If 2018’s God of War was a tale about grief and the struggles of fatherhood in the face of loss, then this year’s sequel God of War Ragnarök is a tale about accepting the past and learning to let go for the sake of family.
Much like Vin Diesel's Fast & Furious franchise, Ragnarök sees Kratos and Atreus bringing a band of friends, albeit almost inadvertently, together in order to face off against the story's big bad. In this instance, Thor, Odin and the end of the world itself.
From its opening few minutes, Ragnarök makes it clear Santa Monica Studios came to play hard, throwing you into a hard-as-nails fight against the god of thunder himself – and what a delight it was to see him, and Norse mythology as a whole, represented in such a fresh and more memorable way compared to the MCU stylings we’ve been used to for the past few years.
This isn’t a golden-haired hero. This is a mead-swilling tree trunk of a man, full of spite, vengeance and petty anger – the perfect villain.
We won’t go into any spoilers or discuss too much about the characters because quite simply unfolding the story here is one of the game's biggest successes – but know that every character is compelling, with Odin being a favourite of ours to see just owning the screen.
Ragnarök looks absolutely stunning, really flexing the PS5's muscles to deliver a smooth and gorgeous experience. Every axe swing and brutal finisher glosses the screen, while the worlds you explore offer a wide array of lush colours and stunning set pieces to feast your eyes on.
The combat is as compelling as ever – your main arsenal is, of course, still your trusty Leviathan Axe and your Blades of Chaos, which can be upgraded as you go to learn new combos and devastating specialist strikes using the elements of ice and fire.
The balance is perfect. Even if you’re not that skilled at parrying or laundry-list combos, anyone can produce a fierce chain of attacks that clear the battlefield in no time, looking so good you’ll have a sense of pride every time you take down a huge beast or swathe of dark elves.
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If you’re a master of the parry and the ways of the axe, the harder settings offer a tougher challenge, forcing you to really consider your foes and surroundings in every fight. Have you got the best shield equipped for those perfect parries you’re pulling off? Are you wearing the right talisman to really make the most of your fighting style?
There’s a lot of verticality and motion added to fights this time around too, as you’re able to grapple up around the map as well as pull enemies into you for some devastating first strikes, which add a whole new layer into fights which are already exhilarating and sometimes chaotic.
Atreus, or whoever joins you on your explorations, has a few specialist attacks of their own to offer, which really help mix up the fights you’ll get into – from sonic arrows that stun and explode to relic enchanted attacks that supplement Kratos' moveset to add extra damage and range. There’s a lot to toy around with.
You’ll no doubt find your favourites to use, but with so much to play around with, Ragnarök encourages you to mix it up without forcing it down your throat with constant on-screen prompts.
One of the biggest complaints about Ragnarök's predecessor was the lack of enemy variety, something Santa Monica Studios has clearly taken on board as you’ll go toe to toe with a much larger and more unique array of enemy types, requiring a lot more strategy on the battlefield to take down without running low on health each time you draw a blade.
Later into the game, you’ll feel the battles' intensity creep up, as enemies take longer to whittle down and their attacks do more damage.
The challenge is definitely welcome, although it has to be said you may find the rhythm of fights feeling a bit more disparate on occasion as you have to manically unload special attacks and break enemy defences while being aware of unavoidable attacks coming from all angles. This can feel less like a teaching moment and instead an exercise in luck during a handful of encounters.
These new specialist moves from partner characters don’t stop at the battlefield. They’ll also be key to you exploring your surroundings to the fullest and unlocking certain puzzles – which is great, as while Ragnarök is still a linear affair, each area you visit has a fairly wide berth for exploration, each with chests to find, Odin’s ravens to shoot down and relics to uncover.
Something which we found quite refreshing after so many games offering huge open worlds with a host of carbon-copied ideas, Ragnarök offers a focused effort that you can choose to play straight through, or explore a little more, knowing there’s some meaningful treats at the end of the road – if not compelling stories to uncover – but thankfully not miles and miles of pointless marker following.
Each area has its own side stories to tell, allowing you to uncover more about the world's history and characters. Taking the time not only fleshes out the universe you’re swinging your axe in, but lead to some of the most exhilarating boss fights in the game, testing our limits and keeping us gripped for more.
Your enjoyment may vary with some of the puzzles, however, as they're not the most challenging puzzles on offer, though one or two did take us a moment to work out.
Overall, it’s impossible not to love God of War Ragnarök, its characters endearing and world ripe for exploration – with pounding, bombastic action at its core.
Balancing a heartfelt story with over-the-top excessive video game action, Ragnarök is completely self-aware. It improves upon the previous title in all the ways we could have hoped for and delivers a huge experience with stunning visuals, beautiful storytelling and buckets of fun. This is a must have for any God of War fan and an easy recommendation for anyone new to the series.
God of War Ragnarök is out on November 9 on PlayStation 4 and 5.
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