This stunning Mimir animatronic brings God of War's know-it-all into our realm

God of War was made as one long theatrical cut, and just as impressively, the above video from Bar-El Studio was made without the aid of CGI. With its God of War Mimir animatronic, the effects and animatronics studio has outdone itself, bringing everyone's favorite know-it-all to life as a stunningly detailed disembodied head. 

Bar-El Studio's Mimir is immediately impressive. It's life-sized, emotive, and instantly recognizable. But as always, it's the little things that really take it to the next level. It's the wrinkles on his face, the markings on his scalp and horns, the detail and movement of his eyes, the texture of his beard and brows. It's even lashed to a rope so you can tote it around on your hip like the world's most avant-garde keychain. It is, in a word, incredible. 

Bar-El Studio has a whole Instagram story dedicated to the creation of Mimir's head, and you should definitely check it out. The process started around six months ago, and it's cool to see all the stages of production stacked on top of each other, How It's Made style. This animatronic required weeks of 3D printing, casting, detailing, assembly, and fine-tuning, among other things. You also get to see the mechanical inner workings that give the head its lifelike expressions, which is still a lot less creepy than the bug things which Freya uses to resurrect Mimir's head in the actual game. 

Here's another cool bit of news for God of War fans: Kratos nearly had a warrior daughter well before Atreus was even a thing.  

Austin Wood
Senior writer

Austin has been a game journalist for 12 years, having freelanced for the likes of PC Gamer, Eurogamer, IGN, Sports Illustrated, and more while finishing his journalism degree. He's been with GamesRadar+ since 2019. They've yet to realize his position is a cover for his career-spanning Destiny column, and he's kept the ruse going with a lot of news and the occasional feature, all while playing as many roguelikes as possible.

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