There’s a lot of hype surrounding the sequel to the 2018 action adventure, so here’s our pre-review God of War Ragnarok review to give you our thoughts on whether it’ll be good, bad or so so. There’s more available to judge this on than you might think, so here’s everything we have to help you make a call if you’re still on the fence.
Firstly, if you haven’t played God of War then we definitely recommend trying to rage smash through that before you play Ragnarok. It’s one of Sony’s PlayStation Plus Collection, so if you’re subscribed then you can get it now, which would give you enough time to complete the main story before the sequel comes out on the 9th November 2022.
The sequel comes bundled with a story recap for anyone that has forgotten things from 2018, but there’s just no way that it could be enough to bring you up to speed. It’ll also set you up to be able to wield the Leviathan Axe and Blades of Chaos effectively, which you get right out of the bat from Ragnarok.
- Enter our giveaway over on Twitter for a chance to win a copy of God of War Ragnarok to coincide with our pre-review review.
God of War Ragnarok: Initial impressions
AdvertisementThe bad news is that once again spoilers have begun to flood the internet, which is a kick in the teeth for fans of the series hoping to experience the game without knowing exactly how it’s all going to go down. For example, there’s full footage of the Kratos and Thor boss fight that appears to take place relatively early on in the game.
The fight feels very similar conceptually to the early Baldur tussle from 2018, so it’s a bit disappointing from that perspective. Additionally, it looks a little on the basic side, so we’re not massively thrilled about the leak, and we’re hoping that there’s more to things with the full release.
AdvertisementOn a positive side, there’s a lot to get excited about for GOWR with the sheer quality of the 2018 game and the might of Santa Monica Studios behind it. However, that’s far from a guarantee of a good review in the current gaming climate and the added challenge of producing a game for both last gen and current gen consoles.
The good news is that it’s obviously a PlayStation exclusive, so there’s no need to factor in any other consoles. However, even the best studios can get things wrong when there’s a lot of pressure in the mix, especially for the initial launch period.
AdvertisementWith games like Cyberpunk 2077 being mired with bugs and poor performance on PS4, that’s one of the biggest concerns right now (Thor boss fight aside). CD Project Red had an exemplary track record before the 2020 release with The Witcher 3 picking up a raft of awards, but stumbled badly on their very next big game.
In all honesty, it feels like a low possibility for Santa Monica Studios and God of War Ragnarok, but only time will tell. The other big hurdle is on the story front, with so much emphasis on the character development already invested in the Norse Saga.
The most recent comparison has got to be The Last of Us Part II, which caught fans off-guard with the loss of Joel so early on the game. It’s probably fair to say that most fans went on to buy into the story development by the end, but there was definitely a wobble early on.
If there’s a similar grand scale seismic shift in the series in Ragnarok then it will be a 50:50 in terms of how it will go down. The most significant concern is the prospect of Kratos hanging up his blades once and for all or biting the dust like Joel did, which is already getting a lot of negative traction from fans.
The big difference between the series is that The Last of Us on had one previous title, but God of War has a history that goes back to 2005 on the PS2. Kratos is the fury at the heart of the game, so taking him out of the equation would be huge with massive fan-base ramifications.
In all fairness, Kratos has died in the past and always comes back, so that might be the case again here even if he does get cut down. However, this isn’t a Greek realm and it’s possible that the old rules don’t apply any more.
However, if that ends up not being the case then there’s a lot of scope for it to be another exceptional story driven adventure filled with incredibly memorable characters. In fact, even if Kratos does bow out, it’s still possible for the story to land well with the talent behind God of War, and that was definitely the case with The Last of Us II (or at least it was when everyone got over the death of Joel and played the rest of the game).
AdvertisementThe dynamic between Kratos and his son Atreus looks like its going to be central to everything once again. There might not be the same emotional buy in as in the first game, though, which had Faye’s ashes to scatter from the highest peak in all of Midgard to drive everything forward with purpose.
This could theoretically leave a large hole in the tug and pull of the story, which could affect our review, so that adds to the pressure on Ragnarok to fill this void. In its place will be the secrets that Atreus keeps from his father, Kratos developing an ever-greater trusting guardianship of his son as he comes of age and the continuing story of redemption for the god killer.
