God of War Ragnarök ending explained: Does Kratos die & is there a secret scene?

But as this was the end of the Scandinavian adventure, was this also the end for Kratos and our other favourite characters?

There will, of course, be MASSIVE SPOILERS from here on out - but if you're looking for a full explanation of the explosive God of War Ragnarök ending read on, as there may even be a secret or post-credit scene.

Does Kratos die in God of War Ragnarök?

A few hours into the game, you're hit with the prophecy that Kratos will die when Ragnarök finally arrives. If you're a student of Norse mythology and/or a fan of the MCU Thor films, you'll know that Ragnarök is an apocalyptic event where even gods aren't safe.

If you've seen that prophecy and you want to know if it comes true, fear not. We're pleased to report that Kratos does not die in God of War: Ragnarök. Phew.

There's plenty of chat in the game about changing our destinies and overcoming unwanted prophecies, and thankfully that's exactly what happens in this case. If you don't want to know the specific spoilers of what happens at the end, you won't want to scroll down any further into this article.

God of War Ragnarök ending explained

So, what exactly happens at the end of the game? Well, teaming up with various armies from around the Nine Realms, Kratos brings the fight to Odin's Asgard in the final act of God of War Ragnarök.

Thor arrives and has a big bust-up with Kratos, only for Odin to ultimately kill Thor. This happens after Thor and Kratos agree to stop fighting, a move that seemed to break the prophecy in which Kratos should've died.

Odin is also killed, with Atreus deciding to trap Odin's soul in one of his magical marbles. Sindri is still mourning the death of Brok — who was killed by Odin earlier in the game, when the Allfather revealed that he'd been masquerading as Tyr all along — so at the end, Sindri takes the opportunity to smash the marble and end Odin (seemingly) for good.

Just before Asgard is destroyed, which would surely kill all of our heroes, Angrboda manages to save Kratos and Atreus (and most of the other surviving goodies) by teleporting them out of dodge. Freyr is the only one left behind, leading us to assume he has died.

With the main action of the game completed, we then pick up with Atreus in Midgard. Here we are treated to a couple more shrines, because this game does love a good shrine. One of these shrines shows Faye, Kratos' wife and Atreus' mum, destroying the shrine in Jotunheim that players visited the remains of in the previous game.

This scene gives us more detail about Faye's death, which happened just before the 2018 game, explaining that she went up against the giants to try and forge a new life for her husband and her son – a life that wasn't defined by prophecy. This goes some way to explaining why Kratos and Atreus did manage to overcome/avert quite a few prophesied events in the game.

Once they've finished with the shrine, Atreus clearly has itchy feet. He explains he wants to travel the realms again with the specific goal of finding his fellow giants.

An emotional goodbye is shared between father and son. Atreus heads off without Kratos, in one of the biggest sequel teases that you're likely to find in this game (or at least, that could be a DLC, right?).

Kratos discovers that the shrine has another side. He takes a look, and finds a recap of his own recent history — he sees himself leaving the Greek pantheon behind and raising a son in the Norse universe instead.

But there's a hint of Kratos' future here, too, with the shrine revealing a potential outcome that sees Kratos being worshipped and adored by the masses, rather than being a fear-inducing warmonger.

Kratos is clearly emotional at the sight of this prediction, which makes sense considering that he's been fighting against his violent past and considering his true nature throughout the game.

Odin even made a jibe about this, around the mid-point of the game, ridiculing Kratos for the fact that nobody worships him. It looks like they might do, though, at some point in the future.

And with that revelation out of the way, the player resumes control of Kratos and is now free to travel about with Freya to finish off any other quests they haven't gotten around to yet. The end... or is it?

Does God of War Ragnarök have a secret ending or post-credits scene?

Seeing as God of War (2018) had a secret ending — the scene foreshadowing Thor's arrival was only triggered once you'd returned home and put Kratos to sleep — it's only fair to wonder if God of War Ragnarök has one as well. And, well... long story short, yes, God of War Ragnarök does have a secret ending.

To get the secret ending in God of War Ragnarök, after the final battle, you need to return to Sindri's House (the magical inter-dimensional hub that Kratos has called home throughout the game). Once you're there, talk to Lunda and she'll give you a side quest called A Viking Funeral.

To complete this quest and trigger the secret ending, you'll need to travel to Svartalfheim and attend Brok's funeral, following this quest through to its conclusion. Once the funeral quest is finished, you'll be treated to one last cut-scene.

Kratos and Sindri push Brok's body out into the water in a viking funeral boat. Freya fires an arrow to set Brok's remains aflame. Kratos tries to comfort Sindri, who soon after teleports away. And then, hours after he'd first heard Brok's riddle, Mimir utters the answer at the funeral: "A hole... it gets bigger, the more you take away."

At that point, the full credits will roll. There's no post-credits scene at the very end, but you do get to keep playing, so you don't need to worry about being locked out of any quests.

Read more on God of War:

• God of War Ragnarok review - our final verdict
• God of War Ragnarok cast - all voice actors
• God of War Ragnarok New Game Plus - when could it come?
• God of War Ragnarok chapters - are you near the end?
• God of War Ragnarok trophy guide - get the platinum
• God of War Ragnarok PS4 - how good is the last-gen version?
• God of War Ragnarok play time - how many hours?
• How tall is Thor in God of War Ragnarok?
• How old is Kratos in God of War Ragnarok?
• When will God of War Ragnarok come to PC?
• God of War PC review - is it worth playing?
• God of War PC requirements - all the specs you need
• God of War PC controls - full list of key bindings
• God of War games in order - play them all

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