hasansevik Review of God of War Ragnarök

God of War Ragnarök (2022 Video Game)

Good, but not compared to GoW 2018.

[7/10 · 11 January 2023]

Firstly, I don't understand how someone can give a game 10/10 yet add "there are some flaws".

Secondly, the title of my review is simple: if this were a standalone game and we'd never come across another like it, it'd probably be an 8/10. But this is both a sequel to an already amazing game and this was specifically made to be awesome on the PS5, which is an incredible console. On both points it's a let down.

Now, onto my review.

I'll keep it simple and make my points in...well, point form.

The good:

• storyline. Not great, but still pretty good.

• voice acting. Amazing again, although at times a fake Kratos does some bits during the side missions, which is...odd.

• weapons. Great weapon mechanics once again, and even better with the addition of a new one.

• length. Yes, there are A LOT of side quests, but let's be honest: no one plays a game only for the main story narrative. Besides, the side quests give you a break from the heavy main story.

The bad:

• combat. Don't get me wrong, the new moves are cool. But it's infuriating all too often. The regular dudes are harder than the bosses because they don't stumble at all while you're beating them to a pulp, and they just whack you with a stick (no, literally, a stick) and you stumble.

• not enough Kratos-time. Playing Atreus is fun, but not if it's nearly half the game. And his combat isn't great.

• the menu interface. Sure, looks spiffy, but I've got a 75 inch 4k screen and I feel like the words take up a third of the screen.

• combat. Did I mention how bad it is? Yeah. You evade and get hit. The indicators are in the middle of the screen, so you have to look at the actual arrow tip itself (in GoW 2018 the arrows were also where the enemies actually were). (I can't tell you how many times I've let an enemy hit me just to figure out where they're coming from.)

The ugly:

• for a PS5 game, it looks like an early PS4 game. The scenery is beautiful, but the characters are two dimensional. They look... Flat, or something. No skin tone, armour looks plastic, even the blades look like cardboard.

• Muspel is boring. GoW 2018 was fun when in both Muspel and Niflheim. But in this there's only Muspelheim, and it's not fun.

• some side characters are terrible. I hate Ratatoskr, and Lunda is annoying. I know she was brought in to replace the Huldra brothers, but honestly, she gets on my nerves.

• Freya is... Well, let's see. Condescending. Patronising. Has a superiority complex. Never apologises for her mistakes. Blames EVERYONE. Asks for an opinion, but then cuts them off mid-sentence and tells them "Enough!"
• the writing leaves a lot to be desired. Kratos goes back to hating his son, then trusting him, then not, then lying to him, then angry that his son doesn't tell him EVERYTHING. The pacing doesn't feel right.

Here's what I think happened here:

• the makers, director, etc were pushed to getting this game out before Christmas, and so the combat, storyline, the visuals, even some of the voice acting, was rushed. Dialogue didn't fit in at times.

• Cory Barlog knew they wanted this game to be the end of Kratos in Norse mythos, but knew he couldn't pull it off in a) one game, and b) within the shorter timeline. So he gave the reins up. As a result, the game suffers and we all have to deal with it.

• Sony wanted their product, regardless of the outcome. The first was a success, so the second will be as well. But this game is a poor imitation of the first.

As I said, if this was a game on its own, I probably would give it 8. But compared to its former title, it pales.

Sorry, Santa Monica. If there's another GoW, I probably won't buy it if Cory isn't the director.