God of War Ragnarök Review
*In my previous reviews I'd often intertwine relatively minor spoilers with my overall thoughts but not only is this a recent release that was one of the biggest titles of the year, but some of my thoughts will correspond best with the heaviest of spoilers so I'll be splitting each section into two, the spoiler-free side and the spoiler-heavy side.
Played on PlayStation 5
Developed by Santa Monica Studio
Released 9th November 2022
Oh boy, here we go. Having played all the previous God of War games and having reviewed the original trilogy (I will replay and review God of War 2018 one day), this game worried me because of how much competition it had with itself. It had to not only top its Game of the Year-winning predecessor, and outdo God of War III's end to a godly pantheon, but it also had to prove to players that a story and idea as ambitious as Ragnarok (the prophesied end of the world of gods and humans) could be completed within this game instead of splitting off into a trilogy while maintaining the growth of Kratos as a father and guilt-ridden warrior without sacrificing any of the action and intensity that the series is known for. This game was never going to reach past these impossible goals but it did come pretty damn close. Its development was also relatively a bumpy ride, being one of the many games affected by the Covid-19 pandemic among other things: Christopher Judge's health complications, countless waves of backlash for trivial things like the character Angrboda being revealed as black or the game being delayed numerous times, and the fanbase's growing concern for the PS4's hardware holding back the potential of the game. Despite all this, it was released in an impeccable state, under the creative vision of the Game Director Eric Williams and the help of Cory Barlog (GOW 2018's Game Director) as a producer and Creative Director.
Story
The story of God of War Ragnarok is spectacular. The level of quality that is presented in this 25-hour narrative is incomparable when it's put beside many games this year or any other year. It's engaging throughout, its impactful moments (mostly) don't miss and it's very deserving of the Best Narrative Award at the Game Awards this year. However, when compared to its Big Brother released in 2018, it's quite a considerable drop. Its shortcomings are mostly due to how 2018 had the benefit of being a much simpler story that was told in a nicely airtight, self-contained manner whose monumental moments weren't the priority but still hit beyond the stratosphere. Additionally, the expectations were much lower for it considering the greater emphasis on gameplay rather than story during its Greek journey.
That is very much the opposite case for Ragnarok. The game quite simply promises too much to contain in one package, with its ambition being the focus - creating more reoccurring yet less effective sections. Furthermore, though it feels unfair, there is an overwhelming legacy presented by 2018's release and I might have an unpopular opinion with this but I believe the Norse tale would function better as a trilogy with a 3-year wait for another God of War game to conclude the saga - a risky path that the lead developers were adamant on avoiding.
Despite all of this, it's a beautiful game. The thematic importance of parenthood is carried on from 4-years ago and further amplified. Each interaction you see between a parent and their child is packed with emotion and significance that you cannot ignore, overshadowing the concept of fate that the trailers hinted towards. It also has to be said that this game might have perfect writing, or at the very least, perfect, internal character development. The fact that I'm more relieved that Kratos learned from his past mistakes that haunt him than disappointed that he didn't snap back to his old antics speaks volumes - if you want to see him rip and tear, play the original trilogy.
Without slipping too much into spoiler territory, the pacing is not the smoothest and it's quite obvious when looking back at the story. This is mostly due to how both Williams and Barlog had to convince the team that they would be doing Ragnarok as one game, and Williams has said that they had to make adjustments for the narrative that was already pre-written to be a trilogy.
Story (Spoilers)
Now for the spoiler side of the story: there are so many missed opportunities that they could've done to retain the same level of action without sacrificing the morality or growth of all the characters. To double back on the pacing issue that I found, a majority of it is towards the end, with a fraction of the problem occurring in the beginning.
The start of the game is a nicely slow-paced reimmersing into the Nordic struggle Kratos has previously found himself in. It partially fumbles about by strongly establishing the ultimate goal and end of the game but struggles to find a path that'll lead to it; until it does. The highlights of the intro would have to be Atreus' hint at fulfilling his Loki role by transforming into a bear and talking with Odin or the initial interaction between the Norse juggernauts and Kratos.
