WARNING: This article contains MAJOR SPOILERS for God of War Ragnarok. Proceed at your own risk.
There are a lot of great bosses in God of War Ragnarok, including Thor, the God of Thunder. A lot of players were excited to fight against Thor before the game even released, as his sons were some of the main antagonists from the previous installment, alongside Baldur. Thor proved to be an even greater boss than many had expected because he was so much fun to fight.
Thor is one of the main antagonists in God of War Ragnarok, and players can fight him two times throughout the game's story. The stakes are very high in each fight, and Thor has some attacks that make him stand out among other bosses in the game.
The First Fight Against Thor
Players first fight against Thor in the beginning of God of War Ragnarok, when he shows up at Kratos and Atreus' house, hoping to avenge his sons and Baldur, who Kratos and Atreus killed in 2018's God of War. However, under Odin's orders, he doesn't attack until Kratos denies a peace proposal. Odin then allows Thor to fight Kratos, causing him to strike the God of War with his hammer, Mjolnir, sending him high into the air. The two gods land a considerable distance from Kratos' home. Unsure if Atreus is safe with Odin being at their house, Kratos has no choice but to fight against the God of Thunder.
At the beginning of the fight, Kratos doesn't have any of his weapons, except for his shield, leaving players to have a fist fight against Thor. This makes the fight intense from the very beginning, as Kratos usually has the Leviathan Axe and Blades of Chaos with him, so Santa Monica Studio puts players at a disadvantage until the Leviathan Axe makes its way over to them. Throughout the boss fight, Thor declares that Kratos is holding back and that he wants to see the God of War at his strongest. This first phase of the fight doesn't last long, as Kratos strikes Thor in the face, causing the God of Thunder to send Kratos into the air with Mjolnir once again.
In the second phase of the fight, Thor can send lightning bolts at Kratos' direction and players are able to use pillars located around the arena to fight back. There are many times in God of War Ragnarok where players are able to use the environment around them to fight bosses and regular enemies alike. The pillars in this section of the battle are one of the most memorable times that this mechanic can be used in the game, seeing as how its part of such a thrilling fight and comes so unexpectedly. Thor soon proves to be too powerful for players, and Kratos appears to be defeated. As the "Game Over" screen appears, seemingly loading the game back to a checkpoint, Thor says, "Oh no... I say when we're done!" and electrocutes Kratos with Mjolnir.
Making players think that they were defeated, only for the fight to continue was quite shocking, and many fans considered this to be one of the best moments in God of War Ragnarok when it comes to gameplay. In the last phase of the fight, Thor attacks more aggressively and paralyzes Kratos by striking him with lightning from above. At the end of the battle, Kratos shows off his true strength, satisfying Thor, who flees the fight and waits to attack Kratos again, not wanting their strife to end so early. Thor was a great, tone-setting boss for players to fight in the beginning of the game, especially due to how much they anticipated fighting him due to moments from 2018's God of War.
The Second Fight Against Thor
Players have to wait until the climax of Ragnarok in order to battle against Thor again. Towards the end of the game, the Asgardians go to war against Kratos' army, consisting of warriors across the Nine Realms. During the battle, Thrud, Thor's daughter, teams up with Kratos and Atreus, who she had befriended earlier in the game when he had gone to Asgard and temporarily worked with her family. Concerned that Kratos would kill his daughter, Thor becomes outraged by seeing them together and attacks the God of War, sending him over to his home, the Great Lodge.
As Thor is concerned for the safety of his daughter, similar to how Kratos felt in their first fight, he attacks more aggressively with the intent to kill the God of War, making this second battle more thrilling from the start. In this fight, God of War Ragnarok players can choose many more approaches than they were able to in the first one, since Kratos has more weapons to fight with: the Blades of Chaos and the Draupnir Spear.
Thor attacks with Mjolnir a lot more in this fight than he did the first time, throwing it at Kratos constantly and striking it into the ground, electrocuting the earth beneath players' feet. Thor can also shoot many lightning bolts down to the arena towards the end of the fight, making it difficult for players to move around as the God of Thunder attacks them. Seeing as how some of Thor's attacks are much more difficult to get around, the second fight against him is one of the most challenging boss battles in God of War Ragnarok.
The battle eventually ends with Kratos using the Leviathan Axe against Mjolnir, overcoming Thor. While Kratos won the battle, he didn't take the God of Thunder's life and explained that he had no intention of harming Thrud. At first, Thor was skeptical and wanted to continue fighting his enemy, but Kratos refuses to continue their strife, bringing a great conclusion to their conflict. However, Odin appears seconds later and murders Thor for not killing Kratos. Both of the battles against Thor were a lot of fun and have a huge impact on the game's story, making the God of Thunder a very memorable boss in God of War Ragnarok.
God of War Ragnarok is available on PS4 and PS5.