The official artwork for God of War Ragnarök’s Kratos, Tyr, Atreus, and several other key characters has been revealed by Sony Santa Monica Studio. After over a year of waiting, the PlayStation Showcase 2021 revealed God of War Ragnarok's title and gameplay, revealing some new characters and visual redesigns for several returning ones.
Thursday's gameplay reveal for God of War Ragnarok was an indulgent treat, debuting over three years after God of War's PS4 release. At last, a sizable snippet of the AAA spectacle that can be expected from the sequel's 2022 release was shown, and fans got a fresh look at God of War's impressive cast of characters. The trailer depicts demigod Kratos and his son Atreus brutalizing foes as they venture through snow-capped vistas in search of Tyr, the Norse god of war. They finally find him at the trailer’s conclusion, with the towering god looking a little worse for wear.
To follow up the hotly anticipated trailer, official character artwork for God of War Ragnarok was also revealed. Sharing the images on its Instagram page, Santa Monica Studio showed not only the artwork for Kratos himself, but also the designs for Thor Tyr, Atreus, Freya, Sindri, Angrboda, Durlin, Mimir, and Brok. Each portrait also details the actors behind these mythological characters, with several new members having been added to the modern God of War cast. This includes Ryan Hurst, who will portray Thor, the Norse god of thunder who wields the hammer Mjolnir - a legendary figure most recently popularized by the MCU.
In an post-show interview setting, Santa Monica Studio's Cory Barlog and Eric Williams discussed the sequel's development, where it was revealed that Barlog is not directing God of War Ragnarok. Instead, the game’s directorial duties have fallen to Williams, who has worked on every previous God of War in a design capacity. However, will be the first time that he has directed a game in the franchise. During this same interview, it was also revealed that Kratos and Atreus - who have gotten significant visual redesigns as seen above - will apparently not be able to prevent Ragnarok from occurring by the story's end. Just as it does in Viking myth, the apocalyptic event will spell the end for the gods and thus finish God of War's Norse pantheon duology.
This may comes as unexpected turn of events after the events God of War to some. Sony Santa Monica has never shied away from manipulating Greek or Norse mythology to better suit the games’ narratives, but this is evidently one event that will conclude as has been previously told. Whatever the case story-wise, it is liable to result in a bombastic finale driven by some equally legendary characters, whose new and altered designs match the occasion.
God of War: Ragnarök will be available for PS4 and PS5 in 2022.
Source: Santa Monica Studio/Instagram