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. Awanka
    Feb 24, 2023
    9
    Ragnarok maintains the high level of quality of its precessor. As I believe God of War was the GOTY for 2018, this is a very good thing. The standout here is graphics including the art direction. This is a truly next-gen game, and the alien worlds come to life in great detail. On the gameplay side, the scores down the board are excellent. The combat is fast-paced, challenging, andRagnarok maintains the high level of quality of its precessor. As I believe God of War was the GOTY for 2018, this is a very good thing. The standout here is graphics including the art direction. This is a truly next-gen game, and the alien worlds come to life in great detail. On the gameplay side, the scores down the board are excellent. The combat is fast-paced, challenging, and rewarding. The sense of discovery as you explore each of the worlds is fantastic. The storyline is epic, and the characters are interesting, especially Thor and Odin. It took me 72 hours on Give Me God of War difficulty to do everything, so it's also reasonably lengthy.

    There are two reasons Ragnarok isn't 10/10. First, it's a retread of old ground that seems familiar. The gameplay is superb, but it's all something we've seen before.

    The second reason I can't give it the highest score is that GoW:Ragnarok has contracted a severe case of JRPG-itis for a lack of a better term. The game has way too many drawn-out cutscenes that are supposed to be moving, but end up being melodramatic in the extreme and very wordy, breaching the etiquette of showing and not telling. I'm not against wordy, but I am when it's mostly just to convey mawkish sentiment and after-school special preaching. There's an entire chapter where Atreus has a pseudo-romantic adventure which was cringy. The nuanced storytelling and beautifully realized subtle relationship between Kratos' stoicism and Atreus' idealism of the first game has been replaced with cheap moralizing and tedious hand-wringing and "I love you" monologs. Characters can't stop stop blubbering, and everyone has some secret tragedy that they just have to blurt out like a Lifetime movie in a moment of vulnerability. This is manipulative hack-writing 101, and the shift in tone is inappropriate for a God of War game.    … Expand
  2. Userback
    Feb 24, 2023
    1
    Boring and slow story and gameplay..fight with the best bosses is like a random enemy...havent the feeling of be vs gods like gow 3...the best of the game is that its exclusive sony...
  3. Darkgamer107
    Feb 24, 2023
    10
    El juego aunque muy continuista es increiblemente atrapante,divertido,inmersivo y sobre todo epico,su historia es impecable y muy conmovedora,la jugabilidad es exquisita,los objetos como armaduras,escudos,reliquias y de mas son una gran alluda en los combates,talvez yo ubiera aprovechado mejor algunos personajes pero el resto es increible ,para mi el mejor juego de la saga,obra maestra.
  4. Bader_kj
    Feb 24, 2023
    10
    God of war nice game ......................................................
  5. idohaker
    Feb 24, 2023
    10
    An improvement over the first game in almost every sense, Although they are trying to achieve very different things. The first one was more self contained and about kratos and atreus forming their bond and kratos trying to sever the wrongdoings of his past. This one is much more about the future and the inevitablility of prophecy. I won't say anything beyond that cause you really shouldAn improvement over the first game in almost every sense, Although they are trying to achieve very different things. The first one was more self contained and about kratos and atreus forming their bond and kratos trying to sever the wrongdoings of his past. This one is much more about the future and the inevitablility of prophecy. I won't say anything beyond that cause you really should enjoy it for yourself. The nine realms are a great world to traverse in. My favorite was Vanaheim. I would say almost everything in this game is superb besides a small but annoying problem with the combat, that sometimes you are stuck in an attack animation and the enemy keeps on his attack which makes it feel just stupid and not fair, But this is so small I wouldn't put a knock on the game over it. A masterpiece and highly reccomended!… Expand
  6. Espartanox2023
    Feb 23, 2023
    10
    EPICO, es la palabra justa para definir este juego. Me recuerda mucho a lo que fue Gow 2 en la saga griega. Ya que al igual que el primer Gow en 2005 (gran juego e inicio de la saga), pero el 2 lo mejoró TODO. Mejoró en combate, cantidad de jefes, mini jefes, graficos, etc, haciendo que sea realmente una experiencia brutal. Gow Ragnarök hace lo mismo, lo mejora todo en cuanto a lo que fueEPICO, es la palabra justa para definir este juego. Me recuerda mucho a lo que fue Gow 2 en la saga griega. Ya que al igual que el primer Gow en 2005 (gran juego e inicio de la saga), pero el 2 lo mejoró TODO. Mejoró en combate, cantidad de jefes, mini jefes, graficos, etc, haciendo que sea realmente una experiencia brutal. Gow Ragnarök hace lo mismo, lo mejora todo en cuanto a lo que fue el juego anterior y nos regala una aventura increible, una obra maestra.

