2018’s God of War offers players the chance to explore various realms through its story campaign and open world environment. The action-adventure game combined Greek and Norse mythology as it follows Kratos and his son Atreus’ quest to spread the ashes of his deceased wife from the highest point of the nine realms.
All nine realms are referenced in God of War, and though not all of them are accessible, a good portion of them are. Some of the realms become open for exploration as the game’s story progresses whereas others need to be specifically unlocked. What is for certain, however, is that God of War’s open-world design gives players countless opportunities to explore and combat.
Midgard – the largest realm – is the one in which most of the story takes place. It’s accessible to players from the beginning and is the starting point for the game’s story. In Old Norse, Midgard was the name for Earth. But there are five other realms that can be accessed later on.
What Realms Can Players Travel To In God Of War?
The five other realms that can be accessed through the course of the game include:
- Alfheim
- Helheim
- Jotunheim
- Muspelheim
- Nilfheim
Players can first access Alfheim – the land of the light and dark elves – during The Light of Alfheim mission early on in the game. Helheim is the Norse underworld in God of War, and players first travel to the icy land during The Sickness Mission. Muspelheim is a fiery land that is home to the fire giants and allows players the opportunity to participate in various skill-testing trials and combat. Nilfheim, on the other hand, is a mysterious land filled with dangerous smoke and gas, which is where players can discover some of the best weapons in the game.
Both of these realms can be accessed by finding travel runes. God of War players will need to acquire language ciphers in order to collect the travel runes, which can be located on Midgard. Players can only find the fourth cipher once the main story progresses to a certain point. Jotunheim – the land of the giants – is the final realm that Kratos and Atreus visit in the game’s story. It can only be accessed once God of War's story campaign has been entirely played through.
There are three realms that are heavily referenced throughout the game but cannot be accessed even by the end of God of War. These include Asgard, Vanaheim, and Svartalfheim. Future installments of the God of War franchise are likely to include access to these realms, given the extent to which they were incorporated in the game, adding to the overall anticipation about the future of the franchise. Even when God of War’s story campaign ends, the various realms that can be unlocked offer a plethora of opportunity to extend gameplay and test out the player’s skills and wits.