The reason Faye, Kratos’s wife could see everything is that the giants can see the future, which is why Atreus (Loki) said he dreamt about being eaten as a child, he predicted being swallowed by the World Serpent. Atreus being Loki was also foreshadowed when Kratos told him he was a god, Atreus asked if he could turn into an animal, a wolf, which is a known ability of Loki, who was a shapeshifter. Also Baldur went to look for Faye, that’s why when he first met Kratos he said, “I thought you’d be bigger…” because Baldur was expecting the meet a giant
And Lokis being the Father or "Parent" of a lot of the nordic beasts, explains why he can pickup languages that fast. I'm so hyped for him to react to Ragnarök
Yeah, I thought that bait and switch with Baldur's "i thought you'd be bigger line" coupled with the 'you were supposed to be so intelligent, SO enlightened compared to us" was a great trick by the writers. Most people (myself included), assumed he was referring to the Greeks, as they were famous for being a very enlightened and sophisticated society, so it plays into the expectations of both Kratos, AND the player.
Also add they nicely hid a clue in plain sight for those who know Norse mythology. Loki's mother is Laufey in Norse mythology, but Faye is a name we are as people familiar with so we didn't think about it too much, till it's revealed he's Loki, then we would go Faye=Laufey.
The whole "I thought you'd be bigger" comment never made sense to me. Surely, as one of the aesir, Baldur would know as Atreus knows, that it is just a name for the race and not all giants are gigantic in stature? So with that in mind, why expect a gigantic individual?
Might have to slow this down ever so slightly because I'm not having a life out of work so to speak. At the same time, I love the fact you guys are enjoying it so I'll keep it going a little longer. Ragnarok should be next week... hopefully.
@@kaizammit if you enjoyed this one, you're gonna love ragnarok because everything is coming full circle. I would recommend reading a summary of God of War 1-3 etc. to get good understanding of kratos past and the person he became - so ragnarok feels even more rewarding :) I love watching you enjoying the game, story and amazing cinematography :) a lot of people don't even realize how great the camera is.
@@kaizammit I know its a bit easier and faster to do reactions like these more than the filmmaker deep dives and analysis that you do. I'm glad you're jumping into Ragnarok soon, really enjoyed these two and halo infinite. I did notice you started making less comments about the filmmaking and camerawork halfway through this video, I assume its because you got so engrossed in the story.
Exactly that! If I talk less and less about Filmmaking, it becomes about the story. The game has won me over. That is the ultimate commentary without saying a single word.
I choke up at the entire boat ride home to get the Blades of Chaos scene..."I am your monster no longer," kills me. Even watching Kai react to it bloody got me 😂
1:58:08 One thing to note is that Freya NEVER apologises for robbing him of the ability to feel, she says she made mistakes, she says she did it more for herself than for him, but she never says she's sorry for doing it, that's probably what pissed Baldur off most.
14:30 Athena is a caracter from the old God of war games she tricked Kratos to becoming a ''monster'' and the blades where a curse he couldnt get rid of so him picking them back up again shows him facing his painful past to fight for his son, i wont spoil to much in case you want to react or watch the old ones they are amazing
Also, both Kratos and Athena are aware that Kratos has to kill for his selfish reasons again. This type of inhumane murders made Kratos a monster before. He knows he has no other choice in order to save his son but the decision is at least not under a manipulation of another god.
In the myth, Frigg makes every object in existence swear an oath not to harm Baldur. Only Mistletoe does not swear the oath because it is too young to swear an oath. Also in the myth, Loki is somewhat responsible for Baldur's death. He tricks another god into throwing a mistletoe spear at Baldur.
Actually, Frigg makes every object that touches the ground swear an oath to never harm Baldur, but Mistletoe never touches the ground, therefore it is exempt. Other than that, you are correct! It's a minor detail compared to what you wrote, but an important one nonetheless!
@@martinhenriksen4618 I read multiple versions of it. As far as I am aware there is no consensus on what the actual truth is. It's just that this happens to be the one I heard first. Not that I'm an expert or anything. It's just what I read
@@PWJB That is fair. I completely agree that there are varying versions of it. The 'touching earth' version I mentioned is the one that I've always been taught while being raised in the pagan belief. It is important to remember however, that it is simply legends and myths. Therefore they are all equally likely to be the original version :)
Old religions are basically a game of telephone much of the time. The primary sources can be fragmentary, and subject to (often biased) translation errors and interpretation. Even the stuff written in stone has led to arguments between mythology scholars, including the idea GOW runs with, that Frigg and Freya are the same person (heard a similar theory on Garmr and Fenrir), not helped by the fact everyone has multiple names. My assumption is that the original scribes assumed the reader already knows if Freya and Frigg are the same person or not. They weren't counting on a bunch of academics a millenium or so later having to puzzle it out.
Now you absolutely have to go back and re-watch Baldur showing up at their door in the beginning. The dialogue has a completely new meaning in hindsight.
@@xeox4280I think the assumption in first play is that Baldur is after Kratos. No reason to think otherwise then. If you rewatch that, he thinks Kratos is Faye, because she’s on his hip. It’s like watching the sixth sense a second time. You see all the hints that were right there along the way.
@@xeox4280 Completely entirely. He's looking for a Giant, so while Kratos is tall, he was "expecting bigger". Midgard is "far from home" of Jotunheim. The Giants were highly intelligent, "so much smarter" and had the gift of prophecy, "enlightened". But anyone coming off the original trilogy knows the Greek gods could be huge, so Kratos would fit the bill of being smaller than the Stranger was expecting. Sparta/Greece is geographically pretty far from Norway(or a similar country likely used as inspiration for this slice of Midgard), so far from home is a check. The Greeks were known for being very smart and enlightened through philosophy, even Spartans. Everything he said could be applied to Kratos and is meant to trick you into thinking it so, but now knowing he was seeking Faye, the last Giant in Midgard, the only one who could open the gate to Jotunheim, and there you have it. Plus he gives up quick on Kratos when he realizes he can't write the runes and Atreus can, so he snatches him to take to Odin.
Idk if you’re watching a cut that’s longer but if not it seems it’s missing some key discussions during gameplay. Mimir semi explains what’s happening with Atreus as “a conflict of the mind presents itself as an ailment to the body”
Essentially what Mimir was trying to tell Kratos at the end when the dialog cut was that, After explaining to Kratos that Fimbil Winter was coming due to Baldur's death, would spam for 3 winters then Ragnarok, with Kratos saying that prophecies are gibberish nonsense, but Mimir quickly noting to Kratos, "NO", prophecy wasn't suppose to happen so soon, more like a hundred years from now, but something changed that might of caused an unkown shift with the prophecy happening so soon with the death of Baldur, Mimir then stating that the original prophecy of Norse probably didn't originally have Kratos in mind, which is such a clever, and awesome twist to the original Norse Myth, and Kratos getting involved affected and changed prophecy, but ironically, this new prophecy in which this game is taking place, is the prophecy that Faye(Kratos's deceased wife), envisioned, and planned for. Which is why she forged her own path from the Giants which didn't agree or wanted to follow, leading Faye to set out to fulfill her vision. (My guess is that though Faye's prophecy was about the events of this game, and God of War Ragnarok, the other Giant's visions of the future and there prophecies was about the original Norse Mythology which we know didn't happen the same way in the God of War games but overall, still amazing and just a theory, Also, on a side note, Faye or Laufey, her full name, in original Norse, is not a Giant but a Goddess, and her husband in original Norse is named Fárbauti, and is actually Giant. So cleverly, since the God of War Games shifted the myth and events, Kratos would take the place and role Faye would have had, and Faye took the role of her original husband in Norse Myth being born a Giant and meeting Kratos cause both Faye and Fárbauti - Kratos and Faye, would have a child of mischievous, Loki. Pretty freaking cool)
18:03 I love the call back to the opening of the game with him hiding the scars of his old chains in bandages. Now he’s tying his arms back up in those chains. He once used those blades with anger in his heart, now he uses them with love for his son.
