God of War: Ragnarok

 PlayStation 5
User Score
7.9

Generally favorable reviews- based on 8959 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6,820 out of 8959
  2. Mixed: 600 out of 8959
  3. Negative: 1,539 out of 8959
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  1. RevolverCasemir
    Nov 16, 2022
    7
    What a disappointment. This can't be the industries "best" aaa game right now.

    The gameplay did not evolve and it is still super restrictive. You have to do everything exactly the way the game wants your to or else you don't move forward. Example you have a special skill that lets you shoot a fireball, you have a puzzle that requires you to light up a candle from a distance. My first    What a disappointment. This can't be the industries "best" aaa game right now.

    The gameplay did not evolve and it is still super restrictive. You have to do everything exactly the way the game wants your to or else you don't move forward. Example you have a special skill that lets you shoot a fireball, you have a puzzle that requires you to light up a candle from a distance. My first thought was ok i have this new fire ball skill maybe i can just shoot the fire ball to light it up, nope doesnt even effect the candle even with a direct hit, instead you need to use the magic arrows to light a path around wall and you have to perform a specific chain bomb skill to complete the puzzle. This type of gameplay is so outdated and frustrating.

    The story is unsatisfying. The start of it is great but it gets worse the more you play, with all the forced female empowerment moments, all the cringy new characters that you don't care about getting so much screen time and development. Kratos gets completely neutered in this story, its not enough that he doesn't want to fight anymore but now he takes order from the worst character in this series (Freya) with her stupid motivations. Odin and Thor were great but we didn't get enough from them, Odin's motivations were fantastic and i actually was rooting for him to succeed because i wanted to know the answers to his questions but no we get a ton a build up and they seemingly drop the most interesting part of the story. Kratos and Atreus carry the game with their performances but that can only get you so far, by the end i didn't care anymore because everything else was just so frustrating.

    Dear Sony, lets retire the Uncharted/Naughty Dog formula. Its been 10 years of these walky talky movie games, where you NPC's never ever shut the hell up!! Move on!! find a new formula for the next generation. Im so done with this ****    … Expand
  2. ReginaldChaney
    Nov 14, 2022
    6
    I do not understand why people are saying this is goty material.

    Let's start with the gameplay. It is the exact same as the first God of War. There isn't much there in terms of gameplay evolution, this could be fine if the story was better however it is not as well written as the previous. I personally believe this is due to the dumbing down of the overall design. The puzzles in    I do not understand why people are saying this is goty material.

    Let's start with the gameplay.

    It is the exact same as the first God of War. There isn't much there in terms of gameplay evolution, this could be fine if the story was better however it is not as well written as the previous. I personally believe this is due to the dumbing down of the overall design.

    The puzzles in the gameplay frankly are a zero out of ten. Not because of the puzzles themself most are easy enough but due to the NPCS literally being on a 25 second timer to flat out tell you exactly how to do the puzzle. The designers don't even give you a single minute to try and figure it out before whatever NPC you are with explaining what to do and then rushing you along once you finish the puzzle. It is incredibly infuriating and is very telling of who this game was designed for.

    To put it simply the target audience of this game, is not serious gamers. It is people who do not like video games, or people who really just wanted to watch a movie. The NPCS rush you along through puzzles, long stretched out moments of just walking and dialogue, basic gameplay with no major evolutions. The highest difficulty feels like what the normal difficulty would be on a game made 12 years ago.

    This game is designed for the lowest common denominator and frankly it's insulting to be treated like an idiot by the game itself, but that is one of the dead giveaways to who it is designed for.

    The Sony formula is getting stale and the people who find this design appealing are dwindling. It has become an echo chamber of Sony fan boys while genuine criticism gets swished away as petty hate. This game doesn't even deserve to be nominated for GOTY yet alone win it.

    But GOTY awards need money and I'm sure Sony is willing to pay.

    Mid experience, mid, gameplay, atrociously annoying nps. Worth 15 dollars on sale.    … Expand
  3. farbenblind
    Nov 16, 2022
    5
    It just doesn’t deliver. All the samey samey things are going on. No improvements at all. I’m deeply disappointed for a 4 years development situation. The game feels like they want me to feel like I am a three year old person. But I am not. I am **** 43 years old and playing a god of war game. A bit frustrated where this is going to. How does this game got so many good reviews?
  4. cpfantastic63
    Nov 10, 2022
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Disappointing. You don't even feel like you are fighting with gods anymore. Where in the Norse Myth Odin was like a murican politician with short beard? They made a joke out of Thor too. We before fought Poseidon, Hades, Ares and Zeus and they all felt like a GOD. Here in the last boss fight, it's like you are fighting with mini boss from a random anime game. The writing, dialogues and the characrers are mediocre and it has paced awfully.

    You only get one new weapon the entire game which is very disappointing. The game is joky and it has lost its serious tone. 50% of the game is with Atreus and it's very meh. Is this even God of War? They have ruined the franchise. Also when we talk about Dragons, Nidhogg is the first thing that comes to mind. This dragon is so powerful that Kratos needs to activate his whole power to be able to killing it. The design and the fight itself is very weak and washed.

    The old greek God of War trilogy is remained the best and i don't need to see another God of War anymore after this disappointing Ragnarok.    … Expand
  5. wrongpassword
    Nov 10, 2022
    6
    Nice graphics but I can't see any of the Norse gods as godly. Boss fights were underwhelming and the mobs were generic. It felt like they relied on fan baiting with bad designs and contradicting as many of the Norse legends as possible to boost a by the numbers movie game.
  6. ali_3410
    Nov 17, 2022
    6
    it's not the game I was expecting, I thought the game would be bigger in every way. This game is supposed to be the biggest triple AAA on PS5, but the game has nothing spectacular, the game doesn't make you feel the same experience as GoW 2018. While the combat is good, the story is too linear and very meh, the final boss battle is disappointing.
  7. NimbusXV
    Nov 17, 2022
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Not bad, but this has already been seen too much already. They recycle areas, animations and enemies and NPCs can be annoying when solving the puzzles that one finds. Playing with the brat Atreus is disgusting. Combat improves a little from the last game, but not enough for it to be top notch.… Expand
  8. Popacr77hdhdei
    Nov 13, 2022
    7
    I'm not going to spoil anything but this game is just a shadow of God of war 2018 , the first one was brilliant the second one is boring and annoying
  9. Near
    Jan 8, 2023
    7
    The game is between a 7 and 8.

    It is exactly what I was expecting: they took the original and expanded the world and the enemies. But it doesn't provide the awe of the first one. COMBAT - From a combat-side, it's actually quite bad. I recommend playing on a low difficulty as the combat is unfair and poorly designed in multiple occasions. Fighting wave after wave of monster sometimes    The game is between a 7 and 8.

    It is exactly what I was expecting: they took the original and expanded the world and the enemies. But it doesn't provide the awe of the first one.

    COMBAT - From a combat-side, it's actually quite bad. I recommend playing on a low difficulty as the combat is unfair and poorly designed in multiple occasions. Fighting wave after wave of monster sometimes is boring, runic attacks are horrible, positioning is irrelevant as enemies will slide towards you while attacking, in general it's very much not rewarding to master, it's probably worst than the first game.

    STORY - It's worst than the first game as it expands tremendously moving away from the laser focus of the original. Characters like Mimir and Freya and Kratos himself are actually very much humanized taking away from them the aura of legends they used to have. Freya in particular is written very bad in my opinion, and everyone tolerating her **** actually pisses me off. The main villain of the story, however, is very well made (and acted). The finale was very satisfying in my opinion, despite laking that "larger than life" feel that I would expect from a God Of War.    … Expand
  10. CliffMaine
    Dec 9, 2022
    5
    Mediocre and overated , still good , just not as good as everyone makes it out to be .
  11. Darkprince1751
    Jan 30, 2023
    6
    The game was fun, but all they did was copy and paste the levels from the previous game and add snow. Same move sets, same kill animations. Is this what they spent 4 years developing? That's some lazy level design. Kratos always feels underpowered, the new weapon that you get is really not that interesting. I only used it when I had to, and as has been mentioned before, the dialog. TheThe game was fun, but all they did was copy and paste the levels from the previous game and add snow. Same move sets, same kill animations. Is this what they spent 4 years developing? That's some lazy level design. Kratos always feels underpowered, the new weapon that you get is really not that interesting. I only used it when I had to, and as has been mentioned before, the dialog. The stupid irritating dialog. whoever thought it was a good idea to make Norse gods speak like the Sopranos should never write for another game. My biggest gripe is that there isn't anything to do after you beat the game. There's no NG+. You have to wait until spring 2023. This practice of releasing NG+ months after the original release is lazy and has to stop.… Expand
  12. Folks07
    Dec 20, 2022
    6
    I`m a huge fan of the God of War series and i get why they made the last one more for everyone, but, i didn´t expect they would cripple it like that.
    Graphics are amazing, gameplay is good, production is good, but everything else, is very very bad.
    Map designs are bad, back then, everyone hated games for doing this, remember Final Fantasy 13? Got smashed for it, now it seems to be ok for    I`m a huge fan of the God of War series and i get why they made the last one more for everyone, but, i didn´t expect they would cripple it like that.
    Graphics are amazing, gameplay is good, production is good, but everything else, is very very bad.
    Map designs are bad, back then, everyone hated games for doing this, remember Final Fantasy 13? Got smashed for it, now it seems to be ok for some reason.
    Only 3 weapons, enemies are reused and the variety is again very small, barely any big boss fights again which everyone loved from the old games.
    And the cherry on the cake, the characters and dialogues.
    I mean....wtf??? I dislike every single character in this game, except maybe Mimir. Everyone is touching everyone with velvet gloves, apologizing constantly for everything and everyone is a loser in some way. It feels like a big therapy group and everyone is making sure not to trigger the others, a pathetic showcase of gods, giants and badasses!
    They even treat the player like a little kid with the constent comments they make.
    It makes me so sad, that it seems to be so easy these days to make "a masterpiece", but this, this is NOT a masterpiece, at all!    … Expand
  13. PlanetCrusher
    Jan 9, 2023
    5
    Technically very impressive, but also quite boring.

    The game takes you to some really neat looking areas and then has you walk, canoe, or otherwise travel around them, while characters just vomit exposition at you. It's like one long cutscene after another, except you're technically playing because you're controlling the walking/traversal. The main combat can be fun, but there's    Technically very impressive, but also quite boring.

    The game takes you to some really neat looking areas and then has you walk, canoe, or otherwise travel around them, while characters just vomit exposition at you.

    It's like one long cutscene after another, except you're technically playing because you're controlling the walking/traversal.

    The main combat can be fun, but there's not enough of it.

    The boss fights can be quite enjoyable, but there aren't all that many of them, compared to how much time you spend with the boring parts I mentioned.