The sections between the start and end are perfectly paced as they hinge on this climactic build-up to the final duel with Asgard. The sudden, yet loveable switch to play as Atreus in Jotunheim or Asgard, the Kratos vs. Heimdall battle, the Atreus and Thor/Thrud moments, and returning to an alliance with Freya are possibly my favourite moments for the middle of the narrative. They all deliver action and emotion while progressing the story at a solid rate.
The final act, unfortunately, is semi-lacklustre. It feels like there were so many missed opportunities that they could've done to heighten the adrenaline, especially whilst invading Asgard. Firstly, Thor's death felt lazy and a quick way to discard a character who despite being fantastically written, was used as a lousy shock that ended with minimal effect.
Secondly, Odin's conclusion could've been better. It's great that Sindri was able to "eliminate" him as revenge for Brok's death and the tag-team battle against him with Freya, Atreus and Kratos was awesome, however, the confrontation went on for too long before finishing abruptly. I'm not sure what it is but it felt like it needed one last element to deliver a satisfying impact.
Third and lastly, Asgard was underwhelming. All that the level-before-the-finale was, was a couple of small arenas filled with regular enemies, surrounded by a nice background. There was no crazy interaction between Thor's and Jormangundr's battle, landscape change or environmental transition that could've benefitted the moment. Especially since you also have the world-ending Sutr roaming about. All that happens is that 4 or so realm gates break, preventing reinforcements, and well, that's it. It felt like the final area was partially rushed to accommodate for the small amount of budget and time they had left before a deadline. Hell, the game could've had an awesome fight against Sutr but instead, it used a cheap getaway from the realm with Atreus saving Kratos, despite it having no emotional impact that raised the stakes.
Gameplay
The gameplay is amazing. Some will be slightly disappointed in the fact that it mirrors 2018's hack'n'slash formula too much, however, it should be said that they're not the same - Ragnarok's gameplay is superior; it feels like a more advanced and polished combat system of its predecessor, with the series' best thought-out puzzles to date. The combat is much more perfected and demands as much skill as it provides enjoyment.
This time around, in addition to the already ridiculously fun combat, there are some new features that elevated the quality tremendously. As you're steamrolling through your enemies, you'll be able to be a part of a more interactive battlefield where you can fling boulders with your Blades of Chaos, command Atreus to shoot down pillars and further disrupt foes, freeze poison totems with your Leviathan Axe, can grapple towards ledges mid-fight or slam down for an explosive entrance and more. The only complaint I had with this is that I wish there was more of it as it really helped diversify combat.
One of the criticisms that Santa Monica made sure to rework from 2018 is the problem of repetition. Finally, there is now a greater variety of brutal finishers and more enemy variants to utilise the newfound executions against. While this was a much-needed improvement, I don't think there was enough of it applied to the more elite enemies who'd occasionally pop up as minibosses since their reoccurring appearances were fun to combat, but watching the same extended finisher multiple times bordered the line of repetitivity, especially in this obviously grander and more ambitious open world. Fortunately, this inevitable repeat of animations is significantly slowed down by the larger variety of enemies, inadvertently granting a nice depth to the combat, beyond its combos and upgrades, and these upgrades are immaculate.
The skill tree offers so much more customisation with your playstyles, allowing you to upgrade specific skills with tokens if the unlocked ability has been used multiple times. These tokens are minimalistic, ranging from a slight damage increase to a major frost/burn effect. Coupled with the vast amount of equipment that provides abilities like a Realm Shift or Health Regen, a spectacular and expansive amount of runic attacks and more, there really is an in-depth customisation system akin to the most hardcore RPGs out there.
The problems I ended up having with the gameplay were nothing but nitpicks. The only genuine issue that might upset others is how there were so many "shuffling on a ledge" or "crawling through an underpass" moments that at first seem like the transitions to give the PS4 hardware time to load in the areas while retaining the one-shot camera perspective. However, according to the developers, the PS4 doesn't bottleneck the PS5 experience; meaning that these mirages of a loading time are nothing but a waste of time. If it wasn't for the fact that the rest of the game is marvellous, these minor sections would be headache-inducing.