I think Atreus’ growth happens this fast for 2 reasons: 1. Helheim is all about torturing people with their past and their misdeeds. Atreus being forced to see his behavior contradicting everything his mother ever taught him was probably a wake up call. 2. He thought he was a powerful god but Baldur manhandled him like a rag-doll and everything just got worse and worse. He was probably on a high when he killed Modi, but seeing his weakness on top of his actions probably made it seem an undesirable path to walk.
And seeing how Kratos brutally beat the old man was must have been shocking. Kratos told Atreus earlier that he was teaching him to kill for self defense and not indulgence, yet there he was, casting aside his weapons and beating that man to death in a fit of rage. Even if at this point Atreus didn't know who the old man was, he knew that he was someone important to his father and that it deeply affected him.
@ That’s a good point. Because it must’ve been a wake up call to see both how weak your father knows this situation, and also who you could become if you don’t change your ways.
Yeah, whoever played the game was terrible... maniacly sprinting, not facing points of interest, rushing over Mimirs point of discovering Baldurs weakness, horrible.
@@HoodedMushroomthe sprinting was a mistake. It really takes you out of the cinematic experience and messes up the pacing of dramatic moments. Edit: I just realized the way I said this sounds like one of those AI bots, I promise I’m not lol
The upside to the uploader being bad at just about everything is that Kai will get to experience all those things when he gets to play the game. Sure, it affects our enjoyment by not getting to see his reaction, but I imagine it will be an awesome moment for him when he gets to it.
What I love about your videos is all these terms and techniques you recognise and throw our way. You definitely know your stuff! And im sure exploring all these videogames we love you'll pick up things to incorporate into your own projects. Ahh beautiful! Also, the reason the mistletoe was the only thing be able to hurt him is because Freya thought nothing as innocent as a mistletoe could ever do any harm
Ahhh that's so interesting! Completely harmless until someone weaponises it! 🤔. Thank you for the kind comment regarding the videos, I'm glad you like them.
2:15:30 - I love the fact that the sun is high in the sky for the ash scattering as opposed to setting. A setting sun feels like the end of a story but for Kratos and Atreus, it's the start of a new one
Egypt was actually the developers first choice for where to send Kratos but they ultimately decided against it. Prior to the release of this game they made a tie-in comic that had Kratos landing in Egypt before being told by someone that his destiny lies elsewhere for now. It is largely expected that the franchise will be set in Egypt in the future.
The reason that only the mistletoe worked is because Freya went to everything in the universe and they all swore not to hurt Baldur, But she forgot the mistletoe because it was too young, therefore the only thing that could ever hurt him was the mistletoe hope this helps
All along when Atreus became angry he would cough or cough blood (the "sickness") - he collapsed when he manifested true Spartan rage. Thinking himself mortal he didn't know how to process it.
@@kaizammit Ragnaröck is amazing! They started with a simple mortal task to spred the ashes of atreus mother and ended up getting in a fight with the gods. Imagin how the next game will be because it escalates on the same scale! Cant whait to see your reactinon.
@@kaizammitit may get confusing at parts cause there is a lot and I mean A LOT of Easter eggs and spoilers for the first 3 game. Definitely watch God of war 3 before and it’ll answer so many of your questions while giving you the same amount of hype that the nerds have!! Also I’ve only just started watching your content as I’ve taken a recent passion into cinematography, having someone drip feeding knowledge where it isn’t too much or too little has been awesome for me to learn what certain things are, names of shots as well! Love how positive you are in each of these vids as well!! You definitely need way more subs than what you have for the level of content you provide!! Cheers to you mate🎉
Theres a lot of context and stories I think you'd really enjoy, that this edit cuts, a lot of dialogue between characters that can only be found in gameplay and in those moments like when they're travelling by boat. Having that context adds so much more to these characters, and Atreus' turn around is paced much better with gameplay to break up the story. I also cant recommend the previous games enough, even if you just watch the lore for those, get a recap on the previous games! Great reaction none the less, im always glad to see people enjoying the stories in this game!
52:35- Confronting Mimir to say gods know what's best, the contrast between the desolate, lifeless, snowy mountains on the left, and the rich, hopeful, full-of-life hills on the right. The path Atreus chooses will determine the fate of Midgard. Sensational visual storytelling
That is why the World Serpent recognized Atreus, Loki married a Giant called Angrboda and fathered 3 children: Fenrir the giant wolf, World Serpent and Hela the goddess of the underworld. Loki also had a second wife named Sigyn who gave birth to 2 children Nari and Narfi.
I never been more excited for a video, loved part 1 and couldn’t wait for part 2. I really enjoy your reactions and always fun to see someone else experience great videos or games for the first time. Keep up the great work man!
There's a dialogue that should have been included for the final fight to make more sense for you. In it Mimir explains that with the spells Odin put on her, Freya can't fight even to defend herself. She is incapable of harming any living thing (except for plants, apparently).
The ending reveal allows you to put all the earlier hints together, such as when Kratos told the boy he was a god the boy asked if he can turn into a wolf or turn invisible just like Loki does.
Knowing Greek and Norse mythology and being familiar with Norse runes is a great advantage in this game. But Freya revealed how to defeat Baldur way back in the game - "Where did you get those mistletoe arrows? They're evil. Destroy any you find. It's all I ask."
A neat little visual detail, at 7:24 when Kratos is in his Spartan Rage (visualized by the color filter going red tinted), as soon as he picks up Atreus, it shuts off. His blind rage quenched and smothered by his fear and worry for his son.
"A great winter to span 3 summers, and when its done... Ragnarök begins. Another Prophecy? No, prophecy didnt expect this for another 100 winters at least. You changed something. " Thats roughly the dialogue it cut right near the end.
Thank you so much. Your comment means the world to me. It's nice now because I genuinely can be me doing it. I like the mixture of filmmaker and ex gamer geek. It's good for the soul and if it makes your day a tad more enjoyable or that you learn even just the one thing. Then it's totally worth it.
It's funny that, due to the random nature of the lightning at the end, some players don't realize it's Thor until he reveals the hammer by moving his cape. In some gameplays, the lightning reveals the hammer as the camera zooms in on Thor, as it does here.
The relationship between the actors for Kratos and Atreus is awesome too. Throughout Ragnarok’s production, Atreus’ actor grew into a teenager and organically did so in the game as well and Kratos’ amazing actor recounted in multiple speeches how much of an honor it felt to play his dad and to see him grow up through this story and to see him grow as an actor and that he’s so proud of him like he’s his own son. ❤ melts my heart everytime
there is a documentary about the making of this game called "raising kratos". its more about the events of the games production than the technical filmmaking stuff but i still think its interesting
I just realized how impressive of a feat balder achieved by knocking out the World Serpent, a being that was an even match with Thor! He was right, he really isn't his brother. Also the reason why Freya didn't attack Kratos right away was because she was cursed to not cause any harm to anything living.
U shood look at a recap of God of war 1-3 and too the hole god of war 3 game! ull see the chaos Kratos did and how he ended up in the north! not a request, just a tip :) These games here dont need you too know him beforehand, it just adds alot too him as a character The older games are more or less hack and slash games, button mash really, hard in its own way, but after the God of war 3, ppl got tierd of it. and the devs were agreeing with them. and OBOY, if you think this game was cool, the next one will be a treat!
I want to watch the next game asap. I also wanted to cover the old games too. Perhaps a recap might spoil my video to the older games. Choices, choices. If I do start Ragnarok, it will be next week. Yikes!
