We are back with another game review and this time, it's the return of Kratos and Atreus for the much-anticipated AAA game - God of War Ragnarok. As a sequel to the popular God of War 2018, many fans have been clamouring to know what happens next in the father and son's epic journey across Midgard and the nine realms.
For disclosure, I have never played a single God of War game series until this one since I only had a PS1 before (and the first one came on the PS2). So this game is reviewed with a fresh pair of eyes and yes I know, it's weird to read a review by someone playing God of War for the first time. But trust me, I thoroughly enjoyed it, mmkay?
"But Abel, how are you gonna review a game that you've never played before?" you might ask. Well, good thing that I do have some prior knowledge of God of War (2018) thanks to the countless "BOI" memes online as well as catching up on EVERY God Kratos Kills in God of War (ft. @The Completionist). Also, it was a good thing that Santa Monica Studio included a story recap before you start the game. At least that lets me know who are the important characters.
Good to have a recap since it's been 5 years
The first 9 minutes of the game (no spoilers)
Based on the character dialogues, the places that you have been in the previous games are the same but with many changes. To kick off the game, Fimbulwinter has already taken place in Midgard and it plays an important role in Norse mythology, as it foreshadows the events of Ragnarok. If you have some knowledge of that stuff, you should have some idea of what and who to expect.
I played God of War Ragnarok on the PS5 so it goes without saying that the graphics are just top-notch. Every attention to detail such as the textures and facial expressions is delivered superbly, which even impressed my wife on how a modern AAA game looks like. The lighting dynamic, the actions, the mythical monsters, heck, I bet you could even count the number of hairs on Kratos' beard if you wanted to.
Thankfully, not every realm is experiencing Fimbulwinter
Every map is vast
Excellent dynamic between the light and shadows
There is plenty to explore in the 9 realms
The lighting reflection mimics very closely how your eyes would see in real-life
Occasionally, there are some nice quiet moments after a string of battles
Another Norse mythology tale brought to life in a game
Behind the scenes of designing the creatures and characters
Not every place is covered by Fimbulwinter ice and it still isn't as open-world as the previous title. But the realms are now a whole lot bigger for you to explore. This is great if you like exploring, although there are some places that you can't access yet, you can always come back to them later on. Speaking of bigger, there are also more options when compared with the predecessor, as Kratos has more Rage modes, as well as Shield forms, Atreus' skill tree is expanded, and there are lots of choices for runes, relics, and armour sets for nearly all your playstyle preferences.
In terms of gameplay mechanics, I really have to give credit to the Santa Monica Studio for thinking out of the box on the challenging battles and puzzles. Even in normal mode (Give Me Balance), I had a hard time defeating many mini and main bosses but this could be because I'm not used to it. I got the hang of it towards the end of the game, though, and I think you would too. Granted, it's a hack-and-slash game but it still requires some strategy to beat a certain enemy. Eventually, you will find a playstyle that you like thanks to the number of weapons and armour sets' stat choices given to you.
A lot of reading to do if you're looking for a good armour set
Equipping your weapons
Skill trees
You can check out how the combat mechanics work here
As for the puzzles, there are a couple of them that literally took me half an hour. Sometimes, I would feel dumb but turns out that I just need to look around hard enough. If you find that too troublesome, you can actually access the accessibility mode and adjust some settings to make the hints pop out. For example, turning the environment white and the hints to bright red saves time.
Besides the main campaign, you can also get sidetracked by "Favours" (side missions) along the story. When I was on a mission in Svartalheim, I couldn't help myself exploring a huge lake nearby just to see what else there was before proceeding. Needless to say, I spent a lot of time hunting for accessible treasures and coming back later to unlock more valuable items. You can certainly take your sweet time doing these long before the finale.
For example, you can set the necessary things to be highlighted to progress more easier
It's good that they integrated accessibility so everyone can play
Of course, the main highlight is none other than the story. As a single-player story-driven game, I didn't expect how heartfelt it would be at the end. I did have some ideas about the father and son (Kratos and Atreus) relationship, but it goes quite deep and taps into their emotions for a very relatable game. This is very much so for Atreus who has grown up from a child to an annoying and naive teenager.
I think many players would get annoyed by Atreus' behaviour throughout the game. Without spoiling too much, he made many questionable decisions and followed his feelings just a bit too much due to the prophecy that was foretold at the end of the previous game. And because of his impulsive actions, Kratos had to deal with him strictly, the Kratos way.
How do you top the story from God of War 2018?
Kratos and Atreus' relationship becomes more complicated but rewards the players with a heartfelt ending (warning: it may even make you cry)
Much like the real world, I believe everyone can relate to the dynamic contrasting relationship between Kratos and Atreus. The game not only explores their bonding as well as other complex emotions dealing with grief, loss, trust, and perhaps most importantly - acceptance. Even for a stoic character like Kratos, he too showed his vulnerability despite being a grown hardened killing machine in some scenes.
There is a quote by Kratos that really struck me, I'm just paraphrasing here but it goes: "When an animal is wounded, it must stop running or it would bleed too much and die." So likewise, when we run away from our problems, we carry that burden in our hearts unknowingly that it's bleeding. Besides that, other supporting characters (including Thor) have a role to play and are developed quite well.
30% done, just 70% more to go!
At this time of posting, there are already 5.1 million God of War Ragnarok copies sold since its debut on 9 November 2022 and it's the fastest-selling first-party launch ever on the PS5. As you can tell, I really love the game and it's easily one of the best games on the PS5 (and PS4) to get. It has everything that a modern single-player video game needs - god-tier visuals, great character developments, a heartfelt story, exceptional background music, epic and challenging battles, tough puzzles, gameplay mechanics expanded, and much bigger maps for you to explore.
This review may seem a bit short but I don't want to reveal too much and you should experience the game by yourself. I finished the story in 36 hours but there are still a ton of side quests, collectables and other mini-boss fights to do. For RM299, I think the replayability of the game makes it well worth your time and money spent. Anyway, God of War Ragnarok is truly game-of-the-year material! Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna complete it 100% to show my love and appreciation.
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