One Hidden Secret From Every God of War Game
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VOICE OVER: Aaron Brown
WRITTEN BY: Aaron Brown
The "God of War" series has some pretty great Easter Eggs for those willing to look for them. For this list, we'll be highlighting one interesting secret or Easter Egg per entry. Our list includes The Cistern Painting from “God of War: Ascension” (2013), Collector's Edition Relic from “God of War” (2018), Now I Am Become Death from “God of War II” (2007), and more!
Script written by Aaron Brown
Welcome to MojoPlays and today we’re pulling back the curtain to reveal one hidden secret from every God of War game. The God of War series has been going strong for almost 2 decades and while the games can seem pretty straightforward, that doesn’t mean they aren’t still hiding some Easter Eggs for those dedicated enough to find them. What was your favorite Easter Egg in a God of War game? Go hunting and let us know down in the comments.
The mysterious Grave Digger in the original God of War 2005 was one of the biggest unanswered questions fans had by the time credits rolled. Who was he and how was he able to help Kratos when he needed it most? Many speculated he could be Zeus in disguise, but fans would have to wait 5 more years until Ghost of Sparta for their suspicions to be confirmed. Following his return during the events of Ghost of Sparta, and after unlocking all other items in the Temple of Zeus, players will receive the Shovel and unlock the ability to play as the Grave Digger in the Combat Arena. However as soon as the match begins, the Grave Digger will plunge his shovel into the ground and with a quick strike of lightning re-emerge as the God of Thunder and lay waste to all in his path with the Blade of Olympus.
The men of Sparta aren’t the only ones fond of the man skirt. After beating God of War: Chains of Olympus and successfully completing all the challenges of Hades, Kratos will unlock multiple costumes but one in particular stands out, McKratos. With this costume equipped, not only does Kratos sport a kilt, a ginger beard and matching locks, but his familiar Blades of Chaos are also replaced by two large axes. Not only does Kratos’ entire appearance change, but he’s also granted a significant boost to Kratos' strength but as with the laws of equivalent exchange, Kratos only receives half the normal amount of green and blue orbs and takes double damage during combat. Yet with Axe in hand, remind those who stand in your way that they may take your life, but they will never take your freedom!
The world of God of War is built on prophecy and whether it be those attempting to fight against fate or succumbing to it, the visions of the future never stop for those with the gift to see them. While Ascension is often overlooked in the series, it does include an Easter Egg that either hinted at the future of the series in a new realm or the end of the Greek saga given Ascension is a prequel to the rest of the events of the God of War games. In the Cistern, Kratos will discover a painting and by interacting with it will be presented with a series of seemingly random string of letters that once decoded correspond to symbols on the ground in the neighboring rooms. Returning to the painting again will reveal Alethia’s prophecy of an Earth seemingly being destroyed and the words “When the Earth stops, the journey begins…”
Despite God of War receiving overwhelmingly positive accolades from both fans and critics and becoming a worldwide sensation, game director David Jaffe couldn’t be sure of his ultra-violent passion project’s success and so there were numerous bonus extras for players to find that expanded on the story beyond the end of the game. One such easter egg can be unlocked after beating the game on God Mode and details the fate of the Titan Cronos who was burdened with carrying Pandora’s Temple on his back. Discovered buried in the sands of the desert is the massive Titan’s skeleton and modern archaeologists' discovery of Pandora’s Temple still intact and still strapped to his back. Obviously, this is no longer considered canon by any means but that hasn’t stopped fans from speculating this was originally the Titan’s fate before the events of God of War 2 when Kratos altered events using the Threads of Fate.
Kratos is known far and wide as the Ghost of Sparta, cursed for the death of his family, and as the saga continues, his legend only grows the more destructive and power hungry he becomes. After suffering a shocking betrayal at the hands of Zeus, Kratos seeks to return to the past and undo this twist of fate and bring his vengeance to the very cliffs of Mount Olympus. After defeating Perseus and interacting with stars in the environment with no indicators, Kratos can extend a root bridge and at the foot of the tree, interact with another star and not only will the tree explode with red orbs, but a message also seemingly predicting Kratos’ future appears in the clouds above him stating the famous J. Robert Oppenheimer quote: “Now I am become death, the destroyer of worlds”. Oh, right they were.