    I had high hopes for this, but found I spent the majority of the time bored.    … Expand
  14. ThunderJacob95
    Nov 21, 2022
    7
    A disappointment from the first, minimal improvements too much clutter (effects, runes, resources etc). Insane amount of handholding an linearity. Feels more like a Ubisoft game than a Sony game…
    And worse writing with some cringeworthy dialogues in some place and fantastic writing in some other places.
    The combat feels dated etc. Also piss poor PS 5 and dual sense implementation. The last    A disappointment from the first, minimal improvements too much clutter (effects, runes, resources etc). Insane amount of handholding an linearity. Feels more like a Ubisoft game than a Sony game…
    And worse writing with some cringeworthy dialogues in some place and fantastic writing in some other places.
    The combat feels dated etc. Also piss poor PS 5 and dual sense implementation.
    The last 1/4 get a lot better, but still has problems in terms of some awful bosses (Svipdagr the Cold and the Sisters of Illska etc).
    Also there is a insane amount of clutter and junk in the armor/ upgrade system worse than a Ubisoft game. The lvl system must one of the worse in any moder game too date. Overall a disappointment and definitely no masterpiece.    … Expand
  15. SoFarSoGood--
    Dec 12, 2022
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Massive disappointment and a watered down follow up to the 2018 classic. Back in 2018 Kratos was still powerful and you always had the feeling his angry powerful self was still there, he is just trying his best to hide it. Fast forward to Ragnarok and Kratos is completely neutered...needs help finishing fights against powerful foes and doesn't even want to fight to begin with. Midway through he also wants to give up and go home. He needs other characters to make decisions for him in fear of upsetting them if he made them himself.

    I honestly don't even know why Kratos is part of this game in the first place...the entire game you run around with Atreus and Freya's objectives in mind. They could easily have left Kratos out of the game and the story would not have changed. Expect tons of talking about feelings...even mid war as you storm down on Asgard, the supposed highlight of the game, Kratos finds time to preach to Atreus he needs to be himself and care about others. To tell him to be better for the 20th time...I mean seriously.

    What happened to the serious, god conquering hero we grew to love up until now? Furthermore, cool lines like "don't be sorry, be better" in the 2018 classic is repeated so much and watered down I ended up hating the line and not ever wanting to hear it again. In the last mission alone the phrase "be better" must've been repeated 25 times. This game is your typical new age no accountability, political corrected, everyone has their reasons so nobody is really bad nonsense. To top it all off, Atreus does more damage to enemies swinging his bow than Kratos does with a magical axe, magical spear and the blades of chaos...WTF!!

    Kratos has been reduced to a grunt to do the heavy lifting and do others dirty work but this game was just about Freya's redemption and Atreus' story. Kratos has 0 story in this game except for trying to be a sensitive father. The best part of the game was when Atreus left at the end so I can only play as Kratos. The production value is great, soundtrack boring and twists predictable. Graphics are really good and the world's are fantastic.

    However, they tried making God of War an emotional relatable game and characters...something it never was. When Brok died I couldn't care less because we never had an emotional connection with him. It is incomparable to a moment such as Vesemir dying in Witcher 3...a character you actually cared about. The dwarves are also way too involved and I can't help but think this game was fan service to be cool with its over the top humor, most which is not funny, playing as Atreus and Kratos caring waaaaay too much. It is worth a play, but don't expect to be wowed by the over the top action and epic don't care attitude of a powerful god of war Kratos like the first games.    … Expand
  16. Janlul
    Jan 1, 2023
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. What a disappointment

    After 4 years of development we got reused animations rehashed levels copy paste combat same crappy camera.

    The story sucks big time here after all the buildup that is the excellent God of War 2018 there is nothing like that it in this game.

    Atreus is still an annoying b*tch even worse you have to play as him multiple times which ruïnes the pacing

    Enemy design is still bland no big enemies to fight like in the old games, bosses feel samey and boring you never have to change tactics.

    And when you finally reach the final level (Asgard) it is over in like 15 minutes of fighting the same enemies you have been fighting for the past 20 hours and fight Thor who you don't even get to kill (gets killed in the cutscene) and then fight odin who dies in like 5 minutes and the credits.

    This game is an unfinished mess    … Expand
  17. Poisoop
    Jan 8, 2023
    6
    Good game, but story is incredibly dissapointing. It's not an epic adventure in any way, it's just a chore list the characters have to complete. Ending is completely rushed, and there is no sense of spectacle. All the bosses in this game are just lazy arena fights with almost no spectacle at all. I play these games for the story and the awesome battles, there is one cool boss and its theGood game, but story is incredibly dissapointing. It's not an epic adventure in any way, it's just a chore list the characters have to complete. Ending is completely rushed, and there is no sense of spectacle. All the bosses in this game are just lazy arena fights with almost no spectacle at all. I play these games for the story and the awesome battles, there is one cool boss and its the first. This is the biggest waste of potential I've ever seen. It actually makes me sad that this is the story they put out for God of War Ragnarok. The story has some good and heartwarming moments, but it just feels so lazy and rushed for me. The developers will never have another chance at making a game about these characters in the ragnarok setting. Don't get me wrong its a good game, but lower your expectations for the story. The gameplay is also the exact same as the last game, you even have to unlock the same abilities again! People have tried to give an explanation for this, but it is still monkeybrain game design. But yes the combat is the exact same with like one minor addition, in fact I actually feel like the combat doesn't hit as hard as the previous game. I actually feel like everyone giving this game a 10/10 or calling it a masterpiece are borderline delusional and just consume **** without thinking about it.… Expand
  18. keshudioo
    Jan 7, 2023
    6
    pros:
    - okay story, twists
    - okay characters
    - good music

    cons:
    - only slightly changed mechanics, feels like the same game as GOW 2018
    - forced sentimental moments
    - puzzles are spoiled by the NPCs
    - invisible walls, fake open world
    - ps4 game with ps4 graphics, zero use of dual sense, no next gen vibe
    - boring, repetitive enemies, grinding
  19. ArcturioS
    Dec 27, 2022
    5
    Constantly the same snot that Sony has been serving as a "game" for years. Unfortunately, it's more of an overpriced movie. Full of anticipation I started God of War Ragnarök and was allowed to play about 10 minutes in the first hour of play. That means I was allowed to make a difference to Kratos and trigger some Quick Time Events. This has nothing to do with GAming but watching a movie.Constantly the same snot that Sony has been serving as a "game" for years. Unfortunately, it's more of an overpriced movie. Full of anticipation I started God of War Ragnarök and was allowed to play about 10 minutes in the first hour of play. That means I was allowed to make a difference to Kratos and trigger some Quick Time Events. This has nothing to do with GAming but watching a movie.

    The graphics are very good for Playstation 5 conditions and look very detailed at first. Unfortunately, however, it is only decoration. The graphics do not hide the emptiness of the game world and the lack of depth. From time to time you see some birds and abandoned fruit stands and the like. Many objects are really just decoration. They cannot even be destroyed and have been used again and again in the manner of copy past.

    Also, the game doesn't offer much of a game. The levels are tube-like. The game offers little urge to discover. On the contrary: It leads you completely through the game world. If you really do not know how to get ahead, your companion will immediately comment on what to do. Sony doesn't trust its gamers to face even the slightest challenge. And these situations hardly occur, because almost everything that is relevant in the game world has been highlighted in color or flashes.

    From time to time you get into a kind of pseudo open world in the game world. Don't be fooled. There are small sections that you then leave, collect your collectibles and complete boring side quests that offer no appeal.

    The combat system is solid and basically the same as its predecessor. The enemy variants are unfortunately very banal and are rather low. This reinforces the feeling that you are constantly experiencing the same thing in God of War Ragnarök. Run a few meters, some enemies pop up, you knock them down, collect the same loot over and over again, level skills that are rather trivial and improve your equipment. The only thing that carries the game is the Story.

    The story here is still the best thing about the game. One would like to know what Kratos, Artreus and his mother are all about. Unfortunately, Sony is exaggerating here again. Yes, violence is part of God of War but in some situations you think Kratos the macho just wants to prove to another macho how great he can be. Some story plots in the game are probably only there to satisfy children's fantasies of a bully.

    It's bitter what happened to the Sony Playstation under Jim Ryan aka Lie Cry.

    After Horizon Forbidden West had already disappointed me immensely and the game felt like a DLC or ADD ON. God of War Ragnarök makes the same mistake. Sony has been making the mistake here for years. One can only hope that those responsible at Sony will finally step down and that Sony will finally allow MORE DIVERSITY and INNOVATION in their games. Here you can only praise Microsoft and Nintendo. Whether new game series, new gameplay mechanics or simply more variety of genres.    … Expand
  20. ssj4rit
    Jan 29, 2023
    7
    Pros:
    + Good combat
    + Interesting hub worlds

    Cons:
    - Story falls apart in second half
    - I want to play the game, not watch cutscenes for 90% of a quest and then play for the remaining 10%
    - Lack of fists combat (my favorite skill tree in GoW 2018)
  21. cybermonkey
    Dec 17, 2022
    6
    Combat is ok but not great, exploration is mostly boring, too many mindless tasks (opening chests/ repetitive puzzles and the NPCs just tell you the solution within 30 seconds anyway), story is paced very badly. This game is at its best when you're fighting massive bosses. It should have leaned more into that than boring sandbox exploration. Some of the best boss fights are hampered by theCombat is ok but not great, exploration is mostly boring, too many mindless tasks (opening chests/ repetitive puzzles and the NPCs just tell you the solution within 30 seconds anyway), story is paced very badly. This game is at its best when you're fighting massive bosses. It should have leaned more into that than boring sandbox exploration. Some of the best boss fights are hampered by the camera's very narrow field of view.
    Feel like I've played this kind of game 100 times before. Nothing new or unique, but to be expected from a AAA exclusive, I suppose.    … Expand
  22. Mcdaidde
    May 6, 2023
    6
    Visually. This game is a 10. Incredibly middling otherwise. There was a period mid game where atreus and a new character ride a yak around a marsh. It felt like the game was straight up wasting my time. Boring story, boring characters, not enough kratos. It felt like an average marvel movie script, right down to the villain and surrounding npcs. I miss old god of war, but this game is soVisually. This game is a 10. Incredibly middling otherwise. There was a period mid game where atreus and a new character ride a yak around a marsh. It felt like the game was straight up wasting my time. Boring story, boring characters, not enough kratos. It felt like an average marvel movie script, right down to the villain and surrounding npcs. I miss old god of war, but this game is so cucked in its "story telling" that we'll never get a game like the original series again.… Expand
  23. RolandOG
    Nov 25, 2022
    6
    Unpopular opinion maybe, but I think it’s a little boring. They reused too many assets from the first game. There is too much of the same look and feel. Somehow, the axe combat isn’t as satisfying, which was one of the best things about it. There is WAY too much Atreus, who is now playable. It seems like a way to sell more copies by targeting a younger generation. Grab the old God of WarUnpopular opinion maybe, but I think it’s a little boring. They reused too many assets from the first game. There is too much of the same look and feel. Somehow, the axe combat isn’t as satisfying, which was one of the best things about it. There is WAY too much Atreus, who is now playable. It seems like a way to sell more copies by targeting a younger generation. Grab the old God of War fans and the kids, more $$$$. The graphics are not actually that great, unless you’re on a PS4 and seeing it pushed to its max potential. For a next gen game, it’s pretty dated, despite reviews saying it’s a technical marvel. All that said, it’s mostly executed just as well as the first game. If you never played it, play that first.… Expand
  24. AigleAveugle
    Mar 11, 2023
    6
    Fun but very inferior to the first one. They should have deleted all side quests and exploring and just give the linear story as a DLC for the first game.

    Soundtrack is meh compared to the first one. The story and visuals are great. I wanted to master every combat tactics in the first one, in this one I wanted to avoid all fights cause they were overwhelming and redundant. Maybe im    Fun but very inferior to the first one. They should have deleted all side quests and exploring and just give the linear story as a DLC for the first game.