    Gracias Santa Monica por este excelente juego y por esta gran saga, una de las sagas mas espectaculares en la historia de los videojuegos. Te amo Kratos!!!    … Expand
  7. dixon_seider
    Feb 23, 2023
    4
    This game came with my PS5 when I bought it new. I have never played a GOW title in the past so being thrown directly into the lore without any backstory is a bit jarring. I've put in 3 hours thus far and it feels like a movie that wants to be a video game. I seriously put my controller down anytime there is a cut scene. Any game that makes me want to put the controller down isn'tThis game came with my PS5 when I bought it new. I have never played a GOW title in the past so being thrown directly into the lore without any backstory is a bit jarring. I've put in 3 hours thus far and it feels like a movie that wants to be a video game. I seriously put my controller down anytime there is a cut scene. Any game that makes me want to put the controller down isn't good. It may be the worst voice acting I've ever encountered, I can barely understand Kratos and Odin sounds like a random guy from New York, not very immersive.
    I have no emotional connection to the character and therefore no reason to care if I die or fail a mission. I am not motivated to continue playing this game and am not encouraged that everyone thinks this a good title. Are there no good games on this platform? Should I just return the PS5?    … Expand
  8. 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
  9. WAK_
    Feb 23, 2023
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. 5/10. Bad bad story. Fun combat. A lot of good characters, few bad ones too. Story really lets it down.… Expand
  10. PeteZombie
    Feb 22, 2023
    7
    So beat GoW 2018 and rolled right into this bad idea the menu felt downgraded visually and combat did feel a natural 2018 was great but more of the same with snow and dust effects
  11. bojo12000
    Feb 22, 2023
    10
    GOTY. Loved it and platinumed it. It was even better than 2016, which is also one of my favorite games of all time.
  12. IRON_SOUL
    Feb 21, 2023
    8
    O jogo é bom em todos os aspectos, mas não tem nenhum tipo de inovação na jogabilidade, gráficos ou historia, tudo é mediano, não tem o mesmo impacto que o GOW de 2018 teve. Jogo extremamente divertido e bem feito, combate não teve inovação, mas continua fluido e funcional, mundo maior para explorar, mais chefes para enfrentar, mais personagens para interagir, tudo é maior aqui, porem,O jogo é bom em todos os aspectos, mas não tem nenhum tipo de inovação na jogabilidade, gráficos ou historia, tudo é mediano, não tem o mesmo impacto que o GOW de 2018 teve. Jogo extremamente divertido e bem feito, combate não teve inovação, mas continua fluido e funcional, mundo maior para explorar, mais chefes para enfrentar, mais personagens para interagir, tudo é maior aqui, porem, além da falta de inovação, o grande ponto fraco do jogo é a historia, apesar ter mais para se ver , o roteiro é fraco, desenvolvimento de alguns personagens é praticamente nulo e o final não é satisfatório, não responde as perguntas deixadas na trama, não se equipara a expectativa criada pelo próprio game e deixa um gosto ruim, não adianta comer um bolo delicioso se na ultima mordida você pega um pedaço estragado, acaba com toda a experiência!… Expand
  13. Tavitian
    Feb 21, 2023
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The Best Game I've ever played. The Story is so amazing and watching the evolution of the characters, is amazing. 10/10… Expand
  14. Ibrahim758
    Feb 21, 2023
    10
    Such a good gamegggggggggggg of war ragnarok how to open the legendary chest in the eternal world cup viewe in the labyrinth of another world cup viewe and a veil of lies by the way home gym comic is a great
  15. GamerDad2023
    Feb 20, 2023
    3
    This is a clunky action game where common enemies are threatening damage sponges for you, the god of war. Compared to the previous God of War games this is a step up in graphics and polish, but a huge step back in gameplay and story. I returned it to the library after several hours.
  16. BiohazardMax
    Feb 18, 2023
    3
    I'm a huge fan of God of War series, played many times all games , but this game maked for the children.
  17. Divstar
    Feb 18, 2023
    10
    The greatest single action adventure game to exist ever. A true masterpiece. Period.
  18. EmoLee
    Feb 17, 2023
    10
    Though not quite as good as the 2018 release, God of War Ragnarok provides a more than satisfying conclusion to the Norse mythology arc. Whether or not it is as good as or better than Elden Ring really doesn’t matter. If you want a great story and solid combat, you can definitely find that here!
  19. CarlHF89
    Feb 17, 2023
    0
    Another bitter disappointment from Sony. Perhaps if they focused less on marketing and hype.
  20. Saad0011
    Feb 17, 2023
    10
    Absolutely brilliant, masterpiece from the beginning to ending.
    Sms handled kratos journey with love , just hoped they change the (god) to anything that doesn't conflict with Islam.
    I can only say 10/10
  21. dr0nzer
    Feb 16, 2023
    7
    Boss encounters felt extremely unbalanced on all difficulties, even the easiest story mode on just a main story playthrough (sidequests feel mandatory to help build your character gear up here). These encounters are very lengthy and do not drop enough health restoration crystals, encounters last upwards of ten minutes and you may only see a few max.
    By the time it was done, I was over it,    Boss encounters felt extremely unbalanced on all difficulties, even the easiest story mode on just a main story playthrough (sidequests feel mandatory to help build your character gear up here). These encounters are very lengthy and do not drop enough health restoration crystals, encounters last upwards of ten minutes and you may only see a few max.
    By the time it was done, I was over it, despite them feeling epic and grand... the fustration was just too much because of the bad balancing.