We’re looking forward to finding out how it all comes together, because how it plays out will be key to the reception for the game. There is more to the story than just the dynamic between Kratos and Atreus with a lot of interest in terms of how Tyr, Agrboda, Odin and Thor fit into everything.
The latter was first teased in the secret ending to God of War (2018), but his reveal as a cross between Hafthor Bjornsson and Father Christmas has left a few questions. Obviously, the Marvel interpretation of Thor wouldn’t have been any better, so it’ll all come down to the delivery of the character.
Santa Monica Studios has a strong track record for this, and with Ryan Hurst sounding amazing in the role we’ve got more than a few fingers crossed. The voice cast has been exceptional and the addition of Richard Schiff as Odin, Ben Prendegast as Tyr, Laya De Leon Hayes as Angrboda and Usman Ally as Durlin only adds to the excitement.
With the main story elements discussed, its time to move onto the gameplay and it’s here that we’re most confident in our pre-review review. Apart from the distant outlier potential for development issues similar to Cyberpunk 2077, there’s an incredible framework to build on for God of War Ragnarok.
AdvertisementThe last game had some of the very best fighting mechanics in any action adventure title in the history of gaming. We’re expecting the sequel to take the principles of the last game and refine them if anything with some cool new moves and equipment for father and “BOYYY”.
There’s also the prospect of getting to do more with Atreus… maybe even getting to control him as a playable character for parts of the game. Whether this is the case or not, God of War Ragnarok is set to be hugely playable. The ground-breaking efforts were delivered in 2018 and the next evolution of this should continue in November 2022.
Having both the Leviathan Axe and Blades of Chaos to wield right from the very beginning is very satisfying to see, so there are some good muscle memory prospects instantly. However, there are also some cool new additions, including the jumping axe smash, shield variation and the Blades grapple.
The other thing that is inescapable is the sheer level of detail throughout, whether its the towns in Svartalfheim or the design for new characters like Durlin and his octopus buddy. This will inevitably look most impressive on PS5, but it’s shaping up to be solid across the board.
Is God of War Ragnarok a good game for you?
Apart from reiterating the point earlier about playing God of War before Ragnarok comes out to help you decide, the reality is that it just won’t appeal to all gamers. It’s a hard-hitting action adventure with an emotive storyline and linear progression, so if that’s not for you then that’s the only takeaway you need in terms of review notes.
If you only really like first person shooters, or you’re all about racing games, or you just play platformers, online shooters, building games then you might not take to it in the same way as more generalist or action adventure gamers do.
That being said, if anything is worth a punt, it’s this (and The Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom next year). You probably won’t find anything else quite like it or with the same level of quality delivery.
AdvertisementThe gameplay mechanics make it a great transition game for fighting game enthusiasts with a lot of emphasis on combos, specials and accuracy. The later comes with the impressive parry mechanics and quick-time last second dodges, which are a lot of fun.
You can also see more on Ragnarok with the official Santa Monica Studios Twitter page at https://twitter.com/SonySantaMonica.
How long is God of War Ragnarok?
Perhaps the biggest positive for God of War Ragnarok’s chances of picking up a blistering review is that it looks like the game is going to be bigger than the first one. The core campaign was around 19 to 24 hours long last time around, depending on how much general exploration and side-quests you do. The sequel could be around twice that you base it on the file size.
If that isn’t enough, there will also be more worlds to explore with Svartalfheim, Vanaheim and Asgard all opened up for gameplay. That will add to both the experience for both the main campaign objectives and the extra activity that you’ll be able to take on.
The 2018 game had an abundance of this from rescuing dragons to fighting Valkyries, which were some of the more challenging bosses we’ve ever faced. If Ragnarok is similar in nature but bigger on scale then we should be in for something special.
The challenge in terms of the impact of this on the post-launch review is whether or not the extra size makes it feel too big and ungainly. Bigger maps and more quests don’t always add up to a better game, especially when there’s a linear story-based progression.
We’ll have to wait for the God of War Ragnarok release date to find out for sure, but there’s definitely enough in our pre-review review to hint at another phenomenal title from Santa Monica Studios. Hopefully, the faint rumblings about Kratos dying don’t go on to be true, or at least if they are he get re-animated once again.
Don’t forget to check out our computer games section to keep tabs on the games world, or visit the PlayStation website at https://www.playstation.com/en-gb/games/god-of-war-ragnarok/ for more details on the game.