    Soundtrack is meh compared to the first one. The story and visuals are great. I wanted to master every combat tactics in the first one, in this one I wanted to avoid all fights cause they were overwhelming and redundant. Maybe im getting older but lot of it felt botched. I mean almost every enemy explode when they die, they all have missile attack and unbreakable move and it felt poor, very poor compared to the first game. I also didn't care about the godzillion runes or useless items. The menu screen is really ugly and side-quests, lore and exploring too rigid. I played the first one twice and this one I will skip chests, some side-quests, didn't care about reading stuff and will not play it again. Not looking forward to the next entry in the series unless they evolve it to a more mature and rpg oriented experience.    … Expand
  25. ThatPSXBGamer
    Jul 29, 2023
    7
    God of War Ragnarok is a good game, but like GoW 2018 is NOT a perfect game and is unfortunately criminally overrated. As much as that fact angers Sony blowhards and paid critics, God of War Ragnarok is a decent game with both strengths and weaknesses. As a first party Sony exclusive, the graphics are fantastic on PS5, with both graphics and performance modes looking great. The writingGod of War Ragnarok is a good game, but like GoW 2018 is NOT a perfect game and is unfortunately criminally overrated. As much as that fact angers Sony blowhards and paid critics, God of War Ragnarok is a decent game with both strengths and weaknesses. As a first party Sony exclusive, the graphics are fantastic on PS5, with both graphics and performance modes looking great. The writing also sees improvement from the first game, with witty dialogue getting a chuckle from me every now and then. However, just as the first game, the puzzles are monotonous and repetitive with very little variety beyond "freeze the water" or "throw the axe" . As far as the combat goes, nothing has changed since the first game. The combat is just as convoluted, with far too many forgettable skills, runes, etc. The locked camera is still asinine and is incredibly aggravating when I'm trying to pick up a health-stone and I have to fight the camera to let me pick it up. There is also incredibly inconsistent difficulty, why are the regular enemies able to deliver boss level attacks that take half my health? It gets to the point where I've died more to an enemy hoard than to the actual bosses, especially since there can be 3-4 enemies attacking you at once. The bosses have improved from the first game, with more variety, however, who needs bosses when one regular enemy can kill you in two hits. The story has improved since the first game, with a special attention to the characters, however, most of the Atreus sections feel like filler, especially the berry picking mission. This game feels like it's been stretched thin to fill an arbitrary 30 hour campaign length. Overall, God of War Ragnarok is a good game, but nowhere near the heights of a 10/10 game that paid game critics and Sony blowhards would say it is.… Expand
  26. CapitanQwark
    Jul 9, 2023
    6
    I have to say that the game is good, but nothing more. I prefer the first PS4 god of war. This one feels outdated. Its difficult settings are outbalanced and Kratos feels useless. Nonetheless, playing as Loki/Atreus is awesome. For that reason, the game is 6/10 and not 5/10.
    The story is not what it should be. It focused on personal problems of the characters and the Ragnarok is decided    I have to say that the game is good, but nothing more. I prefer the first PS4 god of war. This one feels outdated. Its difficult settings are outbalanced and Kratos feels useless. Nonetheless, playing as Loki/Atreus is awesome. For that reason, the game is 6/10 and not 5/10.
    The story is not what it should be. It focused on personal problems of the characters and the Ragnarok is decided at the end on the worst way possible ever imagined.    … Expand
  27. R999
    Dec 30, 2022
    6
    Not great, not bad, maybe good, but rather mediocre. A major dissapointment for me cause i was expecting much more. After 4 years since the last game this one feels almost the same.

    Graphics - 8/10 (im not sure if it got better since 2018, but it looks fine) Gameplay - 6/10 (feels better than in 2018 but it is still an action with 3rd person shooter camera...) Plot - 2/10 (its just    Not great, not bad, maybe good, but rather mediocre. A major dissapointment for me cause i was expecting much more. After 4 years since the last game this one feels almost the same.

    Graphics - 8/10 (im not sure if it got better since 2018, but it looks fine)
    Gameplay - 6/10 (feels better than in 2018 but it is still an action with 3rd person shooter camera...)
    Plot - 2/10 (its just bad, so many stupid things are going on and the ragnarok itself feells like a joke)
    Narrative - 5/10 (dialogues sounds cheep, like it was written by copywriter fot 1$ per 5000 symbols, almost every conversation feels unfinished or excessive)
    Game design - 3/10 (outdated and time consuming - climb, walk, crawl, squeeze through etc...such a waste of time)    … Expand
  28. Mclean514
    Dec 30, 2022
    7
    Some fun but dissapointing for a God of War game. Story isnt great and seems like a waste of excellent source material. Until the end of the game there isn't a real reason why Kratos and Atreus hate Odin other than the NPCs stating he's "bad". In my opinion there is more reason to hate Freya (because she is actively trying to kill them).I can't remember Kratos ever running away from aSome fun but dissapointing for a God of War game. Story isnt great and seems like a waste of excellent source material. Until the end of the game there isn't a real reason why Kratos and Atreus hate Odin other than the NPCs stating he's "bad". In my opinion there is more reason to hate Freya (because she is actively trying to kill them).I can't remember Kratos ever running away from a fight, or at least not finishing one. I guess this is the character arc (vengeance isn't the answer) they're going for but it isn't good. Kratos is more "the anti god of war" in this game.The missions you play as Atreus are boring as hell. Atreus plays as a more powerful character than Kratos which doesn't make sense. If the creators don't like Kratos and want to focus on Freya or Atreus why not just create a new game without diluting the God of War? There are some good missions and battles which make it worth playing, but this is not a "game of the year " by any stretch of the imagination.… Expand
  29. Codafett
    Jan 12, 2023
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. To summarize my thoughts, the story of Ragnarok was an objective step down from 2018. Which in hindsight was a step down from the original games. I kinda knew this was coming because 2018 wasn't about the Norse gods, not really. It was about Kratos and Atreus bonding with Baldur and all that drama being a roadblock to Jotunheim. Ragnarok was already in a bad spot because it removed the personal aspects of the story and went for this crappy Endgame style war and team up thing. Marvel-tier writing is all over the game and I can't emphasize enough how much I think the MCU has **** up modern entertainment. Constant quips and jokes undercutting moments that are supposed to be serious.

    I think what I consider the biggest red flag is how much contempt the writers seem to have for Kratos as a character. It's ironic they made him a grumpy, boring sad dad when the writing in Rag was clearly more suited to the high energy warrior he used to be. I wonder how much of that is Anthony Burch trying to feminize our ashen boi which he literally admitted to wanting to do on Twitter. I've found myself reguarly going back to GOW 2 and 3 because, shockingly, Kratos was a much funner character when he was a man on a mission. All this **** about him being deep now is pure history revision because Kratos was always a **** deep character. The plot of 3 is literally him hiding his extreme pain behind his god killing vengeance.

    Atreus is annoying and most of the dialogue with him and Kratos is the exact same conversation over and over. "We should start Ragnarok" "No we shouldn't" again and again. I actually did like Odin, but he was underwhelming just like the rest of Asgard, which is literally a bunch of shacks for some reason. Did anyone else feel like the design for Asgard doesn't fit the established aesthetic of giant golden temples and ****

    Finally, I'm already seeing this cope that if the game was broken into 2 it would've been better. But here's the thing: Ragnarok is like 36 hours and only 6 of those are good. If they couldn't fill out half the game's runtime with good content then what the **** makes you think a third game would've magically fixed everything? It's like Game of Thrones, sure we can insist that more time, and longer seasons would've made it a better ending but the exact same events would've still come to pass and people would still be pissed.    … Expand
  30. Dustysi
    Jan 20, 2023
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I give it a 5 because the combat was fun for awhile but became dry and repetitive. Story was lame compared to old god of war. You only get 3 weapons and never get to use thors hammer. Gods where not hard bosses . I felt like i was playing a movie . Good games are few and far between these days .… Expand
  31. Hesamatinfar
    Jan 21, 2023
    7
    ارضا نشدم راستش
    خیلی منتظرش بودم عب نداره بازم خوب بود ولی مثل ۲۰۱۸ بود شاید کمی بهتر نمیدونم دقیق باید بازم بازی کنم
    ولی در مجموع بازی خوبی برای هواداری جدید و کسایی که قبلا بازی نکردن هست



    .
  32. shoebox2
    Jan 25, 2023
    6
    It was just only okay, neither great nor bad. It honestly could have just been a DLC.
  33. FartTesticles
    Jan 31, 2023
    5
    God Of War? more like dog turd, parenting simulator. where tf is the action? I've seen Kratos lecture Atreus more than he has actually killed. and the game is so **** long. I've been playing it since last year and it's still **** going on. when does this **** kill thor? probably next decade I presume. Atreus is a cuck and delete the game now.
  34. shanewire
    Feb 23, 2023
    6
    A sequel that adds almost nothing to the original, and does little to address the faults its predecessor.

    Graphically its wildly uneven. Kratos is one of the best animated characters I've seen in a video game, but any flashback scenes with his wife look like he's speaking to a PS3 character. The writing is weak. Atreaus/Loki is done an injustice. You could tie yourself in knots    A sequel that adds almost nothing to the original, and does little to address the faults its predecessor.

    Graphically its wildly uneven. Kratos is one of the best animated characters I've seen in a video game, but any flashback scenes with his wife look like he's speaking to a PS3 character.

    The writing is weak. Atreaus/Loki is done an injustice. You could tie yourself in knots trying to make sense of his actions and motivations if you were in a forgiving mood, but the game fails to illustrate him as a rational actor. A central plot tension coming from a totally artificial reluctance from one character to explain what he's doing, "It's... complicated" *sigh*. New additions to Kratos' posse grate. The smart alec squirrel wandered out of a forgotten kids show, and the dwarf with the caricatured Southern American accent jars with the world. Kratos has never been funnier, with the writers and Christopher Judge demonstrating a real understanding of the character and using that for laughs that don't take you out of the story, but everyone else is a trite Joss Whedon quip machine.

    Level design and traversal are the games weakest areas. The designers have saddled Kratos with a serious case of White Boys Can't Jump. You'll feel incredibly restricted in how you traverse the environment in a way that isn't true to the character. The chest is right there, but this gap isn't programmed to allow a jump, sorry. The game feels on rails and the issue becomes more apparent as you revisit areas you've since cleared of enemies and have to slowly squeeze through gaps or shimmy across ledges while the next corridor loads. Completionists in particular are in for tedium.

