Making a beloved game is hard. Following up a beloved game is even harder. And when doing so there's usually two paths for devs to take; Path A (The correct one) You fucking send it. Just go for something bold and either stand out from the rest, surpass the original, or die trying. Then there's path B, where you play it safe. And unfortunately, Ragnarok takes path B and is a pretty safe sequel. Now that's not to suggest the game is bad (A retread of the first game is still a good game) or that it doesn't improve upon the original at all (the already excellent combat system has been expanded, and the increase to boss variety is a very welcome change) But the structure, level design and exploration function the same as they did in 2018. Only this time it's been deemed illegal for players to solve puzzles on their own, as your companions will make sure to give you every solution before you even realize there's a puzzle in the room. But that stuff's just small potatoes, my biggest problem with Ragnarok is undoubtedly the writing.
The easiest way to describe the writing in this game is to say that it's uneven. Because while it has some really good moments, it's littered with constant diarrhea-of-the-mouth from NPCs, as well as plenty of major plot points/sub plots that are shockingly underwritten.
Starting with the side characters, they refuse to ever shut the fuck up at any point during the game, always reminding you about every basic mechanic, or beating you over the head repeating the same tHeMaTiC dialogue bits, just in case their stance on an issue wasn't clear the 10th time they repeated it. There is also an issue with occasional out of place dialogue that either doesn't make sense, or is something that's just objectively incorrect. Both of which would have been solved if the character simply didnt fucking talk 24/7.
Then on the underwritten side of things, there are multiple moments where the game just brushes past something without anybody stopping to question the logic of the situation. And considering that some of that logic falls apart under the slightest bit of scrutiny, it feels like either the writers simply missed it, or they knew it doesn't make sense and were just hoping you didn't notice. And while the big picture story they want to tell is mostly really good, the focus on flimsy MacGuffins and the inclusion of tons of new characters weakens the impact of most big moments, and makes things messy towards the end. Because when you spend so much time developing 5 different sub-plots, its not only hard to make them all interesting, but it puts pressure on the writers to find a way to tie up all the loose ends before the game is over. And as a result, the finale feels a bit more like housekeeping to make sure everything is accounted for, instead of being the bold, triumphant capstone to this saga that I was hoping it would be... Maybe thats a bit harsh, as I still liked parts of the ending, and the thematic stuff they did with Kratos and Atreus was good. I just wish it was less messy and did a better job at earning the thematic stuff throughout the rest of the game. Admittedly though, it's hard to fully articulate my thoughts since Im trying to keep this spoiler free, so I'll just say that it felt a bit weird to me that the game dealing with "the end of days" concludes with less of a bang than the one about being a decent father.
And while I could go on about the other small issues I had with the game (Sloppy menu UI, completely botched muspelheim trial system, nonsensical health system that hasn't been fixed from 2018, that fucking train-car bit that should be banished into the depths of video game hell for wasting 2 minutes of my life) I'll end it here by saying that God of War: Ragnarok is a good game. It has satisfying combat, great voice performances, and is definitely one of the better games to come out in 2022. It's just that it also plays it pretty safe, and is unfortunately riddled with bursts of shoddy writing, and occasional lapses in rational game design logic.
EDIT: After going back over the narrative stuff and thinking about it more, I like it less. So many major plot points are really dumb or dont make any type of sense, and the sheer amount of MacGuffins in this is staggering. Still a fun game, but a farcry from 2018 from a writing perspective.
The easiest way to describe the writing in this game is to say that it's uneven. Because while it has some really good moments, it's littered with constant diarrhea-of-the-mouth from NPCs, as well as plenty of major plot points/sub plots that are shockingly underwritten.
Starting with the side characters, they refuse to ever shut the fuck up at any point during the game, always reminding you about every basic mechanic, or beating you over the head repeating the same tHeMaTiC dialogue bits, just in case their stance on an issue wasn't clear the 10th time they repeated it. There is also an issue with occasional out of place dialogue that either doesn't make sense, or is something that's just objectively incorrect. Both of which would have been solved if the character simply didnt fucking talk 24/7.
Then on the underwritten side of things, there are multiple moments where the game just brushes past something without anybody stopping to question the logic of the situation. And considering that some of that logic falls apart under the slightest bit of scrutiny, it feels like either the writers simply missed it, or they knew it doesn't make sense and were just hoping you didn't notice. And while the big picture story they want to tell is mostly really good, the focus on flimsy MacGuffins and the inclusion of tons of new characters weakens the impact of most big moments, and makes things messy towards the end. Because when you spend so much time developing 5 different sub-plots, its not only hard to make them all interesting, but it puts pressure on the writers to find a way to tie up all the loose ends before the game is over. And as a result, the finale feels a bit more like housekeeping to make sure everything is accounted for, instead of being the bold, triumphant capstone to this saga that I was hoping it would be... Maybe thats a bit harsh, as I still liked parts of the ending, and the thematic stuff they did with Kratos and Atreus was good. I just wish it was less messy and did a better job at earning the thematic stuff throughout the rest of the game. Admittedly though, it's hard to fully articulate my thoughts since Im trying to keep this spoiler free, so I'll just say that it felt a bit weird to me that the game dealing with "the end of days" concludes with less of a bang than the one about being a decent father.
And while I could go on about the other small issues I had with the game (Sloppy menu UI, completely botched muspelheim trial system, nonsensical health system that hasn't been fixed from 2018, that fucking train-car bit that should be banished into the depths of video game hell for wasting 2 minutes of my life) I'll end it here by saying that God of War: Ragnarok is a good game. It has satisfying combat, great voice performances, and is definitely one of the better games to come out in 2022. It's just that it also plays it pretty safe, and is unfortunately riddled with bursts of shoddy writing, and occasional lapses in rational game design logic.
EDIT: After going back over the narrative stuff and thinking about it more, I like it less. So many major plot points are really dumb or dont make any type of sense, and the sheer amount of MacGuffins in this is staggering. Still a fun game, but a farcry from 2018 from a writing perspective.