Continuing on the previous entry on narrative, we turn to the concept of “mono-myth” as a potent narrative tool that video game developers have utilized with great success (Rollings and Adams 2003, 95–109; Cassar 2013).

Because of Joseph Campbell‘s The Hero with a Thousand Faces (1949) and its influence on the film industry, the classic hero who triumphs after a difficult journey has generally had a profound resonance in popular culture and the general public’s psyche.

It is clear that the hero archetype has resonance in many different cultures and dates back to ancient times. This is true of the ancient Babylonians, Hebrews, Hindus, and Egyptians, whose “stories and poetry aimed to glorify their princes and warriors,” as well as the Greeks, particularly in the renowned poet Homer’s The Odyssey (c. 750 BCE) (Krzywinska 2008, 126).

By using the mono-myth of a hero who lives in a normal environment but is called to adventure, video games continue to pass along this ancient tradition to contemporary audiences.

The hero, outlines Campbell, ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder. Forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won, and the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with “the power to bestow boons on his fellow man” (1999, 23). In three acts—Separation, Initiation, and Return—Campbell outlines seventeen stages of the mono-myth that are present in ancient mythology.

• Separation: 1) Call to adventure; 2) Refusal of the call; 3) Supernatural aid; 4) Crossing the first Threshold; 5) Belly of a whale;
• Initiation: 1) Road of Trials; 2) Meeting with the Goddess; 3) Woman as a temptress; 4) Atonement with Father; 5) Apotheosis; 6) The Ultimate boon;
• Return: 1) Refusal of the return; 2) Magic flight; 3) Rescue from without; 4) Crossing the the Return threshold; 5) Master of two worlds; 6) Freedom to live.

In his book The Writer’s Journey: Mythic Structure For Writers, author and screenwriter Christopher Vogler also offered a twelve-stage model (2007, 8). Campbell served as a major source of inspiration for Vogler, who offers the following phases:

1. Ordinary world
2. Call to adventure
3. Refusal of the call
4. Meeting with the mentor
5. Crossing the first threshold
6. Tests, allies, and enemies
7. Approach to the inmost cave
8. The ordeal
9. Reward
10. The road back
11. The resurrection
12. Return with the elixir

A number of these elements may be absent from some hero stories, but the essential idea—that the hero initially resists his call to adventure but is eventually persuaded to do so after meeting with a mentor—remains. After setting out, the hero faces obstacles, fights foes, and assembles allies before coming to the “innermost cave,” or the location of the ultimate tribulation. Then, after a type of resurrection, the hero returns home and receives a prize.

The Mono-myth in Video Games

The mono-myth in video games caters to an internal narrative that resonates with the majority of people. Mono-mythic stories are captivating as they help “players identify with the hero, entering into the game narrative and immersing them in the game” (Newgren 2010, 138). If it “is successfully used by the creators of cinematographic and game plots,” the experience may feel incredibly personal for a player’s “values, his attitude to life, his ethics” (Dmitrievich and Khuzeeva 2022, 68-69). Self-identification with the player-controlled hero is enhanced (Dmitrievich and Khuzeeva 2022, 68-69).

Many high-profile, commercially successful video games and franchises have employed the mono-myth, for example, God of War (Sony Interactive Entertainment 2005–), Mass Effect (various publishers 2007—2021), Assassin’s Creed (Ubisoft 2007–), The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (CD Projekt 2015), Divinity Original Sin 2 (Larian Studios 2017), Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (Electronic Arts. 2019), and others.

God of War

In the highly-acclaimed God of War (2018), the Greek god of war, Kratos, the player-controlled character or “hero”, and his eleven year old son, Atreus, have the primary objective of scattering Faye’s ashes at the highest peak in the Nine Realms, perhaps Campbell’s metaphorical “lofty mountaintop” (2008, 48).

The world seems “ordinary,” although this is soon to change (Vogler 1998, 14). After moving to the Wildwoods of Midgard, Kratos began a family with his wife, Faye, who became the mother of Atreus. However, she died suddenly just before the game’s events take place. In light of Faye’s last request, Kratos and Atreus are effectively “called to adventure” and will frequently come across the unknown on their quest.

Powerful opponents make their presence known. In the opening moments, Kratos finds his remote log cabin upended by an intruder bearing runes tattooed across his body and godlike abilities. There is a confrontation, which with great struggle Kratos wins. Kratos believes he has permanently destroyed this opponent. However, the main antagonist of the game is this stranger, who is still very much alive and will make further appearances.

Kratos enters the realm of adventure and ventures into the perilous uncharted in order to fulfill Faye’s last wish and protect and mold his son Atreus in both battle and ethics. This is especially true after the two meet the Witch of the Woods, the goddess Freya, who may be a sort of “threshold guardian” (Campbell 2008, 64). She tells them how to use a magical light to put out a strange black mist that is blocking their mountain path, with more “darkness, the unknown, and danger” beyond (Campbell 2008, 64).

The journey is made slightly more bearable with the assistance of select allies and helpers. In Campbell’s words, the hero benefits from “supernatural aid,” which may come in the form of a “little fellow of the wood, some wizard, hermit, shepherd, or smith, who appears to supply the amulets and advice that the hero will require” (2008, 59).

