Ever since the God of War preview at this year’s E3, we have been picking it apart, hoping to find clues to the rest of the game. There are so many theories on YouTube about who Kratos’ son is going to be, who the mother is, how the plot itself will unfold, and who the big bad will be. We know it’s the Norse pantheon this time around, instead of the Greek, and I can’t wait to see how Santa Monica Studio decides to use the mythology at their disposal. More importantly, who out of the many gods will the new God of War vilify? I think one of the best and most intriguing choices would be Loki (think more mythical and less Marvel). Imagine, you just finished fighting Odin (to follow the general plot of the previous games) and even Kratos looks tired. Then out of the woodwork, comes Loki to explain that he orchestrated the whole thing. It would be just the kind of plot Loki would conduct if we are to go by his character in the Poetic and Prose Edda .
Though the God of War series has quite the reputation for being willfully inaccurate according to mythology, I think it’s important to take what we do know about Loki from historical documents. As the Greeks had the Iliad and Odyssey, so the Norse had the Poetic and Prose Edda . The Edda do not mention Loki very often, but he certainly makes an impression. One of the longest and most famous tales is called Lokasenna; this tale is essentially that of Loki losing his temper and being very violently punished for it. In one version, Loki is made to watch while one of his sons is burned alive. The entrails of his son are then used to tie Loki to a rock, where a venomous snake drips poison above him. The punishment is definitely enough to nurture resentment for all the other gods.
This tale, and most others, are already rather dark. It wouldn’t take much to extend it to the universe of God of War . In fact, I would go so far as to say that it is even darker than usual for the God of War world. Loki clearly has more than enough reason to conduct almost any act of evil, especially in devising a plan with Kratos as his pawn. Loki isn’t nicknamed “Silver Tongue” for nothing; he could easily spin a tale, and nearly every mission in the game would unfold precisely to whatever evil plan he had in mind.
Loki truly has the perfect blend of resentment, ability to hurt, and scheming that a villain for God of War needs. The motivation and capability is definitely there. A character like Loki would give the developers the opportunity to write a very violent and complicated plot, as this god of mischief would never shy away from elaborately ensuring those he resents are brought down to their knees and killed as a mercy. I do not think there could be a better fit for a game like God of War .