In Defense of God of War Ragnarok’s Ironwood

God of War Ragnarok put Kratos and Atreus through the ringer as the father-son duo worked to defeat the mighty god Odin. The events of God of War Ragnarok presented its fair share of harrowing and emotional moments, but the game’s Ironwood interlude was a divisive section for many who played the game. However, this area is not entirely deserving of the criticism it gets, as it is arguably one of the most important parts of the game.

In Ironwood, players are introduced to Angrboda, the Giantess of Ironwood. As one of the last remaining Jotun of Jotunheim, she isn’t just confirmation to Atreus that more Jotun exist, she also presents one of the first times players get to see Atreus just be a kid for a moment. This is where one of the main points of criticism comes in. Some have argued that the Ironwood section is needlessly slow and boring. The section is indeed slow, but this is completely necessary for the story of Ragnarok.

Ragnarok’s Ironwood Section Has An Important Role

Angrboda and Loki

Despite the slow gameplay in the Ironwood section, it is incredibly important to not only Atreus’ character development, but Ragnarok‘s story as a whole. At first, it seems as though Ironwood is just filler content, but it ultimately plays a much larger part in how the game’s story unfolds. Angrboda is a great companion for Atreus, teaching him enlightening information regarding the Jotun that had been a mystery to him until that point. There is a lot revealed about Atreus and his role in Jotun culture.

He is destined to be the Champion of the Jotnar while also being put in charge of their souls, which are stored in the marbles she reveals to him. Atreus has a deeper connection to his Norse roots. Furthermore, Ironwood is imperative to Atreus’ character development, but it ends up being even more crucial to Kratos and his story arc.

Kratos and Atreus Defy Destiny

At the end of 2018’s God of War, Kratos is faced with a mural depicting his fate. The mural’s story predicts Kratos’ death as he dies in Atreus’ arms. In Ironwood, it’s shown that Angrboda’s paintings use paint that is crafted from an Ironwood tree can predict the future. One of the murals in Angrboda’s home once again depicts the death of Kratos, while Atreus is supposedly destined to swear allegiance to Odin after the battle of Ragnarok. However, this actually never came to pass, as Odin is defeated and Kratos lives to fight another day.

At the end of Ragnarok, Kratos comes face to face with yet another mural showing his original terrible fate, but this time something has changed. Angrboda painted over the original contents of the mural, and instead of Kratos dying, the painting now depicts him as a revered god. Due to Angrboda’s ability to alter the future with her paintings, she took destiny into her own hands and changed the course of Kratos’ life.

In
Valhalla
,
Ragnarok
‘s DLC, Kratos defying fate leads him to self-acceptance.

Without the Ironwood section giving the story a chance to breathe and settle for a while, a detrimental detail in the overall story could have been entirely missed. Ironwood is arguably one of the most important sections in the entire Norse saga because of all the important exposition that it revealed to players. Angrboda introducing Atreus to Ironwood and her paintings is the key to understanding why Kratos survives and defies what destiny had assigned to his fate. At the end of Ragnarok, an underlying theme is taking destiny into one’s own hands in order to create the future one actually wants, and Ironwood lies at the heart of this point.