Norse Mythology Expert REACTS to God Of War

Dr Natalie Van Deusen, a renowned scholar of Norse mythology, joins us for an exciting episode where she will be watching and analyzing the critically acclaimed video games, God of War (2018) and God of War Ragnarök. As we delve into the rich and immersive worlds crafted by Santa Monica Studio, Dr Van Deusen will share her vast knowledge and unique perspective on the mythological elements that form the foundation of these games. She will guide us through the intricate tapestry of Norse legends, shedding light on the gods, giants, and heroes that inhabit the Nine Realms.
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Throughout the episode, Dr Van Deusen will break down the mythological references and inspirations behind the captivating characters, epic storylines, and breathtaking settings that have made the God of War series a gaming phenomenon. We'll explore how the developers have adapted and reimagined the tales of Odin, Thor, Loki, and other iconic figures from Norse mythology, weaving them into the narrative of Kratos and Atreus' journey. From the majestic halls of Asgard to the icy depths of Helheim, Dr Van Deusen will provide fascinating insights into the mythological significance behind each location and how they contribute to the overall storytelling experience. Join us for a thrilling journey through the realms of Norse mythology as we uncover the secrets behind the God of War games.
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Dr Natalie Van Deusen:
/ @professornatalie
apps.ualberta....
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Thanks to Drakulis Cinematic Gaming for the Gameplay:
/ @drakuliscinematicgaming
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Nordic History Expert REACTS to God Of War

[@ProfessorNatalie]

Thank you all for your comments and feedback! I absolutely want to play this game now (and the one before it). It was a lot of fun to see the clips I was shown, and I was really impressed with the game! I am happy to provide references and citations for what I’m talking about here. I know what I know about Norse mythology thanks to a lot of amazing experts in the field, who have written some great books and articles that I consult regularly as I teach this material! And if you’re at the UofA, I’ll be teaching myth again in the fall term and Vikings in the winter 😊

[@foy5051]

You were amazing. Norse mythology is truly fascinating. Thank you for stopping by :)

[@Naija_Ninja]

Really love your insight. Do you have any plans of making videos on your channel? GOW or Norse myth related

[@ProfessorNatalie]

@@Naija_Ninja I'd totally consider it! I did reviews of a few more games for Gameology that will be posted within the next couple of months, and I'm now determined to play all of them--necessary prep for teaching I think ;)

[@Theburnedmanwalks]

If you played the games I would for sure watch you play them. It's a beautiful series.

[@spectralspectra2282]

I really hope you end up making videos of you playing it, I would really love to watch. It would also make a great title for the algorithm, "Norse mythology expert plays God of War" Already subscribed in advance

[@MedskiPurnamski]

It's totally easy to miss or maybe it's just skipped in the video but Kratos is actually referred to by the murals and one of the Norns as Farbauti, or 'cruel striker'. In the mythology Farbauti is Loki's dad, so the developers actually found a clever way to insert him into the Norse mythology as if he was always meant to be there.

[@thefisherman0074]

Dude that's what it was, i saw they made him a general but i was wondering if there was some actual norse mythology insert with the prophecies good job knowing that

[@CarmenGomez-tb5mt]

Someone explained that Farbauti (Loki's father as you said) means "anger striker/dangerous striker/ sudden striker" in other words, someone who likes hitting things, while Laufey (Loki's mom in the game and in the mythology) means "leaves". The first thing we see in GOW 2018 is Kratos chopping a tree, one second later there is Atreus/ Loki with mistletoe, so...

[@Allwaysexcel]

They should've spoken on that. It would've been great to hear what she thought of that

[@Alyssaa3461]

Glad you bought this up!

[@MedskiPurnamski]

@@Alyssaa3461 it's easy to miss because the name 'farbauti' only showed up in the first God of War PS4 game on a mural of Kratos written in Norse runes right before the end of the game. It was only refenced again in Ragnarok by one of the valkyries (forgot which) but only as 'cruel striker'. The name Farbauti itself were never spoken out loud.

[@NSEBMB]

Man she really needed more context than they gave here to fully understand what she was watching

[@ihatethisaccount2774]

@FUM3TO K33M No one’s surprised just a little annoyed

[@Lugia21]

My guess is that they just aren't allowed to "spoiler" the game, specially with the ending but yeah, she's missing lots of things like Tsur's convincing to start Raknarok.

[@OliOliOliOliOli]

@Shoreline Fishing You will still get a good reaction even with some context. They at least should have told her that Kratos left Greek mythology after killing all the gods. Thats all she needs but Gameology stay doing this.

[@wryytard]

They never do

[@dylankock3633]

She really did

[@devilpupbear09]

Speaking of Baldur, did you know he's blessed with invulnerability from all threats physical or magical?

[@prophet9424]

You already said that Mimir

[@Elon_Mosque]

@@prophet9424 impossible there’s no way we’d forget Baldur’s blessed with invulnerability from all threats physical or magical

[@cosmicpagan5530]

No you don't say ? You where bewitched

[@prophet9424]

Father, I think he's broken

[@WatchrOne]

Ah, Speaking of Baldur, did you know he's blessed with invulnerability from all threats, physical or magical

[@Tango_Mike]

If I studied where she teaches I would not miss a single class. You can see a shine in her eyes when she recognizes something and proceeds to explain it.

[@RennyLu]

we all said that, but knowledge is sometimes boring, you wouldn't be able to pay attention to all the things she has to teach

[@ProfessorNatalie]

Thank you @TangoMike, this made my day ☺️

[@apllo4193]

@@RennyLu Agreed. You need the passion she has to thrive in any subject.

[@gabemartin3099]

You world be partially misled, you can tell this lady has eager interest towards Norse but she knows many details of few things

[@jodytollefson7187]

@@RennyLu The U of A is in the the city of Edmonton Alberta Canada the 2nd largest city in Alberta the first be Calgary and I'm from the 3rd Lethbridge 4 hours from Edmonton 2 hours from Calgary.

[@depresespres4214]

She needs to do this again but with actual context to the story and events as written by the games. We’ll get better interpretations.