Gameplay(Spoilers)
Onto the spoiler talk, there isn't much for me to add except for a couple of things. The new weapon is brilliant. The Draupnir Spear is as fun to use as it is helpful. The spear working as a perfect long-range engager was able to prove that it gives value to every fight, especially considering the cutthroat nature of the Blades of Chaos and Leviathan Axe that players have relied upon in their total time in the 9 Realms. The only thing I wish they would change about the weapon is the 'Wind' element that it's attached to. While the Blades can ignite enemies and the Axe can freeze them, the Spear's wind doesn't do much and I wish it could've provided another exciting status effect, however, the charged R2 attack where you siphon the enemy's element was enough to make me ignore the issue at hand.
Another great thing that I really liked was the fact that we played as Atreus. The swifter, more sly and more stun-focused combat that took place with him was entertaining and the correct breather from Kratos' brutality. In addition to this, his moments acted as a great catalyst for the story events that started to lose traction. I'm glad Santa Monica went into a Last of Us route with switching characters (retaining the core gameplay with a nice, lowered-down twist) rather than a Marvel's Spider-Man route where for some reason they thought players didn't want to play as the main, badass character. Lastly, a neat addition was the fact that Freya acted as a new upgradeable companion, being unique enough to feel fresh from the 100 hours of playtime we would've had with Atreus, but not diversifying so much that you begin to miss using him.
Bossfights
Without giving out spoilers, the bossfights are made up of unforgettable moments that populated a majority of this game's peaks. However, except for a couple of fights, each boss felt like they had something special missing from them. This would range from a greater battle impact to a conclusive finish to the fight. On the other hand, the optional bosses in this game were genuinely incredible. Despite the game being around 50 hours to Platinum, repetition of these foes was never a flaw that I even considered, which is a grand upgrade from 2018's Troll farming simulator style of optional bosses. The only issue I had with them was the limited finishers available for each one. While defeating a Hateful or a Berserker is gratifying, the fact that all I get for my struggles is the same execution I've seen before, partially undermines the effort I put into the fight.
Bossfights (Spoilers)
Starting with the first fight, Bjorn the Bear was genuinely a great start to the game and very reminiscent of the first Troll fight of 2018. The difference between the two, however, is that I think Ragnarok had a better first fight due to the narrative impact of Atreus being the bear. It really played the strings around my heart well as I started making connections between Loki's well-known shapeshifting abilities and pondered if this was a foreshadowing of an inevitable fight between Kratos and Atreus, hinted at the end of 2018 with the mural of predictions we saw in Jotunheim. Nonetheless, the first fight was great.
The second fight is a contender for the best boss battle in the game. The initial start-up cinematic of Thor flying you through Tyr's statue, the 4th wall break as Thor resurrects you, the gorgeous arena after their infamous weaponry collides, the taunting from Thor about Kratos' past, the progressively increasing ferocity in Thor's lightning and attacks, the soundtrack - and this is all without mentioning the actual combat taking place. The point is, that the fight was fantastic and one of the best ways to introduce the player to the potential wrath of Asgard and, more specifically, its strongest god.
The next fight, and the first when playing as Atreus, is Gryla. Contrary to some others' opinions, I really enjoyed this fight as it demonstrated that Atreus isn't a one-man-army warrior like his father, but instead nimble and clever. The fact that this fight showcases this incredibly well, by making you mostly avoid Gryla's strikes and wait for the perfect time to stun and punish her obvious telegraphed attacks, is an incredible testament to the character and his development. The tone of the fight felt a bit goofy as if I was playing a Disney-property bootleg of God of War, with most of the problems stemming from the dialogue to the lore and design of the boss.
The next duel that took place was Vanadis, AKA, Freya. The reveal wasn't that shocking and the fight did feel premature but it was well-executed. The timings, the telegraphing, and the variety of attacks, all felt fair but challenging if played on higher difficulties. Though this shouldn't be a surprise given how much this battle mirrors the terror that the Valkyries instilled in the players back in 2018.
