God of War’s Avengers: Infinity War reference is really good

God of War and Avengers: Infinity War hit within a week of each other, and players have discovered that developer Sony Santa Monica managed to sneak in a perfectly timed nod to Marvel Studios’ new superhero epic.

[Warning: This post contains spoilers for both Avengers: Infinity War and God of War. There are references to Thanos’ accomplishments in the film and some unavoidable mid-game spoilers for the PlayStation 4 game. Hopefully, you’re all caught up.]

Basically, in the new God of War, Kratos can get his own version of Thanos’ Infinity Gauntlet.

Players have discovered that one of God of War’s epic talismans, the Shattered Gauntlet of Ages, can be equipped with the game’s equivalent of the Infinity Stones, granting Kratos a special power.

First, here’s the in-game description of the Shattered Gauntlet of Ages talisman, which references how the Infinity Stones were scattered throughout the Marvel Cinematic Universe: “An ancient relic of Hel deemed too powerful to remain whole, fragments of its former strength lie scattered throughout the realms…”

Second, there are six Enchantments, the gems that Kratos can socket into items, in God of War that have Infinity Stone equivalents. They are:

• Andvari’s Soul (Soul Stone)
• Asgard’s Stone of Existence (Reality Stone)
• Eye of the Outer Realm (Space Stone)
• Ivaldi’s Corrupted Mind (Mind Stone)
• Muspelheim’s Eye of Power (Power Stone)
• Njörd’s Temporal Stone (Time Stone)

Grid View

• SIE Santa Monica Studio/Sony Interactive Entertainment via Polygon
• SIE Santa Monica Studio/Sony Interactive Entertainment via Polygon
• SIE Santa Monica Studio/Sony Interactive Entertainment via Polygon
• SIE Santa Monica Studio/Sony Interactive Entertainment via Polygon
• SIE Santa Monica Studio/Sony Interactive Entertainment via Polygon
• SIE Santa Monica Studio/Sony Interactive Entertainment via Polygon
• SIE Santa Monica Studio/Sony Interactive Entertainment via Polygon

Unlike Thanos’ gauntlet, which can house six Infinity Stones, the Shattered Gauntlet of Ages is limited to just three sockets when fully upgraded. If players equip any three of the above stones at the same time, they’ll get a special power that fires a purple beam of energy from Kratos’ gauntlet. Because, you know, Thanos is purple.

Here’s a look at it with a set of random Enchantments compared to a full trio of “Infinity Stones:”

If you equip just two of the game’s Infinity Stones, you’ll just get the shockwave, not the full Infinity Gauntlet effect.

Obviously this will require a lot of play and a lot of upgrading to unlock to its full potential, but apparently the gauntlet deals some pretty good damage.