The vivid stories and characters of Norse mythology seem to be attracting more mainstream attention of late thanks to games likeGod of War,Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla,and Marvel’sThor.As with most mythologies, the Norse gods are complex characters with multitudinous roles to play across a huge collection of stories. Loki,Thor, and Odin have probably received the most mainstream attention of these gods, and with good reason; they are some of the most important gods in Norse mythology. In particular,Thorhas appeared in a great deal of media attention, and the God of Thunder has some memorable video game appearances long beforeGod of WarorAssassin’s Creedbegan to explore Norse mythology.
Mythology, by its nature, consists of a variety of different sources and interpretations. Therefore, games have the space to play around with their depictions of Thor.While Marvel’s iteration of the Norse godis the most prevalent in pop culture, there are many different interpretations; no one version of Thor is the true version. As such, different games have taken different approaches in constructing the Norse gods, with some being brutal and harsh, and others more benign.
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Marvel’s Thor
As mentioned, Marvel’s Thor is the version most people are familiar with. The MCU Thor got his own game in 2011,Thor: God of Thunder,which was a hack-and-slash that received mixed reviews. Disney also releasedThor: Son of Asgard,a beat ‘em up mobile game based on the comics. However, as part of the Avengers and Marvel’s main lineup of superheroes, this version of Thor has appeared in plenty of fighting games and other Marvel properties, such asMarvel vs. Capcom: Infinite, Lego Marvel Super Heroes,andMarvel Ultimate Alliance.
Major Appearances
Even before Marvel and Disney brought their Thor to video games, the Norse god had a handful of staring roles. One of the earliest of which is 1993’sGod of Thunder,a comedic puzzle game for the PC that even features some self-reflexive humor concerningthe different iterations of Thor.
In 2010, Sony releasedYoung Thorfor the PlayStation 3 and PSP. This game is a side-scrolling beat ‘em up featuring, as the name suggests, a much younger (and more cutesy) version of Thor. For those who want the chance to date the God of Thunder,Kamigami no Asobiis the way to go. The version of Thor in this otome game is a brooding hunk; though other romance optionsinclude Greek god Dionysus, Egyptian god Anubis, and Tsukito based on the Japanese god of the moon.
Thor also plays a big role in 2008’sToo Human,a futuristic take on Norse mythology. This Thor is over 2,000 years old, cybernetic, and one of the most powerful of the game’s Aesir warriors. Many strategy games also feature the god in more minor roles.
Honorable Mentions
Although mythologies are collections of many stories, there are certain tropes and items that solidify the roles of certain gods. For Thor, this is his hammer Mjolnir.Mjolnir actually has a slightly more prolifichistory in video games, often acting as a key item that must be recovered or used. Some examples of this include games likeHeimdall,Age of Mythology,and evenTomb Raider: Underworld.
Thor’s hammer also appears inJotun, which was released in 2015 and follows Thora. References to both Thor and Mjolnir can be found across an enormous collection of video games, generally in games that explore mythology in some way. One of the earliest mentions of Thor in video games comes from a 1984 text-based gameErik the Viking,which proves just how pervasiveNorse mythology has been in gaming- particularly for fantasy and historical games.
Thor also recently featured inAssassin’s Creed: Valhallaand is mentioned repeatedly (as is Mjolnir) inGod of War.The upcomingGod of Warsequel is sure to featureThor in a major way, and will most likely be the god’s biggest game outside of the Marvel canon. The variety of depictions ofThorin gaming, and media more broadly, emphasize the potential in exploring this character, as well as taking advantage of the scope to create engaging mythology-based games.
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