God of War Ragnarok will take us to the greatest of the Nordic kingdoms

God of War Ragnarok will take us to the greatest of the Nordic kingdoms

The first story details for God of War Ragnarok have been inadvertently revealed, confirming that the game will feature all nine kingdoms from Norse mythology.

God of War Ragnarok's PlayStation Store description was recently updated, giving us our best look yet at the plot of the upcoming sequel. While it's short, it goes beyond the even shorter trailer that was released recently (thanks, The Gamer (opens in new tab)).

"Fimbulwinter is well advanced," says the description (opens in a new tab). Kratos and Atreus must travel to each of the Nine Realms in search of answers as Asgardian forces prepare for a prophesied world-ending battle.

Along the way, they will explore stunning mythical landscapes and face fearsome enemies in the form of Norse gods and monsters. The threat of Ragnarok is getting closer. Kratos and Atreus must choose between their own safety and the safety of the realms.

Elsewhere, the description suggests that Ragnarok will pick up the main narrative thread left behind from the first. We're going to help Atreus as he "seeks knowledge to help him understand the prophecy of 'Loki' and establish his role in Ragnarok."

It looks like there will also be plenty of father-son bonding time, as "Kratos must decide whether to be shackled in fear of repeating his mistakes or free himself from his past to be the father Atreus needs."

New horizons

god of war ragnarok

(Photo credit: Sony)

It looks like Ragnarok is taking things up a notch. God of War only includes six of the nine Norse realms, and a handful of them are minor challenge areas rather than fully explorable worlds.

Midgard, the mortal realm, is the main explorable region in the game. Alfheim, home to the elves of light and dark, is the second area you enter. Muspelheim, the kingdom of fire, contains a series of arena challenges; while Niflheim includes the Mist Echoes labyrinth. You also quickly escape from Helheim, the Norse afterlife for those who die without honor; and visit Jotunheim in the final moments of the game.

It looks like God of War Ragnarok will complete the set. The last three realms are Asgard, Vanaheim, and Svartalfheim. The most important of these is Asgard, the home of the Ace gods and the seat of power in Norse mythology. In many ways, it is the largest and most central realm of all, home to the most well-known Aesir gods.

It is divided into several regions of its own. Valhalla is ruled by Odin, so we might end up entering the Golden Hall. Bilskírnir, meanwhile, serves as a seat for Thor, whose appearance in the game has already been confirmed.

Vanaheim is also important. It is the home of the Vanir gods, a group of witch deities who were once at war with the Aesir. Freya, who is designed to be the main antagonist of Ragnarok, belongs to them. According to God of War lore, she was cursed by Odin to prevent her from leaving Midgard, but we could spend quite a bit of time in Vanaheim given her importance in the Aesir-Vanir conflict.

Finally, Svartalfheim is the homeland of the dwarves. Although barely mentioned in the first game, Brok and Sindri, the two dwarf blacksmiths who help you, return in this next installment. Maybe they'll let us in.

There are still many questions, including how many of these kingdoms we will see. It's likely we'll be able to explore a new area of ​​Midgard and maybe even return to Kratos' forest home. Hopefully we can dive deeper into Muspelheim and Niflheim than the first game allowed.