God Of War: 8 Weirdest Enemies (And What They Represent)

5. Trolls

God of War 2018
Sony

The trolls are the most recurrent boss fights throughout the game, cropping up at important points throughout Kratos and Atreus's journey to come and clobber them with a giant runic pillar. Another enemy linked to an elemental power, the specific runes they carry imbue them with frost, or fire, or other such wordly abilities, used to power up attacks that see them try and squash Kratos under a stone.

Trolls appear in plenty of iterations of folklore, steeped in Norse history and often combined with the Jotunn for their imposing size, so of course God of War's version stands impressively tall - the main deviation from the norm being they have giant tusks. As these guys are flesh-eating monsters, and often noted man-eaters in a historical context, the designers have highlighted their mouths as weapons; with literal giant blades protruding from their faces as a pretty clear marker they will tear you apart. And eat the pieces.

Wielding stone is also reminiscent of trolls' aversion to sunlight, something that turns them into rock if they're caught out when the sun rises. Both The Hobbit and Trollhunter show this in film form, too.

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