Chapter 16: Jötunheim in Reach

With the Jötunheim Tower back in place, it should be easy to travel to Jötunheim now—just use the Realm Travel Room, right? But of course, nothing comes easy in this Journey. In this chapter, the traveling trio find themselves rowing up a “river” that nobody would have thought navigable, in search of an odd object: Mimir’s other eye.

Journey Objectives

Return to the Realm Travel Room
Realm-travel to Jötunheim
Talk to Brok and Sindri
Return to the Serpent’s Horn in Midgard
Boat into the serpent’s mouth
Find Mimir’s eye
Return to the Realm Travel Room
Defeat Baldur

New Enemies

Boss: Baldur

Lake of Nine

1. Realm Travel Room

2. Brok’s shop

3. Switch / Serpent’s Horn

4. Boat dock

5. Serpent’s mouth

Mystic Gateway

Shop

The Belly of the Beast

6. Beach (chest)

7. Pier

8. Climb Here

9. Jump onto rotated crane platform

10. Crane platform rotates back to here

11. Arch (Legendary Chest)

12. Crane Tower (Legendary Chest)

Chest

Cipher Chest

Legendary Chest

OBJECTIVE: Return to the Realm Travel Room

Cross the bridge, enter the temple, and proceed into the Realm Travel Room (1).

OBJECTIVE: Realm-Travel to Jötunheim

Access the travel table. The device should already be set to Jötunheim, so press X to select “Travel to Realm.” Unfortunately, it doesn’t work—there’s no travel crystal! Mimir realizes that Týr used his own special eyes to refract the energy that triggers inter-realm travel—“his final failsafe.”

When Atreus points out that Mimir has the same magic eyes, Mimir corrects him: he’s only got ONE eye, because Odin plucked out the other to prevent him from using his eyes to realm-travel. But then Mimir recalls seeing the Huldra Brothers lurking about whenever Odin paid his visits to the Mountain’s Summit. Perhaps Brok or Sindri has an idea where the Allfather hid Mimir’s eye?

OBJECTIVE: Talk to Brok and Sindri

Exit the Realm Travel Room, then approach Brok’s Shop (2) and talk to the brothers. You learn that Odin had the big lake statue of Thor built with a hidden compartment. Mimir’s eye was likely stashed inside. Of course, now most of that statue is deep in the World Serpent’s gullet.

Time to go chat with the snake again. Before you do, take Mimir’s sage advice and spend everything you’ve got at Brok’s Shop to upgrade your gear and Skills. You have a big confrontation upcoming, so you want to be as well-prepped as possible.

OBJECTIVE: Return to the Serpent’s Horn

Exit the temple and go to the switch (3) halfway across the bridge. Turn the switch to ride the lift up. At the top, hold up Mimir’s head to blow the horn again to hail the serpent. In the conversation that follows, the World Serpent confirms that the Thor statue is indeed in his gullet. And he’s willing to allow the travelers to go in and check things out. As Atreus says: “Ew, really?”

OBJECTIVE: Boat Into the Serpent’s Mouth

Turn the switch to lower the platform, then head downstairs on the side of the bridge where the serpent waits with his mouth open. Hop into the boat (4)…and yes, paddle right into the serpent’s mouth (5). It’s dark at first, but keep pushing forward until you gain a light source. Pick up Aegir’s Gold from the water.

OBJECTIVE: Find Mimir’s Eye

After rowing awhile, you approach a small beach (6). Dock the boat, hop out, and loot the chest sitting up on the prow of a shipwreck. That’s all you’ll find—head back to your boat and continue along the “waterway.”

As you push ahead, the wreckage gets more interesting. Dock your boat at the pier (7) and go smash the wooden debris at the base of a stone tower (8) to reveal a yellow mark…which always indicates “climb here.” But if you climb the stone tower now, you’ll reach a dead end, looking across at a wooden crane structure with a glowing Cipher Chest sitting on top.

So instead, do this:

Before you climb, stand on the ground facing the crane structure (12). Keep tossing Leviathan at the gouged wooden panel of the spinner mechanism to rotate a crane platform around toward the stone tower.

When the platform cannot rotate any closer to the stone tower, quickly toss Leviathan at the gearwheel just below the spinner panel to freeze it in place.

Don’t recall Leviathan yet! Go climb the stone “tower” (8)…which leads up and over to the hammer handle from the Thor statue eaten by the serpent. Hop from the handle down to the crane platform (9) that you just rotated closer.

Recall Leviathan to unfreeze the gearwheel, and let the platform (with Kratos and Atreus aboard) rotate back to its original position. (10) When it stops moving, it leans against an arch (11). Climb atop the arch and go open the Legendary Chest. Sure enough, Mimir’s eye is inside. Kratos reinstalls the eye in the sage’s head. Objective complete!

OBJECTIVE: Return to the Realm Travel Room

Hop across to the top of the crane structure to open the Cipher Chest you spotted earlier. This one contains another Niflheim Language Cipher piece. If you’re following this walkthrough, you now have all four pieces of the Niflheim Language Cipher, which unlocks travel to that Realm of Fog from Realm Travel Room.

Hop back over to the top of the arch, step onto the yellow-marked spot on the ground, and press Circle to sling your axe over the cable and ride it back down to the boat. Hop aboard and start paddling along the serpent’s interior waterway.

