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Release Date: November 9, 2022
Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment
Developer: Santa Monica Studio
Composer: Bear McCreary
Series: God of War
Platforms: PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4
Genres: Action-Adventure Third Person Hack and Slash
Introduction: God of War 2018 was one of the best games released In 2018 in my opinion only behind my personal Game of The Year that year Red Dead Redemption 2. God of War Ragnarok is a better game than God of War 2018 in my opinion as I’ll describe below.
God of War 2018 was about Kratos and Atreus bonding over wife and mother, Faye’s death. Atreus was a child who needed his father Kratos. In God of War Ragnarok, Kratos learns what it means to be a father and let go as Atreus becomes his own man.
God of War Ragnarok game review is bigger, better in pretty much all aspects of game design compared to 2018’s interaction. It’s the perfect sequel if there ever was one in 2022. It’s a masterclass in story telling, visuals, sound and game design.
Presentation: God of War Ragnarok gives new players plenty of story exposition before they even start Ragnarok including a video at the starting menu screen that recaps the events of the prequal God of War 2018. Presentation is stellar all around. Oh wait, I did experience two minor glitches after dozens of hours of gameplay. Pre-order cancelled! My ass.
On the real though, this game’s presentation is immaculate from it’s visuals, to voice acting, to it’s one cut camera, to Bear McCreary’s original score. You know, I been seeing this “AAAA” term thrown around in regards to certain videogames. If the term AAAA exists, you can throw God of War Ragnarok on the Playstation 5 into it.
Santa Monica Studio’s God of War Ragnarok is the best of Sony’s first party studios through and through along with the likes of Naughty Dog in my opinion. Media often times gives you that wow feeling. Movies like Avatar come to mind.
God of War Ragnarok’s quality and sense and scale were on another level from most games I played this year save Elden Ring. I experienced that special feeling after completing God of War Ragnarok on my Playstation 5. Over my decades of gaming off and on have I played a sequel that was better than the original game. Ragnarok managed to beat it’s GOTY predecessor.
Story: SPOILER WARNING! God of War Ragnarok is about changing one’s fate or in this instance Kratos and Atreus’s fate. The lead up to the finale was masterclass level of storytelling and writing. Basically Odin want’s to harness the power of all reality and creation via a mask only Atreus can read.
Kratos and Atreus learn of Ragnarok by viewing shrines of the Jotnar aka giants with the help of Mimir and the Huldra brothers. Shrines point to recruiting Tyr which Kratos and Atreus manage to free only to learn later it’s Odin who kills Brok. Odin manipulated Atreus to collect his Mask pieces in hope for the ultimate power.
Over the course of the story Kratos and Atreus once again befriend Freya. Soon after her brother Vanaheim God Freyr. Atreus meets and helps one of the last Jotnar (giant) Angerboda who shows Atreus the shrine depicting Kratos’s death. Helping Skoll and Hati two celestial wolves bring day and night to the world were a nice story element.
One touching moment I found was at the beginning of the game where Fenrir dies in Atreus arm’s. Loki aka Atreus uses his knife unknowingly to take Fenrir’s soul which he would meet later as Garm a giant wolf capable of celestial realm tears.
Near the end of the story campaign Kratos and Atreus meet Surtr the Brave who embeds his flame into Kratos’s Blades of Chaos to then stab the heart of Sinmara (Surtr’s lover). Doing the latter created Ragnarok in the Spark of The World.
In the final battle Ragnarok arrives and destroys Asgard and the Aesir along with Freya’s brother Fryr. In the end Kratos doesn’t die like the prophecies had shown. At the very end of the story Kratos sees his dead wife’s Laufey The Just’s shrine which shows her interpretation of Kratos and Atreus’s true destinies.
Gameplay: God of War Ragnarok is all hack and slash combos, juggling, abilities with sewn in elemental special attacks. Combat mechanically is deeper as well more challenging due to enemies flanking more often. Mimir, Atreus or Freya would alert the player when an enemy flanks your six.
Kratos starts the game with his Leviathan Axe and Blades of Chaos. Three quarters in, Kratos with the help of Brok visit the Lady of The Lake to craft the Draupnir Spear. All weapons have their own weight, feel with unlockable ability tree tiers.
Gameplay is visceral, heavy or light, and mechanically deep. If you know how, you can string multiple enemies in air at the same time juggling them in a dazzling display. The Nine Realms each feature a very distinct map with traversal options like a boat or dog sled for instance.
Mystic Gates let you fast travel to different realms. There are all types of side mission and collectibles you can pursue as the game progresses. Depending on the realm, you will face enemies such as Hel-walkers, fierce ogres, light and dark elves, trolls, mini-bosses as well as large bosses.
Enemy variety in God of War Ragnarok is so much more improved over 2018’s iteration. Also, the way you can take down these enemies improved as well. You will have to try your ass off to find and fight trolls this time around.
Sound/Music: Music and voice acting brought every character to life in God of War Ragnarok. From the stellar original musical score from Bear McCreary to Christopher Judge’s portrayal of Kratos. I was feeling these character’s emotions as if I was there.
Other voice actors standouts to me were Alastair Duncan as Mimir. Richard Schiff as Odin. Chris Browning as Surtr. Ryan Hurst as Thor and so many more. Voice acting was too good. I hated Heimdall’s sarcastic belittling asshole attitude. So good. I’m not a parent but felt Kratos, Thor and Sif as they talked to their children.
Visuals/Graphics: For reference I played God of War Ragnarok in performance mode on my Playstation 5. This was the best looking game I played to date. It ran extremely well minus one stutter. Take your pick whether it’s magic effects, fur, skin, eyes, hair, metal on armor, water, particles, rocks, creatures of the nine realms it doesn’t matter. This game looks amazing.
Everything in God of War Ragnarok visually was superb to look at in my opinion. It’s scary to think this game is a Playstation 4 game. I bet it looks great on the Playstation 4 as well. Santa Monica Studio has talent like Naughty Dog. They can do stuff like this.
Final Verdict: God of War Ragnarok is a sequel that’s better than it’s predecessor. It’s rare to play special games. With that said I played two this year. Elden Ring and God of War Ragnarok. It was an amazing experience and I cannot wait to see what comes next in this franchise. Thank you for reading – Jason
Ragnarok Review 10/10 – Jason’s Gaming Blog First!
God of War: Ragnarok: A masterclass all around presentation in AAA gaming. My first perfect score for JVGS. – Jason
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