@@kaizammit as long as you watch the recaps for 1-3 they don't spoil anything for gow ragnarok! there are a few good videos out there that explain the first few games which i recommend you take a look at (the one i'd suggest is a 20min video by a channel called Suggestive Gaming), just to give context to kratos' past which will make more sense in the sequel :)
The blades of chaos are essentially Kratos' reminder of the oath he took to Ares when he was facing a barbaric horde and was this close to dying. When all was said and done, Olympus was in ruins and Kratos tried sticking a sword into his own chest but it didn't take. So he started wondering the world until he reached the lands of the Norse gods. The blades are also bound to him. While wondering the world, he tried throwing them away multiple times but they somehow always managed to be in front of him. It wasn't until he started a new family that the blades left him alone.
Reason why he was in 1st person while looking at his past was because the player had a 1st person camera angle while we were fighting Zeus by the end of the game.
1:39:55/1:40:23/1:42:16 Baldur manage to punch the World Serpent in just 3 regular punches of his bare hands although the World Serpent had Kratos and Atreous inside of it's stomach with the pair looking for Mimir's other eye, because the World Serpent wasn't paying to much attention it's surrounding, however do keep in mind that the World Serpent was caught off guard by Baldur and was essentially weakened.
Thanks for not constantly pausing to talk like a lot of other RUclipsrs do. You have no idea how much I appreciate that lol. Makes watching this so much more enjoyable.
13:14, that thunder has a theory it is actually cus of thor, as in the later section modi comes again beaten by thorn, there's a thing that the thunder is thor bullying modi XD
Just found out this channel and decided to binge some videos while drawing! It's always great to see people experience for the first time Video Game stories, especially nowadays where the technology has evolved to such incredible lengths that it's almost lifelike and very cinematic. I love the breakdowns as well gives us a bit of insight on filmmaking l, thank you for your videos.
I'd definitely recommend playing the game for yourself, because as others have pointed out there's a lot of context and additional story beats that's built into the game itself that the person recording the cutscene compilation frustratingly edit out or rush past
I'm so happy you're tackling the God of War games, especailly the idea you might go back and look at the old cutscenes to get more context. If you haven't already talked about it - I'd check out the Raising Kratos documentary which is free on RUclips. But I'm excited to see you tackle Ragnarok, and the following DLC with Valhalla. Good luck! I'll be here every step of the way :)
man i cannot wait for you to post the ragnarok reaction, really loved your reaction more than anyone else, not only do you pay insane attention to detail when it comes to the lore, enviorment and everything, but I also learn a lot from you about film making and etc.
Without spoiling the older games or the next game I will mention what was mentioned in this game, for context of Kratos and his back story and growth, he sold his soul in exchange for power he was then working for the gods but they tricked him into doing some regretable and scarring things, he was then consumed by anger and vengeance and he got his revenge that is why he is known as the "bloody ghost of sparta" as mentioned by Mimir, Kratos tries to escape his past, and travels to the land of the Norse. This is why Kratos coming back for his blades was a big thing for him. The new god of wars are Kratos embracing his past and at same time trying to be better.
Please make sure to watch Ragnarok and Valhalla on the channel. They’re both great and Valhalla has such a perfect message it made me look at my life differently (Valhalla is about Kratos and his journey since the first god of war game)
Funny how you said people were complaining about using gamer's little playground but they are legitimately the best one to show you the transition between gameplay and cutscene. Along with the player actually knowing where to look instead of these long scenes where the characters just looking at nothing. Like for example in tears vault when you're just standing there you said that you don't mind these "loading screens" there's murals on the wall which the character should be looking at
The dual blades are his iconic Chaos Blades from the Greek series. They were curse bound to him. Those wrappings are bloody because there are wounds from the chains having burned into his flesh.
I just finished Ragnarok a few days ago. Loving watching you watch this, gives a nice opportunity to relive the story and get a slight understanding of how they blew me away. Also a great opportunity to hear Christopher Judge's voice again without delving back into Stargate.
This was such a joy to watch. Your expertise turned into just general investment in the story. And I just loved following along with all the twists and turns. I would absolutely love to see Ragnarok done!
2:27:20 The “years later” bit was saying that the small video clip was released, in our time, years later. When God of War: Ragnarok was being teased, this was what we started getting hype about. Then “present day”, meaning present day in our time, Atreus says what he does in game now that the sequel to it is out.
I really enjoy these videos, or rather the videos on your channel. Entertaining general commentary, but then some tips and tricks that can be really helpful when setting up scenes, whether it be IRL or rendered. Love it
Fun fact: in Norse mythology, Freya made everything in the 9 realms promise to never harm Baldur (enchanted promise so can’t be broken) but she left out mistletoe because it was such a weak thing that she thought it would never kill him until Loki shot Baldur with a mistletoe arrow, causing Ragnarök to start
17:33 you just dont know how nostalgic of a moment this was for us who grew up playing this series to see the Blades of Chaos again man You really have to go back and cover the old games to fully understand Kratos how much he's grown as a person and how much of a monster he really was
I was blown away by the quality of the cinematics in God of War 2018 and I'm glad the quality stayed consistent in Ragnarok, looking forward to your reaction to that.
And the little stones in Freya's necklace have runes on them that spell out Baldur. A replica of the necklace was on display at one of the game shows before the release of the game tagged with "the necklace of the Witch of the Woods" - only later did they realize "Oops! We just gave away the identity of the Witch of the Woods to anyone who can read runes."
i can't see anyone else mentioning this so just for some norse mythology context: the death of baldur/baldr is what sets off fimbulwinter, at theend of which ragnarok happens. that's why he mentions the snow as he's dying; it's already started. just like with how magni and modi were supposed to survive ragnarok, it wasn't supposed to be baldur's time yet. but that's before kratos (and loki tbh because yeah, mischief, but also change)
I think what i love is that you learned about odin and thor through Mimir and the stories. Theres a interesting relationship of the player/audience is witnessing what thor and odin did through history and you are left with a lense that the gods have a bad taste of violence elitism and tragedy.
Man i love watching this story unfold, i've watched it, played it and then watched it again. So awesome. Mimirs stories are also suuuper interesting so if you ever get around to finishing ragnaröks story there's a supercut somewhere on youtube. Might not be fitting for a reaction but you seemed very keen to hear more of his tales^^
Love it. As always Kai, amazing job, I really like listening to your explanations and experience. It only adds to my own curiosity and enjoyment in both video games and cinema. 🍻❤️
Re-watching this with you I forgot how epic the final battle sequence was. I forgot how crazy it was to have all that stuff going on with Freya and Baldur.
It's cool that watching this game a second time, you pick up on very subtle things. Like in Part 1 after Kratos has his fight with Baldur and then gets Atreus out of the hatch in the floor, you can see him give a quick glance at the bundle holding the Blades of Chaos before he shuts the hatch.
