ALTERNATIVE ENDING

During the creative process of this project, I came up with several completely different and almost opposite possible endings. Most of these ideas had to do with the risky, daring and bold notion of Kratos actually dying in the end.
At least one of them I find worthy of a slightest mention, even though I finally decided to do without it due to its excessive complexity, as well as because I tried to stay as faithful to the original work as possible. Both narratively and gameplay-wise, since a death of the main protagonist could mess the game design up of the endgame.

This alternative ending would fork from the moment Kratos causes the explosion that destroys Ragnarök. Only in this case, the Spartan would not survive the impact, so he would finally meet his predicted fate.

Similar to what happened during the deaths of Fenrir and Odin, the four parts of his soul would come out of Kratos' mouth in the arms of Atreus, who would introduce them into the Leviathan axe with the intention of recovering his father in some way. But he does not have enough power nor skills to return them to his body, so at Freya's suggestion he decides to go to Helheim where such a ritual would be possible.

As an epilogue, Atreus would take Kratos to the said realm alongside Angrboda galloping on Sleipnir, who travels between realms easily and swiftly. Recalling not only Sindri's journey to save Brok, but the original Norse myth of Hermóðr, another Aesir son of Odin, who travels to Helheim precisely riding his father's horse to ask Hela to bring his brother Baldur back to life.

Note: Now that I mention the case of the deaths of Fenrir and Brok, another option would have been that, as it happened with these two, one or more parts of Kratos' soul (as already anticipated Mimir when explaining it) were not properly introduced in the axe but scattered and ended up in Alfheim (probably the one corresponding to the mind). In which case, the resurrection quest would be quite longer, since the giant pair first having to divert to the Light of the elven realm to fully restore the essence of Kratos in order to prevent what happened to Brok. In this way, there could even be an interesting dramatic moment where that part of the Spartan initially doesn't want to leave, as he can finally be with Faye again. And connecting with the moment when Kratos entered the Light of Alfheim in the previous God of War installment, this time it is his son Atreus who does the same to recover him, what he would achieve with the help of his mother.

In this scenario, Atreus arrives in Helheim and asks Hraesvelgr for help. The giant eagle agrees to help him on the condition that he gives her an heir to replace her in her purpose of ruling and guarding the realm of the dead (which would link with some of the dialogues that this character has in the game itself). Desperate to save his father, Atreus is willing to do whatever it takes, so he agrees to the deal with Hraesvelgr without fully understanding what he's accepting. It wouldn't take effect immediately but, unconsciously and somehow, in that moment he had condemned the life of the daughter he would have in the future with Angrboda: Hela.

Note: It should also keep in mind that this entire quest would generally be somewhat devoid of action and combat. Which I don't see as a problem at all. But if necessary, to stay true to the legacy of the saga, perhaps it wouldn't hurt to have a forced final boss battle with the giant eagle Hraesvelgr. Even if it's just to test Atreus and Angrboda's worthiness, not only to bring back someone to the land of the living, but to be parents of the goddess of death.

Now Hel's Eagle makes it possible to bring Kratos back with his soul lodged in the axe and his body being present. Although grateful because he certainly didn't want to die, the Spartan would lightly lecture his son knowing that every action has consequences. Here would be a possible line of dialogue: "It's not the first or second time I've come back to life...but I'll never get used to the feeling. Thank you, son... But you must remember that it is dangerous to play with fate in this way. If my time had come, I was prepared to accept it. And you too must be prepared for that day to come."

Then, from here on, once back in Midgard the farewell ending with Atreus in the secret Jotun shrine could happen quite similarly.

Note: I'm aware that as it stands, this interval of Kratos' death and resurrection may not contribute much to the plot narratively and may feel rushed. Obviously it's a concept that would need to be reworked for effective integration. However, I do believe it's a missed opportunity because it aligns quite well with certain narrative premises established in the game and with certain Norse myths too.

Extra Note: For another alternate ending, I've also been considering giving resolution to the "who the hell blew the horn and why" gap in the previous God of War. Whose explanation I was waiting to see throughout the entire game but it never happened. However, since delving into this would involve making heavy weather of it by dealing with the mask, the rift, time travel, and other elements which I cannot see the big picture like the game developers... I finally scrapped it. Anyway, I think we'll never know what really happened there.