The tragic loss of Kratos’ wife and daughter weigh heavy on his quest for revenge through the Greek Pantheon and the guilt over his actions is an ever-present source of torment for the Ghost of Sparta. However, for those who didn’t play the PSP title Ghost of Sparta and were unaware of Kratos and Calliope’s reunion in Elysium, Kratos can find a letter from Calliope early in God of War 3 that alludes to her innocence sparing her the eternal torment of Hades. She laments the fact that Kratos didn’t protect them, acknowledging she had no idea of Kratos’ doing and details the horrors she first encountered upon reaching Hades only for the judges to send her to Elysium telling her it would be “nice there”. She closes out her final words with the note “I miss my family.” as if we weren’t already crying enough.
Those who were lucky enough to nab a collector’s edition of God of War 2018 were treated to more than just the beautifully detailed statue of Kratos and Atreus. Included along with numerous other memorabilia was a cloth map of the Lake of Nine as well as the surrounding realms available for travel. However, this map also held another secret: it was also a treasure map. Scattered around the map were various runes and clues that led to an in-game area where upon completing a very specific set of actions will unlock a realm tear and within the Forbidden Grip of the Ages for Kratos’ Leviathan Axe that boosts all of his stats and even produces a concussive blast at the end of combos.
The rug pull that Tyr was not Tyr all along caught pretty much everyone off guard during Odin’s reveal that he’d been masquerading as Tyr the entire time to spy on Kratos and company and sadly had tragic consequences. On a second playthrough however, all the clues that Tyr wasn’t Tyr were always there for us to find. Firstly, in the subtitles, when Tyr speaks, there’s no accent above his name, there are raven feathers on the floor of both his cell where he is “rescued” and the closet in Sindri’s where he spends his time away from the others. However, players didn’t realize Odin had been watching them long before donning his Tyr disguise. When first arriving in Svartalfheim, a dwarf is seen crossing a bridge and spits at the two as they pass. It took game director Eric Williams pointing this out for fans to even notice.
Welcome to MojoPlays and today we’re pulling back the curtain to reveal one hidden secret from every God of War game. The God of War series has been going strong for almost 2 decades and while the games can seem pretty straightforward, that doesn’t mean they aren’t still hiding some Easter Eggs for those dedicated enough to find them. What was your favorite Easter Egg in a God of War game? Go hunting and let us know down in the comments.
Grave Digger
“God of War: Ghost of Sparta” (2010)The mysterious Grave Digger in the original God of War 2005 was one of the biggest unanswered questions fans had by the time credits rolled. Who was he and how was he able to help Kratos when he needed it most? Many speculated he could be Zeus in disguise, but fans would have to wait 5 more years until Ghost of Sparta for their suspicions to be confirmed. Following his return during the events of Ghost of Sparta, and after unlocking all other items in the Temple of Zeus, players will receive the Shovel and unlock the ability to play as the Grave Digger in the Combat Arena. However as soon as the match begins, the Grave Digger will plunge his shovel into the ground and with a quick strike of lightning re-emerge as the God of Thunder and lay waste to all in his path with the Blade of Olympus.
McKratos
“God of War: Chains of Olympus” (2008)The men of Sparta aren’t the only ones fond of the man skirt. After beating God of War: Chains of Olympus and successfully completing all the challenges of Hades, Kratos will unlock multiple costumes but one in particular stands out, McKratos. With this costume equipped, not only does Kratos sport a kilt, a ginger beard and matching locks, but his familiar Blades of Chaos are also replaced by two large axes. Not only does Kratos’ entire appearance change, but he’s also granted a significant boost to Kratos' strength but as with the laws of equivalent exchange, Kratos only receives half the normal amount of green and blue orbs and takes double damage during combat. Yet with Axe in hand, remind those who stand in your way that they may take your life, but they will never take your freedom!