The reason why mistletoe harmed Baldur in this game is that in real Norse mythology, Baldur’s mother, Frigg asked all of the world not to harm her son, she went around and asked the animals, the the plants m, etc. to not harm her son, but she forgot to ask the mistletoe, that’s why it’s the only thing that can hurt him, and in actual Norse mythology the god of mischief Loki tricked Baldur’s brother into shooting a mistletoe arrow at Baldur, killing him
This game, Ragnarok, & The Last Of Us really do take things up a few notches for cinematic storytelling in games! And thank you so much for explaining the "why" of where it works and doesn't from your vastly more educated cinematic pov :) There are many games with very different approaches to story telling that are also fantastic imo, such as games like the Dark Souls series that are more about lore than story, more narrator driven but mostly or completely "on stick" experiences like The Beginner's Guide. Those games to an exent are ones that tell stories that feel like they can *only* work in an interactive medium. And even more so, for reasons I won't spoil, games like Portal, Bioshock, etc (for those who haven't played them, well worth it, or worth watching a play through!) I think that is what I love about the medium. There is something for everyone in games, and when you find a series like this that has exciting, engaging and varied gameplay *as well* as an incredibly well realised story it is just incredible. But sometimes even just hitting some parts of that, or just gameplay only is enough.
when it's revealed that Faye was actually a giantess warrior known as The Guardian, my mind instantly went back to the introduction of Baldur and recontextualized the entire conversation which shows the genius it is of how we got a whole story out of a misunderstanding: > "Come on out! It’s no use hiding anymore. I know who you are. More importantly, I know what you are!" Baldur thinks he's found The Guardian, the only other known Giant left in Midgard aside from Jörmungandr. Meanwhile, Kratos thinks that his identity as a foreign God has been exposed. > "Just tell me what I want to know! No need for this to get bloody." Since Baldur thinks Kratos is the Guardian then he has the knowledge Odin seeks about how to get to Jötunheim. > "Thought you’d be bigger. But you’re definitely the one. Long way from home, aren’t you?" Since Baldur thought that Kratos was a Giant he would be bigger. He also taunts Kratos about how far away from Jötunheim he is. Whereas Kratos thinks he's talking about Greece. > "Hahaha! And here I thought your kind was supposed to be so enlightened. So much better than us. So much smarter. And yet you hide out here in the woods - like a coward." This line is my favorite. It's framed that he's talking about the differences between the Greek and the Norse where in actuality he's talking about the Aesir and the Giants. This insight also leads to a separate even better insight as to why all these Norse gods pick a fight with Kratos, the guy who has basically killed an entire pantheon worth of gods on his own: They don't even know who Kratos is! The only ones in the game who actually know that he's the Ghost of Sparta is Kratos himself, Mimir, and maybe Jörmungandr.
The entire OG God Of War Series doesn't have a third person camera, rather a fixed camera that shows the entire area. So having fixed cams, the cinematography is simply BEAUTIFUL. Unrivalled to any other game camera to me. I feel you would LOVE it so you must check it out if you can't play it
This was phenomenal. So much fun to watch through. I highly recommend you take a look at Ragnarok as well. My personal favourite of the two. And I think it would be right up your alley. Fantastic video, commentary and input. As always!
❤ What a fabulous way to re-experience this masterpiece of a story with you! As excited as you are to see Ragnarör, we are just as excited to see it with you 😊
It’s theorized that Egyptian gods are next, but they do wanna do each mythology. Also those chain scars are from when he first got the Blades of Chaos, they were a weapon that Ares had created for him, to ensure he knew the sacrifice he had to make to ares, he made sure it would be a permanent reminder by searing the chains against his skin, not to mention the blades are cursed to him, no matter how much he throws them away they will find their way back to him.
Love the breakdowns without pausing the video! I believe you'd like the Middle Earth Shadow of Mordor/War games. They’re well put together imo and a fun playthrough
I'll always love the light motif and the moment @ 27:14 after Kratos kills the bridge keeper and takes his heart when he gently places a hand on his chest almost as if he was apologizing for murdering him but it's what he had to do to save his son. Kratos respects him not just for his heart but because he was simply performing his duties as bridge keeper and he died protecting his realm.
1:27:14, they actually had a lot more gameplay planned to show Atreus's descent into being a cruel god and coming back from it but they didn't have enough time to create it because of the release date deadline.
Always glad to see someone who reacts to this game (IMO) the best way: 100% blind. This game was made for veterans who've played all of the prior ones, AND newcomers who know absolutely nothing. They have tons of references for the people who know to remember, but for people like Kai who knew nothing, they masterfully dropped nuggets about Kratos' past like breadcrumbs. You don't feel like you're missing out, you're being told a mystery. For me it all comes down to the scene Kratos gets the blades of chaos. For the newcomers, you get a sense of wonder, and curiosity of their origins. For the experienced, you get swept in a tsunami of nostalgia, and sentimentality. Being one of those people who watch a 20 minute youtube video of "Kratos' story explained" end up getting the worst of both worlds. You know what they are, but it means nothing to you.
Its finally here!! I can't wait to watch this later tonight with my dinner. Thank you! Also, now that you know the big twist at the end, I highly recommend checking out Good Blood's video "Untangling God of War" here on youtube if you want insight into how Santa Monica Studios created the basis for the story and their take on the universe.
If you ever happen to go back to the moment to where Baldur first met Kratos at his house and listened to his words, you'll realize he was addressing Kratos as a giant from Jotunheim rather than a greek God. Also, gameclips whose video we just watched apparently also did a video supposedly featuring Kratos' full story from his time in Greece to Ragnarok, DLC of ragnarok is a seperate video but highly recommend watching Kratos full story because I felt you would have felt more emotional connection and saw/heard references in regard to the previous games.
It's rather subtle, but I love that every time they both fall from a great height together, Kratos grabs Atreus and uses his body to break Atreus' fall.
Love your videos man. Great content. When you watch Ragnarok, keep in mind that there is A LOT of story content that is given during the gameplay (mostly while walking around) instead of during cutscenes. So you may have some questions depending on what is included on the video you watch.
I cannot wait to watch your Ragnarok video. The God of War games are among my favorite and these last two were aaabsolutely incredible cinematic and storytelling rollercoasters. They've announced a remaster of God of War 1, 2 and 3 for PS5. There is no greater time to become a God of War fan!
![FILMMAKER REACTS: GOD OF WAR RAGNARÖK (2022) | [ALL CUTSCENES - PART 1!!] | CAN I COME IN?](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/T6jeoPstHcw/mqdefault.jpg)
![FILMMAKER REACTS: GOD OF WAR RAGNARÖK (2022) | [ALL CUTSCENES - PART 1!!] | CAN I COME IN?](/img/tr.png)
![FILMMAKER REACTS: GOD OF WAR (2018) | [ALL CUTSCENES - PART 1!!] | IS IT ANY GOOD!?](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/wvC5tlUyDnU/mqdefault.jpg)
The reason Faye, Kratos’s wife could see everything is that the giants can see the future, which is why Atreus (Loki) said he dreamt about being eaten as a child, he predicted being swallowed by the World Serpent. Atreus being Loki was also foreshadowed when Kratos told him he was a god, Atreus asked if he could turn into an animal, a wolf, which is a known ability of Loki, who was a shapeshifter. Also Baldur went to look for Faye, that’s why when he first met Kratos he said, “I thought you’d be bigger…” because Baldur was expecting the meet a giant
Ahhhhh.
And Lokis being the Father or "Parent" of a lot of the nordic beasts, explains why he can pickup languages that fast.
I'm so hyped for him to react to Ragnarök
Yeah, I thought that bait and switch with Baldur's "i thought you'd be bigger line" coupled with the 'you were supposed to be so intelligent, SO enlightened compared to us" was a great trick by the writers. Most people (myself included), assumed he was referring to the Greeks, as they were famous for being a very enlightened and sophisticated society, so it plays into the expectations of both Kratos, AND the player.
Also add they nicely hid a clue in plain sight for those who know Norse mythology. Loki's mother is Laufey in Norse mythology, but Faye is a name we are as people familiar with so we didn't think about it too much, till it's revealed he's Loki, then we would go Faye=Laufey.
The whole "I thought you'd be bigger" comment never made sense to me. Surely, as one of the aesir, Baldur would know as Atreus knows, that it is just a name for the race and not all giants are gigantic in stature? So with that in mind, why expect a gigantic individual?
You've been pumping out so much content recently I'm loving the consistency and speed of the uploads. Looking forward to Ragnarok!
Might have to slow this down ever so slightly because I'm not having a life out of work so to speak. At the same time, I love the fact you guys are enjoying it so I'll keep it going a little longer. Ragnarok should be next week... hopefully.
