"It is the nature of a thing that matters. Not its form."
I'm just at a loss for words on this ones, honestly. The story of Kratos is one that I've been following for a while now, since the beginning Greek saga and through the introduction to the Nordic realms, and sometimes I wonder... what exactly is this all for? WHO exactly is this all for? Those with a power fantasy? To experience an epic tale surrounding mythologies of old, button-mashing your way through obstacles and puzzles?
The series as a whole is a remarkable concept for sure, and the 2018 "reboot" definitely set the franchise on a clean path. But how does one manage to follow-up such a huge leap in storytelling for not only Kratos's tale but for the action genre as a whole? Because if God of War Ragnarök is their way of execution, then I personally find it flawed.
Presentation and storytelling first.
One of the highlights of 2018's God of War was certainly the implementation of the one-shot camera, a system that obviously brings brilliance to both the technicality of rendering and the one-sidedness of storytelling. It's the one thing I'm absolutely thrilled to see come back in God of War Ragnarök, and in even more seamless ways to tell a story that goes beyond the previous "one-sidedness" (no spoilers). Throughout its execution, it made me think of the Norse saga, as a whole, being presented as a theatrical stage play of sorts, when playing with certain backdrops and elements; with Ragnarök simply being the second half after 2018's first half and intermission.
I truly had my doubts when this saga was announced to be a duology rather than a trilogy, but I was admittedly wrong here. Props to the writers for setting God of War Ragnarök as the second and third acts to 2018's first act, offering a satisfying conclusion to Kratos's new arc that pulls in tons of elements from everywhere to bring things full-circle. Hell, I even enjoyed Kratos's acknowledgement of his previous adventures during his Greek arc, which were also present in 2018 and play a much bigger role this time around. Seriously, this is one of the best games to play back-to-back as a whole product, forming a singular epic that evolves its world over time (as well as its combat, which I will discuss later). The arc between Kratos and his son and wife, Freya's seek for revenge, and many others with our secondary characters all come to a conclusion that I would say is pretty satisfying. Performances all around are fantastic as well. I especially loved Odin here, both in design and acting; gave me some major Alan Alda vibes.
Also, shoutout to the side dialogue added here. From companions commenting on your divergence from the main path, to simply listening to conversations happening in the background, it truly adds some nice attention-to-detail when developing these characters.
It's only the destination and the threading of an entire arc that intrigued me here however, as the journey this time around felt loud, long, and too messy at times. While I didn't think 2018's God of War had a story that was all too grand or memorable, I appreciated its simplicity of journeying up a mountain to your goal. God of War Ragnarök feels like a step back for me personally, trying to rely too much on tons of character threads, overcomplex Norse mythos, and setpieces that feel like they're just there for the spectacle of it all. One moment I'll be appreciated a lovely scene with Kratos struggling with a conflict between him and Atreus, then another moment we see a secondary character who we're apparently supposed to remember (some of which were in the OPTIONAL side quests from 2018; probably one of the worst choices you could make in writing a story like this). Or how about the other secondary characters that show up for a single chapter then don't show up again until later on in the story, or even characters that you have to seemingly do side quests for just to get a simple introduction from them? (Don't even get me started on that talking squirrel.) I get that Norse mythology is a bit more wide and expansive than Greek mythology, but at least make it simpler for the unitiated to understand some of it. Allow us to learn and become intrigued by the events of Ragnarök and the world we're exploring, not assume the player already has knowledge of certain subjects.
There would even be times where Mimir would start trying to be funny, even though most of the comedy in this story comes off as your typical "MCU" humor, whether you enjoy that or not. Although I didn't do a back-to-back binge myself, it's these reasons why I recommend playing this one directly after the previous entry, because it doesn't hold a newcomer's hand too well in terms of what the hell is even going on (even in its built-in recap video), which can either be neat or frustrated depending on the player. Personally, I think the consistency between the two games is really cool, but I'm still taken back by the fluctuating tone of the journey at play here. I either felt really bored or briefly anticipating what's to come next only to be disappointed in the outcome (especially with how certain plot elements came to a close in unexplainable and abrupt ways). There's no winning here. Maybe I just wish that, given the nature of the game's central hub, that the story here was a little more contained, rather than some linear journey. I would've much rather stayed with some of these secondary characters through more main quests than the single one-and-done, as it would've helped develop them thoroughly before the final act.