The next, proper boss fight was Nidhogg. Before I ramble about my gripe with the fight, I have to praise the soundtrack and art design because, once again, they're phenomenal. Now, I don't think this new format of God of War games (a brawler hack'n'slash) works effectively with larger enemies and bosses, especially if they are a part of the arena. I felt like most of the fight was just me throwing my axe, trying to get a combo in before failing and dodging wide areas of attack. It possibly was my least favourite fight of the game given how it felt more like a chore than anything else, however, that simply is my preference with this style of combat so the quality of the boss may readjust from person to person.
Garm was the next boss on Kratos' and Atreus' journey and this time 'the large creature vs. small player' formula was unfortunately used again, however, this time it functioned significantly better (for the first phase at least). This is due to how Garm was an actual entity within the arena rather than an interactable wall. The fact that he was willing to get so close to the player really benefitted the game's mechanics despite the hitboxes feeling inconsistent at times. For his second phase, he does the exact thing I didn't like with the Nidhogg fight but this time around, the attacks felt fairer as they were more concentrated in their size and the fight didn't go on for too long.
The next and possibly my favourite fight of the game is Heimdall. Not because the first phase was ingenious with being a battle-timed puzzle, not because the cutscene leading up to the second phase was badass as fuck, not because the second and third phases are smooth with their timings, telegraphings and gradual progression of the characters, no, it's because of the emotionally powerful ending to the fight. Seeing Kratos horrified at his own relapse into violence was heartbreaking and shocking and just done incredibly well. To be honest, I'd go as far as saying that the scene is one of the best moments in gaming of the 2020s so far. I honestly felt proud and joyous to see our beloved Dad of War try to better themself, regardless of how much it blue balled the God of War fanatic within me. The only flaw I could point out with the fight is how the Draupnir Spear you acquire specifically for this fight isn't a permanent solution to combatting Heimdall, but that's a nitpick that is easily ignorable.
The second to last unique boss of the game is a duo fight against Hrist and Mist and I genuinely don't have much to say about this fight other than it has a spectacularly beautiful arena with the most mediocre bosses thus far, as they act more as scrapped Valkyries from 2018 than anything else - though the tag team between Atreus and Kratos is epic.
The penultimate fight of the game is not what I would've wished for when pitting Thor and Kratos against each other one last time, both of them with the rage and intent to kill the other. The fight feels very copied and pasted from before with no environmental changes unlike before, despite it being the most monumental clash in the Norse world so far. The first brawl simply was more effective in being bombastic while the second duel tries to catch up with itself and further cement the idea that the final chapter of the game lacked the budget or time the development team needed.
Finally, the boss to conclude the ambitious and immense Norse world of gods, is Odin, the Allfather. To be honest, I found him to be quite disappointing. You spent the last 20 to 30 hours building the legacy of one of the cruellest and most menacing leaders of a pantheon, a god of wisdom and magic, to not only have an extremely limited arena which the previous Thor fight suffered from as well but also have no grandiose flair to him. Instead, this is the most videogame-y a boss has been, utilising all the gimmicks we've seen thus far with barely any new tricks in sight, and the overall build-up you endured is deprived of narrative significance when the curtains start to close. While everything up to this point in the review (except for the story section) has been nothing but nitpicks, this fight genuinely feels like one of the few flaws that I've encountered.
Overall, for all the bosses throughout, there is consistency when it comes to quality - amazing combat encounters with an even greater presentation. However, back to nitpicks, I personally feel that there is a lack of challenge from the Norse Pantheon, from a story perspective, and that is one of the biggest missed opportunities. Even if they were minor battles like Thrud fighting Atreus for feeling betrayed, it would still work, if not better the dynamic between the characters. I also would've loved to see an out-of-control Sutr/Ragnarok fight to maybe one up Kratos' experience with Cronos, though it would've probably also undermined the importance of Heimdall's death if done incorrectly.