    Combat has enough satisfying depth to reward high skill players, but the RPG elements are a distraction with few making a meaningful addition to combat.    … Expand
  35. Bestx
    Jun 29, 2023
    6
    An evolution to the formula created by GoW. Why they do these games where you are not free at all in a Nordic world? You can see stunning reigns but 20% of them are explorable and the story is a bit rushed at the end. This game is sufficient enough to give you 30hrs of button smashing experience and your son telling how to solve riddles.
  36. DarkwingDuke
    Jun 8, 2023
    6
    So the story is played out as if you're watching a movie with some great voice actors. But the story didn't unfold with you as you go(GoW2018) but it was laid out in front of you in great detail. The story telling play sequences and the heavy and out of place dialogue made the game feel slow, long, shallow and boring. And the changes in combat and it's interaction with the environment wereSo the story is played out as if you're watching a movie with some great voice actors. But the story didn't unfold with you as you go(GoW2018) but it was laid out in front of you in great detail. The story telling play sequences and the heavy and out of place dialogue made the game feel slow, long, shallow and boring. And the changes in combat and it's interaction with the environment were mostly for the worse. Environments looked great though.… Expand
  37. GalvaoRibeiro
    Jun 26, 2023
    7
    Manteve tudo o que tinha de bom do God of War 2018 (gameplay), porém deixou a desejar na historia.
  38. espdachiim
    Jul 30, 2023
    6
    The game is disappointing, with a very poor storyline and characters making frustratingly dumb decisions. Not to mention, there's a section that is tedious to play, involving senseless tasks unrelated to the plot. My score would have been even lower if not for the beautiful graphics and enjoyable gameplay, but the overall story is quite underwhelming.
  39. Fantom_
    Aug 23, 2023
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. There is NO WAY this game is a 10. The story is written poorly, the addition of a million new characters is too much, and even the visuals aren't as clean and sharp. It's mildly fun to play, but after playing it on and off for 6 months now I'm really starting to hate it.… Expand
  40. Winblade123
    Dec 4, 2022
    7
    The main character says a lot that he is tired, that he needs to be kinder and then breaks the heads of enemies. They overdid the plot and didn't understand what happened themselves
  41. CorruptShaolin
    Dec 1, 2022
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Disappointed but still enjoyable. Too much story and dialogue. The game tries to force emotional reactions with a ridiculous amount of cut scenes which takes up about 70% of the gameplay. The semi open world ruins the immersion and is just annoying. A lot of people are bloating their reviews and ratings because of the brand that is, God of War. They made Kratos very soft and the rest of the characters were very cringe. They tried way too hard to be charismatic and tried so hard to take what they did in 2018 and double it but it just resulted in cringe moments and over done “please cry” moments that were so annoying. The back seating by NPCs is more aggravating than an itch you can’t scratch. The Atreus arcs were like torture, you spend 50% of the game as him and nothing about him was interesting or cool. The game also has this childish Disney feel to it which stands against the legacy of the franchise. It’s supposed to be a serious game with serious consequences but it has these really cringey teenage soap opera moments that are such a drag and painful to have to sit through. Thor is also some drunk alcoholic with daddy issues and it makes him look so incredibly weak.

    The world is empty, and you will find yourself begging for an enemy to show up so you can actually fight and do the most important thing in the game that clearly isn’t the main focus.

    Overrated game and not a game of the year candidate in my opinion. The combat mechanics and boss fights were the only reason I gave this game a 7. I liked the combat in 2018 a lot and I like how they essentially took the foundation of 2018 and enhanced all of it and added a third weapon. The mechanics were great but I didn’t like how in GMGOW or No mercy difficulty the way they’d make the game more challenging was by making enemies out of the strongest steel in the universe and the ability for the weakest of the enemies to one shot you. 50% of the game is spent holding up or down to climb or wall shimmy, which is so over the top. In terms of villains I thought Heimdall was the best. He fits the theme and vibe of a true god of war game and I really loved fighting him.

    Too many cut scenes, not enough actual gameplay. Climbing walls and holding up for hours is not gameplay.    … Expand
  42. xdestron
    Dec 10, 2022
    7
    Very samey compared to the first game, except weaker story and pacing. I was very disappointed that the upgrade trees were practically identical.

    Kratos felt neutered in this game, while the spotlight shifts towards Atreus. Honestly, the Kratos of the original trilogy feels completely gone now. He speaks more of friendship and against war than I ever cared to hear Kratos speak. The    Very samey compared to the first game, except weaker story and pacing. I was very disappointed that the upgrade trees were practically identical.

    Kratos felt neutered in this game, while the spotlight shifts towards Atreus. Honestly, the Kratos of the original trilogy feels completely gone now. He speaks more of friendship and against war than I ever cared to hear Kratos speak.

    The story was unbearably slow in parts (mostly Atreus parts) while the characterization of certain gods felt strange. It was more boring than a GoW game should be. It even felt like more of a walking simulator than the first game. Room -> fight -> squeeze thru a crack in the wall -> walking while talking -> another crack -> another fight. Rinse and repeat.

    I would have appreciated some more innovation to make this feel like more of a sequel instead of an expansion. It's the same game but worse.    … Expand
  43. DevilBr0
    Nov 29, 2022
    7
    Another sony's 3rd action open world game with main gameplay mechanics from last GoW game. It is not DLC, but game doesnt deserve all this 10 and GOTY scores
  44. KING_KEIGS
    Dec 11, 2022
    6
    Man this game starts off strong and then.......well saddens me to say but lost me with boring dialogue and slow repetitive combat. Give me the first 3 God of wars everyday over this. Thor is great but playing constantly as BOY just wasn't for me. Maybe I'm getting old but man outside of Ghost of Tsushima I'm disappointed with these play it safe tame ass easy "new gen" gams.
  45. Sorden
    Nov 17, 2022
    6
    The game is amazingly beautiful and massive, but.. as a scandinavian with deep knowledge concerning norse mythology I am both excited and disappointed. The gods no doubt have petty human concerns and personalities and they give life to this in the game, at the same time every character completely butchers every norse word and name, which further seems even more stupid when they make outThe game is amazingly beautiful and massive, but.. as a scandinavian with deep knowledge concerning norse mythology I am both excited and disappointed. The gods no doubt have petty human concerns and personalities and they give life to this in the game, at the same time every character completely butchers every norse word and name, which further seems even more stupid when they make out the pantheon to be this sort of norse mafia with contemporary american language. The sentimentality makes me groan and sink into boredom, and there is too much blablabla. This is a "try hard" and gets in the way a lot of the time. It's supposed to be a game, not a movie. The game drags on with endless "puzzles" which are more of a chore than real puzzles, and as a gamer who usually goes "hard mode" i switched to "grace" 2/3s into the game because every fight takes too damn long and add all the chatty "witty" american marvel style talk and slow walking to that and I don't have a life anymore. Just wanna finish it for the story and move on.

    The game is beautiful, amazingly beautiful. B    … Expand
  46. STRANGERdanger1
    Dec 8, 2022
    6
    Annoying companions, an excessive upgrade system, and mediocre writing mar an otherwise gorgeous and fun game.
  47. KOTOCTPOphy
    Dec 11, 2022
    6
    A game is something that helps us to escape reality. A game is something that allows us to feel like its characters are living in the past/future or oven reality in which you would not trip in any circumstances. A game creates possibilities to participate in activities you physically couldn't and dialogues you wouldn't ever hear.
    That's what good a game does. But Ragnarok constantly makes    A game is something that helps us to escape reality. A game is something that allows us to feel like its characters are living in the past/future or oven reality in which you would not trip in any circumstances. A game creates possibilities to participate in activities you physically couldn't and dialogues you wouldn't ever hear.
    That's what good a game does. But Ragnarok constantly makes me feel like I'm at work in an office or listening to a teenager who thinks his parents do not understand him, or in a mall hearing a fight of a couple arguing about how drunk a man was last night. Who in a sane mind decided to put this casual style of dialogue in Scandinavian folklore? Who ever thought it was a good idea to hear "Ummm, yeah, dad, like whateveeeer" all the time progressing through the game? That killed all the immersion you are waiting for from promised setting. Even GoW 2018, with all the changes they did compare to the original games, did not allow this kind of crap.

    Do not get me wrong, the story is fine and appealing, but the dialogue does not belong to the time in which the game is set. And GoW is not a new Shrek cartoon where mixing fantasy and current urban dialogues was a thing.
    Also, to add to setting thing. I do not believe that Thrud might put some shame on Thor in front of other warriors and get away with it. Neither do I believe in Atreus's typical teenage attitude whining that grown-ups do not understand him. That was not in mythological epos in the original games, and that was not even there in GoW 2018; why it had to be put in the latest game? That is not God of War, that is a modern-life sitcom. I would accept this in JRPG due to the ruled-out setting, but not in a game that changed its rules. The game did not help me to escape reality, but it did help to see modern life problems in fantasy. Thanks a lot.

    Now, it would not be that harmful if everything else is fine. Which should be for a AAA Sony exclusive, right? Right?
    Well, I've expected more from a game delivered in 2022. Invisible walls in the face of obstacles that should be easily bypassed by God are everywhere. Of course, that's just a regular game conditionality, but for a game in 2000, not a 2022 one. The platforming part is boring. Even the original series had some variations with freedom to climb and QTE scenes, but here in 2022 platforming is just an interactive loading screen, nothing more.

    There are fewer changes that you would expect from a sequel, which is not bad, but all of them did not save from awful storytelling. 2018's GoW isn't the good old GoW we had, but it has grown along with us, but sequel made me think that I am a dumb teenager.    … Expand
  48. thebeik
    Dec 20, 2022
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The fact that people consider this a 10/10 title is a perfect reflection of the state of video games today. The only 10/10 thing about this game is the graphics and performance on PS5. That's it.

    Artreus has somehow become an even more intolerable character than in the previous game. They choose to go the Marvel route with all of the "villain" Gods. None of them serious, none of them epic, all of them full of **** one liners and seemingly the same personality. Odin is a small old man that comes off like Peter Baylish from Game of Thrones, it's so anti-climatic.

    Additionally the first part of the game is all about Tyr and finding Tyr. Man, I wish we never found him because he was as much of a dissapointment as Odin. Boring, annoying, peace loving and all around just a poorly written character. Honestly, almost everyone and everything is annoying about this game.

    Mimir and Brock - two characters I loved from the first game are completely overbearing this time around and shove their humor in your face. It's just too much.

    Narrative of the year? How does a game that's 50% of the dialogue "I need to save Artreus. I only care about Artreus. I don't care this is about Artreus" really wins that award. **** hilarious.

    I put 30 hours into this game, it's a gorgeous but hallow follow up to what I thought was an enjoyable God of War 2018 title. There is one new weapon in this game and the move set for the Axe and Chains are largely unchanged.

    6/10 and I think that's being generous for the effort from the last title. Buy on Sale.    … Expand
  49. adrianompo
    Nov 29, 2022
    7
    The gameplay and technical aspects are superb and nearly perfect. The real downfall is the story: it is awkwardly bad. Not only are the arcs underdeveloped, but the dialogues are also cheesy and annoying. In an attempy to deliver strong emotions, Santa Monica came up with a cringey story, full of loopholes and boring moments. It doesn't feel like GoW, but rather a miserable attempt toThe gameplay and technical aspects are superb and nearly perfect. The real downfall is the story: it is awkwardly bad. Not only are the arcs underdeveloped, but the dialogues are also cheesy and annoying. In an attempy to deliver strong emotions, Santa Monica came up with a cringey story, full of loopholes and boring moments. It doesn't feel like GoW, but rather a miserable attempt to mimic Naughty Dog.… Expand
  50. San_7
    Dec 18, 2022
    7
    Game looks and plays very good. The story is also very good. The things i did not like is that every world and every chapter feels the same. It looks different but feels like you play the same level over and over again. It also feels like an dlc of the 2018 game then a complet new game. The game has a good combat and a nice feeling of controlling the characters.
  51. yhh111
    Nov 11, 2022
    6
    Basically a 2018 GOW DLC.
    The Atreus and Angrboda story was the most boring, time consuming and torturing experience in the game.
  52. AlanJay
    Nov 29, 2022
    6
    Don't get me wrong, the game is good, but it's not great. I was hoping for more improvements over the 2018 God of War (like a zoomed out camera for combat or better traversal mechanics). But nope! Feels very similar to the last game with minor additions.