About halfway up the gullet (13), a great disturbance suddenly sloshes the boat around violently. The travelers end up expelled onto the Northern Dock area next to the Giant stonemason’s corpse. As the World Serpent collapses onto the hills above them, Freya arrives looking for her son. Soon, Baldur sloshes ashore from the icy channel water. After a few chilling moments of family dysfunction, the final fight is on!

Defeat Baldur!

Phase 1

Start by striking and firing arrows immediately as Baldur makes taunting gestures. Freya interferes by magically tangling both Baldur and Kratos in vines, ordering the gods to stop fighting.

Baldur responds by flinging a boulder at his mom. Then, as he approaches the bound Kratos, Atreus steps in the way. Baldur punches the boy hard in the chest, a punch with a curious result. The green mistletoe arrow that Kratos used to repair his son’s quiver strap has penetrated Baldur’s hand! Thus, it becomes clear: mistletoe is the one substance that can harm Freya’s otherwise invincible son…which explains her angry reaction earlier when she tossed Atreus’ mistletoe arrows into her hearth fire and called them “wicked.”

Now Freya intervenes again, infusing herself into the corpse of Thamur and demanding an end to the fight. She seizes them with the Giant’s hand and carries them off. As they travel, Mimir exclaims that the mistletoe did more than harm Baldur. It broke the invulnerability spell!

Freya (as Thamur) drops the travelers onto the frozen lake. Kratos and Atreus stand back-to-back, waiting for Baldur to make his move. Use the left stick to rotate the pair, keeping Kratos and his shield facing the direction of the on-screen purple pointer that indicates where Baldur is located. Soon Atreus spots their foe, and Kratos blocks his dash attack. As Baldur’s health drops, he will taunt and heal himself. Continue attacking until Baldur tackles Kratos, ending this phase.

Phase 2

The fighting begins in earnest now. Stick with your Blades of Chaos in this phase, since Baldur is infused with ice magic once he takes some damage in this phase. He has a six-segment health bar, plus a new set of movements. He makes an approach where he darts rapidly side to side until he’s close enough to unleash a deadly cold kick strike.

He follows that up with more diagonal slides that end with a sudden straight dash punch. You can dodge if you want, but a solid shield block is your best bet here.

Baldur also tosses ice shards (blockable with your shield) and adds a two-handed ground slam the brings up sharp ice eruptions from the lake. Dodge sideways fast the moment you see Baldur rise up with both fists to strike downward.

All of this is complicated by Freya/Thamur’s occasional interventions, including a massive hand swipe that sends a wide shockwave rolling across the ice, knocking down all three combatants.

She also taps the Giant’s fingertips on the ground, raising circular vine traps on the field that entangle anyone who steps into them; if Kratos gets caught in one, tap Circle rapidly to break free.

This phase ends when Baldur’s health drops near the halfway point, triggering a scene: Baldur makes a dash, but Kratos scores a shield strike to the throat, then follows by thrusting one of his Blades into Baldur’s side. Then he flings Odin’s son into a wall.

In response, Freya slams down Thamur’s massive hand to separate the fighters, but Kratos grabs it and lifts. Press Circle rapidly to lift the Giant’s hand, revealing the huge explosive crystal in Thamur’s ring. Just as Baldur rushes underneath the crystal, hit Square so that Atreus shoots it with a Shock Arrow, detonating a mighty blast! (If you don’t, the hand crushes Kratos and Baldur.) The explosion sends them all tumbling down into a ravine.

Phase 3

Now Baldur is infused with fire magic, slinging hot bolts from long range, so switch to frosty Leviathan for this phase. Freya/Thamur drops a Brood squad into the smaller arena as well. Keep moving to avoid getting jumped by the speedy, annoying creatures. Atreus has landed atop a nearby tower, but keep him firing Light Arrows down whenever his quiver is available.

Baldur’s ground pound now sends a burning furrow tearing across the ground at you. He also flashes red, then leaps high for a fiery slam from above. When you see him flash and jump, immediately roll away from where you’re standing!

When Baldur’s health bar drops to about one-third, his next dash attack triggers another scene: Kratos counters and flings Leviathan in a brutal strike that embeds the axe in Baldur’s shoulder. When Kratos recalls the axe and makes a charge, Thamur yanks the massive chisel from his giant head and slams it into the ground between the two fighters. This angers Baldur, who immediately climbs the chisel.

Phase 4

Approach the chisel and press Circle to grab it, then climb too. Atreus hops onto his father’s back to join him. Soon Baldur attacks and pins Kratos on the chisel surface. Here you use the same mechanics from the earlier fight on the dragon’s back: block Baldur’s punch flurries, dodge to the opposite side of Baldur’s two-fisted slams, and counterpunch after he misses.

You also add a new wrinkle: when Kratos grabs Baldur by the throat, hit Square to have Atreus fire an arrow point-blank into the Norse god. After more scenic grappling, you get another shot. Again, press Square to nail Baldur with an arrow. When all three fighters fall to the ground, Atreus gets Baldur in a chokehold. Tap Square to tighten the choke. Finally, when the Spartan Rage prompt appears, hit L3 + R3 to trigger it.

Phase 5

Pummel Baldur with Spartan Rage punches. The fight renews, but note that Baldur switches back and forth between his ice and fire magic states, so switch your weapon accordingly: use Blades of Chaos against “blue” Baldur, and Leviathan against “red” Baldur.

When you finally knock his health bar down to zero, you trigger a final father/son tandem assault. Tap Square every time the prompt appears. Freya intervenes one more time using Thamur’s powerful freezing breath, but Atreus calls in help. Watch the final, powerful cinematic: we won’t spoil it here.