[@paladyeproject]

but the story of the game is a lame rip-off of the actual story

[@ArkBlanc]

@@paladyeproject Aye, God Of War really butchered the entire lore of norse mythology, just like they did with Olympus.

[@TheStraightestWhitest]

​@@ArkBlancBut worse in the Norse Era because they began blackwashing everyone too.

[@shawmiserix404]

@@paladyeproject what story? norse myth is probably 30% actual norse lore and like 70% catholic meddling and narrative fabrication

[@depresespres4214]

@@paladyeproject They had to rewrite the story because Loki isn’t in it. You’d know that if you played the game. For semi original material, it’s pretty damn good.

[@travismurtland3257]

Nothing but respect for Doc Natalie, but man y'all gotta give her some context. Even an expert can't give the information 100% straight when they don't have context.

[@vergil8833]

Her information is accurate as far as I noticed.

[@travismurtland3257]

@@vergil8833 Oh I'm not trying to say that she's wrong about her lore, but I think she made it pretty clear she'd never even heard of the rest of it. Like in the Jormungandr scene from Ragnarok, they didn't even bother to correct her when she stated they were in a different location. She wasn't given any context and so she got context related things wrong. That's all I'm implying, it's not anything wrong with her

[@thomas_walker]

fr, there's several kinds of videos like this and each one the expert is presented with too little information about what's happening

[@tractorfeed7602]

@@vergil8833 Well I kind of wanted to give her some context because I want to hear her take on the giants being the peace loving group and the Aesir being the bad guys

[@Terrivel119]

@@travismurtland3257 Or like when she said, "It seems like maybe they're indicating Freya and Frigg are the same person" when Odin called her Frigg 10 seconds ago.

[@Connor-ONeill]

In the game "Frigg" was a pet name Odin used to try and keep Freya more separated from the Vanir.

[@Lupinemancer87]

While there are conflicting sources about the whole Freya/Frigg confusion, considering they have many things in common. Both are formerly of the Vanir tribe, both are married to a man with similar names Odur for Freya and Odin for Frigg. There are sources that indicates that they are indeed seperate entities. Frigg is said to be the sister of Njord, making her Freya and Frey's aunt. And while Frigg is the mother of Baldur, Hodr, and many others, Freya only have 2 twin daughters, Hnoss and Gersemi, none of which are Frigg's kids. She and Odin has many sons but only 1 daughter, who is unnamed in Myth. So, I think it's safe to say they are seperate beings.

[@australianman47]

@@Lupinemancer87 he’s talking bout in the game good info though

[@TayR0C]

Frigg off

[@Lupinemancer87]

@@australianman47 I know, just wanted to mention the inspiration behind the game, as people already misinterprets many things about Norse Mythology. So while the games are amazing, it doesn't help this by also being a different version of Norse Myth.

[@MsPBJTime]

He also attributed all of the good things she did in Asgard to the name Frigg, separating her deeds from her real Vanir name.

[@DoomsDay117x]

This video would have been 10 times better if you had just given her some context about the game!!!! It would have been so amazing to hear her take on Kratos being Fárbauti, husband of Laufey.

[@ZekeTheNerdVX]

Kratos is from Greece.

[@brutalni1]

@@ZekeTheNerdVX wow really i thought he was from alabama

[@ZekeTheNerdVX]

@@brutalni1 LMFAO

[@herobrinegreek9493]

​@@ZekeTheNerdVXbro 💀 we know this

[@mechanomics2649]

@@ZekeTheNerdVX Yes, these games do shit on mythology quite a bit though they also pay attention to details. Weird dichotomy.

[@AJTho]

Liked Natalie a lot more than the other guy (forgot his name) who was just so focused on what the norse mythology studies have shown, saying this was wrong and that was wrong and this never happened. Natalie just gave extra information on the characters to give more of a background, finding it interesting what they choose to put in the game vs what actual studies on norse mythology say. Really enjoyed this.

[@Carpediem357]

Crawford wasn’t like that in any of the other react videos he’s been in for GoW. And he wasn’t saying what was wrong but pointing out the differences in Norse Myth and the games version. I like him more because he’s more knowledgeable in this. Nat was doing exactly what you think Crawford was doing while also being told jack all for background info in order to understand this franchise more

[@johnramos8703]

@@Carpediem357 funny how opinions work huh

[@liamk1610]

Jordan Crawford (I think that's his name) was pretty positive about GOW in the videos he did e: His name is Jackson Crawford, my bad.

[@flamingdoge6242]

Dr. Crawford was pretty positive in all the IGN GOW videos except for the very last one on Ragnarök. Idk, maybe he was having a bad day that time?

[@TGPDrunknHick]

@@flamingdoge6242 I suspect the fact the Ragnarok had deviated so much because the whole point of the game was about circumventing prophesy that without the context it made no sense whatsoever.

[@TheBritishGuy75]

The Idunn Apples are actually in the game in the form of collectibles. They’re found on nornir chests which you need to solve a puzzle to open. They permanently increase your health bar. I don’t know if the apple that Heimdall was eating was a reference to an Idunn Apple but they are in the game.

[@LET4M4RU]

definitely not the apple Heimdall was eating, since the Idunn apples have a very distinct appearance in the game : they're green translucent like glass and bear a rune inside that leads to the stem. If i had to guess, it's gotta be the typical trope of "assholes eating apples" if i had to quote Everything Wrong With Movies

[@TarossBlackburn]

@@LET4M4RU that was really what I was thinking. "The director told the developers to make Heimdall eat an apple in this scene to show how much of an asshole he is."

[@redstonecircuitoffunmc913]

5:08 I think I remember Freya telling us that this isn't the actual world tree but a smaller version.

[@warmice4136]

yeah she said it was a decoration made to represent the tree, not the actual world tree itself.

[@ohiomoon1813]

Yeah in the video it actually cut to them walking on the Tree’s branches but she didn’t comment on that so I assume she either didn’t notice or wasnt given the context

[@ChaosLORDish]

No way!! She was one of my professors at the University of Alberta. So cool to see her in this.

