We are talking about the beginning of a new action game from PlayStation: there are a minimum of gameplay innovations, but the game looks and sounds so that it’s immediately clear why you need a console
On November 9, Sony released a new big exclusive – the sequel to God of War. Ragnarok should be the finale of the Scandinavian dilogy: the authors assured that they did not plan to make another game, at least in the same setting. We spent several hours in the action, explored the first world, and now we are sharing our impressions.
God of War: Ragnarok immediately makes it clear: we have a classic Sony blockbuster – expensive, beautiful, large-scale and epic. The game starts with Kratos and Atreus traveling through the forest during Fimbulwinter, the apocalyptic three-year winter that precedes Ragnarok. The death of Balder in the first part led to the onset of cold weather, and now the heroes survive as best they can: they hide in their old house, which is surrounded by magical protection, and go hunting outside the territory. There they are (apparently, regularly) trying to kill Friya – the mother of Baldr, who cannot forgive Kratos for the loss of her son. In the very first action scene, Odin’s wife attacks the team with the main characters, but to no avail.
Further, events develop rapidly, and troubles rain down on the heroes without interruption. In the only scene where the god of war wants to finally go to sleep and rest, you already giggle nervously: the poor fellow is not given a second of peace. Soon, Odin and Thor visit Kratos’ house, a conflict ensues, and the heroes are forced to set off on a new journey in search of Tyr. Atreus believes that he will give him answers to his tormenting questions, and at the same time help to settle all problems with the harsh Scandinavian gods.
Despite all the limitations of the last generation (the game also came out on PS4), God of War: Ragnarok looks great on PS5. This is largely the merit of artists, animators, location and character designers: during the passage, you constantly have to pull yourself up so as not to take screenshots every couple of minutes. Biomes change, trees fly to pieces from blows, and every movement of Kratos simultaneously conveys his power and accumulating fatigue. In every element of the game, attention to detail can be traced, whether it be equipment details or a new battlefield.
There are noticeably more types of enemies and their finishing animations this time
The legacy of PS4 is given out only by very large-scale locations and constant “caves” for loading. If you climb somewhere high and look around the first world, you notice simple two-dimensional scenery in the distance. Many arenas are interconnected by gorges in which the heroes slowly squeeze forward: it is impossible to fit a huge world on the HDD and load it quickly.
Ragnarok is set up like a Dark Souls game: there is now a central hub for traveling to other worlds, of which there are many more. At the same time, locations are arranged non-linearly: in the first of them, you can be distracted by solving puzzles and collecting resources for crafting new equipment. We have only seen one world so far, but it is arranged consistently and clearly: it is always clear where to go in the story, and where to do something else.
The new adventure is set up as follows: we go to the accessible world, complete story and side quests, collect resources, then return, upgrade heroes and equipment, and then go to a new circle. Metroidvania elements are also present here: some parts of the worlds are closed at the start, but they can be accessed later. So the authors encourage the exploration of locations and at the same time delay the passage.
Already in the first world, they are constantly distracted from the main quest. Some tasks are not very creative: go to three places and perform three identical actions, defeating all the enemies along the way. But another side mission found along the way turned out to be very interesting: the characters constantly discussed philosophical topics in the spirit of Dostoevsky (“a trembling creature or has a right”?) And argued about how to do it right. The authors of Ragnarok claim that during the design of side missions they were inspired by The Witcher 3, and I want to believe that this is true.
Ragnarok is one of those great games where the tastiest moments from the trailers are shown right at the start of the game. Which means it’s going to get tougher.
As for the gameplay, there are at least noticeable changes so far. In any case, in the first hours of the game. The combat system works the same as before, although the controls feel more responsive. Kratos deals light and heavy blows, blocks enemy attacks with a shield, and various combos make the process more spectacular. There are also runes that allow you to make powerful magic attacks once every couple of minutes. The rage mode is also in place: falling into a frenzy, Kratos yells loudly, beats everyone around with his bare hands and kills ordinary opponents in a couple of seconds.
There are also some changes. The Blades of Chaos are now available from the start, and the hero’s shield is even taken away for a while – you have to learn how to dodge. In addition, Kratos can now “charge” weapons with a certain type of magic: this increases damage against enemies. New interactive objects have appeared on the arenas: for example, it is worth grabbing a tree and smashing it into the nearest enemy with a swing.
Collecting items has become a little more convenient and easier. You can immediately read about any novelty in the codex, and notes do not turn into long manuscripts that distract from the game for a long time. Reading rarely takes more than 10 seconds, so now you finally look at everything.
From the strange, I would like to note the behavior of Kratos and their relationship with Atreus. The plot of God of War seemed to be restarted: if at the end of the first part their relationship improved and became easier, now the son shudders again at every cry of his father, and the god of war does not want to hear any proposals. Kratos with a guttural roar still sometimes agrees with some ideas, but the conflict between the pair sometimes looks a little artificial.
So far, God of War: Ragnarok leaves the most pleasant impressions. A big, beautiful and spectacular game, in which a lot of activities and an excellent combat system – such blockbusters were sorely lacking. Stay tuned for our full review in the coming weeks: it seems that you won’t be able to quickly run through such a game with all your desire.