    The game also features backtracking very heavily, in both the story and the sidequests.. lazy and shortcuty imo.

    Axe weapon doesn't feel fun to play, very clunky and slow in terms of combat mechanics when you compare it to the pacing and speed of the bosses and enemy attacks.

    Story was great up until the final chapter, no spoilers so i won't go further but it felt like the writers ran out of time so they tried to wrap it up very quickly.

    Game of the year.... sure why not, it has the qualities of it compared to other titles released in 2022, but it's by no means perfect.

    The game could have been better, if they took the time to do proper QA .    … Expand
  22. trinovatic
    Feb 16, 2023
    9
    SIIIUUUUUUU, el mejor juego que he jugado este año, todo lo que faltaba (argumentalmente hablando) en el primero aquí nos lo entregan, se nota mucho el cambio de director y para bien, que buenas cinemáticas, los mundos son increíbles y los bosses están que te cagas.
  23. Jaddel
    Feb 15, 2023
    0
    Worse than GoW 2018:

    - combat system
    - camera
    - story
    - still bugs

    better than GoW 2018:

    - none

    -->

    Absolute disappointment!
    GoW 2018 platinumed, this **** deleted
  24. FoamingStuff
    Feb 14, 2023
    10
    Insanely good, went into the God of War game on PS4 completely blind - had no idea, was blown away partly because I went in so blind.

    And somehow I was blown away all over again by Ragnarok, even though now I knew exactly what was waiting for me. Well, I was wrong. It was SO MUCH BETTER than I thought a sequel of an already perfect game could be.
  25. Budjik
    Feb 14, 2023
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I am so happy for anyone who enjoyed this game, I am just not one of them.

    I really loved the last game, and I really really wanted to love this one. I don't have that much time to game on PS5, so when I finally did.

    I think lots of my gripes with this game come from the fact that it seems to be developed for PS4 first and PS5 as an afterthought.

    I was excited about PS5 and the basically no loading times thing which promissed very different approach to level design. And I got none of it here. I got a PS4 game that was really really good at wasting so much of my time by constantly making me do things that usually hide loading new environments. THe game is just non-stop about lifting stones/tree trun/squeezing through tight spots with the same animation every single time. Things that I understood in PS4 era, like the world tree travel sequence, slow riding around etc. I don't know - Ijust hoped for something more exciting.
    Also the strict definition of areas with free exploration and linear level are so harshly separated, it reminded me of Pokemon Sword/Shield and again made me sad, we couldn't get something more seamless (at the same time I like that the game didn't turn into classic gigantic openworld with tons of boring things to do to clear every icon on the map).