[@robertgammett8718]

That’s really cool, you should get in contact with her and explain the game more in depth

[@Papercut337]

In the game the antagonists sometimes refer to Freya as Frigg, so it seems the developers went with the interpretation that the two names were for the same goddess.

[@E-GeL]

I think she missed it but the Eitr notification at the first meeting of the World Serpent, it is poison and that's why Thor's belly wound didn't heal in the second game

[@edupazz]

That's a ease one to miss even for who is playing the game

[@DangerErin]

Dang we didn't get to see her talk about Tyr and Odin deceiving Freya when he was disguised as Tyr

[@davidsiatatgaming]

my thoughts exactly, she didn't mention tyr once, maybe because they didn't show her any cutscenes with him

[@araceli2827]

@@davidsiatatgaming yeah, they also didn't showed Sif ot Thrud, the other valkiries, the other dwarves, Atreus/Loki shapeshifting, the fight on the tavern, the Fates, the siren, all the realms, etc...Very lacking this video

[@ImotekhtheStormlord-tx2it]

@@araceli2827 bcuz its not accurate? LMAO you want her to laugh entire video about how they butchered the mythology or what?

[@araceli2827]

@@ImotekhtheStormlord-tx2it I want her to react to more parts of the game...that is what a reaction is supposed to do. Also, most of the parts I mentioned are on norse mythology

[@lucky4d725]

@@ImotekhtheStormlord-tx2it butchered ? Since when has Gow tried being accurate to the mythologies its based on ?

[@Vadrexx]

5:12 It's actually not yggdrasil. It's just an artistic version of it. Freya says it during their alfein travel

[@m.s.5370]

Exactly, that's why it shows a clip of the realm between realms right after. If I could've been there to contextualize things for her, I'd have been like: "no, that's not really Yggdrasil. THAT'S Yggdrasil" cuz it seems like the only context she got was the small text above summarizing the scenes

[@nikhillemos6879]

They never gave her any context on any of the stuff. All she knew is there's Norse mythology in this game... yay

[@aisadal2521]

I've always loved mythology experts breaking down the different interpretations in videogames! I hope someday we get an expert breaking down the mythologies in Bayonetta; heck, I'd love to see Dr. Van Deusen return just for the Norse mythology in Bayonetta 2!

[@jurtheorc8117]

Interesting suggestion, for where it concerns Bayonetta, it's mainly the angels that are the point of mythological interest in the Bayonetta series. As well as references to European witch folklore. Though there's nods to other mythologies as well, such as in the weapons with Rakshasa and the accessories with Maha-Kala from Hindu mythology. I don't much care for Bayonetta herself, but these references to mythology are definitely appreciated. Dante's Inferno (the game) has a similar thing with the Relics, with names like Ciacco's Bile, Antony's Standard and Memory of Acre, as well as the sinners in Inferno: referring either to things from the poem or other historical stuff/characters.

[@TheSSBBfan666]

@@jurtheorc8117 funny enough in the new Bayonetta spin off, they're tackling the Fae folk as enemies.

[@Potetsmakergodt]

As a Norwegian i love people studying our culture

[@andrewjennings7306]

It's a shame you guys gave it up for Christianity.

[@tim.noonan]

@@andrewjennings7306 Not like they (or any pagan culture) had much of a choice

[@brendanmystery]

@@tim.noonan well I believe that there existed many a christian viking decades after their first interaction with the religion. So while yes many did not have a choice, there were also ones that chose to become Christian for whatever reason. But then again, many of the later ones were probably born into it and as such had no choice.

[@bloodyfitnerd1947]

@@andrewjennings7306 gave it up? Yeah they totally didn't torture and force people to become Christians at all or to stop believing in their Norse Gods.

[@farazahmed7]

@@andrewjennings7306 Bro it is a storybook

[@mysterious_yokai8791]

Kinda wish she had more context and they showed more of the game than just some points like surtur mimirs stories and ect

[@XspLzT]

She should watch a video of Mimir explaining some of the facts he explains to Atreus and Kratos during their expeditions. She might have been very pleased and would have confirmed some of the facts he had given.

[@phantom-rc7mj]

Definitely! That's a good idea

[@Angellance7]

The fact she didn't mention the rope on freya's hands which is the one Odin hang off in the world tree makes me question if she got enough context to analyse the game correctly

[@eyywannn8601]

I think it’s plain to see that she didn’t have enough context.

[@vergil8833]

It's basically nothing more than a reference, theres nothing about magical rope being able to bind Odin just because he hung himself with it in the mythology, we don't even know if the hanging is supposed to reference a rope handing, it might very will imply that he pinned himself to the tree with a spear. It all really depends on how old that myth is and what era you draw inspiration from. Kind of like Thors red beard. Thats a pretty late thing which is mostly seen in depictions where he is also referred to as a demon, so clearly long after pagan times. In other words, it's not really relevant enough to mention is what I'd guess.

[@vergil8833]

@@rabertoification No, you just got emotionally connected to this game which spit on the mythology so you feel like everything in it is more important than it really is.

[@brendanmystery]

@@vergil8833 it would seem that you got emotionally connected to the mythology since you use the word "spit" when talking about adaptation. How the fuck do you think they were gonna introduce Norse mythology into the God of War franchise? Did you just want a retelling of norse mythology which we ourselves only know a fraction about since much of it was lost to Christianity taking over Europe?

[@phaex2288]

@@brendanmystery Norse mythology was not lost due to christiany taking over europe, it was never lost to begin with, the norse people just didn't had the habit of writing too much, everything they wrote were memorial stones sometimes depicting mythological events. When Scandinavia was christianized, believing in the elder gods was still popular, they just added Jesus and God to their religion, and there's alot of evidence for this, like a runestone depicting Jesus, the cross and the dragon Fafnir from a pagan saga. So no, Norse Mythology isn't fragmentary because of christianism, it's fragmentary because it was an oral tradition.

[@davidfollett6522]

Another thing that could be included in analysis and observation is the use of Gjallarhorn to signify the start of Ragnarok. It's one of the more simple yet iconic moments of the games

[@TheBrewery23]

This is fascinating! The knowledge of the professor is incredible and heightened my curiosity of the Norse civilization and mythology.