For Kratos, this aid is found in the form of the knowledgeable Mimir, a reanimated talking head that provides wise counsel, dialogue, and exposition of lore during the narrative’s calmer moments of quietude. Sindri and Brok, dwarf brothers and expert blacksmiths, are perhaps the providers of Campbell’s “amulets,” except in the form of powerful weapon and armor upgrades for Kratos and Atreus. Obtaining required resources, like Svartalfheim Steel and Hacksilver, then visiting Sindri and Brok allows the player to upgrade a variety of weapons, including Atreus’ Talon Bow, Kratos’ ice-enchanted Leviathan Axe, Blades of Chaos, or Guardian Shield.

By the journey’s end, Kratos, the hero, has vanquished his adversaries and the main enemy and arrived at the top of the Nine Realms, where he and Atreus can finally scatter Faye’s ashes. But the attentive player also notices that Kratos has undergone a remarkable metamorphosis during the previous events and trials. Campbell refers to this transformation as the “Belly of the Whale” (2008, 74). This involves a metamorphosis into something new, represented as a rebirth or resurrection. Kratos has advanced, both in terms of age and his character. In addition, Kratos is now a parent and a widower, which are big changes from his much younger Greek background and escapades.

We discover that Kratos aspires to be a better person—not necessarily for himself, but for his son—which calls for an important transformation in himself. When it comes to storytelling, the unpredictable dynamics of an older but strong warrior-god protagonist who struggles to control his anger and suddenly has to raise, mentor, and protect a vulnerable but sometimes capable child make for a compelling plot in any well-written story.

Kratos is no longer dominated by pure anger and hatred, and his desire for revenge for being divinely tricked into killing his (previous) family by the Greek Gods seems to have subsided. He will frequently come across as remorseful, which is evident in his interactions with Atreus, whom he warns not to repeat the unfortunate errors of their forebears, including Kratos’ own. Kratos has grown older, wiser, and more composed, although his violent and traumatic past still remain a part of him.

The “Road of Trials” is difficult, and what might have been a simple goal to accomplish is prolonged. In their “perilous path of initiatory conquests and moments of illumination” (Campbell 2008, 81), Kratos and Atreus must defeat numerous creatures derived from Norse mythology. Humanoid undead warriors known as draugrs are among the first enemies Kratos encounters after the battle with the intruder at his homestead. This is followed by a slew of other enemies in various dangerous locations and connected realms, such as trolls, light elves, Hen-walkers, soul eaters, ogres, and more. In order to forward the plot, the player simultaneously solves puzzles, platforms, and explores locations on foot and in a boat. The path to the highest point of the Nine Realms is made more difficult by the presence of various Norse gods, such as Modi and Magni, in addition to the weaker creatures.

“The Ordeal,” the first real conflict that the protagonist must face and overcome, perhaps happens during the middle part of the journey toward the highest peak of the Nine Realms when Kratos finds himself having to contend not with draugrs or trolls but with his own son, Atreus. After learning that he is a deity—a fact Kratos concealed from him—Atreus becomes arrogant and even feels no remorse about taking a life, as seen by his killing of a weakened Modi, who he believes has the right to do anything he pleases because he is a god. In another instance, after Atreus is careless in combat and defies his father’s instructions, the two are transferred to Hel. The disobedience of his son infuriated Kratos, and trust between the two had to be restored. This is regained when Atreus starts becoming more humble after discovering previously unknown details about his father’s background.

After finally spreading Faye’s ashes, Kratos and Atreus return home, although an ominous prophecy by Mímir and a Jotunheim mural set up a sequel, which would come to life in the following release, God of War Ragnarök (Santa Monica Studio 2022).

On their “Road Back” (Vogler 1998, 23-24), Kratos and Atreus leave the “Special World” behind and return to a sense of normalcy, the Ordinary World, which in this case is a period of rest and peace. Kratos and Atreus are evidently undisturbed in their homestead for several years until the player is shown, in a concluding cutscene, a fierce storm and lightning raging outside. Another cloaked invader and his hammer, Mjollnir, interrupt the tranquility of Kratos and Atreus.

Four years later, the follow-up God of War Ragnarök likewise included the mono-myth and, like its predecessor, was widely praised by reviewers for its story, characters, graphics, and overall quality. Video games have profited from the mono-myth because of their interactive nature and storytelling power, which has allowed players to relate to the hero’s journey on a personal level.

References

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Cassar, Robert. 2013. “God of War: A Narrative Analysis.” Eludamos. Journal for Computer Game Culture 7(1):81-99.

Cassidy, Scott B. 2011. “The Videogame as Narrative.” Quarterly Review of Film and Video 28(4):292-306.

Rollings, Andrew., and Adams, Ernest. 2003. Andrew Rollings and Ernest Adams on Game Design. Indianapolis, Indiana, United States: New Riders.

Dmitrievich, Belousov E., Khuzeeva Liliia R. 2022. “The concept of Hero’s journey in modern video games and its influence on the gamer’s self-identity.” Proceedings of the International University Scientific Forum 8(1):67-74.

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MacDonald, Keza. 2018. “God of War’s Kratos was an angry lump of muscle. I made him a struggling father.” The Guardian. Available.

Murray, Janet H. 2017. Hamlet on the Holodeck: The Future of Narrative in Cyberspace. Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States: MIT Press.

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Velocci, Carli. 2024. “How much of Elden Ring did George R.R. Martin write?” Polygon. Available.

Vogler, Christopher. 1998. The Writer’s Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers (2nd ed.). Los Angeles, California, United States: Michael Wiese Productions.