Is God of War Ragnarök on PlayStation 5 at its best?

Published: November 7, 2022 at 2:39 p.m.

Reading time:
4 min

The hype of the last few days indicates just how much Sony is confident God of War Ragnarok to rock this end of the video game year. Let me tell you from the beginning that this is the continuation of the adventures of the famous god-slayer Kratos and his son Atreus. lived up to the expectations raised.

The story begins with Odin and Thor entering the fragile forest abode of Kratos and Atreus, who then train to await Ragnarok, the prophesied end of the world in Norse mythology. Kratos was particularly worried about the future of his son Atreus, with many questions surrounding his powers and destiny. All the subtleties of this action game, which always turns to brutality and violence a narrative that thickens as it progresses. Kratos’ slightest grunt or nod sometimes speaks volumes.

Technically, it’s certainly not a revolution. But God of War Ragnarok It remains this graphic monster from the Santa Monica studio that continues to amaze and inspire. The action is fluid, the environments are neat and spacious it pays a lot of attention to detail, to sound effects and vibrations from our DualSense controller. Let’s make a special mention of the bells of the sleigh that are jingling in our hands. Except for some problems with environment collision during some battles, there were no bugs that would change the enjoyment of playing.

Bright and mature

The progression of skills and attributes, weapons (axes and the popular blades of chaos), armor and attacks remain classic but effective. Perhaps a little too broad, as if it were a spec to be respected. The game is very technical. In combat stages (dodges, parries, etc.), the environment is interspersed with story-rich side quests and passages that give way to puzzles.

Ultimately a generous piece of action / RPG (role-playing game) oriented work, with a tree of skills, powers, runic invocations and attacks that we gradually expand, but can also create the rhythm of the story. Thus, two games live together somewhat artificially: RPG and beat them all.

The saga’s battles against all kinds of creatures, DNA, can sometimes lose its breath and originality, especially in the beginning, as the bearded and aged Kratos finds himself at times breathless, consumed by the past, regrets, and suffering. guilt and fear of seeing his son go down the wrong path by making his father’s mistakes. It gives a new fragility another dimension to this story of a soothing father/son relationship it’s as complicated as it moves. Some sequences remain spectacular, and battles against bosses or mini-bosses, although we may find them less scary than in the past (this is our feeling), still have a lot of impact. Father and son complementing each other in battle is always very interesting and developing.

Charismatic characters

Difficulty control allows the game to be opened to all levels. Easy mode, however, doesn’t give the impression of being able to walk through the game, instead putting us in the shoes of an overpowered and ultimately immortal Kratos. Other modes offer difficulties that can be very high.

A compelling plot that puts the connection with animals at the service of a fascinating mythological tale.

The music, quite restrained, covers various scenes, sometimes a little long, brilliantly. God of War Ragnarok Whether our enemies or our supporters, it’s filled with charismatic characters like the dwarves Sindri and Brok, or the god Mimir, whose head dangles from our belt to tell mythological tales. We dig too deep into personalities sometimes. We can think that the scenes are conversational, but it needs to be developed better very attractive plot. So here’s a brilliant and mature game on PlayStation that puts brutality at the service of a fascinating mythological tale.

Editor’s note: 19/20. A nearly perfect title that finally surprises: to do God of War, a reference to a brutal action game, a scenario with great depth. A few years ago, we would never have imagined this.

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