One more minor nitpick I had with this game too, oddly enough, was its music. There were some great moments accompanied by some emotional and impactful tracks for sure, but none of it is all too rememberable. There's no real main theme or motif to the scoring of the game's soundtrack, although I noticed a track or two that would constantly be re-used during emotional moments. (I know this because it got to the point where I would accurately predict how a certain melody would go right before it happened, indicating an overuse in a track or two.) Again, just minor because I wish we would get a few tracks as memorable as "Aloy's Theme" from Horizon or the main theme of The Last of Us. A personal gripe.
Gameplay. I found myself reminded of the transition from 2016's Doom to Doom Eternal, one that tried perfecting a nearly-flawless combat system by adding too much more complexity into the mix.
Conversely, I thought the transition from the Greek saga to Norse saga was acceptable for turning a hack-and-slash title into a third-person action game, even reaching backwards to the feel of the originals with the implementation of the Blades Of Chaos into its combat. God of War Ragnarök, thankfully, has enjoyable combat that allows the player to switch between the new and old, including certain moments in combat later on that further "feel" like those classic entries, which I was quite impressed by. There are some other things in the overall game design, such as the new hub area that truly opens each of the 9 realms up while off the main path, although I'm trying to avoid spoiling certain setpieces as much as possible in this review.
What I wasn't impressed by was the "bulk" added to the game's RPG systems. There's just way too much; too many craftables, too many uses for experience points, too much at play here while in combat. What starts off with teaching you something like elemental weaknesses of enemies eventually evolves into "dodge, shield bash, switch weapons, use a cooldown, OH and don't forget you can press square to have your companion shoot an arrow". I can understand the ability to allow players to customize their experience, especially when tackling higher difficulties, but I still don't fully grasp why I'm having to remember to dodge an enemy from behind me while trying to break the shield of the one in front. Honestly, the only moments where I felt this complexity was implemented in an engaging way were during boss sequences, which were thankfully plenty of. One such boss would have you attacking glowing targets in order to stun the enemy, while another would require you to set traps on the ground for your enemy to walk over. I'd much rather have to think and strategize in combat while taking on a big baddie, not while I'm trying to grind for resources. Overall, I just think it doesn't feel too good to play, mainly due to Kratos's tank-like nature. With all of the complexity, down to some of the interaction bugs I faced during dialogue scripts, I sometimes forget that I have to double-tap the dodge button to roll at times.
Puzzles. Why are there so many?!
Look, I like some good puzzles. God of War Ragnarök does a good job teaching players how each weapon combination acts upon certain objects, whether it be burning vines or freezing geysers. But for a story where our heroes are on a race against time, most of which are literal demigods, why do most of these main quests consist of "fight, puzzle, climb, and repeat"? Why am I having to re-route all of these damn canals just to reach the next part of the story? I even tried my hand at a few side quests and they were just as generic, if not slightly more twisted. Aside from the boss encounters that I mentioned earlier, it all lacks variety and ultimately makes each of these sections boring as hell, ruining the pacing of an overall-engaging story. The games in the Greek saga had more puzzle variety than in the 25 hours I spent mainlining this one. (Your studio is literally buddy-buddy with Naughty Dog, and the Uncharted games had more fun traversal environments than this, even without weapons!) This imbalance between engaging moments and soul-less puzzles, one that somewhat creates dissonance in the plot itself, is one of the most disappointing parts of this package for me because of how cool the world of Midgard and the 9 realms can be sometimes.
God of War Ragnarök is a very good game, no doubt. It brings the quality of Sony's first-party outings of third-person action-adventure games to its presentation highs and thrilling setpieces. If you enjoy this kind of "popcorn" video game that offers tons of collectibles and content, then gods bless. I'm not here to stop you from enjoying your thing.
But if you're like me, someone who's been dedicated to the PlayStation platform for generations, someone who loves to see variety in their action-adventure games, and someone who prefers a cinematic story that's actually intriguing or perhaps thought-provoking, then this is no better than the likes of Horizon Forbidden West or even Ghost Of Tsushima. It is quite the epitome of "don't fix what's not broken" or "quantity over quality", one that I'm sure fans will debate in the future whether or not it's superior to its predecessor. Most will say that this slow drag of a journey is the best part of God of War Ragnarök, while I say the intrigue of the destination and how it all comes to a close is way more interesting. There's so much here I love and hate, which is frustrating for me personally as a fan of both the genre and story finales. Maybe it's the limitations of this being a cross-gen game, or maybe it's because I was expecting way more from a game named after a mythological cataclysm. But based on the way the Norse saga wraps up here, I really hope they just give Kratos a decent break.
