stop them from killing him. Kratos relents but has to kill Baldur as he tries to choke Freya to death. This causes Freya to grow angry, she curses Kratos and swears revenge upon him for killing her only son.

From there, the two carry on, with Mimir in tow, and they eventually make it to Jötunheim. They reach a giant temple, which has their entire journey carved into its walls. The giants had seen everything that would come to pass, as well as everything that had happened before the most recent events. They also discover that all of the information was left for them by Faye, who was a giant, a secret that she had kept from Kratos and Atreus. Faye had also given Atreus a second name, Loki.

After a perilous journey, the two scatter Faye's ashes on the top of the peak, finally fulfilling their quest and Faye's last wish. But, when they return home, Mimir warns them about the impending arrival of Ragnarök. With Baldur dead, the first event of the impending event has come to pass, and Fimbulwinter has fallen.

Based on everything we've seen from God of War Ragnarök so far in Newsweek's preview, the game takes place a few years after the events of 2018 and will continue the story of Kratos and Atreus as they learn more about Ragnarök and the other events that will mark this perilous time. We also know that Ragnarök isn't a redemption story, which game director Eric Williams revealed to Newsweek in an interview just last week.

For even more details about what happened in God of War 2018, check out the official PlayStation recap.