They’re massive. Honestly, the first time you see the wolves in God of War Ragnarök, the sheer scale hits you harder than a blunt axe swing from Kratos. Most people going into the game expected a repeat of the Fenrir myth—big, scary, world-ending beasts that just want to eat the sun and moon. But Santa Monica Studio did something way more interesting. They turned Sköll and Hati God of War lore into a story about manipulation, tragedy, and the cycle of fate that Kratos is so desperate to break.
If you've played the 2018 game, you remember the shrines. Atreus reads the stories of the two wolves chasing the celestial bodies. It feels like classic Norse mythology 101. But when you actually get to Vanaheim in Ragnarök, the reality is... complicated. It's not just about a cosmic chase. It's about how Odin, the ultimate control freak, used these creatures to keep the entire realm of Vanaheim in a state of perpetual, frozen stagnation.
The Truth About the Sun and Moon Chasers
In actual Norse Eddas, Sköll and Hati are the sons of Hróðvitnir (usually identified as Fenrir). They spend eternity running. Sköll chases the sun (Sól) and Hati Hróðvitnisson chases the moon (Máni). When they catch them? That's Ragnarök. Total darkness. The end of everything.
Santa Monica Studio kept the "chase" but flipped the "why."
In the game, Sköll and Hati aren't just mindless monsters. They are essentially captive gods of a different sort. When Kratos and Atreus arrive in the Jungles of Vanaheim, the day/night cycle is broken. It’s stuck. The wolves have stopped running because the moon has been stolen. Not by a giant, but by the Einherjar. Odin basically hijacked the apocalypse. He realized that if he could control the wolves, he could control the timing of Ragnarök itself. It’s a brilliant narrative tweak that makes the Sköll and Hati God of War version feel much more grounded in the game's themes of parental legacy and stolen agency.
Why the moon went missing
The theft of the moon wasn't just a prank. It was a tactical move. By stopping the moon, the wolves stopped running. By stopping the wolves, the natural order of Vanaheim collapsed. You see the effects in the environment—the shifting plants, the aggressive wildlife, the sense that the realm is "sick."
When you finally track down the moon in the "Return of the River" and "Sigrun’s Curse" adjacent questlines, you aren't just doing a fetch quest. You’re restoring a cosmic heartbeat.
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Meeting the Wolves: A Different Kind of Boss Fight
Most of us expected a massive, bloody showdown. We’ve fought dragons. We’ve fought Hydra. We’ve killed gods with our bare hands. So, when you approach the plateau where the wolves rest, your thumb is probably hovering over the R1 button.
But you don't fight them.
Instead, it’s a moment of profound quiet. Atreus—or rather, Loki—uses his connection with animals to soothe them. It’s one of the most visually stunning moments in the game. The wolves are majestic. Their fur looks like nebulae and starlight. When they finally take the "Sun and Moon" back into the sky, it isn't a moment of terror, even though it signals the coming end. It’s a moment of release.
The Spear and the Eclipse
To get them moving, you need a specific tool. The Draupnir Spear. You have to shoot a spark into the sky to give them a "scent" or a target to follow. This is a huge gameplay-to-narrative bridge. Kratos, the man who spent his whole life trying to stop prophecy, is now the one actively triggering the signs of the end times.
It's poetic. Kratos isn't causing destruction for the sake of it anymore. He's doing it to fix what Odin broke. He’s using the Sköll and Hati God of War prophecy as a tool for liberation rather than a death sentence.
How Santa Monica Studio Deviated from the Prose Edda
Look, if you're a mythology purist, the game takes some liberties. Huge ones.
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- Parentage: In the myths, they are Fenrir’s kids. In the game, Fenrir is the soul-shifted wolf of Atreus. This creates a weird temporal loop that the game doesn't fully explain, but it hints that the "Great Wolf" is a title that transcends a single lifetime.
