PS5 Review – God of War: Ragnarök

A direct sequel to the 2018 reboot of the franchise, God of War: Ragnarok continues the adventure of Kratos and his son Atreus / Loki after the death of Baldur. Available on PlayStation 5 and the good old PlayStation 4, the developers of Santa Monica Studio have decided to go with continuity instead of updating this new work, adopting the story structure and gameplay of the previous opus. Great decision, because God of War: Ragnarok is probably one of the best games of the year!

GOD OF WAR: RAGNAROK, A FAMILY AFFAIR

The game of 2018 was heralded as the most perfect game of the year and one of the best video game stories of recent years. We find the same sense of history in Ragnarok as in the first, shot sequence without interruption. It took me about 30 hours to complete and the main story ends as you would expect from a God of War gamethe fates of many characters in this Scandinavian saga in a larger-than-life finale filled with epic battles that will leave you speechless.

Family is once again a central theme in Ragnarok (worthy of a movie). The Fast and the Furious) and the relationship between Atreus and his father is an important part of it. If you waited to hear Kratos scream again BOY! continuously, you will be disappointed. The three years of surviving Fimbulwinter have clearly changed their relationship, and one feels that Kratos respects Atreus more. The latter is more mature and is constantly trying to discover his boundaries, who he really is and his place in this world. Which doesn’t always suit his father…

We find a gradually calmer Kratos, trying to protect his son in his own way, which is to say he’s wise and avoids fighting his enemies who pursue him (yes, Freya is still angry that Kratos saved his life). last game). What Atreus always underestimates is what he believes he will possess THE good problem solving without thinking too much about the consequences (like any good teenager, I imagine).

While 2018’s God of War focused almost exclusively on its two protagonists (Kratos and Atreus/Loki), this new 2022 installment allows for a deeper exploration of its secondary characters. They won’t just be simple, impersonal quest objectives, they’ll be directly involved in the game’s adventure. This change will also affect gameplay and combat…

And that’s really the biggest strength of this game. Several side missions are no longer only available to collect big loot or resources needed to upgrade your character, but also allow you to explore the background, problems and personality of several characters. Thus, it makes the interactions between Kratos and the game universe more realistic. We get really attached to all the characters we meet in the game, regardless of their importance in the story. (I’m sure Brock will become a player favorite!)

MAKE NEW with the old

Although three years have passed since the death of Baldur, the echoes of the events that happened at the end of the movie God of War (2018) are felt from the first moments. The first hour of the game will immediately immerse you in the action and realize that the combat system is very similar to the previous game, but with a number of improvements!

While the ax gameplay is very similar to the previous game, Blades of Chaos has been reworked to make them faster and closer to what we saw in the franchise’s first trilogy. It quickly became my favorite weapon in the game, excelling when there were multiple enemies to defeat at once, while the ax seemed more adequate for one-on-one combat.

Yes, several (excellent) animations, weapons, runic attacks, and other elements of the Nordic universe are the same or nearly the same as the previous installment in 2018. But honestly, that’s not a problem. Rather, I think it reinforces the fact that Ragnarok is a direct sequel to the reboot. While we could only explore 6 kingdoms in 2018, we can now explore 3 more kingdoms (Vanaheim, Svartalfheim and Asgard). The 6 kingdoms from the previous game have drastically changed their appearance due to Fimbulwinter…

There are more different enemies in this God of War: Ragnarok. One of the biggest problems with the previous work was that we regularly fought the same types of enemies, with the same tactics and the same execution scenes. There are now more enemies that move differently, forcing you to change your attack strategy a bit more.

And in this game, you’ll have to change your strategies, because if you think you’re trying to hit everything that moves first, you’ll have less chance of success.. The battles of God of War: Ragnarok are unforgiving and you will have to be patient to defeat certain enemies. Blocking and dodging will be your best allies in survival. Even on normal difficulty, I needed the help of my resurrection stones to defeat some of them boss the toughest…

On the other hand, equipment and resource management is not a strong point of the game… I found the equipment menu very chaotic and needs to be simplified. The god of Ragnarok adds several runic powers / spells to Kratos and Atreus, which makes control more complex. The game wants you to create your Kratos from scratch, with strengths and weaknesses through armor pieces and abilities you can unlock. But due to the (extremely limited) resources that can be found in the game, it’s often difficult to get the equipment you want to have, and most of the time, unfortunately, you upgrade what you already have. Thus, it gives a false sense of freedom in the choice of equipment.

RAGNAROK IS BEAUTIFUL, BUT…

Visually, the environments, settings, and characters in God of War: Ragnarök are spectacular! But let’s be honest, this is still primarily a game designed and developed for the good old PlayStation 4. The PlayStation 5 version (used for this review) brings some improvements, but it’s not the visual punch you’d expect for a version. the next generation. Horizon: Forbidden West had the same problem. Two years after the release of the PlayStation 5, we will have to wait a little longer to see the big Sony franchise making 100% use of the console’s new capabilities.

In addition to 4K, 3D audio and haptic feedback of the controller (that’s right, nothing else in this game), God of War: Ragnarök offers different modes for visual performance!

• Resolution: 4K / 30 FPS
• Performance: 60 FPS
• Resolution (with HDMI 2.1): 4K / 40 FPS
• Performance (with HDMI 2.1): 120 FPS

I recommend you choose one of the performance modes that provide more image streaming. Battles are unforgiving and you’ll need all the fps you can get to get through it!

“God of War sometimes it can be surprising. Above all, it’s a reminder that some in the industry still dare to take risks. Among AAA developers, they are remarkably few and far between. Cory Barlog is one of those developers, though his production isn’t perfect. You can rediscover our review of God of War (2018) here.

GOD OF WAR: RAGNAROK, BEST GAME OF THE YEAR?

It’s hard to talk about without spoiling the story, so I’ll avoid going into details. I’m very pleased with the finale of God of War: Ragnarok, which brings the Nordic saga of the franchise to an end! (Because yes, it won’t be a trilogy, as the game’s producer Corey Balrog recently announced.) While the narrative framework was one of the strengths of the 2018 release, Ragnarok manages to be even better. The revival of the franchise brought fresh air to the gameplay of the franchise, Ragnarok managed to improve everything that needed to be improved.

It took me 30 hours to complete the main story, but I feel like I’m only halfway through the game. I can’t wait to go back to explore the universe to complete the many side quests and quests that await me!

Obviously, it was impossible for me to play literally every game that was released this year, but for me, God of War: Ragnarok is the game of the year, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it is awarded as it should be at the next Game Awards 2022!

Buy God of War: Ragnarok on PlayStation 4 with Amazon Canada and Amazon France

Buy God of War: Ragnarok on PlayStation 5 with Amazon Canada and Amazon France