A Sequel of Myth and Legend

My experience with God of War: Ragnarok

Before reading this review, it should be noted that this game is rated M for mature. Although video games can often be enjoyed by younger players, this particular title contains certain elements that are not appropriate for children. I will try and keep this review as clean and family friendly as possible, since I want content on this blog to be enjoyed by everyone. Always check a game's rating before allowing children to play.

God of War: Ragnarök was already in the planning stages when the first God of War reboot was released in 2018. With the amount of critical acclaim that the first game received, fans were clearly hungry for a sequel. In September of 2020, the first reveal trailer for God of War: Ragnarök was presented with an initial release year of 2021. At some point after the initial reveal, the development team made an announcement that the game was being delayed until late 2022. While some consumers were upset by the delay, most saw it as a chance for the development team to really give the game a final polish. The game was officially released in November of last year.

This next paragraph will contain a minor spoiler for God of War. Although this is a detail mentioned in the previous game, it should not affect your overall ability to enjoy the story.

Set three years after the events of the last game, Kratos and his son Atreus are faced with the impending arrival of Ragnarök, the Norse equivalent of the end times. Atreus is also coming to terms with his identity as Loki and how that impacts his destiny. With Odin scheming to destroy them, the pair must do everything in their power to prevent the end of life as they know it.

I mentioned in my God of War review that I was very impressed with the storytelling and that the writing team had clearly worked hard to explore the characters and their relationships. This game built upon the previous foundation to deliver a story that was emotional and powerful in a way that often left me speechless. There were times I had to stop playing just to process particular story beats.

Kratos reflects on the choices that he has made in life.

Kratos is no longer struggling to connect with Atreus, but now has to handle letting him go and trusting him to make his own decisions. Kratos must also grapple with his past and step into a role he thought he’d left behind. It took me around 30 hours to finish the main story, and although I enjoyed the narrative, I do feel that some missions were dragged out just a little too long.

The gameplay mechanics are similar to the previous title, with a couple of extra surprises that I won’t spoil here. The Leviathan Axe(a.k.a the violent boomerang) makes a return, along with the Blades of Chaos, Kratos’ weapons from the original trilogy. Combat is relatively smooth, although there is a slight learning curve. Enemies have a tendency to change tactics forcing you to strategize and think on your feet. By the final mission, I felt confident in the combat mechanics and had started to experiment with different attacks and weapon combos. Although the game was released for both PS4 and PS5, the developers really took the time to utilize all of the unique features of the PS5, especially haptic feedback.

The biggest change is the fact that Kratos isn’t the only playable character. In certain scenarios, the player is given control of Atreus, allowing for more hand-to-hand combat and archery. This also helped develop his character far beyond the 2018 reboot. And just like the last installment, Atreus can hold his own in a fight. This clip below shows a brief snippet of Atreus' fighting style.

As a gamer with a disability, accessibility is often a concern when I start a new game. I am absolutely thrilled to report that this game has the most accessibility options I have ever seen in a single title. There were options for motor accessibility, vision accessibility, and hearing accessibility. It’s very clear that Santa Monica Studios wanted as many people as possible to have fun without worrying about physical limitations. It even won an award for Innovation in Accessibility at The Game Awards in 2022.

The features shown here are only a handful of the tools players have at their disposal.

As far as the future of the series, it is unclear where the developers decide to go from here. There were particular elements that hinted at a possible spinoff, or maybe an additional continuation. However, this game felt like a fitting end to the God of War saga if they chose to stop it here. Then again, no one ever expected Kratos to return in the first place.

God of War: Ragnarök is easily one of my favorite games that I’ve played this year. The emotional narrative, and the entertaining gameplay create a perfect storm for a game that sticks in your head long after the credits roll.

This post was written by Vanessa Hart, creator of Deep Dive Gaming