I'm just at a loss for words on this ones, honestly. The story of Kratos is one that I've been following for a while now, since the beginning Greek saga and through the introduction to the Nordic realms, and sometimes I wonder... what exactly is this all for? WHO exactly is this all for? Those with a power fantasy? To experience an epic tale surrounding mythologies of old, button-mashing your way through obstacles and puzzles?
The series as a whole is a remarkable concept for sure, and the 2018 "reboot" definitely set the franchise on a clean path. But how does one manage to follow-up such a huge leap in storytelling for not only Kratos's tale but for the action genre as a whole? Because if God of War Ragnarök is their way of execution, then I personally find it flawed.
Presentation and storytelling first.
One of the highlights of 2018's God of War was certainly the implementation of the one-shot camera, a system that obviously brings brilliance to both the technicality of rendering and the one-sidedness of storytelling. It's the one thing I'm absolutely thrilled to see come back in God of War Ragnarök, and in even more seamless ways to tell a story that goes beyond the previous "one-sidedness" (no spoilers). Throughout its execution, it made me think of the Norse saga, as a whole, being presented as a theatrical stage play of sorts, when playing with certain backdrops and elements; with Ragnarök simply being the second half after 2018's first half and intermission.
I truly had my doubts when this saga was announced to be a duology rather than a trilogy, but I was admittedly wrong here. Props to the writers for setting God of War Ragnarök as the second and third acts to 2018's first act, offering a satisfying conclusion to Kratos's new arc that pulls in tons of elements from everywhere to bring things full-circle. Hell, I even enjoyed Kratos's acknowledgement of his previous adventures during his Greek arc, which were also present in 2018 and play a much bigger role this time around. Seriously, this is one of the best games to play back-to-back as a whole product, forming a singular epic that evolves its world over time (as well as its combat, which I will discuss later). The arc between Kratos and his son and wife, Freya's seek for revenge, and many others with our secondary characters all come to a conclusion that I would say is pretty satisfying. Performances all around are fantastic as well. I especially loved Odin here, both in design and acting; gave me some major Alan Alda vibes.
Also, shoutout to the side dialogue added here. From companions commenting on your divergence from the main path, to simply listening to conversations happening in the background, it truly adds some nice attention-to-detail when developing these characters.
It's only the destination and the threading of an entire arc that intrigued me here however, as the journey this time around felt loud, long, and too messy at times. While I didn't think 2018's God of War had a story that was all too grand or memorable, I appreciated its simplicity of journeying up a mountain to your goal. God of War Ragnarök feels like a step back for me personally, trying to rely too much on tons of character threads, overcomplex Norse mythos, and setpieces that feel like they're just there for the spectacle of it all. One moment I'll be appreciated a lovely scene with Kratos struggling with a conflict between him and Atreus, then another moment we see a secondary character who we're apparently supposed to remember (some of which were in the OPTIONAL side quests from 2018; probably one of the worst choices you could make in writing a story like this). Or how about the other secondary characters that show up for a single chapter then don't show up again until later on in the story, or even characters that you have to seemingly do side quests for just to get a simple introduction from them? (Don't even get me started on that talking squirrel.) I get that Norse mythology is a bit more wide and expansive than Greek mythology, but at least make it simpler for the unitiated to understand some of it. Allow us to learn and become intrigued by the events of Ragnarök and the world we're exploring, not assume the player already has knowledge of certain subjects.
There would even be times where Mimir would start trying to be funny, even though most of the comedy in this story comes off as your typical "MCU" humor, whether you enjoy that or not. Although I didn't do a back-to-back binge myself, it's these reasons why I recommend playing this one directly after the previous entry, because it doesn't hold a newcomer's hand too well in terms of what the hell is even going on (even in its built-in recap video), which can either be neat or frustrated depending on the player. Personally, I think the consistency between the two games is really cool, but I'm still taken back by the fluctuating tone of the journey at play here. I either felt really bored or briefly anticipating what's to come next only to be disappointed in the outcome (especially with how certain plot elements came to a close in unexplainable and abrupt ways). There's no winning here. Maybe I just wish that, given the nature of the game's central hub, that the story here was a little more contained, rather than some linear journey. I would've much rather stayed with some of these secondary characters through more main quests than the single one-and-done, as it would've helped develop them thoroughly before the final act.
