God of War: Ragnarök
Updated: Feb 3
If you've liked the franchise up to this point, you're not going to be disappointed with the latest release! Impeccable visuals, intricate storytelling, fluid UX; truly work becoming of the Gods... of War developers.
Who remembers when God of War was first released on the PS2?
In case you missed it: (Over a decade old spoiler)
The story follows a Spartan soldier, Kratos, who made a deal with Ares (the Greek God Of War) when the Spartans were losing in battle and Kratos was about to lose his life. Through Kratos’ servitude to Ares, he committed many atrocities in his name, all of which haunt his dreams. The straw that broke the camel’s back was when Ares had tricked Kratos into “taking care” of a village that also housed his wife and daughter. After this, he swore vengeance against Ares and you spend the rest of the game finding ways to make sure he pays for what he did; eventually taking the old God of War’s post and becoming the new “God of War”. Vengeance is the overarching theme of the series. Each game you find a way to make those who wronged you pay for what they did to you. Which, throughout the subsequent games, the entire Greek Pantheon does, so you can probably guess what happens. However, due to the lack of Gods to oversee the land of Greece, the land eventually dies and Kratos moves to a new land.
And the latest vision of the series, released in 2018?
Which, again... if you missed it:
Kratos traveled to Midgard of the Norse mythology, meets a new woman named “Faye”. Together they have a child they name “Boy” “Atreus” and live happily ever after. Until the day of Faye’s passing. Her final request was to have her ashes spread from the highest peak of all the Nine Realms. Seems like an easy task for the former God of War. It was anything but. Not only did he eventually find out the “Highest peak in all the realms” wasn’t in Midgard and was instead in a realm that has been inaccessible for centuries, but he also had to complete an even more daunting task, raise his son. Kratos, the man of rage and anger, a former God Of War, who unalived an entire pantheon of gods, wasn’t prepared for this task. Throughout the game you venture out and at the end, finally spread the ashes of his wife on the highest peak of all the nine realms.
God Of War: Ragnarök continues the story 4 years later, the boy has grown up a bit and is now a teen, Kratos even older than before. They both settled down for a while after the events of the reboot. Due to some of the events that happened in the reboot, fimbulwinter has begun. Marking the beginning of #Ragnarök, the end of the world. Midgard was plunged into a 3 year long winter. Kratos and Atreus venture out together to attempt to stave off the destruction of the realms.
Ragnarök further improves on the game mechanics introduced in the 2018 reboot. Combat feels smooth and you feel #powerful. Controlling a (in the words of Mimir, your living Tamagotchi) “Warrior of Rippling Muscle” feels like it should, you are a force to be reckoned with. But so are your enemies. Combat almost never feels easy unless you visit an old area. You can never stay complacent, different enemies are resistant to types of elements, so you’re always switching to the right tool for the job. Like I said, your enemies hit hard, dodging and blocking is a must in this game. Everything must be timed perfectly, or you get slapped with some major damage. In Ragnarök, they introduce new shield types depending on your play #style. You like to parry? They have a shield just for you. You like to tank damage? They got you there. Any way you play they have a shield just for you. To avoid spoilers, I will only say you do get a new weapon and it is amazing. You’ll have to trust me that it is an amazing weapon, and you will want to upgrade it to its full potential.
In Ragnarök, you get to travel to all the realms #Norse mythology has to offer. The maps are vast and full of puzzles, activities and tasks for you to complete. As you go through story quests and side missions, these maps open up even more, allowing you to explore and gain more quests for you to complete. This game is filled with quests and missions, so many that I would say it doubles or even triples the amount of playtime you can get out of the game. Speaking of playtime, I completed the main missions (with a couple of side quests mixed in) in about 28-30 hours of gameplay. If you add on all the side quests, this game easily gets you 50 hours or more of game time. The main quest is #incredible, I would say the story in Ragnarök is even better than the 2018 Reboot, and that is saying a lot because I was in love with the previous story. It pulls you in with an amazing story and background, then keeps you there with the personal story between Kratos and his son, Atreus. Kratos has grown at lot since his time in Sparta, becoming a more caring god. Atreus has grown as well, becoming more and more independent and his need to help everyone only expands as time goes on. Seeing how these 2 progress in Ragnarök and seeing how much they care for each other is heartwarming. A true tale of father and son bonding while saving the 9 Realms from destruction, you know, a normal family bonding moment.
All in all, God of War: Ragnarök is an incredible game. You can tell that the team at Sony Santa Monica put their heart and souls into this game to create a story that is moving, captivating, and all-around fun. This is a must play. If you don’t have a #PS4/#PS5 then this game will eventually hit #Steam in the coming years. While you wait, check out the 2018 reboot of God of War on steam! It regularly goes on sale and is worth every penny.
Our rating: MUST PLAY!
What do you think?
- Must Play!
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- Give it a shot
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