God of War (2018)

Follow the yellow Journey path. God of War (2018) is the Norse reboot, not the Greek saga — one road, 17 Journey chapters, from the Wildwoods to the highest peak in all the realms. Favours, treasure maps, Valkyries, Muspelheim, and Niflheim sit beside that road. They should not replace it.

Start here: The Marked Trees . Seven chapters cover the full Journey through Mother’s Ashes.

Play this series in order

1. The Marked Trees — Faye’s wish, the hunt, The Stranger at the house, then leave the woods.
2. Path to the Mountain — River Pass, Brok, the troll, the Witch of the Woods.
3. The Lake of Nine and Alfheim — boat, World Serpent, The Light of Alfheim.
4. Inside the Mountain — peak climb and A New Destination.
5. The Magic Chisel and the Sickness — chisel, locked door, Atreus.
6. Helheim — Black Rune, summit return, escape.
7. Jötunheim and Mother’s Ashes — open the realm, scatter the ashes, walk home.

After the boat is yours, side content can run in the gaps. Do not start a Valkyrie or Niflheim grind instead of the next Journey beat if you care about story. The next Santa Monica story is God of War Ragnarök, not another chapter on this map.

Wildwoods and River Pass

The house is the tutorial. Cutting the marked trees is what drops the protection. Baldur is not a random miniboss.

1. The Marked Trees — Wildwoods . Hunt with Atreus, Faye’s ashes, the trees around the cabin, then The Stranger. When the house fight ends, the mountain is the only destination that matters.
2. Path to the Mountain — River Pass . Brok’s shop, the first troll, Freya’s woods. This is the walk from home to the Lake of Nine.

The Lake of Nine and Alfheim

The world opens when you can boat. Tyr’s temple sits in the water. Alfheim is the first realm hop the Journey requires — not a sightseeing detour.

1. A Realm Beyond — Lake of Nine, the World Serpent, the temple bridges. Learn the boat and the realm travel room. This is when Favours start to look tempting; park them unless the path is blocked.
2. The Light of Alfheim — Light elves, dark elves, the Light of Alfheim. Finish the realm’s Journey objective before you farm every coffin. You come back here later with better gear.

Inside the Mountain

The peak Faye named is still the goal. The mountain is a dungeon with a dragon problem and a door you cannot open yet.

1. Inside the Mountain — Climb, cart, the insides of the peak. Atreus’s bow and your axe levers are the puzzles. Do not leave mid-climb to boat a Favour.
2. A New Destination — The summit is the wrong kind of locked. The Journey turns toward a chisel. That is not optional flavour; it is the next yellow path.

The Magic Chisel and the Sickness

Sindri, the hammer, and the chisel. Then Atreus gets sick and the story stops being a travelogue.

1. The Magic Chisel — Thamur’s corpse, the chisel, the first real taste of a giant’s scale. Boss fights here are Journey, not Favours.
2. Behind the Lock — Use what you just cut. The mountain’s sealed door is the point of the last chapter.
3. The Sickness — Atreus. Helheim becomes necessary. Play this when it appears; exploring Muspelheim will not fix it.

Helheim

The Black Rune, the summit again, then out of Hel. Keep the Journey marker on top of stray Favours.

1. The Black Rune — The next key. Tyr’s vault / the rune puzzle the plot has been pointing at.
2. Return to the Summit — Back up the mountain with the thing you lacked the first time.
3. Escape from Helheim — Get out. This chapter is a chase and a survival run, not a collectible tour.

Jötunheim

The real peak. Realm travel, the last doors, then the ashes.

1. A Path to Jötunheim — How the hidden realm actually opens. Mimir, the temple, the pieces you still need.
2. Between the Realms — Realm-between-realm. Short, plot-critical, easy to confuse with a side path. Stay on yellow.
3. Jötunheim in Reach — The last travel beat before the mountain that matters.
4. Mother’s Ashes — Scatter them. This is the wish from chapter one. Watch it.
5. The Journey Home — The walk back. Credits, then leftover Favours, Valkyries, and mist trials. That is the close of the 2018 campaign.

Side content in the gaps

These sit beside the Journey. They do not replace it.

• Favours — Brok, Sindri, Freya, spirits on the lake. Open after you have the boat. None of them are required to scatter the ashes.
• Treasure maps and artefacts — grab in passing when the shore is already on your route.
• Valkyries — late. Do not pick a fight with a Valkyrie in River Pass gear. Queen last.
• Muspelheim and Niflheim — cipher chests, then the sword / the mists. Hard mode for gear, not a shortcut to Jötunheim.

When the Journey is done, leftover ravens, trials, and the Queen are all that remain. The next story is God of War Ragnarök.