One more minor nitpick I had with this game too, oddly enough, was its music. There were some great moments accompanied by some emotional and impactful tracks for sure, but none of it is all too rememberable. There's no real main theme or motif to the scoring of the game's soundtrack, although I noticed a track or two that would constantly be re-used during emotional moments. (I know this because it got to the point where I would accurately predict how a certain melody would go right before it happened, indicating an overuse in a track or two.) Again, just minor because I wish we would get a few tracks as memorable as "Aloy's Theme" from Horizon or the main theme of The Last of Us. A personal gripe.
Gameplay. I found myself reminded of the transition from 2016's Doom to Doom Eternal, one that tried perfecting a nearly-flawless combat system by adding too much more complexity into the mix.
Conversely, I thought the transition from the Greek saga to Norse saga was acceptable for turning a hack-and-slash title into a third-person action game, even reaching backwards to the feel of the originals with the implementation of the Blades Of Chaos into its combat. God of War Ragnarök, thankfully, has enjoyable combat that allows the player to switch between the new and old, including certain moments in combat later on that further "feel" like those classic entries, which I was quite impressed by. There are some other things in the overall game design, such as the new hub area that truly opens each of the 9 realms up while off the main path, although I'm trying to avoid spoiling certain setpieces as much as possible in this review.
What I wasn't impressed by was the "bulk" added to the game's RPG systems. There's just way too much; too many craftables, too many uses for experience points, too much at play here while in combat. What starts off with teaching you something like elemental weaknesses of enemies eventually evolves into "dodge, shield bash, switch weapons, use a cooldown, OH and don't forget you can press square to have your companion shoot an arrow". I can understand the ability to allow players to customize their experience, especially when tackling higher difficulties, but I still don't fully grasp why I'm having to remember to dodge an enemy from behind me while trying to break the shield of the one in front. Honestly, the only moments where I felt this complexity was implemented in an engaging way were during boss sequences, which were thankfully plenty of. One such boss would have you attacking glowing targets in order to stun the enemy, while another would require you to set traps on the ground for your enemy to walk over. I'd much rather have to think and strategize in combat while taking on a big baddie, not while I'm trying to grind for resources. Overall, I just think it doesn't feel too good to play, mainly due to Kratos's tank-like nature. With all of the complexity, down to some of the interaction bugs I faced during dialogue scripts, I sometimes forget that I have to double-tap the dodge button to roll at times.
Puzzles. Why are there so many?!
Look, I like some good puzzles. God of War Ragnarök does a good job teaching players how each weapon combination acts upon certain objects, whether it be burning vines or freezing geysers. But for a story where our heroes are on a race against time, most of which are literal demigods, why do most of these main quests consist of "fight, puzzle, climb, and repeat"? Why am I having to re-route all of these damn canals just to reach the next part of the story? I even tried my hand at a few side quests and they were just as generic, if not slightly more twisted. Aside from the boss encounters that I mentioned earlier, it all lacks variety and ultimately makes each of these sections boring as hell, ruining the pacing of an overall-engaging story. The games in the Greek saga had more puzzle variety than in the 25 hours I spent mainlining this one. (Your studio is literally buddy-buddy with Naughty Dog, and the Uncharted games had more fun traversal environments than this, even without weapons!) This imbalance between engaging moments and soul-less puzzles, one that somewhat creates dissonance in the plot itself, is one of the most disappointing parts of this package for me because of how cool the world of Midgard and the 9 realms can be sometimes.
God of War Ragnarök is a very good game, no doubt. It brings the quality of Sony's first-party outings of third-person action-adventure games to its presentation highs and thrilling setpieces. If you enjoy this kind of "popcorn" video game that offers tons of collectibles and content, then gods bless. I'm not here to stop you from enjoying your thing.
But if you're like me, someone who's been dedicated to the PlayStation platform for generations, someone who loves to see variety in their action-adventure games, and someone who prefers a cinematic story that's actually intriguing or perhaps thought-provoking, then this is no better than the likes of Horizon Forbidden West or even Ghost Of Tsushima. It is quite the epitome of "don't fix what's not broken" or "quantity over quality", one that I'm sure fans will debate in the future whether or not it's superior to its predecessor. Most will say that this slow drag of a journey is the best part of God of War Ragnarök, while I say the intrigue of the destination and how it all comes to a close is way more interesting. There's so much here I love and hate, which is frustrating for me personally as a fan of both the genre and story finales. Maybe it's the limitations of this being a cross-gen game, or maybe it's because I was expecting way more from a game named after a mythological cataclysm. But based on the way the Norse saga wraps up here, I really hope they just give Kratos a decent break.