The God of War series has always prided itself on its ability to take conventional myths and legends, and twist them into something playfully new and unique. In the original God of War series, it was Greek mythology that was taken, elevated, and transformed to deliver some of the most compelling boss fights and set pieces in all of gaming, and the modern reboot God of War series does the same for Norse mythology, albeit in a much more grounded way. But with the Norse Saga coming to a close, things might be about to change, and not necessarily for the better.
Santa Monica has been fairly clear over the last few years in stating that God of War Ragnarok is the definitive end of the God of War Norse Saga. While the devs haven't specifically stated that the series will never dabble in Norse mythology again, they have confirmed that Kratos and Atreus' Norse adventure stops here. And if that is truly the case, then the next God of War game is likely to tackle a whole new mythology altogether, which could mean the loss of this series' incredible Nine Realms setting.
The Next God of War Might Lose the Nine Realms
With the Norse Saga having come to a close with God of War Ragnarok, and a new setting on the horizon, it's looking increasingly likely that the next God of War game won't let players return to the Nine Realms. On one hand, a change of pace is never a bad thing for big AAA games, especially after God of War 2018 and Ragnarok felt quite similar to play through. On the other hand, a change of scenery could leave a successor feeling even more same-y than ever before.
The Nine Realms gave God of War's Norse Saga an incredible amount of variety, both in terms of visuals and gameplay. Both God of War and Ragnarok managed to keep players invested for the entirety of their respective runtimes with some excellent pacing, and a lot of that pacing has the Nine Realms to thank. From a visual perspective, the Nine Realms offered variety in spades. Each Realm boasted a completely different appearance from the last, with different architecture, weather, foliage, and fauna populating each one. Each Realm's distinct look only helps to make each location in God of War's Norse Saga all the more memorable. The vast differences in appearance between each of the Nine Realms also helps to make the player feel like they're actually going on an epic, mythological adventure.
The Nine Realms also offered a great deal of variation when it comes to gameplay as well. Along with different visual variations in architecture and environment, this was often paired with unique gameplay mechanics or challenges. For instance, the puzzle design in God of War and Ragnarok is often specific to an individual Realm, such as Alfheim's light crystal puzzles. This uniqueness often extended into each Realm's level design, with areas like Svartalfheim having a lot of underground dwarven caverns, while Midgard is mostly open-air environments that rely on a unique means of traversal. Setting the series across the Nine Realms also naturally leads to the games having a vast array of different enemy types, with foes from each Realm wanting to hunt down Kratos and Atreus.
If the next God of War is truly leaving the Nine Realms behind, then it runs a serious risk of losing a lot of what made the recent God of War series so beloved and unique in the first place. For instance, one of the most heavily rumored mythologies for the next God of War is Egyptian, and if that is the case, then a lot of its open-world might be dominated by deserts and similar-looking architecture, and while that'll be a nice change of pace for a little while, it might get stale after a 30-hour adventure.