    Also, if any developers sees this, PLEASEEEEE add the option to turn off the "hints" from Mimir and Atreus when it comes to puzzles. I    Don't get me wrong, the game is good, but it's not great. I was hoping for more improvements over the 2018 God of War (like a zoomed out camera for combat or better traversal mechanics). But nope! Feels very similar to the last game with minor additions.

    Also, if any developers sees this, PLEASEEEEE add the option to turn off the "hints" from Mimir and Atreus when it comes to puzzles. I don't like to rush gameplay. I like to look around and soak in the environment, but every time I reach a puzzle section, Atreus and Mimir immediately shout out the answer and tell me what to do and ruin he puzzle for me. Please give us the option to stop that!

    Other major problems: (please improve these for the next game)
    *** Traversal still sucks!!! Invisible walls everywhere. It doesn't make any sense which area Kratos can jump to and which area he cannot. It feels like a maze rather an an open or semi-open world.

    *** Platforming still sucks! Games like Uncharted, Horizon Zero Dawn, or Tomb Raider might not be perfect, but they still do a much better job when it comes to platforming and traversal. Reaching a specific area and pressing "x" just to watch Kratos climb is not that much fun, believe it or not.

    *** Those two points above causes exploration/traversal to be so SLOW and frustrating. I don't care that the game looks gorgeous when I have to spend 5 minutes just to move a few feet on the map because Kratos can't jump over a small tree log.

    *** Lastly, camera is still way zoomed in for this type of game. If possible, please give us a better (larger) FOV. This kind of over the shoulder camera works for something like Resident Evil because of its claustrophobic nature, but for a game like GoW it just causes a lot of cheap and frustrating deaths from attacks coming off-camera.

    I respect all the effort that went into making this game, and it's clear that the developers put a lot of effort and care into it, but the improvements from the 2018 game are very minimal and it juts feels like playing an expansion of the same game.

    Thank you!    … Expand
  53. nandika
    Nov 13, 2022
    7
    It starts of very good, but at the 1/3rd mark in the story it becomes very much very quickly. Too many characters, too many collectibles, too many shifts, too many skills, combat too complicated. It's a very nice sequel, but they crammed too much in here and it doesn't feel a big as a revelation as the nearly perfect 2018 game did. Level design isn't as inventive, and they retained a lotIt starts of very good, but at the 1/3rd mark in the story it becomes very much very quickly. Too many characters, too many collectibles, too many shifts, too many skills, combat too complicated. It's a very nice sequel, but they crammed too much in here and it doesn't feel a big as a revelation as the nearly perfect 2018 game did. Level design isn't as inventive, and they retained a lot of PS4 elements, for instance the need to wait between realm travels. Plus it underwent to a lot of 'disney-fication' and 'woke-ification' which is kind of sad.… Expand
  54. Naklate
    Nov 14, 2022
    7
    Big disappointment.

    God of war 2018 was amazing. It feels like more of the same, I should still like it but I don't. Maps are bad, design and views are meh. Enemies are just OK. NPCs are nothing special, one of the antagonist from main quest line feels like a Patison from "Twilight".
    The beginning of the game is great but after that game was painful to finish.

    I still recommend.
  55. SPAGHETTIBOLEG
    Nov 16, 2022
    5
    This game is very compitent and has amazing visuals, but ultimately feels like most other 3rd person action-story games. Kill enemies, watch cutsene, kill enemies, rinse and repeat.

    I feel there's so much more to explore witu videogames and yet we're stuck in a cycle of spectatle over originality. I'm finding myself tired of this genre and am wondering what else can be milked from 3rd    This game is very compitent and has amazing visuals, but ultimately feels like most other 3rd person action-story games. Kill enemies, watch cutsene, kill enemies, rinse and repeat.

    I feel there's so much more to explore witu videogames and yet we're stuck in a cycle of spectatle over originality. I'm finding myself tired of this genre and am wondering what else can be milked from 3rd person action/story games.    … Expand
  56. VideoGame567890
    Nov 11, 2022
    7
    The same problems with balancing/difficulty from the first game are exacerbated in the sequel. At times the tasks and side content can feel downright tedious, especially some of the moments as Atreus. The game constantly feels like it's asking you to do something in combat and then punishing you for trying. The health system is very stingy and if you start a battle with low health it isThe same problems with balancing/difficulty from the first game are exacerbated in the sequel. At times the tasks and side content can feel downright tedious, especially some of the moments as Atreus. The game constantly feels like it's asking you to do something in combat and then punishing you for trying. The health system is very stingy and if you start a battle with low health it is often still a good strategy to kill yourself so you can start at full. Playing as Atreus sucks. There were a few polish things that simply were not an issue in the first game. Without spoiling anything there are some moments in the game where objects are clipping through each other, which normally wouldn't bother me in a game, but compared to the previous title it does seem worth noting.… Expand
  57. Impetratus
    Nov 13, 2022
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. An underwhelming experience, the game is fundamentally identical to the first with a few minor changes to the UI.

    The exact same combos on all of Kratos weapons. including light and heavy runic attacks, recycled from GoW 2018. Where 2018 god of war had puzzles to break up the fast pace of the action, Ragnarok feels like it has puzzles to barrage you with dialogue or to fill out a 25 hour game.

    The first 5 or so hours of this game were a legitimate slog to get through, I quickly realised Kratos' moves and toolkit had not been updated at all. From this point you play as Atreus, which is a slog on its own, he is agile but hits like a wet noodle and is overall not fun to handle, particularly on higher difficulty. Atreus is yet another slog to play through.

    As a whole the game feels more bogged down by puzzles, the pace of the game has slowed down drastically and it is not a positive. Shortly after playing as Atreus your receive the draupnir, the weapon itself is not fun to handle at all, and once again forces you to slow down your pace of play by adding yet another mechanic that slows down the game.

    Not to mention the price tag 125 AUD for what is effectively a 25 hour dlc, which could ultimately be cut down to a few hours of cutscenes. The interesting part of this game is the story and the game seems hell bent on making it as painful as possible to get to it. The graphics in this game are incredible, just a waste they didn't update anything else. Strong 7/10    … Expand
  58. Seppukuma451
    Nov 14, 2022
    6
    God of war Ragnarok is 50% front ended with borderline cut DLC ideas. And back ended with an over-bloated mess of an ending that would have been in service to a third title. Pros: wonderful environments and physics

    Its an ending I guess Kratos is finally likeable after like 8 games or some **** Cons: combat is borderline on rails Falls into “sony 3rd person sad dad game 100” territory    God of war Ragnarok is 50% front ended with borderline cut DLC ideas. And back ended with an over-bloated mess of an ending that would have been in service to a third title. Pros: wonderful environments and physics

    Its an ending I guess

    Kratos is finally likeable after like 8 games or some ****

    Cons: combat is borderline on rails

    Falls into “sony 3rd person sad dad game 100” territory that they just kept running with since the Last of us

    Entire game feels like its holding your hand to the point that you barely have to think outside of combat

    Extended ending is locked to doing some fetch quests after 22 hours of gameplay

    Voice acting is borderline unbearable outside of kratos and mimir. Atreus feels like they had a decent child VA who hit puberty and doesnt care about voicing a main character. Game borderline forces you into using the axe over everything else. This is not a devil may cry game where you can use everything or nothing. Upgrade system is a cool idea. But largely a numbers game to out damage bosses. Overall. Its sad that the “final” chapter is an actual bloated mess that basically boils down to “melee only last of us story” and little much else. 6/10. Beat after 22 hours on 11/12/2023 PS5 version.    … Expand
  59. Darkuss94
    Nov 26, 2022
    7
    God of war Ragnarok It is a pleasant experience, but the more you start asking questions the less answers you're going to get.

    Besides never bigger open world to explore and amazing graphics and world building, there are a lot flaws that make God of war Ragnarok look like a DLC for the original God of War 4. - Gameplay includes cover to cover same mechanics from God of war 4. -    God of war Ragnarok It is a pleasant experience, but the more you start asking questions the less answers you're going to get.

    Besides never bigger open world to explore and amazing graphics and world building, there are a lot flaws that make God of war Ragnarok look like a DLC for the original God of War 4.

    - Gameplay includes cover to cover same mechanics from God of war 4.

    - Although the world a lot bigger and it offers a lot to explore, from various boss fights to simple and boring side quests that are also called "Favours". There are side quests to keep you interested, but most of the "Dead spirit" side quests are just utterly boring and not rewarding at all.

    - Enemy variety suffered as a consequence of the big open world which can get at times very repetitive and boring.

    - Finishing moves do not have that same rewarding feeling you had in the previous game due to lack of Gore and them experimenting with finishing moves that include both playable character and companion. You don't feel the anger and strength of the Ghost of Sparta when performing finishers which was present in previous game, even God of War 4.

    - Story and character development is very bad. Although it's backed up by amazing worlds, great graphics and characters we love, it is filled with cheesy dialog, decisions that get overwritten in the next sequence and trying to make all the secondary characters protagonists. The story gets so messed up in the end that you are left with thousands of those questions "Why would he do that?". It's not realistic and it looks like teen tv show.

    It is a good game, definitely worth experiencing, but it's not perfect nor nearly close to what God of War 4 was.

    God of war 4 had that intimacy, tension and atmosphere. Every moment was epic, a lot of lore to discover and the decisions that characters made had an impact and weight.    … Expand
  60. Tjc1185
    Nov 27, 2022
    5
    The most overrated game I've ever played. The controls are clunky so is aiming. All the puzzles are made for the mentality of children the cut scenes are way too long, atreus is so beyond annoying. The story doesn't flow right nor in parts does it make sense. In 30 years of gaming I've never been so quick to quit on a game and return it like I did with this one. The part where atreus is onThe most overrated game I've ever played. The controls are clunky so is aiming. All the puzzles are made for the mentality of children the cut scenes are way too long, atreus is so beyond annoying. The story doesn't flow right nor in parts does it make sense. In 30 years of gaming I've never been so quick to quit on a game and return it like I did with this one. The part where atreus is on a yak picking fruit was by far the most annoying part of tje whole game. Then atreus picks ubunga a flower she then scolds him and lectures him about killing the flower. The entire game is a lame corny attempt to make a sequel when all they did was copy everything from 2018 and rename it. 5/10 is generous… Expand
  61. Ghoster
    Feb 13, 2023
    5
    Well, GOW 2018 was pretty good, but this one seems to be everything but the game. Graphics is awesome, but that's where everything good stop. Story is boring, playing impossible because after each 5 steps animated sequence interrupt, fighting much worse than 2018 version and middle of the game where you play with Atreus and that girl is most cringe part of any game ever. It's 90 minutes ofWell, GOW 2018 was pretty good, but this one seems to be everything but the game. Graphics is awesome, but that's where everything good stop. Story is boring, playing impossible because after each 5 steps animated sequence interrupt, fighting much worse than 2018 version and middle of the game where you play with Atreus and that girl is most cringe part of any game ever. It's 90 minutes of riding some sort of bull and collecting fruit.… Expand
  62. cronokun
    Dec 5, 2022
    7
    TL;DR: It's good, but not as good, as the first one.

    Basically God of War Ragnarok is the same game as GoW (2018). Story is okay, but can be slow/boring sometimes, and I personally expected more epicness from the great scandinavian apocalypse. Combat is mostly the same, meaning it's fun when you're up to 2-3 enemies, but when there are 4-5, you often get screwed by camera and    TL;DR: It's good, but not as good, as the first one.