[@Bellarmin13]

You can see how much love and dedication was put In this game

[@Nightlizard1564]

Absolutely loved the skoll and haiti scene. Perfect way to visualize mythology

[@boatguy_]

That was really fun to watch. I wish they had given her more of the story. It would have been especially cool to get her take on some of the major themes in the two games (repeating the sins of our fathers, and whether you are bound to your fate) and if there are any parallels in Norse mythology. Also the family dynamic between Thor, Sif and Thrud.

[@mettatonneoex]

Also a bit on the GOW 3 Twilight Of the Gods

[@gingeedome9812]

The Apple Heimdal is actual a trope within visual media. A lot of times shows or games will show a bad guy eating an apple before or just after they are revealed as the bad guy or as a way of reminding someone they’re a bad guy. It’s a very old filmmaking trope that was originally intended as an allusion to the biblical first sin of Adam and Eve eating the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil which is often depicted as an apple tree. The trope is so common now though that it is just more of a trick/framing device than anything.

[@SalSanchez]

this was such a cool video! you can see her passion for her studies and i loved every second of it

[@thorveim1174]

some notes/explanations -Kratos comes from greece and named his son after a spartan soldier, which is why neither have a norse name -Here Frigg and Freya are one and the same, though notably Frigg is a name that almost only Odin uses and freya hates being called Frigg -Atreus is Loki mainly through prophecies, most made by his mother (who was a giant) -Ragnarok is both the name of the event and of the creature that brings is, which is a transformed surtr -While Atreus/Loki is not the father of Jormungandr or Loki, he is directly responsible for what they became: Jormie was just a snake that he revived in the past (time travel), while Fenrir used to be a normal wolf that died, and who's soul Loki put in the body of garm, who here is a realm tearing monster that cannot stay dead because it has no soul whatsoever. As for Angrboda, she is just Atreus's crush and isnt the mother of those creatures anymroe than Atreus is their father. Likewise Hati and Skoll arent related to Fenrir at all there. -there is a reason Balrd doesnt look good: he basically stopped taking care of himself and went insane as here, the magical protection prevents him from feeling ANYTHING, be it pain, pleasure, warmth, cold, even the taste of food.

[@scorponicdragonm.p.t.]

I need to see the entire review! She definitely has something to say about this! Does she have a channel?! Lol this was great but I need more.

[@ninjaletto4288]

She does! She has been playing the first game on her Channel: Dr Natalie Games.

[@LalaKhan-ho2gm]

They way she says Nordic words and pronounces them. I could listen to her say such words all damn day.

[@araceli2827]

If you like how norse words sound, I recommend you to listen to Wardruna.

[@TheOnlyToblin]

As a scandi, and student of Old Norse, I was impressed. For a non-native speaker she did it surprisingly well. Most Americans don't get anywhere close to proper vowel sounds.

[@araceli2827]

@@TheOnlyToblin do you know where I can study it? I'm very curious and I love how it sounds

[@TheOnlyToblin]

@@araceli2827 If you're serious about actually studying it and not just listening to how it sounds, you'd have to look at any university or such that offers Old Norse as a language study, or perhaps together with Norse studies in general. If you're just interested in what it sounds like, Dr Jackson Crawford here on KZbin does a relatively respectable job of pronouncing it. There's still a hint of American accent to it, but outside of that, it's very difficult to find anyone who is fluent in Old Norse. Even I am not, in spite of being a native Swede. Phonetics change over time and while I can relatively easily adjust to the Old Norse phonetics, it's not "native" to me, so even I would have an accent. if you want something that sounds similar in spirit, Icelandic is a very close analogue. The languages aren't grammatically similar and a lot of words have change, but the SOUNDS of Icelandic are quite close to Old Norse. Not exactly, but close.

[@tenjenk]

I loved when she recognised the swearing

[@lcb5651]

Your analysis was actually very good, I've been following(I mean playing of course) God of War since its starts, and when it reached Norse mitology I always wanted to know how much of the game was actually accurate to that mithology, now I'm very happy that after you commented it out I can see that game developers did a good job doing a research and adapting it for this game; I was really shocked when Tyr was actually Odin on disguise to ruin plans of Kratos and Atreus... seeing it from point of view of the game of course :) . I think Gamelogy did right thing asking you to see it before playing it so you can analyse it with your actual knowledge withou biases,then just to see how accurate this game is with its Norse mithology. I'm very impressed about your comments and really appreciate you doing this thank you.

[@TheOnlyToblin]

The one huge quibble I have is the representation of Baldr. The ONE character in Norse myth that is unambiguously and absolutely good and pure, to the point that he's actually glowing with light, and they turn him into a villain? That's a stretch. A BIG stretch. Other than that, I can live with the atrocious pronounciations of Norse names and places and other minor weirdnesses, but the Baldr thing...honestly unforgivable. It'd be like making Jesus a villain to Christians. Like wtf?

[@evanf.4801]

they didnt do a good job, at all

[@J-theSloth]

If Dr. Natalie did a live play through of the games, I would watch every second.

[@JohnathanHyde.]

This! I would love to see a first time playthrough of someone like her who shows genuine interest in something that respects the myths and interprets them into a well rounded story while also getting hot takes of what actual myth states.

[@Yashaanzm90]

Yeah she definitely needed more context than what was given to her! A lot of the things she was questioning and was unsure of was clearly explained throughout the gameplay. If this is a pre-recorded thing then maybe have someone there that knows the material really well and can cut to the explanation to her questions and doubts.

[@DarkKnight6six6]

"Not looking like I expected" is totally on brand for Odin to be fair.

[@2006Mookie2006]

Yo, I love her please keep bringing her back. She did a phenomenal job. I just finished god of war 1 haven’t started the 2nd yet. (New gen. Not old) But history overall is awesome except I get so lost in the action of the game I end up forgetting things lol😅

[@MrMikelew2929]

She da truth💯

[@singingrazors]

A lot of the little things you mention like Idun's apples are actually included in the games. I wish there were more clips to give some of those details but I assume they just gave you the biggest highlights for time's sake. I love the way the end up depicting the world tree in this, like a world between worlds.