@@kaizammit if you enjoyed this one, you're gonna love ragnarok because everything is coming full circle. I would recommend reading a summary of God of War 1-3 etc. to get good understanding of kratos past and the person he became - so ragnarok feels even more rewarding :)
I love watching you enjoying the game, story and amazing cinematography :) a lot of people don't even realize how great the camera is.
@@kaizammit I know its a bit easier and faster to do reactions like these more than the filmmaker deep dives and analysis that you do. I'm glad you're jumping into Ragnarok soon, really enjoyed these two and halo infinite. I did notice you started making less comments about the filmmaking and camerawork halfway through this video, I assume its because you got so engrossed in the story.
Exactly that! If I talk less and less about Filmmaking, it becomes about the story. The game has won me over. That is the ultimate commentary without saying a single word.
@@kaizammit Ragnarok next week? Awesome!!!
The voice acting... Just wow.
The ending always makes me cry.
I CAN NOT WAIT for the Rangorök!
I choke up at the entire boat ride home to get the Blades of Chaos scene..."I am your monster no longer," kills me. Even watching Kai react to it bloody got me 😂
1:58:08 One thing to note is that Freya NEVER apologises for robbing him of the ability to feel, she says she made mistakes, she says she did it more for herself than for him, but she never says she's sorry for doing it, that's probably what pissed Baldur off most.
14:30 Athena is a caracter from the old God of war games she tricked Kratos to becoming a ''monster'' and the blades where a curse he couldnt get rid of so him picking them back up again shows him facing his painful past to fight for his son, i wont spoil to much in case you want to react or watch the old ones they are amazing
Also, both Kratos and Athena are aware that Kratos has to kill for his selfish reasons again. This type of inhumane murders made Kratos a monster before. He knows he has no other choice in order to save his son but the decision is at least not under a manipulation of another god.
He should just watch the cutscenes for those games too
Caracter.
In the myth, Frigg makes every object in existence swear an oath not to harm Baldur. Only Mistletoe does not swear the oath because it is too young to swear an oath. Also in the myth, Loki is somewhat responsible for Baldur's death. He tricks another god into throwing a mistletoe spear at Baldur.
Actually, Frigg makes every object that touches the ground swear an oath to never harm Baldur, but Mistletoe never touches the ground, therefore it is exempt. Other than that, you are correct! It's a minor detail compared to what you wrote, but an important one nonetheless!
Always wondered the story reason for mistletoe
@@martinhenriksen4618 I read multiple versions of it. As far as I am aware there is no consensus on what the actual truth is. It's just that this happens to be the one I heard first.
Not that I'm an expert or anything. It's just what I read
@@PWJB That is fair. I completely agree that there are varying versions of it. The 'touching earth' version I mentioned is the one that I've always been taught while being raised in the pagan belief.
It is important to remember however, that it is simply legends and myths. Therefore they are all equally likely to be the original version :)
Old religions are basically a game of telephone much of the time. The primary sources can be fragmentary, and subject to (often biased) translation errors and interpretation.
Even the stuff written in stone has led to arguments between mythology scholars, including the idea GOW runs with, that Frigg and Freya are the same person (heard a similar theory on Garmr and Fenrir), not helped by the fact everyone has multiple names.
My assumption is that the original scribes assumed the reader already knows if Freya and Frigg are the same person or not. They weren't counting on a bunch of academics a millenium or so later having to puzzle it out.
Now you absolutely have to go back and re-watch Baldur showing up at their door in the beginning. The dialogue has a completely new meaning in hindsight.
Not entirely i think
@@xeox4280I think the assumption in first play is that Baldur is after Kratos. No reason to think otherwise then. If you rewatch that, he thinks Kratos is Faye, because she’s on his hip. It’s like watching the sixth sense a second time. You see all the hints that were right there along the way.
@@xeox4280 Completely entirely. He's looking for a Giant, so while Kratos is tall, he was "expecting bigger". Midgard is "far from home" of Jotunheim. The Giants were highly intelligent, "so much smarter" and had the gift of prophecy, "enlightened". But anyone coming off the original trilogy knows the Greek gods could be huge, so Kratos would fit the bill of being smaller than the Stranger was expecting. Sparta/Greece is geographically pretty far from Norway(or a similar country likely used as inspiration for this slice of Midgard), so far from home is a check. The Greeks were known for being very smart and enlightened through philosophy, even Spartans. Everything he said could be applied to Kratos and is meant to trick you into thinking it so, but now knowing he was seeking Faye, the last Giant in Midgard, the only one who could open the gate to Jotunheim, and there you have it. Plus he gives up quick on Kratos when he realizes he can't write the runes and Atreus can, so he snatches him to take to Odin.
@LordZazas no
@@xeox4280 Well damn, I have been defeated.
It's amazing I discovered part 1 just yesterday and was bummed out there was no part 2. And now you upload it.
I aim to please.
@@kaizammitchop chop cinema boy next part (please)
Idk if you’re watching a cut that’s longer but if not it seems it’s missing some key discussions during gameplay. Mimir semi explains what’s happening with Atreus as “a conflict of the mind presents itself as an ailment to the body”
Essentially what Mimir was trying to tell Kratos at the end when the dialog cut was that,
After explaining to Kratos that Fimbil Winter was coming due to Baldur's death, would spam for 3 winters then Ragnarok, with Kratos saying that prophecies are gibberish nonsense, but Mimir quickly noting to Kratos, "NO", prophecy wasn't suppose to happen so soon, more like a hundred years from now, but something changed that might of caused an unkown shift with the prophecy happening so soon with the death of Baldur, Mimir then stating that the original prophecy of Norse probably didn't originally have Kratos in mind, which is such a clever, and awesome twist to the original Norse Myth, and Kratos getting involved affected and changed prophecy, but ironically, this new prophecy in which this game is taking place, is the prophecy that Faye(Kratos's deceased wife), envisioned, and planned for.
Which is why she forged her own path from the Giants which didn't agree or wanted to follow, leading Faye to set out to fulfill her vision.
(My guess is that though Faye's prophecy was about the events of this game, and God of War Ragnarok, the other Giant's visions of the future and there prophecies was about the original Norse Mythology which we know didn't happen the same way in the God of War games but overall, still amazing and just a theory,
Also, on a side note, Faye or Laufey, her full name, in original Norse, is not a Giant but a Goddess, and her husband in original Norse is named Fárbauti, and is actually Giant. So cleverly, since the God of War Games shifted the myth and events, Kratos would take the place and role Faye would have had, and Faye took the role of her original husband in Norse Myth being born a Giant and meeting Kratos cause both Faye and Fárbauti - Kratos and Faye, would have a child of mischievous, Loki.
Pretty freaking cool)
18:03 I love the call back to the opening of the game with him hiding the scars of his old chains in bandages. Now he’s tying his arms back up in those chains.
He once used those blades with anger in his heart, now he uses them with love for his son.
Awesome to see him use the Blades of Chaos again!
I think Atreus’ growth happens this fast for 2 reasons:
1. Helheim is all about torturing people with their past and their misdeeds. Atreus being forced to see his behavior contradicting everything his mother ever taught him was probably a wake up call.
2. He thought he was a powerful god but Baldur manhandled him like a rag-doll and everything just got worse and worse. He was probably on a high when he killed Modi, but seeing his weakness on top of his actions probably made it seem an undesirable path to walk.
Didn't help that Kratos talked down to him like a toddler and he remembered his place in the pecking order
And seeing how Kratos brutally beat the old man was must have been shocking. Kratos told Atreus earlier that he was teaching him to kill for self defense and not indulgence, yet there he was, casting aside his weapons and beating that man to death in a fit of rage. Even if at this point Atreus didn't know who the old man was, he knew that he was someone important to his father and that it deeply affected him.
