[Review] God of War: Ragnarök [PS5]
5 min read
Let’s start some back story and general information on Dad of War: Part 2, after a short, four year, wait at last we have Dad of War Part 2, I mean God of War Ragnarök picks up after God of War (2018) with the continued adventure of angry dad and BOY, I mean Kratos, once again voiced by the amazing Christopher Judge and his half giant half god son Atreus, voice by Sunny Suljic.
God of War Ragnarök starts out slow but for the most part never takes it’s foot off the gas, starting with some slight exposition and runs forward as an good sequel should. First lets talk about story, the story picks up 3 years later after God of War as Fimbulwinter is now in full effect after the events at the end of the fight with Baldur that kicks off Ragnarök, as Atreus mentions “it hasn’t stopped snowing sense that day.” Freya is still angry about what Kratos did to her son and is hurting Kratos attacking every chance she gets, it’s up to Kratos to keep Atreus safe and try to stop Ragnarök anyway he can and change the fate he saw on the carvings in Jotunheim that he hid from Atreus. Atreus just wants answers and Odin offers to give him those answers if he is willing to “work” with him. All of this and other things that I wont talk about due to spoilers cause Kratos to begin to question if he will once again have to become the monster he has fought so hard to prove (mostly to himself) he isn’t anymore or submit to the fates.
Graphics, OH MAN! Going into Ragnarök I knew the graphics would look better than God of War , 4 years and a new console generation made that a give for me but I could never have been prepared for what was coming. Ragnarök starts off back in Midgard but now due to Fimbulwinter much of the landscape has changed and everything is now covered in snow, much like parts of the mountain sections of GoW the snow looks amazing and reacts to your movements in it but Ragnarök does it much smoother and at least on PS5 with a lot more particle effects in play at any given time, the wolves Kratos and Atreus use to get around look amazing running through the snow pulling the sled they use to get around. Each realm you travel to, even the ones you have been to before have been effected by Fimbulwinter causing them to look and feel very different then before. Overall I give the graphics an 9 out of 10.
Moving on to sound and voice. Overall the voice cast for Ragnarök is spot on as to be expected by a veteran cast such as this with only a few low points, we are looking at you Odin, there are as with all video games some lines that side characters repeat over and over that do get annoying at times but again these are few and far between. The sound design is amazing, from the choices of music to the clashing of weapons on shields the sound and music are on point, composer Bear McCreary returns from GoW (2018). Overall sound and voice get a 9 out of 10
Gameplay, as with GoW; Ragnarök plays amazing, the small changes in the fighting and magic you can use allows for some amazing combos and visceral final kill moves, the change up with some of the side characters that go with you truly makes a difference in how you can approach combat. Many of the same moves do come over from GoW but it never feels bad in anyway and the new changes make the combat fun and challenging in all the right ways, the new weapon added made for some interesting puzzles and just like GoW going back to areas you have been before and taking the time to really look around can get you some really cool upgrades and new gear. The same gear upgrade system returns from 2018 and does at times feel a little stale due to it being the same numbers game of, does this make enough difference or do I stay with what I have, Brok and Sindri return to give good advice and of course as you blacksmiths. Overall the bosses, other than one, felt challenging but fair, the challenges felt interesting and made me want to search them out and even normal enemies felt like the right amount of challenge and learning there movements that combat never got old. The puzzles in the game where for the most part interesting if not hard to figure out did serve to break up the combat sections nicely and did make cause me to have to stop and think at times about how to get around certain areas but in never felt truly challenging, which was unfortunate. Overall game play for me gets a 8 out of 10
Final thoughts, there is a lot I can say about Ragnarök and most of it is good, I got the collectors edition and was very happy with everything I got in said edition, the steel book is very similar to the GoW but with enough change the it looks good, the small figures are highly detailed the set of dice and bag for said dice are very well made and are being used, and last by not least the replica of Thor’s hammer Mjolnir is well made with great detail all be it somewhat disappointing after the amazing statue we got with the collectors edition of GoW it is still very nice. With a great story, wonderful music and voice action and great game play God of War Ragnarök feel good and plays wonderfully while keeping you engaged with the characters and the story, and while no my personal favorite in the series it is still and well made and fun game. Overall I give God of War Ragnarok a 9 out of 10 and very much recommend playing the game, as long as you played at the very least the last one.
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