- The Motivation: Mythological Sköll and Hati want to devour the world. Game Sköll and Hati seem more like celestial guardians who were tricked into a cage.
- The Appearance: The game gives them distinct color palettes—gold and blue—to represent the celestial bodies they track. It’s a visual shorthand that works perfectly for a video game but isn't really emphasized in the old texts.
The biggest difference is the "Celestial Altar." This mechanic allows the player to change the time of day at will. It’s a god-like power handed to Kratos. In the myths, no one controls the wolves. They are the inevitable clock of the universe. In God of War, Kratos becomes the clockmaker.
The Vanaheim Crater: Why You Can't Skip This
If you only play the main story, you miss the best parts of the Sköll and Hati lore. The Crater is an optional area, but it’s arguably the best level design in the entire franchise.
You see the scars of a battle between Thor and Faye (Kratos' late wife). The entire landscape was literally warped by their fight. The reason the wolves are so central here is that the environment changes based on whether it's day or night.
- Nighttime: Certain paths open up. New enemies, like the Wisps and certain types of Ogres, appear.
- Daytime: Thorny vines might block your way, but different bridges become accessible.
The Sköll and Hati God of War mechanic isn't just a cutscene; it’s a puzzle. You’re constantly swapping the time of day to hunt down dragons or find collectibles. It makes the world feel alive and reactive in a way that the previous game didn't quite achieve.
What the Wolves Represent for Atreus
For Atreus, the wolves are a mirror. He’s struggling with his identity as Loki. He’s worried about being a "monster" or a "harbinger of doom." When he looks at Sköll and Hati, he sees creatures that are destined to bring about the end of the world, yet they aren't "evil." They are just fulfilling a purpose.
This helps him accept his own role in Ragnarök. He realizes that "destiny" is often just a word people use for choices they haven't made yet. Odin uses prophecy as a cage. Atreus uses it as a map.
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Kratos sees them differently. To him, they are another example of gods (or god-adjacent beings) being used as pawns. His empathy for them is subtle but there. He doesn't want to kill them. He wants to set them back on their path so he can get Odin out of the way.
Misconceptions You Probably Heard
You'll see a lot of theories online claiming Sköll and Hati are actually Kratos and Atreus in a different timeline.
That’s almost certainly false. While the game loves its time-loop theories (especially with Jörmungandr), there is zero evidence in the game dialogue or the lore markers to suggest the wolves are "human" souls. They are primordial forces. Another common mistake is thinking you have to kill them for a trophy. You don't. You actually "save" them by letting them hunt.
Actionable Insights for Your Playthrough
If you’re currently staring at the Vanaheim map wondering what to do next, here is how to handle the wolf lore and the associated gameplay:
- Prioritize the "Return of the River" quest: You cannot fully explore the Crater or interact meaningfully with the day/night cycle until you bring the water back. It's the "unlock" for everything else.
- Watch the sky: When you change the time at the Celestial Altar, don't just look at the screen transition. Look at the wolves. The animation of them leaping across the sky is one of the most technically impressive feats in the game.
- Listen to Mimir: He provides the best context for why Odin did what he did. If you rush through the Crater, you miss his stories about how Odin manipulated the wolf-hunted eclipse to scare the mortals into submission.
- Check the Shrines: Go back and look at the Jotnar Shrines from the first game. You’ll see that the prophecy actually changed—or rather, the way Kratos and Atreus interpreted it changed.
The story of Sköll and Hati in God of War is a masterclass in how to take an ancient, terrifying myth and turn it into a story about agency and peace. They aren't the villains. They aren't even really the heroes. They are the rhythm of the world, and by the end of the game, you've helped that world find its beat again.
Don't just treat the Celestial Altars as a way to find more loot. Treat them as a reminder that even the biggest, scariest prophecies can be steered if you have the right people (and a magic spear) on your side. Look for the small details in the environment—the way the light shifts on the wolf statues—to truly appreciate how much work went into making these "monsters" feel like a natural part of a broken world.