@ That’s a good point. Because it must’ve been a wake up call to see both how weak your father knows this situation, and also who you could become if you don’t change your ways.
40:30 lol the uploader failed to turn the camera. During the exposition the elevator revealed a lot of tapestries which accompanied the dialogue
Yeah, whoever played the game was terrible... maniacly sprinting, not facing points of interest, rushing over Mimirs point of discovering Baldurs weakness, horrible.
@@HoodedMushroom fr
Frustratingly inept@@HoodedMushroom
@@HoodedMushroomthe sprinting was a mistake. It really takes you out of the cinematic experience and messes up the pacing of dramatic moments.
Edit: I just realized the way I said this sounds like one of those AI bots, I promise I’m not lol
The upside to the uploader being bad at just about everything is that Kai will get to experience all those things when he gets to play the game. Sure, it affects our enjoyment by not getting to see his reaction, but I imagine it will be an awesome moment for him when he gets to it.
What I love about your videos is all these terms and techniques you recognise and throw our way. You definitely know your stuff! And im sure exploring all these videogames we love you'll pick up things to incorporate into your own projects. Ahh beautiful!
Also, the reason the mistletoe was the only thing be able to hurt him is because Freya thought nothing as innocent as a mistletoe could ever do any harm
Ahhh that's so interesting! Completely harmless until someone weaponises it! 🤔. Thank you for the kind comment regarding the videos, I'm glad you like them.
@kaizammit yup! It's the same in the mythology :)
2:15:30 - I love the fact that the sun is high in the sky for the ash scattering as opposed to setting. A setting sun feels like the end of a story but for Kratos and Atreus, it's the start of a new one
Egypt was actually the developers first choice for where to send Kratos but they ultimately decided against it.
Prior to the release of this game they made a tie-in comic that had Kratos landing in Egypt before being told by someone that his destiny lies elsewhere for now. It is largely expected that the franchise will be set in Egypt in the future.
We WILLhave our SG-1 reference
Egypt seems a pretty logical choice but I'm hoping at some point they expand further, to Asian or lesser known African mythology
The reason that only the mistletoe worked is because Freya went to everything in the universe and they all swore not to hurt Baldur, But she forgot the mistletoe because it was too young, therefore the only thing that could ever hurt him was the mistletoe
hope this helps
Every time I hear this story I crack up imaging like “steel do you promise not to hurt him.”
All along when Atreus became angry he would cough or cough blood (the "sickness") - he collapsed when he manifested true Spartan rage. Thinking himself mortal he didn't know how to process it.
2:06:16 After playing Ragnarok I know EXACTLY what Brok is referencing here and he ain’t Lyin’ 😂
I'm glad you enjoyed it. I look forward to hearing about how you enjoy the game and when you review Ragnarök.
I'm thinking about covering it next week! I'm really excited to see what happens and if they improved the visual narrative and graphics!!
@@kaizammit Ragnaröck is amazing! They started with a simple mortal task to spred the ashes of atreus mother and ended up getting in a fight with the gods. Imagin how the next game will be because it escalates on the same scale! Cant whait to see your reactinon.
@@kaizammit NO watch the cutscenes from the first 3 games first please!
@@kaizammitit may get confusing at parts cause there is a lot and I mean A LOT of Easter eggs and spoilers for the first 3 game.
Definitely watch God of war 3 before and it’ll answer so many of your questions while giving you the same amount of hype that the nerds have!!
Also I’ve only just started watching your content as I’ve taken a recent passion into cinematography, having someone drip feeding knowledge where it isn’t too much or too little has been awesome for me to learn what certain things are, names of shots as well!
Love how positive you are in each of these vids as well!! You definitely need way more subs than what you have for the level of content you provide!! Cheers to you mate🎉
Theres a lot of context and stories I think you'd really enjoy, that this edit cuts, a lot of dialogue between characters that can only be found in gameplay and in those moments like when they're travelling by boat. Having that context adds so much more to these characters, and Atreus' turn around is paced much better with gameplay to break up the story. I also cant recommend the previous games enough, even if you just watch the lore for those, get a recap on the previous games!
Great reaction none the less, im always glad to see people enjoying the stories in this game!
52:35- Confronting Mimir to say gods know what's best, the contrast between the desolate, lifeless, snowy mountains on the left, and the rich, hopeful, full-of-life hills on the right. The path Atreus chooses will determine the fate of Midgard. Sensational visual storytelling
That is why the World Serpent recognized Atreus, Loki married a Giant called Angrboda and fathered 3 children: Fenrir the giant wolf, World Serpent and Hela the goddess of the underworld. Loki also had a second wife named Sigyn who gave birth to 2 children Nari and Narfi.
I never been more excited for a video, loved part 1 and couldn’t wait for part 2. I really enjoy your reactions and always fun to see someone else experience great videos or games for the first time. Keep up the great work man!
I appreciate it fella.
“Baldur was tracking her”
Baldur: “I thought you’d be bigger?” “Your kind was supposed to be so much better than us, so enlightened.”
There's a dialogue that should have been included for the final fight to make more sense for you. In it Mimir explains that with the spells Odin put on her, Freya can't fight even to defend herself. She is incapable of harming any living thing (except for plants, apparently).
The ending reveal allows you to put all the earlier hints together, such as when Kratos told the boy he was a god the boy asked if he can turn into a wolf or turn invisible just like Loki does.
Knowing Greek and Norse mythology and being familiar with Norse runes is a great advantage in this game. But Freya revealed how to defeat Baldur way back in the game - "Where did you get those mistletoe arrows? They're evil. Destroy any you find. It's all I ask."
A neat little visual detail, at 7:24 when Kratos is in his Spartan Rage (visualized by the color filter going red tinted), as soon as he picks up Atreus, it shuts off. His blind rage quenched and smothered by his fear and worry for his son.
"A great winter to span 3 summers, and when its done... Ragnarök begins.
Another Prophecy?
No, prophecy didnt expect this for another 100 winters at least. You changed something. "
Thats roughly the dialogue it cut right near the end.
The Greek gods basically just used Kratos as an errand boy, but in a more extreme since, this is why he destroyed them all
amazing content Kai always look forward to an upload from you. your commentry and reactions are so genuin and enternaining keep it up and thank you
Thank you so much. Your comment means the world to me. It's nice now because I genuinely can be me doing it. I like the mixture of filmmaker and ex gamer geek. It's good for the soul and if it makes your day a tad more enjoyable or that you learn even just the one thing. Then it's totally worth it.
Lets go its here. Ive been excited for this
I love your enthusiasm, please keep that up!
It's funny that, due to the random nature of the lightning at the end, some players don't realize it's Thor until he reveals the hammer by moving his cape. In some gameplays, the lightning reveals the hammer as the camera zooms in on Thor, as it does here.
The relationship between the actors for Kratos and Atreus is awesome too. Throughout Ragnarok’s production, Atreus’ actor grew into a teenager and organically did so in the game as well and Kratos’ amazing actor recounted in multiple speeches how much of an honor it felt to play his dad and to see him grow up through this story and to see him grow as an actor and that he’s so proud of him like he’s his own son. ❤ melts my heart everytime
there is a documentary about the making of this game called "raising kratos". its more about the events of the games production than the technical filmmaking stuff but i still think its interesting
I just realized how impressive of a feat balder achieved by knocking out the World Serpent, a being that was an even match with Thor! He was right, he really isn't his brother.
Also the reason why Freya didn't attack Kratos right away was because she was cursed to not cause any harm to anything living.
U shood look at a recap of God of war 1-3 and too the hole god of war 3 game! ull see the chaos Kratos did and how he ended up in the north! not a request, just a tip :)
These games here dont need you too know him beforehand, it just adds alot too him as a character
The older games are more or less hack and slash games, button mash really, hard in its own way, but after the God of war 3, ppl got tierd of it. and the devs were agreeing with them.
and OBOY, if you think this game was cool, the next one will be a treat!