The Cistern Painting
“God of War: Ascension” (2013)The world of God of War is built on prophecy and whether it be those attempting to fight against fate or succumbing to it, the visions of the future never stop for those with the gift to see them. While Ascension is often overlooked in the series, it does include an Easter Egg that either hinted at the future of the series in a new realm or the end of the Greek saga given Ascension is a prequel to the rest of the events of the God of War games. In the Cistern, Kratos will discover a painting and by interacting with it will be presented with a series of seemingly random string of letters that once decoded correspond to symbols on the ground in the neighboring rooms. Returning to the painting again will reveal Alethia’s prophecy of an Earth seemingly being destroyed and the words “When the Earth stops, the journey begins…”
The Fate of The Titan
“God of War” (2005)Despite God of War receiving overwhelmingly positive accolades from both fans and critics and becoming a worldwide sensation, game director David Jaffe couldn’t be sure of his ultra-violent passion project’s success and so there were numerous bonus extras for players to find that expanded on the story beyond the end of the game. One such easter egg can be unlocked after beating the game on God Mode and details the fate of the Titan Cronos who was burdened with carrying Pandora’s Temple on his back. Discovered buried in the sands of the desert is the massive Titan’s skeleton and modern archaeologists' discovery of Pandora’s Temple still intact and still strapped to his back. Obviously, this is no longer considered canon by any means but that hasn’t stopped fans from speculating this was originally the Titan’s fate before the events of God of War 2 when Kratos altered events using the Threads of Fate.
Now I Am Become Death
“God of War II” (2007)Kratos is known far and wide as the Ghost of Sparta, cursed for the death of his family, and as the saga continues, his legend only grows the more destructive and power hungry he becomes. After suffering a shocking betrayal at the hands of Zeus, Kratos seeks to return to the past and undo this twist of fate and bring his vengeance to the very cliffs of Mount Olympus. After defeating Perseus and interacting with stars in the environment with no indicators, Kratos can extend a root bridge and at the foot of the tree, interact with another star and not only will the tree explode with red orbs, but a message also seemingly predicting Kratos’ future appears in the clouds above him stating the famous J. Robert Oppenheimer quote: “Now I am become death, the destroyer of worlds”. Oh, right they were.
Calliope’s Letter
“God of War III” (2010)The tragic loss of Kratos’ wife and daughter weigh heavy on his quest for revenge through the Greek Pantheon and the guilt over his actions is an ever-present source of torment for the Ghost of Sparta. However, for those who didn’t play the PSP title Ghost of Sparta and were unaware of Kratos and Calliope’s reunion in Elysium, Kratos can find a letter from Calliope early in God of War 3 that alludes to her innocence sparing her the eternal torment of Hades. She laments the fact that Kratos didn’t protect them, acknowledging she had no idea of Kratos’ doing and details the horrors she first encountered upon reaching Hades only for the judges to send her to Elysium telling her it would be “nice there”. She closes out her final words with the note “I miss my family.” as if we weren’t already crying enough.
Collector’s Edition Relic
“God of War” (2018)Those who were lucky enough to nab a collector’s edition of God of War 2018 were treated to more than just the beautifully detailed statue of Kratos and Atreus. Included along with numerous other memorabilia was a cloth map of the Lake of Nine as well as the surrounding realms available for travel. However, this map also held another secret: it was also a treasure map. Scattered around the map were various runes and clues that led to an in-game area where upon completing a very specific set of actions will unlock a realm tear and within the Forbidden Grip of the Ages for Kratos’ Leviathan Axe that boosts all of his stats and even produces a concussive blast at the end of combos.
Hidden in Plain Sight
“God of War Ragnarok” (2022)The rug pull that Tyr was not Tyr all along caught pretty much everyone off guard during Odin’s reveal that he’d been masquerading as Tyr the entire time to spy on Kratos and company and sadly had tragic consequences. On a second playthrough however, all the clues that Tyr wasn’t Tyr were always there for us to find. Firstly, in the subtitles, when Tyr speaks, there’s no accent above his name, there are raven feathers on the floor of both his cell where he is “rescued” and the closet in Sindri’s where he spends his time away from the others. However, players didn’t realize Odin had been watching them long before donning his Tyr disguise. When first arriving in Svartalfheim, a dwarf is seen crossing a bridge and spits at the two as they pass. It took game director Eric Williams pointing this out for fans to even notice.