Characters
The characters are so incredibly written. If it wasn't for this immaculate writing and development of relations and characters, the story would not be anywhere near as engaging as it is right now. From 2018 to Ragnarok, a couple of things have been improved while some have lost their initial qualities, however, the characters remain in this fantastic 10/10 state. Kratos being much more comfortable in the arms of his allies reflects in how he now fights as someone with too much to lose and Christopher Judge once again nails his role as the Ghost of Sparta. Atreus' growth and maturity are wonderful as you see him understand the consequences of his actions while having the youthful hope and arrogance within him, neither being too clouding of his character and Sunny Suljic brings another excellent performance, making me hyped for his next game-related appearance. Odin is possibly my favourite performance as his manipulative lies have this deceiving comfortability and Richard Schiff provides the best of this aura during his performance. Thor, well it's Thor, he's badass. Simple. Compared to the first game, there is a much broader roster of faces that you'll have to get used to, and the way they're introduced, balanced out by the further growth in character by the returning cast, is done in such a manner that betters the experience rather than dampening or dragging it down.
Characters (Spoilers)
I don't have much to cover for the spoiler side of characters other than two things: Sindri and the paternal relationships. Sindri having this overarching development from a peaceful, worrisome dwarf with a gentle spirit to a hateful, anger-ridden victim of family loss was so damn effective. Seeing his life slowly torn bit by bit makes you feel sorry for him and makes you question whether Atreus' actions were warranted to go that far if they destroyed someone's life like that - questioning a protagonist's morality is often evidence of a game's incredible writing. The interaction between Odin and Thor, Thor and Thrud, Kratos and Atreus, Atreus and Odin, and Freya and the void within her from when Baldur died, are all the dynamics you see from the narrative about parenthood and the numerous forms it takes, and it shows how diverse Santa Monica can be in exploring characters and their backgrounds. Seeing Thor struggle between the alcoholic depression Odin brought into him and trying to care for Thrud is astounding from a writer's perspective and makes me slightly annoyed that his character wasn't utilised more through to the end.
I've briefly mentioned the quality of the presentation in the bossfights section but now it's time for me to dive into the deep end of it. The atmosphere is phenomenal. No like seriously, it's godly. This game's visuals are so good that I'm having to re-use synonyms that I used in the review already. The wide range of environments that you'll get to explore, each with its beauty and astonishing level of detail is incredible. From Alfheim's delightful deserts and Vanaheim's vibrant, lush jungles and lively, populated nature to Midgard's frozen tempest; 6 more realms contain this same level of top-grade sights to behold. When looking from afar, or down to the smallest pixel, you'll see an A-star effort put in by the developers to make this world look as gorgeous and immersive as possible. There is this one game critic who said something along the lines of "There is more beauty in God of War's doors than there is in entire video games" - and that is not any better expressed than in Ragnarok. If you're worried that you'll miss out on this optical wonder because you're playing on a PS4, then don't fret as one of the developers, Velazquez has stated that there were no compromises for the PS4 version and that the game would essentially be the same experience on both consoles.
The audible presentation is as great if not better than the visuals. The soundtrack is beautiful, from the deep yet harmonic vocals to the intense hymn-like orchestra, I felt like I was on my path to ascension while listening to this work of art. Every track brings out the absolute best of every moment and heightens the impact further than its promised effect. They range from making you feel like you can storm into an army single-handedly to having you soak in all the emotions that Kratos has felt throughout his whole journey, especially in the final scene. The swinging of your weapons, the frost you can build up, the reverberations from the Sonic arrow, the roars of beasts, and the collapsing of rubble or nature, are all magnificent in terms of their sound design and this applies to every element of audio that you come across.
On the technical side, I encountered a total of 3 bugs out of the 50 hours I've spent on this newly released title. The worst offence was Kratos glitching into the ground which appeared for about a nanosecond, while the other two were minor audio issues. These would sound bad for any other game, but the scale and polish that arrives with this title shocked me that I didn't come across more problems.
Story - 8/10
Gameplay - 10/10
Bossfights - 9.5/10
Characters - 10/10
Atmosphere - 10/10
Near Perfect
This game is absolutely magnificent. Despite its overwhelming ambition to conclude a saga, it succeeds in presenting a more polished and advanced experience than its predecessor. Every problem (except for its pacing) was nothing but a nitpick to me that I can overlook instantly. Whether Santa Monica decides to continue the legacy of God of War or not, they have left us, the players, with 2 masterpieces within its final breath.