ANECDOTE ABOUT VIDAR AND HOW THE PROJECT CAME ABOUT

If you have made it this far, congratulations! You have my most sincere thanks. As a capstone, allow me to extend on one last time by sharing a brief anecdote about the motivation for this project that, in a way, maybe sounds silly to most of you but for me it was both curious and important. Here it goes:

The day after I finished the game, with a bittersweet feeling of lack of scale and epicness at the end, I began to imagine what I would have liked to have seen or I would have done... a brainstorming, like a maelstrom, began to flow for hours.

Until the time when I remember a character from Norse mythology that, in fact, is important during Ragnarök but was not included in Santa Monica Studio's version: Vidar, another son of Odin. The god who avenges his father by killing Fenrir, his murderer, and one of the few who survive Ragnarök in the myths.

So far so good. It sounded to me like an interesting character, who could have enriched the game's plot and brought more strength and presence to the Aesir. But it didn't seem vital in my alternative version of the ending, it would require too many changes in the plot and in the game itself. What I was supposed to change was only that ending... not the whole game! So I shoved it aside in the back of my mind as an interesting but overly ambitious possibility, or rather not very adaptable to the source material.

But every time more scenarios and ways of unfolding the events came to mind, Vidar kept popping over and over again... and I tried to place him however I could. So I ended up looking for a justification to introduce him into the original game, just as it was released, almost without changing a single line of code or dialogue. And, without racking my brains too much, it came to me that he could be the character archetype of the mute bodyguard. Despite his size, he goes completely unnoticed. Always impassive and motionless, without interacting with absolutely anything or anyone. Only loyal and obedient to Odin.

Well, that was it, he would be mute. I could even turn him into a somewhat peculiar character. A savage with primitive behaviors, such as grunting or biting in battle, who only expresses his emotions through gestures.

Then at some point I asked myself: Would all this contradict some of the myths and characteristics of the original Vidar from Norse mythology?
So when I find a moment, I do a search for "VIDAR" on the internet to refresh my memory. And then I clearly read: "GOD OF SILENCE".

"GOD! How is that possible?!" –I said to myself.

I was familiar with this character because of his involvement in the myth, but not with this particular detail. I couldn't believe it... I started to get very nervous. How was it possible that such a coincidence could happen? I didn't know, but I still came to the only possible conclusion to include the so-called "silent son of Odin", Vidar, as a character in the game and he turned out to be exactly what he was in the mythology... It blew my mind.
As one of the subjects addressed in God of War Ragnarök itself, everything seemed as fate would have it.
At first I denied it and struggled to take it in, it couldn't be a coincidence... How could I not take it as a sign?

The next day, still in disbelief. I continued researching about Vidar and I found another super interesting detail. He is also related to vengeance and justice, since his destiny is to avenge his father by killing Fenrir. This was precisely the last piece of the puzzle that motivated me to embark on this project. The fact that not only did the silent character fit, but also the fact that he is considered the god of vengeance and justice. The dichotomy between both moral concepts is one of the main topics of this last game, as it usually is in the saga in general.

It was incredibly timely for this project. I have no words to express it. That's why I ultimately decided to go through with it.

Note about Vidar's appearance: Once I was working on his design, I ended up deciding to make him look like an Úlfhednar (a version of the berserker but wearing the skin of a wolf instead of a bear; warriors who entered a trance and become like wild beasts in battle, even biting and behaving as such). In some sagas and sources they are described as special warriors under Odin's command, which along with the fact that in my version the character is like the All-Father's "watchdog" and his destiny is to kill the wolf Fenrir... made him a perfect fit.
Also, because of the fact that he is a silent god who doesn't utter a word and exclusively communicates with his fists, animalizing him suited him quite well.
Later on, I also noticed the concept art of the discarded berserkers for the game. One in particular (by Yefim Kligerman) curiously resembled how I imagined this character, so I reused it a bit for the final design of Vidar.

CREDITS

Written, adapted and drawn by Andrés ‘Akatsuya’ Gil Vázquez