I want to watch the next game asap. I also wanted to cover the old games too. Perhaps a recap might spoil my video to the older games. Choices, choices. If I do start Ragnarok, it will be next week. Yikes!
@@kaizammit as long as you watch the recaps for 1-3 they don't spoil anything for gow ragnarok! there are a few good videos out there that explain the first few games which i recommend you take a look at (the one i'd suggest is a 20min video by a channel called Suggestive Gaming), just to give context to kratos' past which will make more sense in the sequel :)
@@kaizammitwhy would you watch it in the wrong order thats kinda stupid
@@kaizammityou can watch a recap of kratos story before ragnarok. And don’t worry, it won’t spoil anything
@xeox4280 it's not the wrong order, 4 5 are soft reboots and can be played without any knowledge of 1-3
The blades of chaos are essentially Kratos' reminder of the oath he took to Ares when he was facing a barbaric horde and was this close to dying. When all was said and done, Olympus was in ruins and Kratos tried sticking a sword into his own chest but it didn't take. So he started wondering the world until he reached the lands of the Norse gods.
The blades are also bound to him. While wondering the world, he tried throwing them away multiple times but they somehow always managed to be in front of him. It wasn't until he started a new family that the blades left him alone.
Reason why he was in 1st person while looking at his past was because the player had a 1st person camera angle while we were fighting Zeus by the end of the game.
1:39:55/1:40:23/1:42:16 Baldur manage to punch the World Serpent in just 3 regular punches of his bare hands although the World Serpent had Kratos and Atreous inside of it's stomach with the pair looking for Mimir's other eye, because the World Serpent wasn't paying to much attention it's surrounding, however do keep in mind that the World Serpent was caught off guard by Baldur and was essentially weakened.
Thanks for not constantly pausing to talk like a lot of other RUclipsrs do. You have no idea how much I appreciate that lol. Makes watching this so much more enjoyable.
13:14, that thunder has a theory it is actually cus of thor, as in the later section modi comes again beaten by thorn, there's a thing that the thunder is thor bullying modi XD
More like mjolnir doing the job and Ragnarok you can see mjolnir has a mind of his own
Just found out this channel and decided to binge some videos while drawing! It's always great to see people experience for the first time Video Game stories, especially nowadays where the technology has evolved to such incredible lengths that it's almost lifelike and very cinematic. I love the breakdowns as well gives us a bit of insight on filmmaking l, thank you for your videos.
I'd definitely recommend playing the game for yourself, because as others have pointed out there's a lot of context and additional story beats that's built into the game itself that the person recording the cutscene compilation frustratingly edit out or rush past
I'm so happy you're tackling the God of War games, especailly the idea you might go back and look at the old cutscenes to get more context. If you haven't already talked about it - I'd check out the Raising Kratos documentary which is free on RUclips. But I'm excited to see you tackle Ragnarok, and the following DLC with Valhalla. Good luck! I'll be here every step of the way :)
man i cannot wait for you to post the ragnarok reaction, really loved your reaction more than anyone else, not only do you pay insane attention to detail when it comes to the lore, enviorment and everything, but I also learn a lot from you about film making and etc.
Without spoiling the older games or the next game I will mention what was mentioned in this game, for context of Kratos and his back story and growth, he sold his soul in exchange for power he was then working for the gods but they tricked him into doing some regretable and scarring things, he was then consumed by anger and vengeance and he got his revenge that is why he is known as the "bloody ghost of sparta" as mentioned by Mimir, Kratos tries to escape his past, and travels to the land of the Norse. This is why Kratos coming back for his blades was a big thing for him. The new god of wars are Kratos embracing his past and at same time trying to be better.
Literally 9 minutes after I finished part 1 of this watchthrough, this video dropped! Couldn’t have been more excited!
Please make sure to watch Ragnarok and Valhalla on the channel. They’re both great and Valhalla has such a perfect message it made me look at my life differently (Valhalla is about Kratos and his journey since the first god of war game)
Funny how you said people were complaining about using gamer's little playground but they are legitimately the best one to show you the transition between gameplay and cutscene. Along with the player actually knowing where to look instead of these long scenes where the characters just looking at nothing. Like for example in tears vault when you're just standing there you said that you don't mind these "loading screens" there's murals on the wall which the character should be looking at
It's finally out. Love this series. Good stuff.
The atmosphere reflects Atreus mood. When he got sick the world grew concerned. Now that he's angry the world makes storm noises
The dual blades are his iconic Chaos Blades from the Greek series. They were curse bound to him. Those wrappings are bloody because there are wounds from the chains having burned into his flesh.
I just finished Ragnarok a few days ago. Loving watching you watch this, gives a nice opportunity to relive the story and get a slight understanding of how they blew me away.
Also a great opportunity to hear Christopher Judge's voice again without delving back into Stargate.
This was such a joy to watch. Your expertise turned into just general investment in the story. And I just loved following along with all the twists and turns. I would absolutely love to see Ragnarok done!
2:27:20
The “years later” bit was saying that the small video clip was released, in our time, years later. When God of War: Ragnarok was being teased, this was what we started getting hype about. Then “present day”, meaning present day in our time, Atreus says what he does in game now that the sequel to it is out.
I really enjoy these videos, or rather the videos on your channel. Entertaining general commentary, but then some tips and tricks that can be really helpful when setting up scenes, whether it be IRL or rendered. Love it
Fun fact: in Norse mythology, Freya made everything in the 9 realms promise to never harm Baldur (enchanted promise so can’t be broken) but she left out mistletoe because it was such a weak thing that she thought it would never kill him until Loki shot Baldur with a mistletoe arrow, causing Ragnarök to start
17:33 you just dont know how nostalgic of a moment this was for us who grew up playing this series to see the Blades of Chaos again man
You really have to go back and cover the old games to fully understand Kratos how much he's grown as a person and how much of a monster he really was
31:00 Glad you picked up on that lol
35:45 love the foreshadowing, such a good game.
I was blown away by the quality of the cinematics in God of War 2018 and I'm glad the quality stayed consistent in Ragnarok, looking forward to your reaction to that.
And the little stones in Freya's necklace have runes on them that spell out Baldur. A replica of the necklace was on display at one of the game shows before the release of the game tagged with "the necklace of the Witch of the Woods" - only later did they realize "Oops! We just gave away the identity of the Witch of the Woods to anyone who can read runes."
i can't see anyone else mentioning this so just for some norse mythology context: the death of baldur/baldr is what sets off fimbulwinter, at theend of which ragnarok happens. that's why he mentions the snow as he's dying; it's already started. just like with how magni and modi were supposed to survive ragnarok, it wasn't supposed to be baldur's time yet. but that's before kratos (and loki tbh because yeah, mischief, but also change)
I think what i love is that you learned about odin and thor through Mimir and the stories. Theres a interesting relationship of the player/audience is witnessing what thor and odin did through history and you are left with a lense that the gods have a bad taste of violence elitism and tragedy.
Man i love watching this story unfold, i've watched it, played it and then watched it again. So awesome. Mimirs stories are also suuuper interesting so if you ever get around to finishing ragnaröks story there's a supercut somewhere on youtube. Might not be fitting for a reaction but you seemed very keen to hear more of his tales^^
So stoked how into this you are, lovin' the GoW content, mate
I really love how you appreciate the story too
Happy to have you kai^^
As soon as I got the blades back I immediately shelved that axe save for the times you are forced to use it. They're too iconic and too cool.
Love it. As always Kai, amazing job, I really like listening to your explanations and experience. It only adds to my own curiosity and enjoyment in both video games and cinema. 🍻❤️
YES! Part 2 is here!!
