The Norse Saga part of the God of War franchise may be over, but at least one more plot hole still needs addressing.
God of War 2018 and God of War Ragnarok producer Cory Balrog may have teased a possible continuation of the series' Norse Saga with a game that addresses the problem of the time loop Jormungandr, the World Serpent, is in.
Major spoilers involving major events in the two new God of War games will be discussed in this article.
Cory Balrog Teaser Details
its cool you dont like it. no worries.
— golrab of the frost (@corybarlog) November 17, 2022
But, in the 2018 game Kratos, Atreus and Freya discuss jormy when riding the gondola before going to Alfheim. She talks about how jormy just appears one day and no one knows why/how. In Ragnarok, we close that loop connecting it to Loki. https://t.co/aEpRsgJEKX
Cory Balrog mentioned in a discussion with a fan regarding the "closing" of Jormungandr's time loop that Santa Monica Studios chose to close the time loop using Loki as a connection, answering the question of how/why Jormungandr suddenly appeared before the events of the 2018 game.
For those who haven't played the game, Ragnarok gave players the opportunity to witness Jormungandr's "creation" and how Thor, the Norse god of thunder, sent the World Serpent back in time.
To be more specific, the events of God of War Ragnarok showed how Atreus, also known as Loki, created Jormungandr by transferring the soul of a giant onto the body of a dead snake found in Iron-Wood.
This particular snake had its soul previously stolen by Angrboda's grandmother.
Atreus and Angrboda see the newly revived snake slither away from them, though the game implies that this same snake grew larger over time and eventually became a younger version of Jormungandr. Players were able to tell by looking at this Jormungandr's "beard," which isn't as developed as its older 2018 counterpart.
In the game's climax, gamers can see Thor's epic battle with the younger Jormungandr and how it was eventually sent back in time, to the events before the events of the 2018 game.
Jormungandr would then grow and appear during the events of the 2018 game, helping Kratos and a younger Atreus in their quest to scatter Faye's ashes at the highest in all the realms - Jotunheim.
Fast forward to the events at the beginning of Ragnarok, we see Jormungandr converse with Atreus regarding ironwood, before returning to his slumber.
Returning to Ragnarok's climax, Mimir makes note of Jormungandr's appearance in the final war against Asgard, but remarks that the World Serpent didn't follow Kratos' war party from Midgard. As such, the Jormungandr they see during this part of the game is the younger version.
Lastly, after the events of Ragnarok, Freya remarks that there are still signs of Jormungandr in Midgard despite Thor sending him back in time.
However, Balrog implied in his tweet that Jormungandr "got back in time," and how the World Serpent managed to do so is "a story for another game."
A Continuation Of The Norse Saga?
Santa Monica Studios previously announced that Ragnarok is meant to be the end of the Norse Saga, per Den of Geek. As such, Balrog's teaser created a slew of speculation in the gaming community, as it could mean that there is another God of War game in the future that continues the franchise's Norse saga.
Twitter user Ethan Moorhouse, the same Twitter user Balrog was in a discussion with, also agreed that the games telling the franchise's Norse saga should be a trilogy instead of the planned duology.
Turning the Norse saga into a trilogy is something that Santa Monica Studios debated a lot, according to the game's lead writer, Rich Gaubery, per Video Games Chronicle. However, Balrog decided to keep it a duology to avoid having players wait 15 years to experience a trilogy.
Whether Santa Monica Studios will eventually release a God of War game continuing the Norse Saga is up to the Fates to decide on.
