Creating side characters to accompany and add depth to a hero’s story can go a long way in making a great narrative. God of War: Ragnarok is one game that mastered writing endearing and intriguing companions for Kratos and Atreus, let’s take a look at what makes them so engaging and how to write the perfect companion.
Following on from the success of the PlayStation exclusive release in 2018, this God of War sequel has doubled down exploring many of its characters in further depth as well as bringing in some fascinating new ones for us to make sense of. From kindhearted and friendly allies like Angrboda to the complex and dangerous characters of Freya and even Thor, there is a wide range of personalities that accompany Kratos and Atreus in GoW: Ragnarok.
What makes the characters in God of War so enthralling as companions and impactful to the overall storyline of attempting to cheat fate and survive Ragnarok? In this breakdown, we’re going to look at what these characters add to the heroes’ journey and how they are written.
Writing God of War Ragnarok’s allies
What makes a perfect companion in a story?
The narrative of God of War Ragnarok is heavily supplemented by the way Santa Monica Studios‘ writing team uses Kratos and Atreus’ alone time with their allies. Players learn a lot about the world around them and what’s at stake on their mission from the likes of Mimir’s stories on the boat, or during the many adventures with Freya and the dwarves.
Ragnarok has no shortage of companion characters either, compared to the previous title where most of Kratos’ journey was spent alone with Atreus. This time around there’s a long list of sidekicks and each of them brings something different to the story, and they also bring out different sides to our protagonists.
Moments like Atreus’ visit to Jotunheim shows us a more relaxed and vulnerable side to the young demi-god, who is simply trying to make sense of what he needs to do to fulfill his destiny. There is also a sequence of Kratos and Brok exploring how their past events had shaped them into who they are now.
The best companions are those that supplement a character’s journey in some form or another. Help them learn something about themselves that can lead to their development, help them in their conflicts or even just give them the emotional support to manage incredible responsibility.
How to write perfect sidekick for a hero
When writing your own companion characters, whether it’s for a video game, script, or book, there are elements that will help them shine and supplement the hero, as well as the overall plot. Here are some approaches you can take to writing these companion characters.
Including a well-developed backstory and revealing unique qualities about them will make them more intriguing. They will likely be spending a lot of time with the hero so giving them moments of individuation will also pay off down the line. Allow for them to grow during the course of the story, they will face obstacles alongside a protagonist but their development can help the hero overcome their hurdles as well. We see this often with Freya’s Vanir magic, Thor’s strength, Mimir’s wisdom, and more in Ragnarok.
Give them a purpose that is separate from the main character but leads to them helping out. We see this expertly done with Freya in God of War Ragnarok, who sees the need to defeat Odin as a uniting factor despite being at odds with Kratos early on. This sense of a greater evil is often used in stories and is a clever way to write ally characters.
In the case of video game writing in particular, adding dialogue and specific in-game interactions, such as retracing Freya’s path through Vanaheim or Angrboda with Atreus in Jotunheim, also caters to the player experience, exploring these new realms while learning more about the characters past is also a marker of meaningful writing.
Benefits of writing a great companion
Along with an enhanced gameplay experience and more emotional engagement, writing strong companions for your heroes can highlight the lead character’s development. It reveals different layers to them, showing how they treat other people who may be in need or those who chase their own interests. Showing empathy, even in the menial tasks that bore Kratos and Atreus, makes them all the more relatable and is one of the best benefits of writing companions and side characters.
The more companions you write also gives your audience more people to root for and relate to. The final battle in God of War Ragnarok was Endgame-like in the fight against evil, with all realms and characters coming together. Even if players, or viewers, don’t exactly identify with the main character of a story, people could like the dynamic of their friendships or relationships with others, or even just the outcome of another character’s arc who is linked by fate. That goes for all forms of media and is an effective tool used by many writers for books, TV, film, as well as video games.
It can help to build tension and set the stakes of the plot when you have two characters instead of one. Even moments with Heimdall, Thor, and Thrud in GoW Ragnarok, who were adversarial and untrusting during Atreus’ time in Asgard, Working together for the sake of their mutual benefit, and how to write that tense dynamic. It showed how each of these characters navigated uncomfortable situations and tried to find any redeeming qualities in one another.