[@TehSymbiote]

This production team needs to provide context for these scenes rather than letting her assume incorrectly for so much. Every video they do this it seems. Very disappointing 😞

[@besinji2000]

Frigg and Freya are the same in this game. She mentions she hasn’t been called Frigg in a long time. Lots of artistic liberties obviously, but a very good and mostly accurate story. Love that they did some research and just edited some as needed

[@JE.M07]

Should have told that Kratos was from greek and he just slip in, in the story. If I'm right, Faye's husband don't have enough info, so he's unknown and Kratos easily got in the Norse.

[@willhornsby206]

according to a comic and the book version of the game he was dragged to the Norse Pantheon after he left Greece in GOW3. Eventually he and Faye fight then they get married and have Atreus. I always found it great Kratos tries to change by hiding his past only to need the Blades of Chaos to save Atreus. When Faye dies her protection spell is broken in order for Kratos and Atreus to go on a journey and change their fate by showing them what was originally predicted in order for Kratos to learn that changing is better then staying the same. And Vallhala Dlc being therapy for Kratos to finally realize that he wasn't just a ruthless killing machine and be able to reflect and admit his wrong doings was great. Seeing Kratos sitting on that throne he once threw away, seeing it change to no longer represent what it used to and Kratos finally being rid of the ash of his first wife and child if even for a little bit was just perfect.

[@aeolussvichi7680]

Oh man I really recommend her exploring Kratos history and getting more of that context as to why the Norse gods are an opposition to him. They aren’t necessarily bad guys in the game, and knowing the context would help to understand that a bit better and their whole approach to the story they’ve crafted in GoW and GoWR. I’m a huge enthusiast of Greek and Norse mythology and love what the GoW did with the two mythologies.

[@Aisaaax]

GOW is an amazing game, and it is all about subverting common knowledge of norse mythology and twisting it in a way that stays consistent with the myth but leads to a different outcome.

[@ItsNoyyy]

You know whats super fucking cool about learning that Loki is the father of The World Serpent and Fenrir in lore ---- In the game he pretty much is the reason they exist, they are something he created and in a way I guess that makes him the father still, which I think is a cool way to integrate it into the game yet still kind of honouring the lore

[@UnchainedPassion]

I really wish they would give them a bit more context, so they could fully comment on the intepretations bc it kinda ends up being them repeating themselves and having to focus on figurering out the context of the scenes, instead of provide their knowledge to what is happening. Of course writing an essay of all the lore bits too much but like point out the most relevant things about the characters and important object in those scens like the noose Freya has, so they might have some knowledge about that they can share.

[@BlownInterceptor71]

Absolutely awesome...I have always wondered about this mythology. You explained superbly. Thank You!

[@slimkt]

I’d love to watch her play the last two games and just hear her commentary on all of it. Though, I suppose she’d need to know some of the original trilogy to get full context for the Norse mythology games.

[@kimicomiko]

You should have shown her the introduction to the world tree with Freya explaining that that is just a smaller depiction in Tyr’s Temple used to travel to different realms

[@vishnulachansin9023]

bruh gamology yall dropped the ball on this one. you could have given her more context and way more scenes to react this feels like half baked for views.

[@LooseCo]

This kinds of videos are always interesting, I wish during the reaction though she could get filled on on specific details, like Kratos being from Greece, Atreus being his son but also the son of a giant, Mimir actually being Puck from Midsummer's Night's Dream, etc. I'd like to hear her thoughts on that that stuff

[@gmafb5243]

14:46 Odin: That's my Frigg. 14:55 Freya is Odin's husband?! Dude, he just called her Frigg 10 seconds ago...

[@araceli2827]

Not the same person on mithology...

[@TGPDrunknHick]

@@araceli2827 well kinda. there is some speculation they might be the same person. there is also a few theories that Loki is another guise of Odin's as well. Mythology is weird and lot of it was destroyed or distorted by Christianity.

[@tensaiproductionz4107]

Idk if anyone said this yet but the name Frigg was a nickname Odin in God of War to Freya - first being a pet name to her - then it became a way to smear her accomplishments by associating Freya's deeds with the Aesir "goddess" Frigg, to further devalue her things as a means of control from Odin.

[@Ragan31687]

In the first game they did mention that Frig and Freya are one in the same in this series.

[@guysmiley7957]

it speaks to the lengths of authenticity the developers went to, if she could come in educated but with no context, and understand exactly what was happening

[@avi_innit]

i like how the game is actually so close to the real mythology

[@paulberloth4302]

You are so mistaken. The writers got more and more lost as the game progresses. Deeply disappointed that lack of understanding of what mythology and polytheism is destroyed the possibility for many to experience a fascinating sense of grasping life through stories.

[@avi_innit]

@@paulberloth4302 i do not mean to compare it with real mythology of greek or norse , i mean it a comparitive way with other stories/ games that take some parts of history or mythology of a religion or country and make a movie/game or any other entertainment around that story , God of War does far better than some games out there in terms of encompassing what they could in a game revolved around a progression system and fighting , the only game i could think of that is comparable to encompassing the actual myth or history in a game is Ghost of Tsushima that cleverly showed feudal japan and the mongol invasion on the island of tsushima, many aspects of Japanese culture was added into the game cleverly and i really rate that game good , The game captures the sense of how even though honour was tought all across japan , Some classes of people can not become slave to regid system of Pride and honour and have to live life hiding from the jurisdiction of the Shogun . And while i praise both these games i know that these are not any where near what happened truly or what is belived , They do a god job at making a story around a progression based fighting game that is semi-open world and has story lines sprinkled all accross the map(s) and Bosses at every corner . As a hardcore Japanese Mythology enjoyer and a scholar learning kanji and history of Japan , i was disappointed that it was not upto my level in terms of history and japanese culture but for a beginner or a casual person who wants to experince The feudal japan , greek mythos or the norse mythos , Both these games do good job and i loved em. My brother who is 14 played both these games and he is the kind of guy who 100% finishes everygame and literally played ghost of tsushima for 62 hours and got the 100% completion trophy in GoW and now he is extremely excited know about the past of kratos and the myth tale of the pantheon and he is learning japanese from me so i think both the games did good jobs at making him intrigued and thats what games are for having fun and learning .

