Renata Leśniakiewicz-Drzymała (Jagiellonian University, Kraków)
In Norse mythology, apart from Gods and Men, there are also other races, including Elves and Giants. Elves are traditionally seen as luminous beings associated with the Gods, while Giants represent the destructive power of nature and the chaos that the Gods must defeat.
The renowned God of War game series has undergone a significant change in recent years, moving away from the world of Greek myths and drawing on the Norse tradition. However, the game’s creators do not replicate the traditional way of perceiving the races of Elves and Giants in Norse mythology.
The protagonists of the game are Kratos and Atreus – father and son whose mutual relationships are quite complicated. To fulfill the last wish of their deceased wife and mother, they set off on a journey, during which they learn not only about each other, but also about various Norse worlds and closely guarded secrets. During an expedition to Alfheim – the world of the Elves – Kratos and Atreus witness the eons-long war for light between two factions of the inhabitants of this realm: the Light Elves and the Dark Elves. The former are ethereal beings dressed in white robes (fig. 1), the latter are winged, warlike creatures resembling insects (fig. 2).
For most of the time spent in Alfheim, the player witnesses the Dark Elves murdering the Light Elves, and although Kratos is careful to say what is the background of the conflict, the conclusion seems clear: the Dark Elves are warriors and aggressors, while the Light Elves appear to be defenseless victims. Only the final fight with one of the leaders of the Dark Elves makes Atreus (and the player) doubt which side of the conflict is the right one. God of War (2018) does not clarify these doubts until the next installment of the series, but undoubtedly highlights the important issue of the stereotypical perception of Elves associated with light and brightness as morally good beings, which turns out to be at least deceptive.
The game’s creators are also moving away from stereotypes when it comes to the Giants – a race traditionally associated with chaos and destruction. During their journey, Kratos and Atreus discover altars of the Giants – triptychs showing stories known from many Norse myths, this time told from a different perspective (fig. 3 and 4).
As it turns out, it is the Gods (the Æsir) who are an aggressive and destructive race, while the Giants are innocent victims of Odin’s ambitions. At the end of the game, the player reaches their hidden world – Jötunheim, only to learn about their tragic fate and see the dead Giants, posed in a way reminiscent of modern monuments to genocide victims (fig. 5).
The creators of the God of War (2018) game thus depart from the traditional roles of creatures from Norse mythology, on the one hand playing with the possibilities of different interpretations, and on the other hand, raising important issues of stereotypical perception of good and evil and falsification of history by the stronger side of the conflict.
Suggested reading:
Aðalsteinsson J.H., Giants and Elves in Mythology and Folktales, in: Aðalsteinsson J.H., A Piece of Horse Liver. Myth, Ritual and Folklore in Old Icelandic Sources, Reykjavík 1998, pp. 129–141.
Lindow J. , Norse Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs, Oxford 2001.
Lindow J., Thor’s hamarr, „Journal of English and Germanic Philology”, 93, 1994, pp. 485–503.
Motz L., The Families of Giants, „Arkiv för nordisk filologi”, 102, 1987, pp. 216–236.
Motz L., Of Elves and Dwarfs, „Arv. Nordic Yearbook of Folklore”, 29–30, 1973–1974, s. 93–127.
Motz L., Old-Icelandic Giants and their Names, „Frühmittelalterliche Studien”, 21, 1987, s. 295–317.
Simek R., Dictionary of Northern Mythology, Cambridge 2000.
Turville-Petre E.O.G., Myth and Religion of the North. The Religion of Ancient Scandinavia, London 1964.
Thanks very much for your paper Renata. Do these depictions in the game fit in with Norse representations of Elves and Giants, or is this more of a continuation of the long standing themes of the God of War series?
I would say that the main role in the game is definitely played by well-established themes of the GoW series: the gods (Aesir) are lacking the basic moral principles (as their Greek equivalents), so they abuse other races, such as the Giants or the Vanir (the second race of the gods, in the game seen as another victim of the Aesir). In Norse mythology, the motif of abusing the Giants is also present – the Aesir steal their magical objects and knowledge, seduce their women. In myths, however, giants are actually portrayed as dangerous and associated with chaos, while in the game they are calm, wise beings, innocent victims of Odin’s pathological suspicion.
As for the Elves, there is no motif of war between the two fractions of this race in the Norse mythology. The Dark Elves of the genuine Scandinavian myths are most likely the same beings as the dwarfs.
Thanks Renata, that’s really interesting!
Thanks for this paper! This is a really interesting look at the game and the cultural dynamics in it. I was wondering if you could expand on what you think the impact of the engagement with elves and giants in this way might be? How do these reimaginings affect not only storytelling, but potentially players?
I think that on the one hand, the departure from the traditional roles of these races in Norse mythology has a very refreshing effect – for a player familiar with the Scandinavian myths, the plot becomes more unpredictable, because this is not the image of these creatures he could expect. On the other hand, such a representation of Giants and Elves certainly has a very emotional impact on the player – the game generally touches on difficult topics, is very much based on intense emotions, and makes us reflect on various aspects of our family and interpersonal relationships, the mechanisms of perceiving “otherness” in different societies.
Hi Renata, thanks for this food for thought.
I would like to integrate what you said about what is present in World of Warcraft (since I also talked about this video game in my contribution). In WoW, elves are treated a lot because today there are several of their sub-races (night elves, light elves, blood elves, dark elves, void elves, undead elves) and almost all of them are playable. I think WoW is also among the first games that contributed to a very diverse image of elves. It would be interesting to compare the elves of WoW and the elves of God of War to better grasp the narrative differences of these games.
Thank you Lugi, that’s an interesting idea! I’m not particularly familiar with all of WoW lore, but as far as I know, the different factions of Elves share some common features, such as pointy ears. In GoW, the two races of Elves are more physically different – Dark Elves have insect-like, transparent wings, Light Elves do not. In this installment of the game, we don’t learn much about them, only GoW Ragnarok explains the true nature of their conflict. I don’t want to go into too much detail, because in my paper I focused on GoW 2018, but broadly speaking, in Ragnarok Light Elves turn out to be just as martial as Dark Elves. They can also make very powerful weapons and have the ability to levitate thanks to the power of the light, thus they do not need the wings, as Dark Elves do. I would also say that the Dark Elves seem to give more importance to wars and battles while the Light Elves give more importance to the search for knowledge.