God Of War Ragnarok
The Good Stuff
- Excellent storyline
- Beautiful views & detailed visuals
- Impressive new gameplay elements
- More realms to explore
The Bad Stuff
- Challenging combat
The God of War gaming franchise has been with us for decades. From the young Spartan soldier, Kratos, who gain incredible weapons and powers from Greek Gods to an elderly Kratos with his son, Atreus, in Norse mythology. Sony Santa Monica brings together once again what made the last God or War Reboot superb, with a great story, impressive graphics and visuals, epic and brutal combat, and a vast world waiting to be explored. Is this going to be the next best-action adventure for you? Let’s find out from the God of War Ragnarok review.
God of War Ragnarök
Genre: Action, Adventure | Release date: November 9 2022 | Platforms: PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4 | Developed by: Sony Santa Monica Studios | Published by: PlayStation Studios, Sony Interactive Entertainment | Overall game time: 40+ hours
Overview
The story starts out with Kratos waiting for his son, Atreus, in a cave. He suddenly appears through the snow and into the cave with a deer he hunted. They leave and they make their way to a sleigh pulled by wild wolves. Then you take control as you both travel through the snow.
Then suddenly the God queen Freya springs out and attacks. Kratos fights her off, and they escape and arrive back at their homestead. Next thing you know, Thor, the Thunder God arrives at their home with his father Odin, and Thor ends up fighting Kratos.
That’s how good the story is. It has epic moments, well-acted scenes, and fights that are brutal but entertaining. It all starts a few years after the God of War 2018 release. Ragnarok is coming. Kratos and his son are caught in the crossfire.
They decide to try and stop the apocalypse. But they need help. So they leave their home once again in Midgard, to find Týr the Giant who has a connection with stopping Ragnarok.
Týr the Giant meets Kratos in the epic God of War Ragnarok.
Atreus has grown since the 2018 release and has a few new tricks up his sleeve. He’s able to traverse obstacles and climb cliffs on his own. He has his bow as his main weapon of choice but gets access to even more as you play. You can even play as him in some sections of the storyline. Overall, there’s a lot to do and discover with this young lad.
Our main protagonist, Kratos is still merciless as ever, but cares a little too much for his liking, especially for his son. He gets worried when he goes off exploring on his own. There are even father-son moments that would earn him an Oscar award. He gets additional abilities from his weapons which helps him solve puzzles. He’s more supple, and more agile when he climbs and moves over and under obstacles. In the end, Kratos is still the most powerful demigod in the game.
Overall, God of War Ragnarok is a game full of Norse gods, demigods, and other unique characters and races, exploration of beautiful environments in the nine realms, epic and fun battles, and a great storyline.
What Makes it so Great
Excellent Storyline
God of War Ragnarok comes with a great storyline. The main characters and the other characters in the game are well-acted, and well-voiced by familiar actors from the first reboot, and newer actors as well. The action scenes are entertaining to watch from Kratos’s fight with Thor to sentimental moments with his son. It’s deep. It’s engaging. It’s emotional. It’s a great story overall. It’s best that you play through the game to see and experience the story.
Kratos and Atreus come across a familiar foe in the distance.
Impressive New Gameplay Elements
God of War Ragnarok features a lot of new gameplay elements. Firstly, you can play as Atreus. He can gain XP to learn his own new abilities, acquire and use new weapons, co-op with other characters in the game like Thor, and he has his own workbench to upgrade his own weapons and armor.
Secondly, there are many more armor pieces, talismans, shields, and more runic skills for Kratos to find. There’s even a new weapon he’ll acquire as you progress in the game. Familiar gaming elements from the 2018 release such as upgrading of weapons and armor, runic skills, and talismans, are also available in the latest release.
Next, there are more realms to explore with more puzzles to solve, beautiful environments and visuals to see, deadly foes to fight, sleighs to ride with wild wolves or any other wild demon dogs, and the familiar boat to navigate on water.
And lastly, not only can Kratos and Atreus team up. They can even team up with any of the other characters as you progress through the storyline, from our two dwarven blacksmiths, Brok and Sindri, to the enemies-turn-allies.
Overall, the game comes with a lot of new gaming elements waiting for you to discover, and surprises in store as you progress through the game.
What Makes it Not so Great
Challenging Combat
There are a lot of gaming elements for our protagonist to explore and dive into in God of War Ragnarok. As exciting as the combat is, it can get overwhelming, especially when there are a lot of enemies to fight.
There are some instances where Kratos or Atreus strikes the foe in front and then another unseen foe (thanks to the camera) strikes from behind and disturbs the attack, causing them to flinch. Even when the warning indicator is active, which is always the case, if you are not careful you will be met with a swift and sudden death especially when fighting bosses.
This is not really a major concern as it’s part of the game. If you lose a fight, restart, find a different armor or shield, and try a different strategy until you win. Overall, combat is the best thing in the game, but just be mindful of your enemies as you fight. Keep dodging, go on the defense, and you will overcome your foes.
Verdict
God of War Ragnarok combines action and adventure to create a whole new and unforgettable experience in Norse mythology. It’s a captivating spectacle to watch and even more exciting to play. It’s a complete work of art from start to finish, with a flawless story, perfect performances and well-acted scenes, excellent graphics, and jaw-dropping but challenging battles.
It’s everything a sequel should be. It also manages to keep to what makes it so great but adds new gaming elements, like more areas to explore, more characters, and even more epic moments. God of War Ragnarok is a massive accomplishment that sets a new bar for action-adventure games.
Kratos finds power-ups in a mine in the Svartalfheim realm.
So if you like action-adventure games, and enjoy the God of War gaming franchise then you will definitely enjoy this game. It really is that good. If you have any comments or questions to ask, then leave them here below. If you want to buy the game, click on the button above or click here. Take it easy, my fellow gamers until next time.