'This Baldur is like a turd that won't flush' That was a surprisingly apt description
You should watch a video of kratos backstory from suggestive gaming
Re-watching this with you I forgot how epic the final battle sequence was. I forgot how crazy it was to have all that stuff going on with Freya and Baldur.
Appreciate these uploads, thank you.
Jeremy Davies KILLED IT as Baldur, incredible performance.
It's cool that watching this game a second time, you pick up on very subtle things. Like in Part 1 after Kratos has his fight with Baldur and then gets Atreus out of the hatch in the floor, you can see him give a quick glance at the bundle holding the Blades of Chaos before he shuts the hatch.
The reason why mistletoe harmed Baldur in this game is that in real Norse mythology, Baldur’s mother, Frigg asked all of the world not to harm her son, she went around and asked the animals, the the plants m, etc. to not harm her son, but she forgot to ask the mistletoe, that’s why it’s the only thing that can hurt him, and in actual Norse mythology the god of mischief Loki tricked Baldur’s brother into shooting a mistletoe arrow at Baldur, killing him
Great video!!!! So much hype for Ragnarok, and greetings from Brazil :)
love the content man been waiting for this one
1:06:55 Hands down the best description of Baldur I think i've heard 😂 Love the channel Kai!
This game, Ragnarok, & The Last Of Us really do take things up a few notches for cinematic storytelling in games!
And thank you so much for explaining the "why" of where it works and doesn't from your vastly more educated cinematic pov :)
There are many games with very different approaches to story telling that are also fantastic imo, such as games like the Dark Souls series that are more about lore than story, more narrator driven but mostly or completely "on stick" experiences like The Beginner's Guide.
Those games to an exent are ones that tell stories that feel like they can *only* work in an interactive medium. And even more so, for reasons I won't spoil, games like Portal, Bioshock, etc (for those who haven't played them, well worth it, or worth watching a play through!)
I think that is what I love about the medium. There is something for everyone in games, and when you find a series like this that has exciting, engaging and varied gameplay *as well* as an incredibly well realised story it is just incredible. But sometimes even just hitting some parts of that, or just gameplay only is enough.
when it's revealed that Faye was actually a giantess warrior known as The Guardian, my mind instantly went back to the introduction of Baldur and recontextualized the entire conversation which shows the genius it is of how we got a whole story out of a misunderstanding:
> "Come on out! It’s no use hiding anymore. I know who you are. More importantly, I know what you are!"
Baldur thinks he's found The Guardian, the only other known Giant left in Midgard aside from Jörmungandr. Meanwhile, Kratos thinks that his identity as a foreign God has been exposed.
> "Just tell me what I want to know! No need for this to get bloody."
Since Baldur thinks Kratos is the Guardian then he has the knowledge Odin seeks about how to get to Jötunheim.
> "Thought you’d be bigger. But you’re definitely the one. Long way from home, aren’t you?"
Since Baldur thought that Kratos was a Giant he would be bigger. He also taunts Kratos about how far away from Jötunheim he is. Whereas Kratos thinks he's talking about Greece.
> "Hahaha! And here I thought your kind was supposed to be so enlightened. So much better than us. So much smarter. And yet you hide out here in the woods - like a coward."
This line is my favorite. It's framed that he's talking about the differences between the Greek and the Norse where in actuality he's talking about the Aesir and the Giants.
This insight also leads to a separate even better insight as to why all these Norse gods pick a fight with Kratos, the guy who has basically killed an entire pantheon worth of gods on his own:
They don't even know who Kratos is!
The only ones in the game who actually know that he's the Ghost of Sparta is Kratos himself, Mimir, and maybe Jörmungandr.
Excited to see you cover Ragnorok next! Hopefully the player you watch will be better at the game, and controls the camera better.
The entire OG God Of War Series doesn't have a third person camera, rather a fixed camera that shows the entire area. So having fixed cams, the cinematography is simply BEAUTIFUL. Unrivalled to any other game camera to me. I feel you would LOVE it so you must check it out if you can't play it
This was phenomenal. So much fun to watch through. I highly recommend you take a look at Ragnarok as well. My personal favourite of the two. And I think it would be right up your alley. Fantastic video, commentary and input. As always!
Thank you so much fella!!
❤ What a fabulous way to re-experience this masterpiece of a story with you!
As excited as you are to see Ragnarör, we are just as excited to see it with you 😊
That's awesome, thank you so much for watching and taking the time to comment.
It’s theorized that Egyptian gods are next, but they do wanna do each mythology. Also those chain scars are from when he first got the Blades of Chaos, they were a weapon that Ares had created for him, to ensure he knew the sacrifice he had to make to ares, he made sure it would be a permanent reminder by searing the chains against his skin, not to mention the blades are cursed to him, no matter how much he throws them away they will find their way back to him.
I want to see the Chinese gods
Love the breakdowns without pausing the video! I believe you'd like the Middle Earth Shadow of Mordor/War games. They’re well put together imo and a fun playthrough
I'll always love the light motif and the moment @ 27:14 after Kratos kills the bridge keeper and takes his heart when he gently places a hand on his chest almost as if he was apologizing for murdering him but it's what he had to do to save his son.
Kratos respects him not just for his heart but because he was simply performing his duties as bridge keeper and he died protecting his realm.
Hello from the US ✌️. I just subscribed man. You seem very genuine and all around good vibe. Look forward to watching more
Thank you so much 🙏🏻
1:27:14, they actually had a lot more gameplay planned to show Atreus's descent into being a cruel god and coming back from it but they didn't have enough time to create it because of the release date deadline.
Always glad to see someone who reacts to this game (IMO) the best way: 100% blind.
This game was made for veterans who've played all of the prior ones, AND newcomers who know absolutely nothing. They have tons of references for the people who know to remember, but for people like Kai who knew nothing, they masterfully dropped nuggets about Kratos' past like breadcrumbs. You don't feel like you're missing out, you're being told a mystery.
For me it all comes down to the scene Kratos gets the blades of chaos. For the newcomers, you get a sense of wonder, and curiosity of their origins. For the experienced, you get swept in a tsunami of nostalgia, and sentimentality.
Being one of those people who watch a 20 minute youtube video of "Kratos' story explained" end up getting the worst of both worlds. You know what they are, but it means nothing to you.
Its finally here!! I can't wait to watch this later tonight with my dinner. Thank you!
Also, now that you know the big twist at the end, I highly recommend checking out Good Blood's video "Untangling God of War" here on youtube if you want insight into how Santa Monica Studios created the basis for the story and their take on the universe.
If you ever happen to go back to the moment to where Baldur first met Kratos at his house and listened to his words, you'll realize he was addressing Kratos as a giant from Jotunheim rather than a greek God. Also, gameclips whose video we just watched apparently also did a video supposedly featuring Kratos' full story from his time in Greece to Ragnarok, DLC of ragnarok is a seperate video but highly recommend watching Kratos full story because I felt you would have felt more emotional connection and saw/heard references in regard to the previous games.
It's rather subtle, but I love that every time they both fall from a great height together, Kratos grabs Atreus and uses his body to break Atreus' fall.
Loved your videos man. Are you going to check out Ragnarok? The story of Ragnarok absolutely blows this away!!
Absolutely! Probably going into Christmas.
Love your videos man. Great content.
When you watch Ragnarok, keep in mind that there is A LOT of story content that is given during the gameplay (mostly while walking around) instead of during cutscenes. So you may have some questions depending on what is included on the video you watch.
Love supporting on Patreon to learn some things about filmmaking I would otherwise completely miss and how it’s utilized in other forms of media
I cannot wait to watch your Ragnarok video. The God of War games are among my favorite and these last two were aaabsolutely incredible cinematic and storytelling rollercoasters.
They've announced a remaster of God of War 1, 2 and 3 for PS5. There is no greater time to become a God of War fan!