[@Valome_Virtual_Gravedigger]

​@@paulberloth4302maybe fucking watch the BTS of Ragnarok's creations They know the mythology, but they needed to make it fit GoW's theme since Loki, the the one who starts Ragna is missing

[@Velisatra]

If anyone's curious about the Freya/Frig thing: It's from the common origin hypothesis. Both names stem from the Proto-Germanic *Frijjō according to said hypothesis, Frīg in Old English and as Frīja in Old High German.

[@yokaboka]

to see him as an enemy that needs to be fought by this "HERO" ... i lold so hard

[@grgin17]

I would absolutely watch full gameplay of her playing (or someone playing and her watching) ... her reactions would make it really funny to watch

[@ginger_jesus4716]

I always thought that the mask was a nod to the movie 'the mask'

[@XxizzyspinzxX]

This was so entertaining to watch. Thank you.

[@caitlyncpelletier]

The true power of the mask will make Loki ssmmmookkiiiiinnn!

[@vinisha2969]

Xd

[@Yogirlchoosin99]

Actually really like seeing a professional break this down and being surprised

[@rundownthriftstore]

I was under the impression that Frigg and Freya being the same character was a pretty universally accepted theory? Edit: WTH how are you gonna end it there??!?! I need a part 2 with Surtr!

[@Mek_Alenes]

Frigga and Freyja are sometimes depicted as the same character, true. But they are shown as different deities jus as often.

[@justarandomgamer7667]

5:10 that is actually not the world tree, it is an artistic representation of Yggdrasil used in the realm travel room to, well, travel the nine realms. 5:25 this blue area is the real world tree, an area the game calls the "realm between realms". You traverse Yggdrasil as a form of fast travel, a way of switching locations faster. It's used as a loading zone lol

[@Tradefleet96]

I know you guys don't really do this, but I'd be down if you got her for a full playthrough of both games lol 😂

[@Qunarr]

I feel like they should’ve given her more contest especially when she mentioned Odin being married to “Frigg” which is what Odin actually calls Freya

[@Lenxy._.19]

Why did no one tell her that the world tree that she was seeing was a replica😢 (9 months late? Idc)

[@marshallpires4906]

16:58 it is. Early in the game Kratos asks Surtur to be Ragnarök.

[@vince371vc]

If she plays the full game she'll notice that the game is not very accurate to the norse Mythologie ^^ but then again it had to be changed a lot, to get a plot involved with new characters like kratos and atreus

[@TheOnlyToblin]

Thank you. As much as I love depictions of Norse myth (I mean, as a Scandi, how can I not enjoy when my culture gets the spotlight?), it's only superficially related to the myths. That said, the way they've adapted it is probably as faithful as you can when you're trying to shoehorn in fucking GOD OF WAR into Norse myth :)

[@foxxy-3748]

I would have loved to hear her talk about the story of Odin hanging himself from Yggdrasil with the noose Freya uses to bind him near the end. Odin, in his quest for wisdom, stabbed himself with his spear and hanged himself for 9 days and 9 nights (this is why she says 9s are fairly common in Norse mythology) and to discover new worlds in death. He mainly did it to learn about magical runes that he did not understand, which is why he is now directly linked to said runes.

[@ThisIsAUsername69]

Could have at least told her who Kratos is and what his games are usually about.

[@ClintonMatos]

6:05 "The gods even get together with the giants" Kratos' favourite part of the video.

[@alfiesmallwood8992]

They need to give her more context to what happens in the game

[@N0rseman]

To have an opportunity to just sit and talk with Dr. Van Deusen would be the most amazing thing i could imagine. I have read the eddas, and i consult the havamal often. I've been told my ancestors can be traced back all the way to old Scandinavia but there is not real way to prove it. Unfortunately, i'm 42 and very poor and i will continue to read all that i can. college was never in my fate, but who knows about the future.

[@HoodedMushroom]

Its so sad they didnt provide some details, context...

[@siresbrs]

Hello @ProfessorNatalie, There is a lot of lore that Mimir gives during the travel time In God of War (2018). You should watch that, and see what you think.

[@neoputotyra]

how to make her explaining more related to the game ? give her the overview or summary of GoW beforehand

[@vergil8833]

Shes not there to explain the game though, and the games story spits in the face of mythology so maybe it's for the better they didn't give her that much information, it would only make her spend more time correcting in.

[@lucky4d725]

@@vergil8833 It doenst spit if you know how working with fiction actually is.

[@vergil8833]

@@lucky4d725 Tf is that supposed to mean

[@lucky4d725]

@@vergil8833 let me explain myself better. If you know how fiction works then no, it doesn't "spit in the face of mythology". Hope it's more understandable now.

[@vergil8833]

@@lucky4d725 You just made it stupider.

[@beva901]

In the game they mention Odin calls Freya Frigg so I think your speculation on the interpretation they took is correct. Also yes surtr is what you were seeing there. You approach him in muspelheim and combine the heart of his lover with his primordial flame to create the Ragnarok monster in the game. Yggdrasil is bigger what you saw was Tyrs temple and they mention in the game it’s an artistic interpretation. Later you can actually wander Yggdrasil after you gain Access to the amulet of Yggdrasil. Anyway really cool to see it seems they did a decent job. Obviously with some artistic liberties taken.

[@d4n737]

Shame that they didn't tell her the context for a lot of those places and characters, like the fact that the "World tree" in Tyr's temple is only an artistic depiction of it, sculpted from the actual branch of the tree of life. In fact we get to see how big in really is in the realm between realms

[@pinedragon5398]

People like Professor Natalie are why I haven't given up on college. People like her are awesome and make learning/research fun.

[@ProfessorNatalie]

Thank you! I really do love what I get to do for a living :)

[@pinedragon5398]

@@ProfessorNatalie 👁️👁️ I was not expecting you to reply! That actually startled me. But also, that’s really cool.