    Basically God of War Ragnarok is the same game as GoW (2018).

    Story is okay, but can be slow/boring sometimes, and I personally expected more epicness from the great scandinavian apocalypse.

    Combat is mostly the same, meaning it's fun when you're up to 2-3 enemies, but when there are 4-5, you often get screwed by camera and clunky controls. Also is seems Kratos and his son prepared so hard for Ragnarok, that they had lost all the weapons/armors and forgot all skills, sic!.

    P.S. Dear Santa Monica Studio, I hate you for these berserker fights!    … Expand
  63. Manson_fan25
    Dec 3, 2022
    7
    In contrast this game is lacking. The story does little to keep you going, and the world is a chore to get though, by the end you’re just fighting enemies that are sponges… I assume a way to drag out the end. It’s a chore. Everything else is fine but the pacing and Atreus.
  64. Beaivas
    Dec 9, 2022
    5
    The story and its telling is great but the gameplay is suprisingly boring, uninspired and unevolved. Linear in a way, not much to explore. Recycled puzzles.
  65. Zski
    Dec 3, 2022
    7
    I know my review of this game will not be the popular opinion, but I couldn’t help but feel extremely let down with this sequel. It’s not a bad game, but it’s only a shadow of what made the first game so great. It’s more of the same, and not for the better.

    Gameplay is largely the same. The gameplay and controls are so smooth and engaging that it’s still just as satisfying as it was the    I know my review of this game will not be the popular opinion, but I couldn’t help but feel extremely let down with this sequel. It’s not a bad game, but it’s only a shadow of what made the first game so great. It’s more of the same, and not for the better.

    Gameplay is largely the same. The gameplay and controls are so smooth and engaging that it’s still just as satisfying as it was the first time, especially in regard to the combat. Something that I found a bit disappointing was that they recycled all execution animations for enemies that were in the first game, it truly felt a little lazy. I loved trying to do all the executions in the first game to see how brutal they were, but you really have seen a large portion of before before you even boot the game up. What really bothered me about the game is the very poor flow between combat, story, and puzzles. Especially because the “puzzles” are even more low effort than the first game. Now the vast majority of the puzzles are just a scavenger hunt, they don’t really require much logic, but the solution is most often something you have to hit that is hidden behind something else. After a few hours, those become so cumbersome and pull away from the flow of the game, even if they are easy. The other part of the flow that bothered me were all of the segments where you have to play as Atreus. At first, it was a neat little change of gears, but after the fourth sequence, I just want to rush through those parts. His play style is cool at first, but his recycled moves at even more blatant than Kratos. It takes away so much from the flow of the game that every single section where you play as Atreus felt like a chore, and there are a ton of Atreus sections.

    I also found the story and characters to be far less interesting this time around. When you started the first game, you knew the plot, and while it was simple, you had it in the back of your mind the entire time. Now you have to play through the teenage angst undertone for 5 hours before you even know the overarching story. It’s awful. Luckily it does open up down the road and become pretty good over halfway through, but I cannot forget how stupid it was for such a long time. Some of the character development is pretty cool, but it really broke the spirit of who the characters are. Then somehow they made characters with massive potential like Odin and Thor so painfully uninteresting, and then they added tons of side characters that feel like they’re from an MTV fantasy show. It just feels very disorganized. Despite all these complaints, it’s still a good game. But it lacks the magic from the first game. This feels more like a massive DLC than it does a sequel. I enjoyed it as it’s own experience, glad I played it, but it didn’t do its justice as a sequel to such a major game.    … Expand
  66. vadim_m
    Feb 3, 2023
    5
    Story is extremely bad. Very poor written script. A lot of fillers and meaningless plot twist and game mechanics. Gameplay is boring too.
    The only thing the game is good at is it's visual, graphics.
  67. spiton675
    Dec 5, 2022
    7
    Ragnarok is neither the masterpiece nor the absolute crap people are saying on the internet. It's a linear game, not open world like many claim it to be, with action, puzzles and good but reoetitive combat. Graphs and art are 10/10, impressive CGI and motion capture. Voice actors do an excellent job.
    The problem is that Ragnarok follows the SONY AAA playbook. It's basically every game    Ragnarok is neither the masterpiece nor the absolute crap people are saying on the internet. It's a linear game, not open world like many claim it to be, with action, puzzles and good but reoetitive combat. Graphs and art are 10/10, impressive CGI and motion capture. Voice actors do an excellent job.
    The problem is that Ragnarok follows the SONY AAA playbook. It's basically every game we've played in the last decade. Took me 40 hours to beat it but I swear it felt like 100. The main story is just BORING. It trys and succeed in bulding a climax that never comes....at the and of the game I felt like I've got a good BJ but never got to cum. If you are a fan of the classic TRILOGY like me, you can sit this one out, or at least wait on a bit. It's definetley not worth the $70.    … Expand
  68. Ashen_one
    Dec 1, 2022
    7
    A wonderful game in terms of story and directing, but the gameplay there is nothing special in it, and at the end of the game you feel bored and , normal music The only thing that made it special was the story ,
  69. yream
    Nov 12, 2022
    6
    Sadly boring story, unnecessarily deep.
    Very little epic fights, gow 2018 final fight still better than entire ragnarok's boss fights.
    I am a huge fan of gow 2018 but this is just a shadow of it. Sorry :/
  70. mahyar_mohtavi
    Nov 19, 2022
    6
    This game is far from the GoW 2018 in both gameplay and story. you can find rarely something new in the gameplay including attacks, parry, weapons, and definitely in the runic attacks. I expected that the game at least offers new and customizable special movements. Except for the first fight with Thor at the beginning of the game, other fight bosses are not satisfying. The giganticThis game is far from the GoW 2018 in both gameplay and story. you can find rarely something new in the gameplay including attacks, parry, weapons, and definitely in the runic attacks. I expected that the game at least offers new and customizable special movements. Except for the first fight with Thor at the beginning of the game, other fight bosses are not satisfying. The gigantic characters like world serpent and Hel Keeper are not utilized well, you can only find one or two scenes from them. Finally, The story is so predictable with no surprises. I think the game lost the great potential of what the GoW 2018 created.… Expand
  71. NRistic
    Nov 11, 2022
    7
    Opinions are my own. This game is solid, but I don't feel like it's 9/10 or perfect score solid. If it ain't broke, why fix it? This formula is solid and works well. They built on the first game but missing anything amazing that would take this over the edge. It's very much the same GoW game with some extra features
  72. MathiasBS
    Nov 19, 2022
    7
    I haven’t finished the game yet, so this score is based on my impressions some 7 hours in.

    In my experience, the best cinematic games are the ones that feels like a movie - but this game, feels like a movie that wants to be a game. The story and acting is great, but the actual game is not very fun to play. You play mostly just to advance the story, which is probably great for some    I haven’t finished the game yet, so this score is based on my impressions some 7 hours in.

    In my experience, the best cinematic games are the ones that feels like a movie - but this game, feels like a movie that wants to be a game.

    The story and acting is great, but the actual game is not very fun to play. You play mostly just to advance the story, which is probably great for some players out there, but personally, I’ll take awesome gameplay over story any day - but the freshness and amazement of the previous entry has now worn off, and so the gameplay feels somewhat lackluster and predictable.

    The game is constantly split up into very cookie cutter sections, in a not so elegant way; you either have to solve a puzzle (with way too many hints), watch a cutscene, a combat scenario, traversal or a quick time event. The amount of combat sequences in-between the other elements also quickly becomes tiring, as the order usually goes; cutscene, combat, puzzle, combat, walk/boat, combat, cutscene, combat, puzzle, combat etc. The combat is somewhat decent, but is held back by the cinematic animations that often make it feel a bit stiff and clunky. The same enemies are also used way too frequently, and many of them feels as unnecessary filler. The puzzles are also pretty good at times, but after less than ten seconds a very obvious hint will be given, whether you like it or not. This kind of handholding is unbearable, and makes the puzzles way too easy. My biggest gripe though is that the PS5 version is definitely held back by the previous generation. Don’t get me wrong, it looks great, but it doesn’t look very much better than the previous entry, which is a big deal for a game where facial expressions and scenery is 40% of the experience. Also, what’s up with that stale water? When you spend most of the game sailing around, why didn’t they update these animations at least? As said, I haven’t finished it yet, and given this is a story driven game my opinion might change, but looking at it purely from a gameplay-perspective, I’d say Ragnarok plays it waaaaay too safe; so much so, that actually playing it becomes a bit tedious already. It’s a game that prioritizes story over gameplay, but if you’re into that then you’ll probably have a great time.
    If you want to have game that’s actually fun to play as well though, Ragnarok definitely has its moments but they’re few and far in between.    … Expand
  73. KSNpirateking
    Nov 11, 2022
    7
    Except few moves and graphical enhancements. Story falls flat and it just feels like a doc to the original.
  74. matthewrussel
    Nov 11, 2022
    7
    I wanted to play god of war sequel not a marvel movie. The game is excellent, but I'm extremely disappointed in the direction taken by the narrative. I think the decision to change game director for a direct sequel was really bad.
  75. RealGirlGamer
    Nov 19, 2022
    7
    It's just not as coherent and consistent as part one! I had high hopes, and many expectations since I am a long time fan of God of War, and I liked the first new game. But this one sadly missed the mark. There's good scenes, Kratos is pretty awesome, and a few nice surprises too.
    But the graphics are the exact same as part 1 (4 years later I would expect an improvement), the game play is    It's just not as coherent and consistent as part one! I had high hopes, and many expectations since I am a long time fan of God of War, and I liked the first new game. But this one sadly missed the mark. There's good scenes, Kratos is pretty awesome, and a few nice surprises too.
    But the graphics are the exact same as part 1 (4 years later I would expect an improvement), the game play is boring, and all the riddles and fights in between main story cut scenes and the very few bosses, are just tedious! Where are the big epic bosses? Why did many lore things and characters get a bit of exposure and then are just forgotten? The game now feels rushed, like they had to hurry to finish it in time for Christmas sales...    … Expand
  76. Raste
    Nov 16, 2022
    6
    I am a big fan of the God of War series and my expectations with this one was great. However it does seem like a huge DLC of the previous game and nothing much new out there. The gameplay is okay but combat is sluggish and not very satisfying nor compelling. Puzzles are often annoying and tedious. I almost feel like this game is a chore that I just need to finish and rush through. I don’tI am a big fan of the God of War series and my expectations with this one was great. However it does seem like a huge DLC of the previous game and nothing much new out there. The gameplay is okay but combat is sluggish and not very satisfying nor compelling. Puzzles are often annoying and tedious. I almost feel like this game is a chore that I just need to finish and rush through. I don’t really care about the story either. And the characters talk WAY too much which is tiresome and upright annoying. Can’t wait to complete the game so I can play something else far more interesting.… Expand
  77. Rysak23
    Nov 12, 2022
    6
    Snotty, vanilla plot that often makes you want to puke. A huge number of bugs that do not make it clear what is happening in the game. I'm f**cking serious, this is the most BUGGEST GAME 2022 YEAR. The settings are not constantly **** saved, I change the difficulty level, exit, save, reload, but it stupidly does not change. Otherwise a good end of the series
    P.S. And yes, Sony are    Snotty, vanilla plot that often makes you want to puke. A huge number of bugs that do not make it clear what is happening in the game. I'm f**cking serious, this is the most BUGGEST GAME 2022 YEAR. The settings are not constantly **** saved, I change the difficulty level, exit, save, reload, but it stupidly does not change. Otherwise a good end of the series
    P.S. And yes, Sony are motherf*ckers who can't add all possible languages ​​to all regions of the ps store    … Expand
  78. Lamporosso142
    Nov 13, 2022
    7
    semplicemente, deludente.
    Da un punto di vista tecnico perfetto, direi 10 su 10, ma la storia e il modo in cui viene raccontata è deludente
  79. dwsh
    Nov 15, 2022
    7
    It is a good game. The single camera is a technological genius but I think it limits the view and the scope of the actual ragnarok felt too small, as we did not see the actual destruction of ragnarok because the game needs to follow the characters for continuity.
    I have not continued post completion missions maybe its there but as right now we should have seen asgard demolished in someway
  80. Erickqe
    Nov 11, 2022
    6
    I played on my ps4 and the game has a few bugs, the game is good bur looks like the first god of war, I expected much more from the best Sony game, but at the end I feel like i have been playing an expansion of the first god of war
  81. Jajanken1
    Nov 10, 2022
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Jogo maravilhoso, mas mano quase flopei na parte do arco do bosque de ferro, chato p caralho… Expand
  82. jenbamin
    Apr 30, 2023
    5
    Ragnarok is a wholly disappointing sequel to the triumph that was God of War 2018, a game that was, to me, greater than the sum of its parts. Ragnarok is EXACTLY the sum of its parts, lacking the charm and writing polish that set the previous entry apart. The gameplay has not been expanded in any meaningful way and, in some regards, has regressed back to more "video-gamey" systems. ARagnarok is a wholly disappointing sequel to the triumph that was God of War 2018, a game that was, to me, greater than the sum of its parts. Ragnarok is EXACTLY the sum of its parts, lacking the charm and writing polish that set the previous entry apart. The gameplay has not been expanded in any meaningful way and, in some regards, has regressed back to more "video-gamey" systems. A visual feast, this game is; a meaningful, complete experience it is not. It suffers under the weight of its uninteresting narrative, resulting in a clunky, slow, meandering game with a dull payoff.

