God of War Ragnarok Review
Since the official release date was revealed in July of this year, everyone was excited to see how the sequel to the 2018 Game of the Year would perform. Until this point, most gaming critics including myself were concerned that we did not see much gameplay of the new title this close to release. With that being said, with the official release, all the concerns over the game’s development were answered and honestly, I felt relieved. God of War Ragnarök released without any issue and became the fastest-selling PlayStation Exclusive in its history beating the Last of Us Part 2.
With reports that God of War Ragnarök is the final game in this current storyline, most people feel bittersweet if this is truly the end of the series. Does the story of the legendary God of War and his son meet the standard of the previous title? Why is this game so beloved by most gamers? Should God of War Ragnarök win the game of the year? In my review, I give the good, the bad, the ugly, and answer these questions in my final verdict.
The Good
The Gameplay
Overall, the gameplay of God of War Ragnarök is top-notch. Very smooth in its movements making it feel fluid throughout. Basic mechanics are very solid between the dodging, counters, and classic hack and slash I am used to from the classic God of War titles of the past. With the use of the DualSense controller, I truly believe that the experience of the gameplay was adjusted.
The haptic feedback increases the level of immersion by feeling different movements whether it is moving through snow, climbing mountains, or using the new grapple systems. The movements feel adjusted due to the PlayStation 5’s features but I am not sure if you would feel that same level playing on the PlayStation 4.
The Weapons
When it comes to combat, the leviathan Axe still feels beefy as it did in the previous game. Freezing every opponent in your path creating a good mix of ranged and close combat. The return of the classic Blades of Chaos is still my favorite just because it is iconic in its design and usage. The new introduction of the Draupnir Spear does provide a mixture of axe and blade.
Having the ability to be thrown as well as detonated adds new functionality. It seems like Santa Monica studios wanted to take the combat from the previous title and continue its use with slight adjustments. These weapons can be used in most situations, and they all fit Kratos’s play style. Even if it is nearly identical to the previous game, If it isn’t broken you don’t need to fix it.
The Narrative
This game’s biggest strength has to be its narrative and characters. God of War Ragnarok fully immerses you into the story through its excellent writing. Every scene and the setting was written specifically to impact the player and bring out the emotions as we progress through the story. You feel invested to continue the journey to see what happens next. The narrative is direct and does a great job of providing enough information that is easy to understand what is going on so that it doesn’t confuse the player.
For those that have played previous God of War games you will feel a more emotional connection to the events of the game because they have several callbacks to the previous titles. The mixture between main missions and side quests feels balanced as well. The main plot only gets expanded through the completion of side stories that will give more context to this great story.
The Characters
The character development in this series has been impressive and you have to give credit to the writers from Santa Monica Studios for what they were able to accomplish in this game. This title provides us with the most diverse set of characters with differing perspectives and goals they wish to achieve. Kratos is truly a dynamic character as you look at his journey from being the God-Killing Warrior to the Father he is in this game.
Even if he does not give you many words, he shows you emotion through what he says in the situation he is in. This game showed me more about Kratos as a man with varying emotions and struggles than I ever expected. This is probably the best form of Kratos I have ever seen.
Returning and New Characters
This game had several returning and new characters introduced as well. Overall, they had hit the mark on nearly all of them. Atreus is the young adult that is looking to find answers as well as accomplish his goals as they progress toward Ragnarök. Freya is bent on revenge on both Kratos and Odin. Thor, Odin, Heimdall, and Tyr all seem well fleshed out and each has their motives and perspectives.
I think as antagonists the Aesir Gods are extremely interesting and have way more diverse than anything we have seen in the series yet. Odin and Thor are nowhere near the characters we know from the Marvel Universe. Odin is bent on accomplishing his goals by any means necessary. Thor is a brutish character that on the outside seems to have things figured out but he is dealing with major trauma from his past and the death of his sons. Good character writing is what makes people remember these titles the most and God of War Ragnarök did this extremely well.