[@ProfessorNatalie]

@@pinedragon5398 I look at these comments from time to time (for better or worse!). I appreciate comments like yours so much.

[@AlphaAchilles]

I love how she had zero context or an idea on what’s going on in the story of GOW. Also, they did quick clips of scenes where she talked over anything of importance. So basically she was just “reacting” the 10 second video with no audio heard. Just constantly talking without actually listening to any of the dialogue. I hated this

[@mauno91]

In the game Kratos makes the mistake of thinking "giant" is literal. and is confused when normal sized people and creatures are referred to as giants. Atreus has to explain its just another race, and they're not actually physical giants. Atreus himself is a Jotnar. Just a fun fact.

[@rsr2121]

It is seriously frustrating that she was not given any context whatsoever about the game before being asked to react to it. Not good Gamology.

[@cylaslum7901]

not that deep😭

[@gomi350z]

i love that loki will sleep with anything, he has 3 kids with angerboda those being hel, jormungandr, and fenrir. he slept with a horse and created a 6 legged horse, and also has a set of twins that are barely mentioned and are very vague

[@abodieqwerty4678]

No comments at all on angroboda from miss expert?

[@harlannguyen4048]

She can't. It would expose that the devs didn't care about adapting the mythology faithfully. You got to have black characters in the game, even if it makes no sense, for those sweet ESG points.

[@youngrootv]

@@harlannguyen4048 lol cry more. If gods were real we wouldn’t be able to comprehend them so human concepts like skin color wouldn’t mean anything. Who cares what someone’s adaptation of a character is. You’re just sounding racist for no reason my guy

[@Desty0007]

@@harlannguyen4048 i would agree with you if they made black scandinavians, but since she's literally another race from another dimension essentially who cares, you guys are way to bothered by this

[@ShadowMoon878]

@@harlannguyen4048 You are stupid. They are mythological characters. Who cares if they are White, Black, Asian? There is already an anime about Greek gods and they all speak Japanese. There is also an isekai anime about Loki and he speaks Japanese and became a Private Investigator. Hell, there is even an Anime about Dragons who became girls and one of them is literally the Aztec Serpent God Quetzalcoatl and she is japanese and speaks japanese!

[@Just_marii]

​@@harlannguyen4048 When was god of war ever accurate?

[@sarcasmuser8235]

I like that she can understand how it's just a video game, and that not all parts of the story have to completely match up with the traditional Norse Mythology, while still managing to make connections between the two.

[@karmmaroo]

fun fact: the Version of Donar (Thor) is the most mythologically speaking accurate potrayl to his mythology self

[@darthplagueis13]

Mostly, yes. I mean, mythological Thor isn't a depressed alcoholic (well, he's probably an alcoholic, but it doesn't seem to ever affect him negatively in any of the stories) but they got the shape of the hammer right, they got his hair and beard right and really, he absolutely might be built like that. Medieval scandinavians probably would have envisioned someone looking like him as the strongest of the gods over some super sculpted body builder. One thing the games did get wrong is that Thor is supposed to be wearing two iron gauntlets which he needs to hold the hammer.

[@vergil8833]

This portrayal of Thor is the least accurate to what a norse person would have believed Thor to be. Red hair is the only part that is mildly accurate to certain descriptions in some later texts, but those christian era sources likely just simplified his ealiest hair description, which was "red as gold". The norse referred to gold as red in certain poetic contexts, but the comparrison to gold makes it clear that Thors hair was golden in the eyes of those who wrote that description, which would be whomevers family or historian that Snorre Sturlason talked to as his source. You can say what you want about Snorre, but at least he didn't refer to Thor as a demon like those who later wrote that Thor had burning red hair. Fact of the matter is that there is no such thing as a canon regarding such specifics. Some descriptions are canon to the norse beliefs, like Odins one eye and Tyrs one hand, but hair color and other non-specific looks would vary from town to town. One town might see Thor as brown haired and young while the next see him as blond and ultra masculine while the next see him as an old grey haired man. As long as they look like something you could realistically consider to be a norse persons idea of a perfect warrior, it would be a valid depiction. An obese pale drunkard with unwashed dark red hair is not in any way an accurate depiction, and it is in no way what a norse person would consider the perfect hero. 98% of them would not even know what a fat person looks like since most norse people lived very active lives with minimal farming. I know the common reason why this depiction is considered accurate by LARPers, it's because he "looks like a strongman", right? And strongmen are so fat, right? No. Strongmen do indeed have big bellies, but they have even bigger upper bodies with clearly bulging chests and shoulders. This Thor depiction does not have that, he is floppy, his belly is the biggest part of his body, that is not how strongmens proportions are. Their chests, arms, shoulders, and of course backs make up their mass, their guts just follow suit. The concept art for Thor looks alot better in that regard, he actually looks like a very well built strong man. His chest is not so saturated with fat that it flows into his belly in that artwork because thats only something that happens on obese people, not strongmen. This depiction of Thor sucks. They should have followed the earlier concept art more closely. They even have a version where he had his gloves. But I guess this sad fat version served their purpose better, that purpose being to humiliate and downplay all the big important male dieties while pretentiously shoving the less important female gods into every storyline because thats what modern depictions of ancient european culture always seem to do. Guess we can't expect more when americans who spend too much time on twitter are allowed to make these adaptations.

[@newleader5982]

Absolutely character and appearance wise.

[@savalava]

She did very well for how little context she was given about the game. Great job Natalie!

[@kamikaze_22]

From playing these games and listening to this video, they really got this game pretty accurate to the mythology. There wasn't much source material she could go by, but some of the things that she referenced but weren't in the material were part of the game which shows that the game devs really did their research into Norse Mythology.

