God of War: Ragnarok is even more and even better than we imagined, and expectations were very high. When Sony left us the game weeks in advance, things looked good. There are other titles so, let’s say regular, that it seems that if you can test them for two hours before writing, it’s better for them. Others it is a simple matter that the developer is very fair and that two weeks of preview would be full of patches. But no, Santa Monica lets us access their game several weeks in advance, and they knew what they were doing.
We’ve played God of War: Ragnarok for 50 hours and we still have some endgame leftto gobble up, but we hit the credits in about 42 hours, with plenty of secondaries and exploration behind us. However, we can’t tell you much, that there is, out of respect for all those who fear spoilers. So we will limit ourselves to talking about this historic title without going into its many details and surprises. We remind you that only with the trailer we already told you three fundamental things, who is Tyr, the Norse God of war, who is the giant wolf Fenrir and, above all, who is Angrboda, the girl at the end of the trailer.
‘God of War: Ragnarok’: The end of the world is nothing compared to a teenager
The first thing to say is that the game is a direct continuation of God of War , from 2018, the title that started the Nordic saga and that recounted the journey of Kratos and his son Atreus looking for the highest mountain of the 9 kingdoms to scatter the ashes of Faye, the mother of the family. The final revelation of it, as you already know, is that Atreus is Loki, and that Ragnarok will begin with him. Several years later, Kratos and a younger Atreus try to survive the Fimbulvetr, the harsh three-year winter that precedes Ragnarok.
However, the story of Ragnarok goes much further, towards the end of an arc for Kratos that began in the previous game. The journey of Kratos and Atreus was the union of father and son, but also the internal struggle of a Kratos to prove to himself that he had changed. Kratos had put aside killing gods and giant creatures for revenge, now he did it to protect his son and fulfill the wishes of his deceased wife. Ragnarok follows that path, but tests it over and over again until a tear-jerking ending. the story of ragnarokIt is not only that of an apocalypse, it is also that of Kratos fighting with himself. He got away from his murderous character thanks to Faye, and later learned how to do it thanks to Atreus. Now, with Atreus seeking independence, Kratos will have to fight to find himself while balancing care for his son and letting him fly. And it is that if the God of War of 2018 was about Kratos learning to be a father, Ragnarok elevates Atreus to an almost similar role and teaches us, through father and son, how to be simply and simply a person. A surprising path, which moves the saga away from gratuitous violence and gore, but not to a brutality that now makes us reflect and feel.
Along the way, Kratos and Atreus will meet some secondary ones that we don’t want to detail to avoid spoilers, but that we mostly met in the previous installment. Once the presentations have been made, however, Ragnarok manages to develop each and every one with care. Always with the same two great themes that torment its two protagonists, the relationships between parents and children, and the response to past, present and future violence. The plot of Ragnarok , as the hours go by and we walk, this time, through the nine kingdoms, becomes a game of mirrors in which each character, small or large, adds to that great reflection on the violence that is everything the game. Yes, because God of WarIt is a bestial title to tear your enemies to shreds, but if Kratos continues in better shape than ever, it is because Santa Monica has launched to give more meaning to each of those deaths, of those battles that are not only epic but emotional and significant.
‘God of War: Ragnarok’: More and better in everything
We said that God of War: Ragnarok was more and better than the previous installment, and we still think that’s the best way to sum it up. If the previous title changed many things, it laid the foundations of this world, the combat with a companion or the RPG elements of Kratos’ equipment or the collectibles and activities of the world, it seems that RagnarokIt has focused, in addition to giving a push to its story until its outcome, on taking each of its playable elements to its maximum expression. Each of the 9 kingdoms is impressive, and has a unique and particular design. Four of them, in fact, have an open world system filled with hours of exploration. Honestly, we don’t know which one to stay with. We are fascinated by the dwarven mines of Svartalheim, the desert and its elven sky of Alfheim, we lose ourselves in the lush vanir forest of Vanaheim or on the fascinating roads of Jotunheim. The cold of Helheim and Niflheim also have their secrets, although they are more limited. Muspellheim and its fiery challenges also return. We don’t say anything about Asgard, but until now the frozen Midgard and its lake of 9 are back.