    The phrase "it feels like a Marvel movie" has been thrown around by some detractors, and perhaps rightfully so; this game is so Disney-fied that it barely feels like a God of War game, even less one made by the same studio as 2018's entry. Cory Barlog said something along the lines of 'I don't want my team nor myself to be working on another GoW game for the next 15 years,' and I don't think that's an unreasonable idea. The problem is that so much stuff got scrapped in order to keep this game within the ideal AAA length, and it shows. Plot points, characters, and artifacts lead to nowhere. There's always someone or something new to talk to or find, but rarely are the reasons why expanded upon.

    At the end of all this is a game full of ideas that are never resolved. The mid-game feels like filler, its connection to the main plot unclear and its consequences even less clear. Most of the game is spent cleaning up other people's messes as Kratos randomly decides to become the World's Best Dad and neighbor to all. This makes him a reactive protagonist and makes the game boring in turn, as most of your time is now spent waiting for something bad to happen so Kratos can step in and fix it.

    Ragnarok showed its hand too early and, oh boy, was it a weak one. The gimmick fight against Thor failed to recapture the magic that was the Baldur fight from 2018. Cut back to the cabin and here's Odin, the All-Father, the king of Asgard, talking like he's in an episode of Seinfeld. His goal is to stop Ragnarok, something he's desperately trying to figure out (supposedly), yet every appearance shows him frolicking around as if there's nothing wrong. This seems to be a common theme, actually, as every character seems to feel no sense of urgency. There wouldn't even be a game here if Kratos wasn't so prideful in the first hour; him and Odin have the same goal and, by the end of the game, Kratos has evolved into someone who actively wants peace, so... why even deny Odin's truce in the first place? The story stumbles through the realms, eventually limping to a dull, unsatisfying conclusion.

    The discrepancies throughout this game's story make my head hurt, but these aren't just limited to the narrative. The gameplay and level design have taken massive hits, especially the latter; the sprawling landscapes dotted with colossal set pieces found in the first game have been scrapped in favor of narrow hallways and one-way streets littered with "puzzles." These "puzzles" are never difficult but are so great in number that they quickly became tedious. I never thought I would be complaining about roadblocks in video games but man, I miss the dynamic puzzles from the first game. At least they were a little more complex.

    The skill trees are unnecessary for two reasons: one is that you get so much XP so quickly that you never need to worry about unlocking skills; the second is that these skills are so ineffective that you're better off without them. The skills in the first game had real responses in-game, like the stance-changing R1 attack doing more posture damage, rewarding the risk you had to take just to activate it. In this game, enemies can walk off a stagger as long as there's another animation in their attack cycle. The parry windows are never consistent and, even if you do pull off a perfect parry, there's no guarantee that the riposte will hit- and that's EVEN IF the enemy gets staggered at all. There's no dueling or back-and-forth combat, just passive waiting until you can punish a lucky stagger or shield bash.

    God of War: Ragnarok feels like a visual novel. My button inputs mean very little because the story is more important. But... the story is boring. I'm not invested in something where all the cool stuff happens in cutscenes where control has been taken away from me. The major boss battles ARE cutscenes; they take no skill to beat, instead you just whittle away their health bar until you get to the next cutscene where Kratos does something cooler than you could ever hope to achieve in real combat.

    This game was so badly mishandled that I'm not even excited for the next game by SSM. I don't think Ragnarok is a bad game, but it's a bad God of War game. Unfortunately, we may never know just how good this game could have been. In appealing to the lowest common denominator, this game became bland and soulless. What a shame.    … Expand
  83. EcchiMegane
    Nov 18, 2022
    5
    I am so disappointed! Don't get me wrong, the game is still okay. There are scenes that are absolutely fantastic! The acting of the main characters, the score, the graphics, are great. But overall, it is just not a satisfying experience. The graphics have not improved since part one. They aren't bad, but it is a pity. The gameplay is fine, although gets boring fast. There's too manyI am so disappointed! Don't get me wrong, the game is still okay. There are scenes that are absolutely fantastic! The acting of the main characters, the score, the graphics, are great. But overall, it is just not a satisfying experience. The graphics have not improved since part one. They aren't bad, but it is a pity. The gameplay is fine, although gets boring fast. There's too many riddles and combat challenges, and monsters feel like HP sponges above all else.
    My biggest problem is however the pacing, and the quality of the story.
    It feels like a roller coaster, going from an excellent scene, to one boring and generic as can be.
    The game starts out strong, then has a lot of tedious sequences that should be optional side quests but aren't. Then we get a masterfully done main story bit, then back to boring filler. Why can't the quality be the same across the whole game? There's extremely low effort animations when characters talk, but the scenes deserve mo-cap. Lots of lore things are set up, then never used again, or never explained. A lot of missed potential. So many things one would expect to see from Norse mythology, and they didn't bother putting most of them in.
    I love the God of War series and I don't get why they don't put in more epic boss fights? Or more bosses in general. There's basically only 2-3 main bosses, all human-like, nothing big, nothing epic. The ending was horrible. The game feels incomplete, like they forgot that they only made 2 instead of 3 games let in the Norse mythology.
    My favorite parts were Kratos, Brock, and Sindri. All scenes with them were good. The rest... meh.    … Expand
  84. Bigblue26
    Nov 16, 2022
    7
    There are so many cutscenes and you can not skip them. The beginning of the game I felt very bored and numerous fillers. Graphics looked just the same as the 2018 game. Lot of the areas were just reskinned. However towards the end of the game it really picked up and finished off with one of the best endings I have seen in a long time.
  85. Neowise
    Nov 12, 2022
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Final totalmente broxante, não chega nem perto dos classicos, batalha com Odin não se compara com a grandeza da batalha com Zeus, tem uma variedade maior de inimigos que o 2018, mas muitos foram reciclados, graficos que sinceramente não mudam nada do gow 2018, a gameplay é a mesma, que é muito boa, um jogo divertido pela gameplay, alguns momentos o jogo fica muito arrastado, não é o melhor jogo do mundo, não é o pior jogo do mundo, é apenas um jogo mediocre, o que salva é a gameplay que é muito divertido, por isso dou nota 5… Expand
  86. omelo10
    Nov 19, 2022
    7
    continuacao do jogo de 2018 gostei muito, mas a unica diferenca entre o jogo anterior e a continuacao da historias, mudanca grafica minima.
  87. tavog96
    Nov 11, 2022
    6
    I've only played GoW 2018, so am not a GoW fans of the sorts. Now then, I would like to give my opinion as impartial as possible:
    *Mechanics*: Most mechanics here are the same of GoW 2018 and that's a compliment. Fighting is as satisfactory as expected.
    *Graphics*: Same graphics of GoW 2018 but worse performance, fog covering everything but popping still visible now and then. Graphics    I've only played GoW 2018, so am not a GoW fans of the sorts. Now then, I would like to give my opinion as impartial as possible:
    *Mechanics*: Most mechanics here are the same of GoW 2018 and that's a compliment. Fighting is as satisfactory as expected.
    *Graphics*: Same graphics of GoW 2018 but worse performance, fog covering everything but popping still visible now and then. Graphics wise speaking; this game is a 80$ DLC.
    *AI*: Functional, there is obvious hints NPC's IA was not tested enough on all scenarios. This is one of the worst IA i've seen in most recent AAA games to be honest.
    *Plot*: Mind blowing, if this game was a book it could be a best seller.
    *Story telling*: There is a problem with story telling pace in this game, it is obvious to me Santa Monica tried to make this game as extended as possible for "only god knows" reasons, this game could be easily a 12 hours well paced frenetic video game, but Santa Monica extended the game up to 25 hours artificially by using cheap tricks like hidden loading screens and boring submissions with boring enemies EVERYWHERE, Santa Monica really messed it up in this regard.
    *Conclusion*: Enjoyable, but, it is not worthy enough for a 80$ price tag, this game is screaming for a PS5 remaster from day 1, such a shame...    … Expand
  88. gooodoofwwarr
    Nov 12, 2022
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Really Bad Story, really bad Design Asgard, i wished cory barlog still be directing of god of war : ragnarök, not eric williams, game play is awesome bot story game and even design some characters like heimdall, is he child/: looks liks eric williams skipped all story, no answer the question for last game, and not even one right ending for us fan.… Expand
  89. Xplocion
    Nov 10, 2022
    7
    The good:
    New exclusive to PS5. The graphics look good and with some details. Some side quests are interesting. Continue the story of the 2018 game (Single dad throws axes)
    The bad: Very short drawing distance and supported by excessive blur and fog on the sides of the characters and close-ups. Companions and allies never shut up (talk and talk and talk more and you move forward and    The good:
    New exclusive to PS5. The graphics look good and with some details. Some side quests are interesting. Continue the story of the 2018 game (Single dad throws axes)

    The bad:
    Very short drawing distance and supported by excessive blur and fog on the sides of the characters and close-ups. Companions and allies never shut up (talk and talk and talk more and you move forward and keep talking). The recycling of textures, effects and modeling of the 2018 game is noticeable. Advance on the map to inconsequential areas and moments. Fog in the background to cover lack and slow loads of objects and textures. Very continuous with respect to the 2018 game. Uninspired enemies. It seems more like a DLC for God of War 2018. Excess of in-game cinematics of characters and faces talking and talking. They are all the time giving the rattle with the theme of Ragnarok but as there is no countdown or indication of progress, it only remains as a curious anecdote. That I don't want to play with Atreus I don't care who he is, or who he is going to be or who he pretends to be. 10 USD extra pay to update the version to new generation, really?