[@ringtone8120]

Kratos came from Greece (Sparta) through Egipt to Midgard, and Atreus is his son (The name is based of a spartan called Atreus, **Kratos fought with him and Atreus (the spartan) inspired him and the other spartans** before he killed Ares, took his throne and the title of God of War which was gifted to him by Athena. (Years later) And later in the game we found out that Kratos his wife Faye (A Jötnar/Giant) wanted to call their son "Loki" also known as God of Mischief. So Atreus is Half-Spartan, Half-God, and Half-Jötnar. Kratos isn't supposed to be there, thats why Magni and Modi died, and the events of Ragnarök happened earlier. In the game there are no human's except Reavers (They are like cannibalists that turn into Hel-Walkers if that's a term you use.) cause they all Fled or Hid because of the war between the Aesir and the Vanir. 5:03 Freya says when you arrive there for the first time that, that Yggdrasil is not the real one, it's just Architecture. 5:28 thats the realm between realms (thats what the Dwarves called it, it's a branch of Yggdrasil, (it's just for fast travel in the game). In the game lore the Leviathan's Axe is appereantly stronger then Mjolnir, it was made by the same 2 dwarves, Brok and Sindry. 8:32 can you speak that Language a bit? Freya called it a dead tongue. Freya is also a Vanir, and the Queen of the Valkyries atleast in the game, and Kratos killed Baldur, and which was the son of Freya, that's why she is pissed at Kratos and Atreus in God of War: Ragnarök. In Greece there are the Sisters of Fate and they were like pure evil, so Kratos tought Atreus that fate shouldn't be trusted. In the God of War: Ragnarök, Ragnarök is the End of Asgard, but you only said world so i don't know which world you mean. The game version of Heimdall can dodge everything cause he can see the next move of an opponent before the opponent does it (like future sight), but he doesnt analyse the attack, he just dodges or blockes it, and he is overall pretty confident in his abilities, which eventually leads to his death at the hands of Kratos (if he focuses he can also kind of read minds). In the game Týr is the norse god of war. Odin was her husband, not is. The mask is from Greece. In the God Of War games Atreus / Loki isnt a bloodbrother to Odin and vice versa. Yes that was Surtr at 16:48, he also did some trials in Muspelheim to make anyone that comes there to prepare of Ragnarök. I don't know if Fenrir and Hel are also Jötnar/Giants, but I think they are cause Angrboda and Loki are both also Jötnar/Giants so there are 4 big Jötnar/Giants: Hel, Fenrir Jörmungandr and the Jötnar that buld the wall around Jötunheim. (I'll just say Jötnar cause thats what they said in the game. I dont know if Jötunn is the better term) This was alot, i'd appreciate if you'd read all of this cause it was a bit to write. So correct me if something is wrong, and have a Good morning, evening or Afternoon.

[@fainted8230]

Loki/Atreus put giant souls in fenrir and jormungandr, that‘s how the managed to make loki their dad/mom

[@kyledaly8769]

God of war are so of my favorite games I think her breaking it down is awesome she seems cool hope she checks out more of god of war to give her more context

[@Rfcfan1996]

Thats why I love Mythology so much varied stories of how we all came to be. A lot of parallels to the Dodecatheon within Norse Mythology

[@Creenella]

oh love they did you so dirty by only giving you such minimal context to work off of! A lot of things you politely pointed out as innacurate actually are far more accurate in-context than you could've known, at least not given the sparse information you had been handed :') I do not blame you in the slightest, there is no way you could've known, but I'd estimate around 50% of what you pointed out as false or lacking are actually already well accounted for by the narrative in-context

[@coolmanplayz438]

I absolutely love this game and the one that came before it, couple things to point out, that seem to be shown without context in the video, in the scene with Atreus and jormungandr speaking to each other, Midgard is in the middle of fimbulwinter, hence why Jormungandr is covered in ice, its implied that fimbulwinter froze Midgard pretty much completely, and they're actually in the same spot as the one in the first clip with jormungandr, its just frozen now. In the scene where Ragnarok is destroying asgard, its explained in the game that Ragnarok is a being that is created from Surtr and someone named sinmara, combining into one being, Surtr is indeed from muspelsheim in the game and its said that sinmara is from Nifilheim. In the scene where Odin and Freya are speaking to each other and Freya is binding him with runes, the noose she's holding is the one Odin hung from the world tree with. Further, in this version of the story, Freya and Frigg are supposed to be one in the same, with a major plot point being that she was Baldur's mother, and Kratos murdered Baldur at the end of the first game. The necklace she takes from Atreus when they are speaking in Midgard actually has the Mistletoe arrow that killed Baldur on it. All very cool moments in the game. There is on scene not shown here that is my favorite scene in the franchise, and one of my favorite scenes in gaming, and its when Kratos ends up blowing Gjallahorn and beginning Ragnarok. I get chills every time I see that scene.

[@amicosayshi865]

I wish they had given her some context as to the portrayals of these characters. Like fore instance, I would've been interested in her take on them making Ragnarok an actual being instead of just an event

[@rozcosentertainment180]

Y’all should check her channel out, she’s playing the game now!

[@prox6833]

Hey, just to say for her to know, the green arrow Freya took off of Atreus in that one scene was the mistletoe that killed Baldur.

[@chrislovstv123]

Awesome video. When I first started playing through GOW 2018 and GOW Ragnarok, I spent quite some time trying to wrap my head around what they were trying to convey because I was hanging on to what I know about Norse Mythology. Once you let that go and remind yourself that this is a story INSPIRED by a Mythology and not BASED factually on what is believed to be the true telling of Norse Mythology, the game became easier to grasp. I personally liked what the developers did, because GOW wasn't designed to be just like the Poetic or Pros Edda, it's designed to be GOW.

[@NastehtimeTV]

I actually love that she didn't know what was going on, it would have influenced her too much. The way this was done made it feel like a true history lesson based on the mythology instead of the game world. Thank you for taking the time to do this, I'm off to find some of her lectures now!

[@Cortanarama]

It really did look like the Loki mask from The Mask lol. I'm surprised they didn't show her the Surtr scene or the Garm/Fenrir scene. Also, wish she commented on the Thor/World Serpent fight during Ragnarok because it went from the mural of the 1st game depicting potential Kratos' death with Loki resurrecting him as the World Serpent into just a "oh look, there's the Thor/World Serpent fight in the background." Also liked the idea of Kratos being Tyr as giving him a name in each mythology would make it easier for him to be in a future game with a new pantheon.