How To Get The Secret Ending In 'God Of War'

If you've finished God of War, you've seen a lot already. You've traipsed through realms and faced down Gods in a long, winding quest to fulfill a simple goal: to scatter the ashes of Kratos' wife -- Atreus' mother -- on the top of the highest peak in all the realms. There's one part of the ending, however, that you may have missed, and it's worth seeing. So read on to see how to get the true ending to God of War.

Major spoilers below the Ogre. Turn back now if you don't want to see this on your own: I'm serious.

At one point after the end of the game, our heroes say it's time to go home, and you should go do exactly that. God of War is told in one long camera shot, with no cuts of any kind save the occasional creative darkness or light enveloping the screen. And so it makes sense to complete the circle and bring it back to a little hut in a protected forest. Our heroes are probably tired after slaughtering mythological monsters for 25 hours or so, anyway.

There's a Mystic Gateway not too far from the homestead, in the Southwest of the map. Take it, and open the door of the cabin. Interact with the bed to give Kratos and Atreus a well-deserved nap. Secondary spoiler warning: read on for a description of what happens.

When Kratos sleeps, however, the screen goes black -- the first time it's truly done that since the game started. The text "years later.." appears on the screen. Kratos hasn't changed clothes, apparently.

What follows doesn't take long, but it's significant. Lightning shrieks through the roof of the house, jolting Kratos and Atreus to the door. There's a mysterious, hooded figure standing in a storm outside the little shack. Kratos opens the door but the figure doesn't move. This is already significant: God of War is full of references to gods, giants and monsters, but there are very few actual characters in the game. Kratos asks him who he is but he doesn't respond.

The camera pans around behind the figure before resting down towards his waist. The wind pulls his cloak back to reveal a crackling, electric hammer on his belt. The suggestion is clear: this is Thor, God of Thunder, come to take vengeance for the death of his sons Magni and Modi.

God of War, for all its trolls, magic and inter-dimensional travel, is a small story at heart. It's the story of a father and son paying their last respects to a fallen wife and mother, and it's the story of the two of them learning who and what they truly are. There are Gods involved, but all save one are lesser mythological characters, with none of the big names you might know from elsewhere. This isn't unlike the first God of War, which let you murder Ares and a few other well-known monsters but left most of the Olympians out of it.

This new Norse take on the series is likely to follow a similar trajectory. Thor and Odin were major presences in this first game, but only in stories and suggestions. That's likely to change in the next game.