Players Are Hunting Down God of War's Final Secret

By Jonathon Dornbush

Since its launch in April, God of War has offered no shortage of secrets and Easter eggs, from an early tease of major story beats to come to a shoutout to the Infinity Stone-collecting Thanos. But God of War contains one last notable secret that fans have been hunting down for months.

During one of two God of War San Diego Comic-Con 2018 panels, a fan asked game director Cory Barlog about this fabled final secret, and Barlog teased to fans that the end to this hunt lies at the beginning — the secret rests somewhere inside Kratos’ house.

Barlog didn’t offer much more than that to the panel, though this is similar to a tease he provided to IGN shortly after the game’s launch during our God of War spoilercast (watch below if you’ve beaten the game!).

His comments at the panel, however, have reinvigorated the player base in tracking down what this secret could possibly be. Reddit threads have popped up since the panel with fans gathering to discuss the secret, but a dedicated group of players have been working toward the secret for months, with a subreddit dedicated to it called r/GodofWarSecrets going strong for awhile now.

Many fans cataloguing the secret and the journey toward it also believe the newly released comic “The Hunt” may have some hint as to properly finding out what the secret is. Others believe it may have to do with a “canonical” sequence of events players must follow, and that it is likely related to Kratos or Freya.

“The Hunt” comic from Sony Santa Monica, via Twitter

A post paramount to that subreddit has tracked down all the possible theories and clues, including one of the newest theories, that blue crystals may be tied to the Valkyrie chambers spread throughout the world. (Valkyrie chambers have been a prevailing part of the theories, with others having suggested beating the Valkyries in specific orders could unlock particular Easter eggs.)

This new prevailing theory involves some heavy spoilers, so turn back now if you haven’t finished God of War.

The current belief is that a tapestry in Kratos’ home depicts a symbol associated with Loki in Norse mythology. Given the revelations at the end of God of War, this tapestry could have depicted an association with that famous figure in one of the first primary locations in the franchise. But players haven’t yet had the tapestry filled in fully to depict the full symbol.

Some users on the hunt for this final secret, however, have noted a similar tapestry at Freya’s house, and that the full Loki symbol, or one very close to it, can be found in other locations, including one featuring the red box runes.

The exact extent of the Easter egg is currently unknown, but with many believing it may deal with this nod to Atreus’ true identity, players have been scouring and compiling all of the Loki-related clues to piece together this puzzle.

End of spoilers.

Many signs have also pointed fans to various items and locations throughout the world, such as a set of mysterious runes surrounded by red boxes. And still others, fixated on finding the secret within Kratos’ home, are using photo mode to scan the entire environment for clues, including runes found on a hammer in the home.

Stay tuned to IGN continues to track the community’s leads on this final Easter egg, and be sure to check out the existing, known God of War Easter eggs and secrets.

God of War, which received a 10 from IGN in our God of War review, was a commercial success with sales topping five million in the first month and was the first game to reach one billion views on YouTube. Be sure to check out five places we think God of War could go next.

Jonathon Dornbush is IGN’s News Editor, who is super impressed by the God of War community’s work on this final secret. He also reviewed God of War, and liked it quite a bit. Find him on Twitter @jmdornbush.