When the latest God of War game was announced, fans revealed in the fact that the series
was jumping ships to a different kind of mythology; the Norse mythology.
It turned out to be a wise departure from the Greek mythos that we’ve been accustomed
to from the franchise.
But this game marks some pretty big changes for Kratos, not only in character, but also
in the game’s mechanics, and many found the Norse setting quite refreshing.
Shortly before the game was released, director Cory Barlog brought up some thoughts on later
games in the franchise that got a lot of people excited.
In an interview with Game Informer, Barlog stated, “The Greek games were the greek
era of God of War.
Moving on, the next mythological belief system he interacts with became the Norse era of
God of War.
But we may end up going on to the Egyptian era and the Mayan era and so on and so forth.”
Yeah, that’s a pretty big deal!
Talk of other mythologies sparked even more so once the game was released, thanks to a
piece of a wall panel found in Tyr’s Vault.
On the panel, four symbols are featured, one being the iconic Greek Omega that the series
is known for.
One was the Celtic Triskelion, another the Ja[anise symbol of Hachiman, and the third
the Egyptian Eye of Horus.
When asked about this Barlog said to Kotaku, “I’ve always looked at this universe like
our world.
The geography separates the cultural mythologies.
The cultural mythologies are stories of the zero-point to present day.
These are the birth and the origin of these cultures.”
The panel indicates the Tyr was capable of traveling to these other worlds.
Tyr was a giant.
Kratos clearly traveled from the Greek realm to the Norse one.
So considering those two points, Atreus most definitely would have the capacity to learn
how to do the same.
Back at E3 2016, Barlog had stated that the team was into the idea of doing an Egyptian
setting.
I quote, “Egyptian mythology is about the pharaohs as the embodiment of the gods on
earth and there’s a lot more about civilization.
It’s less isolated, less barren.
Having too much around distracts from that central theme of a strange in a strange place.”
Considering the team’s enthusiasm towards Ancient Egypt, if the series were to start
expanding after the Norse Era, it seems likely that the team would choose to go the Egyptian
route.
So, with all of that information, what can we gauge about a hypothetical God of War game
set in Ancient Egypt?
What would it entail?
Well for starters, let’s look at the roster of gods from Egyptian mythology.
We have Osiris, Isis, Ra, Horus, Bes, Bast, Set, Nekhbet, Anubis, Shu, Nephthys, Sobek,
Serqet, Khonus, Babi, Tawart, Geb, and Nut.
But there’s a few of these that are pretty important players in the mythos.
Ra is the sun god, the first pharaoh of the world, with each day his golden sun ship sailing
across the sky, traveling through the underground world of Duat during the night, fighting off
monsters.
After many centuries, Ra became old and senile, and gave his throne to Osiris, heading up
to the heavens instead.
But more on him in a second.
Next are Geb and Nut, the god of the earth and goddess of the sky.
These two were very much in love, but Ra had a prophecy that their children would overthrow
him one day, so he did everything he could to keep them apart.
That didn’t pan out though, and they had five children, the oldest being Osiris.
Osiris replaced Ra, becoming a wise and kind pharaoh.
Osiris was the god that taught the Egyptian people how to become a civilization, teaching
them about agriculture.
This is what Barlog meant about distractions; much of the Egyptian mythology is tied to
the people and the growth of their civilization.
Anywho, his brother Set became jealous of him, tricked him into lying down in a coffin,
which he then cut up into pieces and scattered all over Egypt.
Osiris’ wife Isis managed to find them all and put him back together, but Osiris wasn’t
the same; instead, he became the god of the underworld, sitting in judgment of souls.
Speaking of, Isis is the goddess of magic.
She’s clever, but also ambitious.
She’s the one who tricked Ra into retiring his position by poisoning him with a magic
snake, forcing him to reveal his secret name to her so she could have control over him.
She’s also the one who convinces her son Horus to take revenge on Set for Osiris’
death.
Set is one of the big baddies in this mythology.
The god of desert, storms and straight up evil, he’s considered the strongest among
them and is full of trickery.
But, it was only after Ra’s departure that he became evil, having helped the sun god
during his reign to keep back the armies of the chaos serpent Apep.
Horus would challenge him when the young god grew to manhood, making him known as the Avenger,
becoming Pharaoh himself since his father Osiris no longer could.
The mortal pharaohs of Egypt would go on to be considered descendants of Horus.
So all in all, there’s some solid family trouble and toil going on between the Egyptian
gods.
And we all know how familial ties tend to play out when it comes to the God of War franchise.
That being said, there are plenty of ‘friendly gods’ in the mythos so we may see some more
friends rather than just an onslaught of foes.
So how would Kratos and Atreus play into this?
Well, if some of the speculations are correct, Atreus will eventually take over for his father
in the series, which would open up the possibilities in terms of his interactions with the Egyptian
gods.
Well, for starters, even though we’ve been promised by the God of War team that this
game won’t be the last we see of Kratos, there is a very strong possibility that the
Norse Era will be his last; he’ll be totaling around 10 games by that point.
Considering that the series has shown with its latest installment that it’s not afraid
of change, boldly switching up the approach for God of War is not the only story but also
in mechanics, having another drastic change occur down the road isn’t something that’s
unimaginable.
Atreus could very well become our new protagonist in the Egyptian Era.
If that were the case, what would his mission be?
Well, let’s look at the themes that the games have juggled in the past; revenge, controlling
one’s rage, and, of course, family dynamics.
Atreus (or Kratos, for that matter) will likely be thrust into some sort of immortal conflict.
Perhaps Atreus finds himself romantically involved with one of the gods?
Or, like his father, the gods may intervene in his life and harm someone he’s close
to?
Perhaps that’s how Atreus becomes our protagonist; Kratos is killed off by the likes of Set.
The timeline for this potential series of games is also up for debate; it seems likely
that all of this godly family drama would have already passed when Kratos and Atreus’
story begins in their realm.
This is because the time period that the God of War team seemed interested in was one in
which the Egyptian civilization was prominent; that distraction Barlog spoke of when deciding
to go with Norse mythology instead.
Enough of when it would take place; how about where?
There’s no doubt that we’d see Memphis as one of the game’s settings.
Thebes and Abydos are other likely candidates.
Surely some of the action would take place along the Nile, and if Osiris is involved,
we’d definitely see the underworld come to life.
Weapons are also a big part of the God of War franchise.
The Blades of Chaos and the leviathan ax are very much integral to the cultures of their
eras in the series.
So it’s safe to assume that if a God of War game were to take place in Ancient Egypt,
that Kratos or Atreus would wield something distinct of that time period.
We’re talking the likes of a Khopesh sword, reed arrows, or a fan ax, which appeared in
Egyptian hieroglyphics although archaeologists never actually found one in the flesh.
Maybe even the Hyksos war chariot would make an appearance.
And what kinds of enemies would you be fighting with these weapons?
Mummies may be the main enemy type that you’d have to plow through and seem like the most
obvious choice.
Grave robbers, depending on the time period, may also be present, and in terms of mythological
beasts, there would no doubt be a giant serpent or two eager to ingest you whole.
So, with all that in mind, if there were to be a God of War game set in Ancient Egypt,
how much of this do you think would likely play into the game’s narrative and the world?
Do you think the Norse Era will be the end of Kratos, or is he just too important for
Santa Monica to want to replace him with his son?
Let us know all of your thoughts in those comments below!
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