If before we complained about few and repetitive enemies, despite the longer duration of the title and its numerous secondaries, RagnarokHe has put all the meat on the spit in terms of enemies. Each kingdom and situation has its own group of enemies, and each group has various links and difficulties. It is noticeable that Santa Monica has placed special emphasis on variety, and not only in forms, but also in strategies. There are fast enemies, heavy enemies, enemies that only attack from a distance and run away, others that protect themselves with guards and shields. There is, of course, a greater emphasis on states. Added to Fire and Ice are poison, electricity or the dangerous bifrost, among others. Kratos’ arsenal increases and has several surprises that we do not want to reveal, but the runic attacks with various companions do return. Spartan Rage can now be used in multiple ways, an object called a relic will give us certain advantages and the defense can be customized and tuned with up to 9 combinable amulets. A brutal, fast, complex and technical combat system that the player perfects without realizing it, and that is that the difficulty curve ofRagnarok is pure silk. For the most demanding, obviously, the optional challenges return. We do not want to reveal anything, but for those who loved the challenge of the Valkyries, more and better awaits, and they have not even had to repeat themselves to achieve it.
But the great novelty of the combat in the previous installment was the figure of Atreus as a companion. As we progressed through the story, the young man went from being a mere lump to a real help. The figure of the companion, which this time changes a lot throughout the adventure (we won’t say more) is now more complex, with different types of arrows with their corresponding effects, and with a variety of really useful runic attacks. And it hurts us not to say more, because we would like to talk at length about what is perhaps the most shocking bet in the game, that Kratos is not the only playable character… We will only tell you that they have done it, and they have done it great .
God of War: Ragnarok also gives more and better in terms of its role-playing game dynamics with certain parts of the open world. However, we have to say that if we talk about it, it is not to compare it with Zelda: Breath of the Wild , but with the rest of Zeldas. The worlds of RagnarokThey are designed to the millimeter and they all work like a great dungeon full of paths, shortcuts and parts that are inaccessible until you obtain a certain power or tool. Advancement and exploration in this world works based on, in addition to battles, hundreds of puzzles that never fall into the dynamics of a boring puzzle, but rather are integrated into the scenario itself and its intricate progress: you have to move cranes , freeze gears, destroy plants and even switch from day to night to advance. A massive dungeon layout that makes every part of the gigantic God of War: Ragnaroksit designed to the millimeter. And no, we are never short of rewards, we have dozens of pieces of equipment, objects to improve health or weapons or simple stories and poems to find. All seasoned by some dialogues, mainly between Mimir and Kratos deliciously spun that will make us stop so as not to interrupt them. They also seem to be infinite, responding to every character or situation encountered before.
And as if this were not enough, we have a surprising amount of post-game content, after the final titles, which shines for its variety. Here are the biggest challenges in terms of enemies in the game, but also the development of any secondary character whose story has not been completely finished. Also, new free exploration areas with their corresponding activities and a particular secondary mission that, well, ends with the only cut to black in a game that once again shows off an eternal sequence shot. We have to see it.
‘God of War: Ragnarok’: The God of the technical
There were many who pointed out with the first advances of this sequel that the title was too similar to its previous installment. When it was announced that the game would be intergenerational and would come out on PS4 as well as on PS5, fears seemed to gain strength. Yes, Ragnarok is not very different from the 2018 installment, but it was not needed either. Those who have enjoyed the PC release of God of War will know that in 2022, the title with which Santa Monica began the Nordic saga is in 2022 a visual and sound ceiling. ragnarokIt starts from there, but improves everything it had and more. The Dualsense command is felt in each weapon and also in each state or recharge that Kratos suffers. However, what shines again in terms of the use of Gadgets is the sound. We ask you more than ever to play with 3D headsets (we have used the Pulse 3D).
However, what must drive us crazy about the technical exhibitionism of God of War: Ragnarokit’s the amount of work that goes into every texture and detail in the game. We are talking about a gigantic title divided into 9 impressive kingdoms with a truly personal and complex artistic design. However, as much as we tell you, it is not possible to get an idea of ​​the detail and the care with which each detail of these shines. Every tile and stone in the dwarven world seems made for close-up. Each animal and vegetation in the Vanir jungle is different, it is personal and an almost insulting waste of imagination and work. This is not to mention, of course, every weapon and outfit of Kratos and company. If we have regretted anything, it is that the game was so hectic and tense that it makes it difficult to stop to observe each wall, each object. Will have to play it again…
Final Fantasy VII, Halo 3, Jack 2, Mass Effect 2, GTA San Andreas, Red Dead Redemption 2, The last of Us, The Witcher 3, Half-life 2, Super Mario Bros., Portal 2, Persona 5 Royal, Shadow of the Colossus, Dark Souls, Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Zelda: Breath of The Wild… The great titles in the history of the medium have a new companion among their ranks. Yes, for many the rest of Kratos’ titles were already there, but in his continuous rise, it is God of War: Ragnarok that writes his name among the myths, neither Nordic nor Greek, of video games.