    The Meh!:
    That yes, indeed, Kratos is brutal (but he does not recover the quality quotas of the first 3 canonical games) but his game is not the revolution that they promised and it only remained as a simplistic continuation. When he backs up, Kratos doesn't turn or look at the camera, he just walks backwards with his back turned which gives the impression that the modeling is a faceless back to save textures. Very rushed game that can give about 10-15 hours as an interactive movie and a lot of repetition (they don't get tired of talking). His enemies are uninspired especially that golem **** Lots of teasing and hee hee ha ha with Craig The Brute and it comes out here too, but there's no value in making jokes or memes about that enemy and his pitiful modeling    … Expand
  90. Lonejumper23
    Nov 12, 2022
    7
    I have played every single GoW game made. (Including Vita) I am 15 hrs on this new adventure and this is a graphical achivement on all levels. As I am playing I am still waiting for that " WOW Factor" all GoW games have and nothing so far. This GoW game feels like a DLC 100% and its done very well. Nothing new, copy and pasted from the first game, but enhanced level design, and no newI have played every single GoW game made. (Including Vita) I am 15 hrs on this new adventure and this is a graphical achivement on all levels. As I am playing I am still waiting for that " WOW Factor" all GoW games have and nothing so far. This GoW game feels like a DLC 100% and its done very well. Nothing new, copy and pasted from the first game, but enhanced level design, and no new combat makes this a great GoW but not the best. I am going to leave this review here and its really too bad they went in the direction they did with this game.......it could have been so much greater and such a grand achivement like all the other GoW games.… Expand
  91. Sultanofcereal
    Nov 13, 2022
    6
    Story is good, worlds are (mostly) very fun to explore, and there are a lot of very memorable characters. The combat is great against bosses, but fighting groups of enemies (the majority of the damn game) is mostly garbage and not fun. The camera is garbage, and you’ll either be spending a lot of your time trying to keep all the enemies in frame or getting shanked from off screen. I playedStory is good, worlds are (mostly) very fun to explore, and there are a lot of very memorable characters. The combat is great against bosses, but fighting groups of enemies (the majority of the damn game) is mostly garbage and not fun. The camera is garbage, and you’ll either be spending a lot of your time trying to keep all the enemies in frame or getting shanked from off screen. I played this and 2018 on the hardest difficulty. I had fun with 2018, but did not enjoy my time with ragnarok as much.… Expand
  92. nix1331
    Nov 11, 2022
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Amazing gameplay and beautiful graphics, too bad so much of the game focuses on such a poorly written and insufferable character...Atreus. Telltale sign of bad writing: main character (atreus) makes every wrong decision, but plot armour and dues ex machina end up making most of his decisions the right one in the end. Pretty tame kills...long gone are the days of brutal executions in GoW

    The way odin and surtr speak is a...questionable choice. GoW3 still best imo. Zeus>odin as an antagonist    … Expand
  93. Jbwing
    Nov 11, 2022
    7
    Just finished the game. I very much enjoyed it, however I am a bit disappointed. I understand that my expectations might have been unrealistic, but the sequel being next gen really raised the bar for me. To me ragnarock felt more like DLC to me than a sequel. The combat is marginally better with a few tweaks and changes. My fear of it being playable on last gen came to fruition.Just finished the game. I very much enjoyed it, however I am a bit disappointed. I understand that my expectations might have been unrealistic, but the sequel being next gen really raised the bar for me. To me ragnarock felt more like DLC to me than a sequel. The combat is marginally better with a few tweaks and changes. My fear of it being playable on last gen came to fruition. Developing a game for old hardware limits the games possibilities. Still a great game, just not the home run game of the year like I hoped for.… Expand
  94. bf_jeje
    Nov 11, 2022
    5
    The game has several bugs. Some of them don't let me advance on the adventure. Others makes Atreus walk like a Blender 3d model. The fog is everywhere, and don't let me see the landscape. The movements are all from the previous game. There is almost no improvements in graphics, considering the GoW 2018 game. The PS5 version looks the same as the PS4 version. There is nothing new here for me.
  95. Sabrewulf1
    Nov 18, 2022
    5
    Overhyped, linear, ps4 graphics on ps5, more movie than game, gameplay mechanics are exactly the same as the first. The devs were so scared of failure, they copied the formulae of the original to the point that its essentially the same game with different bosses. I mean exactly. Same house in the snow, instead of taking down a deer with loki you have to do the same trek but just forOverhyped, linear, ps4 graphics on ps5, more movie than game, gameplay mechanics are exactly the same as the first. The devs were so scared of failure, they copied the formulae of the original to the point that its essentially the same game with different bosses. I mean exactly. Same house in the snow, instead of taking down a deer with loki you have to do the same trek but just for another reason (spoiler free). Then you fight balder in the first, it's the same again with different boss (spoiler free). Then off you go on a linear adventure until it opens up into a semi open world. There is nothing different, the fighting gets boring, the difficulty even on hard is too easy. It's mediocre at best. If you prefer movie over game, you will enjoy. Me personally I prefer a game to a movie. Casual game with good cut scenes that's been overhyped to death.… Expand
  96. Rager170
    Nov 17, 2022
    7
    Unfortunately this game is just not the gem that the first one is. I am not sure what it is missing, but its just not as good.

    The story is boring and confusing, and the flow is constantly being interupted by pointless chores to do. The gameplay is just like the last one, which is good but they are adding too much extras and taking away from what the game was. Also, I feel like they    Unfortunately this game is just not the gem that the first one is. I am not sure what it is missing, but its just not as good.

    The story is boring and confusing, and the flow is constantly being interupted by pointless chores to do. The gameplay is just like the last one, which is good but they are adding too much extras and taking away from what the game was.

    Also, I feel like they added far too many puzzles. They arent overly hard but it interrupts the flow of the game to a point where its tedious and annoying. Some of the new elements to the puzzles are just bad.

    Level design is annoying also. I am constantly getting turned around and leaves me with a feeling of missing things. I realize that the game wants you to come back to these areas but still..

    The first game was amazing and I couldnt wait to play it again. I am 15-20 hours into this one and at this point, I just cant wait for it to be over.    … Expand
  97. willmckasson
    Nov 22, 2022
    5
    Sony delivers another visual masterpiece that fails to build off the sucesses from the first game and forces boring dialogue and woke moments at every turn. I'm surprised sony let kratos stay being a white man since they hate white men and use the story and characters as a way to constantly put men down and equate odin and kratos as white slave owners and everyone else as victims of theirSony delivers another visual masterpiece that fails to build off the sucesses from the first game and forces boring dialogue and woke moments at every turn. I'm surprised sony let kratos stay being a white man since they hate white men and use the story and characters as a way to constantly put men down and equate odin and kratos as white slave owners and everyone else as victims of their white man choices. It's another example of woke culture seeping into a place it doesn't belong and making an industry worse. Unfortunately a new coat of paint of boring talking and walking missions and the horrendously eye sore menu system and plethora of bugs make this sequel a real let down. It would have been more enjoyable as a animated movie and not a game.… Expand
  98. Msafari98
    Dec 5, 2022
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I have finished the game and got platinum trophy, but I expect the game was way better than just being good
    This must be trilogy, you ruined it
    The world is empty again!
    They compare side quests with The Witcher 3 but GOW is way behind
    Odin didn't give a sh*t about Ragnarok but the mask
    The Ragnarok was not about world ends but only Asgard! I think lazy devs made this decision, also Ragnarok itself was not big deal, you name a game Ragnarok and it's 10% about Ragnarok itself
    Thor said I see you again to Kratos at the beginning but never catch Kratos up till last hours of game, Odin disguised as Tyre but for what reason? Did he use the information he gathered? No, he knew Kratos is seeking the spear for killing Himdal but didn't warn Himdal or at least didn't take horn from him .
    Fenrir was ghost and had do nothing In storyline. Thor the god of thunder has been killed by one-hit spear and vanished :/
    Also Combat algorithm of Odin, Thor and even Himdal was poor and bad and not breathe taking at all.
    The narrative was bad
    Combat system didn't add anything but they removed bare hand and some Blade combos.
    Asgard is little village, I expected huge palaces and City, Again thanks for lazy devs
    What have you been doing in these 5 years? I was huge fan of GOW but I hope Elden or any other games win the goty award, also metacritic score is worthless, 94? It should be something around 80`85 thanks to Gameplay, graphic and Sindri/Brok, that's it    … Expand
  99. Girask
    Dec 11, 2022
    5
    An absolutely perfect game. Whenever a new God of war comes out it always comes out with a new console so I immediately buy the game with the console. Pity for those fake fans who criticized this piece of art. You can tell that they don't know how to value things
  100. sirjuicebox
    Jan 24, 2023
    7
    Very good game overall but doesn't have the same punch as the 2018 reboot does.

    Many of the mechanics are the same from GoW 2018. I played the first game in October, so maybe I have strong recency bias, but everything lost its freshness. For combat, you start out with the two weapons you finish the story with from 2018, and you gain one during your playthrough about halfway through.    Very good game overall but doesn't have the same punch as the 2018 reboot does.

    Many of the mechanics are the same from GoW 2018. I played the first game in October, so maybe I have strong recency bias, but everything lost its freshness.

    For combat, you start out with the two weapons you finish the story with from 2018, and you gain one during your playthrough about halfway through. The third weapon is a nice change, and I actually used it most of the rest of the game, since I was getting bored of the two weapons you used for the past 2 games. Runic attacks are completely uninspired, and I believe they are all the same from the first game, so for much of the game, you're performing the same moves as you did in GoW 2018. Enemies are basically rinse and repeat from GoW 2018, since they reuse many of the same realms. I found this uninspired. There are a few welcome differences in the combat, but I found it extremeley stale when comparing to GoW 2018.

    The story and writing are terrific as expected and the game is really pretty.

    I've written more negative than good in this review, but I'll give it a mixed score, since I still found it really fun and a great playthrough even with all of its flaws. I think the "movie" part of this game is a 10/10, and the gameplay is a 6/10. I personally value gameplay over story, so that's why it doesn't average out fully for me.    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

3
#3 Best PlayStation 5 Game of 2022
4
#4 Most Discussed PlayStation 5 Game of 2022

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
94

Universal acclaim - based on 141 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 140 out of 141
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 141
  3. Negative: 0 out of 141
  1. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Jan 25, 2024
    100
    I can't help but tip my hat to the entire Santa Monica team. The deeper you delve into the game, the more you'll be drawn into the stunning story of a father and son against the backdrop of perhaps history's most horrific war. Throw in some casually endearing humour, great and fluid gameplay, and wrap it all up with an amazing audiovisual experience. [Issue#323]
  2. Softpedia
    Dec 8, 2022
    95
    Thanks to an amazing cast that’s doing an outstanding job, a compelling story told through the eyes of multiple characters, and top-notch combat, this epic and heartfelt journey strikes all the right chord. It’s impossible not to recommend God of War Ragnarok, but just in case you had any doubts, I strongly advise anyone mildly interested in gaming to play Santa Monica Studio’s latest masterpiece.
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  3. GameSkinny
    Dec 1, 2022
    80
    It’s a satisfying conclusion to the modern God of War saga, but it’s hard to walk away and not feel like this could have been something greater.
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