The Art Style and Music
Possibly an overlooked feature, but the art style and the look of the game are incredible. Each of the 9 realms explored in this game looks fantastic. What’s interesting is that several locations carry over from the previous title due to Fimbulwinter. Midgard is covered with snow making the large lake entirely made of ice. Alfheim is now a desert-covered area that is decimated by earthquakes and sandstorms. Most of the other realms relatively look the same but graphically they look stunning.
Map
This game includes 3 new realms to be explored. Svartalfhiem, the land of the dwarves, is more tropical and shows off the technological advances that were created far beyond anything seen so far. Vanahiem, which shows off beautiful aspects of flora bringing out major colors and scenery. Lastly, we have Asgard, the land of the gods. Very different from what people may expect but still has impressive art direction. The design and development of these realms will make players want to explore the depths of each realm.
Music
The music of God of War Ragnarock was extremely well done. The composer Bear McCreary outdid all expectations with the level of emotion and intensity some of these tracks have. The scenes that are trying to convey a touching moment of Kratos reflecting on his past, there’s a song that heightens that scene. Have an intense battle to the death between two extremely powerful gods? There is a song for that. Every moment along the way there is a track that will give the player a sense of emotion that only makes the experience better.
The Bad
Weapon Variety
There aren’t many “bad” things in this game, but one of the flaws I saw in my playthrough is the lack of variety in combat, weapons, and enemies we face. With as great of a game as God of War Ragnarök is, there are times when combat seems repetitive. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind the cut-and-slash of enemies, but with the 60-hour game time, God of War has, I was hoping for more variety in the combat scenarios or methods to face enemies.
With only really adding one new weapon from the previous game, I felt disappointed that they did not add more ways to diversify the combat. The Leviathan Axe, Blades of Chaos, and Draupnir Spear are all great weapons but for a sequel, I was hoping for more ways to show my strength as a God-Killer.
Enemy Variety
Similar to the combat styles I felt there needed to be more variety in the enemies we faced. Even though we face off against several factions or species of enemies throughout the game. At times it seems that all enemies can be lumped together in 1 of 4 categories: small, medium, large, or ranged.
I can be fighting lizard people or soldiers of the gods and they all match these 4 categories. I feel like there needs to be more variation, especially when you are facing off with different groups. With the gameplay being as good as it is I was just hoping I could have more variety in the enemies we face which would give these groups more character.
Final Verdict
God of War Ragnarök has positives and negatives, but overall it’s a great game. The gameplay is smooth and it shows off the level of polish Santa Monica Studies has done to make this game feel as good as it does. Easily the best part has to be the Narrative and Characters. The story tackles many themes that most viewers can associate with and nearly every scene made you feel the emotion with great dialogue, stunning visuals, and an amazing soundtrack.
The Norse Gods had a great showing in this title and the epic clashes between Kratos and Thor were truly awesome and fun to play through. At times I felt that the weapons, combat, and enemies were repetitive at times, but these flaws weren’t enough to damper my experience.
Rating
Overall I’m giving this game a 9.4 out of 10. God of War Ragnarock does something that most sequels have difficulty doing. Expanding a story while also creating more intrigue about the lore makes fans want more. We all knew that Santa Monica Studios was going to give us a great experience in this game and even with that being the case I was surprised by the level of how much fun I had playing this game.
Does it Deserve Game of the Year?
Kratos has the best character development I have seen in the entire series and he deserves to be recognized as a legendary gaming character. It definitely meets the standard of the previous game and according to some, it surpasses the God of War 2018. Whether you are a fan of the series or not, you have to recognize talent and Santa Monica Studios establishes itself as a next-level developer.
Does God of War deserve to be Game of the Year? I would be surprised if God of War Ragnarök does not win Game of the Year, but both Elden Ring and God of War Ragnarök are worthy of the award, and ill be happy either way knowing we had a great year of gaming. If these two are the headliners at this year’s Game Awards then it must have been a pretty damn good year.
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