Can You Go to Asgard in God of War?
No—at least if you‘re talking about freely exploring it. Asgard remains off-limits outside of brief story visions across both the 2018 God of War reboot and the Ragnarök sequel. But even this tantalizing peek behind the curtain leaves fans like me desperately curious if we‘ll ever get to take the battle to Odin in his home realm.
As an avid gamer who adores the God of War series, not being able to travel to Asgard as one of the major realms leaves a glaring hole in the game world. The locked realm travel door serves as a constant reminder of areas left to explore. And after 100+ hours playtime completing every possible quest, I can definitively say there is no secret method for accessing Asgard currently.
But all hope isn‘t lost! As a gaming commentator, I speculate that Asgard will serve as the backdrop for the seeming inevitable confrontation with Odin. The stage has been perfectly set for Kratos to tear down the gates of Asgard itself in a future installment. Let‘s break down everything we know so far about accessing Asgard, the tantalizing bits we‘ve seen, and what the future may hold.
Attempting to Access Asgard: No Dice in the 2018 God of War
As any passionate God of War fan knows, the iconic Realm Travel Room with its mystical gateways connects the various Norse realms. The 2018 game first introduces us to the Bifrost portal system.
And sure enough, one of those gateways prominently displays Asgard‘s rune.
But upon approaching, we quickly learn it’s been sealed shut by Odin‘s magic—completely impassable. Through later dialogue we discover the Allfather wishes to prevent the foretold doom of Ragnarök, so he‘s cutoff access to Asgard.
This gorgeous area serves as the backdrop for the iconicstone mural telling the prophecy, hinting at events to come:
Later in the game, various story characters reference traveling to Asgard or knowing its layout, building on the world‘s lore. But Kratos remains unable to step foot in the storied realm where many flagship gods hold court according to Norse myths.
By the Numbers: God of War Realms Visited
The 2018 God of War reboot lets players explore and complete side content in about half of the Nine Realms freely:
| Realm | Accessibility |
|---|---|
| Midgard | Fully Explorable |
| Alfheim | Fully Explorable |
| Helheim | Partially Explorable |
| Niflheim | Partially Explorable |
| Muspelheim | Partially Explorable |
But the home of the Aesir gods remains conspicuously absent from our travels.
Ragnarök fortunately expanded the number of realms available. But despite technically bumping up the total visitable realms, story events heavily gate your access to both Vanaheim and Svartalfheim too.
My Theory on Future DLC & Sequels
As an avid gamer, I firmly believe the next major God of War release will feature Asgard itself as a backdrop as Kratos brings his vengeance to Odin‘s doorstep. Ragnarök‘s ending prepares the groundwork for this impending clash. Too much has been built around this fabled realm and its infamous ruler for that not to culminate in allowing players to storm its halls.
We already visited stunning reimaginings of iconic realms like Alfheim and Helheim. Just picture seeing Santa Monica Studio‘s take on the vibrant, golden halls of the Aesir gods brought to life!
I even speculate they could release it as DLC given Ragnarök‘s endings hinting at more adventures to come. Glass-half-full, I still hold out hope for eventually getting that coveted “xxxx of Asgard” trophy!
What do you think? Does keeping Asgard tantalizingly out of reach annoy you as much as me? Or do you enjoy the added mystique and anticipation of possibly visiting in a future game? Sound off in the comments!
A Glance at Asgard via God of War Ragnarök’s Vision
While 2018’s God of War never provided even a glimpse of Asgard, Ragnarök finally pulls back the curtain—albeit briefly. A pivotal main story quest named “In Dreams” has Kratos gather ingredients to fuel a ritual potion.
Drinking it transports him into a spirit vision, beginning his quest for answers from the runaway god Heimdall.
This serves as his only access to Asgard in the entire game. And even then, he explores only a small segment of Odin‘s expansive halls. I ached for Kratos to stray from the set path to peek behind those tantalizing doors!
Check out IGN’s walkthrough excerpt below showing this sole story sequence representing our only gameplay directly within Asgard:
[youtube src=https://www.youtube.com/embed/EXgsXO4-w4M?]Their comments mirror my own wistful feelings seeing such an intriguing snippet of Asgard’s splendor:
"We only get to explore a tiny part of Asgard here, but the halls and décor give an idea of the astonishing grandeur of the Aesir stronghold”
As you see in this brief vision, Odin’s throne itself resides atop a staggered mountain of stone warriors reaching towards the heavens—evoking his far-reaching power.
Even story-critical figures like Freya cannot penetrate its mythic defenses, blocked by Odin‘s magical wards. Mimir himself at one point gets cagey addressing details about Asgard‘s layout, swearing an oath prevents him divulging too much! Everything centers around building a mystique around the legendary but lofty realm.
Breaking Down Lore & Accessibility Roadblocks
Let‘s analyze known reasons given in the story itself that limit setting foot in Asgard:
- Odin sealed the travel gate to Asgard, fearing Kratos‘ arrival after hearing the prophecy mural‘s warnings
- The Allfather has set wards allowing only a select few gods access, even blocking Freya due to his paranoia
- In-game lore describes Heimdall as "The Watchman of Asgard" further deterring trespassers
- Only Týr formerly possessed the unique unity stone allowing access before Odin presumably eliminated him
- Mimir cautions that trespassing in Asgard risks alerting Odin mid-Ragnarök, endangering their mission
With the nine realms left completely exposed after Ragnarök essentially unmaking and reordering reality itself, the door seems wide open for Kratos to besiege Asgard next.
Odin‘s obsessive prophecies caused him to withdrawal further from the other gods and realms to fortify his defenses. But with so many threats now out of the picture and his mythology-ordained doom looming, the battle being brought directly to his halls feels like the next logical story beat.
Final Prediction: Kratos Will Storm Asgard Itself
I firmly predict Kratos breaching the gates of Asgard itself in a climatic showdown against Odin serves as the natural ending cap to his character arc in the Norse saga. Too much has revolved around teasers of this legendary realm, its most infamous resident brooding behind the scenes, and the bad blood brewing between them not to pay off!
With Týr fallen and the rest of Odin‘s inner circle of Thor and Baldur vanquished by Kratos’ hand, only the Allfather himself remains to complete the vengeance fueled quest.
My ideal scenario sees Atreus realizing the runes to access Asgard while further exploring his burgeoning connection to the giants and his destiny going forward. Equipped with this knowledge, he breaches Odin‘s seal, allowing Kratos passage to lead a final assault on the realm eternal.
Imagine just as with the outstanding opening one-shot of God of War 2018, playing out an unbroken siege sequence bursting into Asgard at long last. I envision progressing uphill battling elite Einherjar and vaunted Valkyries guarding Odin’s stronghold.
Finally, the grand confrontation where an enraged Kratos corners Odin atop the pinnacle outside his throne room. What an absolutely epic potential conclusion!
Feel free to share your own theories on how and when we might finally gain access to Asgard down below! Do you think they’ll save it for the big finish against Odin like me? Or could it show up surprisingly earlier as they explore additional Norse mythology now that Fimbulwinter has come?