    Another thing connected to level design - the game is full of invisible barriers and in its story parts, it really is just a corridor. And maybe it is just me, but I feel like in 2023 (22) it is not a big ask to make these barriers more natural looking, or maybe go another way around it. If you have a character, that in cutscene jumps 100 meters and then you have to go around through crazy puzzles to crost 1m tall fence, it just really breaks the immersion.

    Maybe it is just me not keeping up with videogames anymore, but I really really do not enjoy Souls like games. (this kinda ruined Jedi Fallen Order for me) and I feel like the bossfights (especially the non compulsory ones) got much closer into this direction, which is perfectly fine, but I really didn't care for it. It just feels so unbalanced, when you fight against some famous deities and it feels so much easier than trying to kill some random undead captain in the middle of nowhere. Also it feels like something happened with development in the second half of the game and the bossfights are just very generic and are nowhere near the quallity of the first game (or even the first half of this game).

    Regular fights felt mostly great although enemies are mostly forgettable and a lot of times reused from the previous game. Especially with the axe. Here I thought they could have done more with the Dual Sense controller. It feels uneven. While there are moments the controller is really usedw well, there are many when it feels less immersive than the dual shock. But hey, I guess I just go spoiled by Astro's playroom... I don't know.

    The most lackluster part of gameplay is the parts where you play as Atreus, which just doesn't feel nearly as good as playing as Kratos and yet you spend significant portion of the game playing as him, athough I do loke some of the story beats there.

    Generally the best part of the story is the second half of Kratos and Atreus story. At first, we get a lot of fairly lazy witing creating drama out of witholding information for no explained reason + it feels generally like a setback of Kratos and Atreus's relationship from the first game. Kratos is still grumpy and doesn't trust Atreus and Atreus is still doing things behind his back and it really feels like it undone good bit of the character development from earlier. At some point in the story, when they finally start trusting each other, things improve and we got some really good story moments that I enjoyed. I generally very much enjoy Kratos and Christopher Judge's voice acting, the game shines when Kratos is present.

    I also very much like how they potrayed Thor, his family and their story and I while mechanically I didn't enjoy Ironwood level, it was one of the more beutiful ones, I loved Angrboda as a character and her use of color in attacking was one of the finest moments of the game. Bossfight connected to this level is also one of the more original ones.

    Most of the enviromental puzzles aren't really about logic, but mostly about trying to find that one thing, that will make it all work. And by find I mean literally find it in the level, not find out how it all works together, so most of the time the puzzles seem like they are there just to slow me down. That is especially true in a level, with a truly giant bossfight, where after is done and this very intense fight is over, we still need to do a boring puzzle just to get out of level - that in my book is not great level design.

    I really think that maybe it is just me, maybe my preferences have changed over years, I just really could not get into the mechanics, or care about anybody else than the main two protagonists.    … Expand
  26. plantoon
    Feb 13, 2023
    5
    If you played the 2018 GOW, you really don’t need to play this one. It’s not a bad game, it’s just that there is little new. I wanted to get into it but just couldn’t as I already played - and loved - it 4 years ago.
  27. 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
  28. barkingbat
    Jan 23, 2023
    2
    A sequel to the masterpiece released on 2018 this game improves on combat and graphics. However the soulless pathetic dribble of unending dialogue and slow walking with a story that belongs in a present day Disney remake ensures that most people should avoid this stain on an amazing series. Do not buy Do not rent Do not play. One of the most worthless tiresome experiences I've ever had.
  29. Haggy101
    Feb 12, 2023
    8
    Graphics 10
    Story 7
    Gameplay 8
    Overall 8
    This game is way overhyped in order to make ps5 sales
  30. Richard4949
    Feb 12, 2023
    8
    It’s a good game, but imo falls short of the 2018 game. The game runs smooth for sure, but didn’t seem to be impressed with the visuals as I thought I was going to be. The new puzzles are Just awful. The world designs are simply frustrating. I put over 70 hours in the game, and yes my experience was more good than bad, I just can’t give it a 10. The world design is some of the mostIt’s a good game, but imo falls short of the 2018 game. The game runs smooth for sure, but didn’t seem to be impressed with the visuals as I thought I was going to be. The new puzzles are Just awful. The world designs are simply frustrating. I put over 70 hours in the game, and yes my experience was more good than bad, I just can’t give it a 10. The world design is some of the most frustrating I’ve ever seen.… 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.
    Read full review
  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.
    Read full review
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