After 2018 the new part of the series with the simple title God of War took the series in a new direction and also in a new mythology, God of War Ragnarök builds on its story.
Many thanks to Playstation for providing the review code.
The Story of God of War Ragnarök:
God of War Ragnaröktakes place some time after its predecessor. After Kratos killed the god Baldur with his son Atreus, the Fimbul winter has now begun, which is the harbinger of the Twilight of the Gods Ragnarök, which is supposed to pull the Nordic world completely into the abyss. Freya, Baldur’s mother, is still not exactly happy about the death of her son and therefore chases the father-son team whenever the opportunity arises. Atreus is now in his teens and is struggling with who he really is after learning at the end of the prequel that the giants his mother was a part of call him Loki. Atreus now has three wolves, two of which are used to pull her sledge, while the third, named Fenrir, is very ill and dies early on. Atreus then wants to bury him and disappears into the forest, which is why Kratos and Mimir follow him. While searching for him, they find several mangled corpses and discover that one of the protective seals has been broken. At the end of the trail, Kratos is attacked by a giant bear named Bjorn, who turns out to be a transformed Atreus. Then they go back home and lie down. But then the secret scene of the predecessor takes place, in which Thor visits the two at home. After he has been let into the house to talk, Odin appears shortly afterwards, offering them peace as long as Atreus stops looking for Tyr, the war god of the north. However, Kratos is not interested in any deals and so a fight breaks out between him and Thor. After being satisfied by the battle and leaving, Kratos decides to follow Atreus, who has a plan to get rid of Odin and the Aesir for good. A new journey through the nine worlds begins for them.
Like the direct predecessor, the focus here is also on the relationship between Kratos and Atreus, which works a lot better for me this time than it did then. But not only their relationship develops meaningfully. Atreus and Kratos also have enough time in the story to develop themselves, so you discover sides of Kratos that you never expected before. But not only our main characters are interestingly written. The well-known characters such as Freya, Mimir, Brok and Sindri also experience exciting character arcs, but new characters such as Thor, Odin, etc. not only feel like meaningful extensions of the story, but also experience their own stories and transformations. The story is told very well throughout and also knows how to grip emotionally, even if a smaller chapter in the middle dragged a bit while rewarding with too little important information at the time. But also some side quests are written really well and entertaining, while others seem more like typical collection quests.
Travel and fight your way through the nine worlds:
In typical God of War fashion, you’ll also find yourself in Ragnarök always involved in fights. While one of the criticisms of the predecessor was that there was not enough enemy variance, this one really took that to heart. Each world brings with it its own enemies of different sizes and shapes, with their own unique techniques. There are also many more bosses that are very different, some of which involve very spectacular fights. Of course, to fight the opponents, you have different techniques to defend yourself. After the first part you have to acquire the various skills and weapon improvements to strengthen yourself. The fights play out very similar to the predecessor, but the controls seem to react a little faster to me, which makes the fights even more dynamic. Of course, there is also the rage mode again, in which Kratos lets his anger run free and throws his fists first at the opponents. With a short press of a button, you can switch between your weapons in the middle of a combo. Since each of the weapons can use two different techniques, there is also a certain variety. This is reinforced by two facts, which I only insert hidden here for spoiler reasons.
In addition to the fights, of course, you also explore the nine worlds. These are again full of side quests and secrets to be discovered. These are again designed as semi-open worlds. But here too there are slight Metroidmania elements, since at some points in the story you do not yet have the necessary techniques to progress further. But of course there are also plenty of puzzles. But these are never very demanding, which can also have something to do with the fact that your companions don’t let you think long before they give you tips. This can sometimes seem a bit exhausting, but it’s not that bad and can also be useful if you really don’t get any further. Most of the time, the puzzles in one area have a very similar approach, but differ enough not to get boring. Of course there are also some collectibles, where the volumes of poetry were definitely a highlight for me, as they contain Easter Eggs for some Playstation games. But Odin’s ravens are also back, although they are used better here and even have their own little story.
The World and Sound of God of War Ragnarök:
As already mentioned, you accompany Kratos and Atreus through the nine worlds in God of War Ragnarök. These are beautifully designed, packed with detail and very different from each other. My favorite world was Vanaheim as it seemed the most alive with all the animals darting around in the background. The characters and monsters are also very detailed and individually designed, whereby the design is very suitable for the respective character. A few rocks seemed a little spongy at times, but this was hardly noticeable in this extensive game.
The sound is also terrific, as is typical for God of War. While the music is very epic in boss fights, it can also be very calm and soulful in emotional situations. This is also reinforced by the really successful German dubbing. The sound effects are also convincing.
The technical details:
God of War Ragnarök ran during my test time on the PS5 without any stutters. Once it hung completely at the end of a boss fight, so I had to restart it. Once there was no background music for 10 minutes before the problem just resolved itself. Even without the update, I didn’t have the problem anywhere else and there have already been other updates. Then there were no more such problems. The controls of the game are easy to remember and very easy to use. The loading times of the game are barely there. There are several hose passages that are often used as loading screens. But this is not a problem, as most of the time conversations are held there. Also worth noting is how the game utilizes the DualSense controller and its features.
Conclusion:
God of War Ragnarök is a successful sequel to the 2018 released God of War. For me personally, it’s the more well-done game, because in addition to more variety in opponents and abilities, it also shows a better relationship between Atreus and Kratos for me, and the characters develop meaningfully in the story. The game manages to evoke emotions that I, even having played the other games, didn’t think possible from a God of War while still capturing the bombast and violence the games are known for. Fans of the direct predecessor can undoubtedly access it here.
Rating - God of War Ragnarök
God of War Ragnarök brings more of what made its predecessor special, but still expands it in a meaningful way. While the music and the graphics seem as great as usual, the story also made a leap forward for me, since the story deals with Kratos and Atreus in a much more personal way, but the secondary characters don't miss out and develop meaningfully.
-
Story
-
Gameplay
-
Graphics
-
Sound
-
Variety
