I'm not sure I even have the words for how excited I was for God Of War Ragnarok. I couldn't wait to hang out with Kratos and Atreus again. First, the game does give you a recap of the previous game if you need a memory refresher. Next, I went over the accessibility settings in the game and they're fantastic. I was happy to see that I could adjust the controls, subtitles, and audio to where I was comfortable, but that I could also go back and change them according to what I needed to play comfortably. I was able to adjust the difficulty settings as well so I could just enjoy the story which is what I like to do in my games.
The story takes place a few years after the events of the previous game and it is Fimbulwinter which lets us know that Ragnarok is coming. Kratos looks even older and more tired and Atreus has grown a lot into a teenage boy. He's trying to figure out more about his giant self as Loki and trying to get Kratos to understand he's not a little kid anymore. There's a lot of push and pull between the two that is beautifully done showing that need for independence and that difficulty of a parent letting their child grow up. Right from the beginning the game does not pull its punches with an epic wild battle and a bit of a confrontation with Odin himself. This sets up the path of them leaving Midgard and start their quest in searching for a missing god among the nine realms.
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| Kratos and Atreus are back! |
At the center of the story is prophecy and fate raising questions about if the characters in the story have to follow it or if they can make their own fate. I was blown away by how beautiful the game is and kept stopping to admire every area I was in because they were all so vastly different and yet each had its own unique beauty. My personal favorites were the branches of Yggdrasil and the forests of Vanaheim. I loved exploring everywhere and besides the main story, there are tons of side quests to do in each area. I took my time doing everything, savoring every single moment.
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| I loved this treehouse! |
Combat is a blast with the Leviathan axe and the chaos blades and then a new weapon is added and that is even more fun. Kratos has some new moves that add some wonderful layers to these fight, but he's not the only one. Atreus has some new tricks too with his archery that lend amazing support skills, but also let him hold his own. This of course gives both of them materials for armor pieces and weapon upgrades which can be done by our favorite dwarves Brok and Sindri. Each piece is gorgeous and depending on what your play style is, they can be mixed and matched to suit you.
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| Dragon fight time! |
Christopher Judge absolutely shines as Kratos. Every time Kratos spoke, I would stop and just listen. The nuances of emotion for each scene were beautiful. The moments where Kratos speaks softly to his son about the pain he has endured, how hate hurt everyone around him, and how he wanted his son to be better than him were the moments that punched me right in the gut because they hit so hard emotionally and it touched me deeply causing me to need a moment because they made me cry. That is such a gift to be able to do that with your performance, to tell a story that touches on that emotional connection. The entire cast is incredible honestly and I was invested in the story every step of the way.
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| Kratos in Vanaheim with Freya. |
One thing that was different from the previous game which I thought was pretty interesting is that Kratos and Atreus are not always together. Each one is given a chance to be on their own as part of the story and explore on their own with others, meaning I got to play as Atreus in some chapters. This was smartly done because you get to see things from Atreus's perspective and that teenage angst felt so familiar. It's a weird place to be, that in between childhood and adulthood trying to figure out who you want to be and where your place is in the world. They nailed it perfectly and in showing that Atreus was genuinely trying to figure all of it out, but also trying to understand where his dad was coming from made Atreus really able to stand out in the story. It helped that he had fellow giant Angrboda to play those ideas and ideals off of and that she challenged him too. This was someone who was on equal footing with him and was able to cause Atreus to want to keep trying and not give up. I really liked her and appreciated what she brought to the story.
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| Atreus and Angrboda. |
The musical soundtrack for the game is incredible and all throughout it, the music is perfect capturing the mood of each area and part in the story. It all ties together with many areas to explore, new things to discover, battles that keep you on your toes, and the story flowing beautifully telling this incredible narrative about these characters we've come to know and love. Once the main story is done, there's still plenty to do with more side quests, unfinished quests, and endgame story tie ins. All of it is perfectly done and gives a good sense of closure to the main story. God Of War Ragnarok packs a lot into so many hours, but I didn't even notice because I was having fun and enjoying everything about it. It also kicked my heart in with the beautifully raw emotional moments throughout the story and I was so glad I got to enjoy this beautiful journey.
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| An emotional moment with Kratos and Atreus. |
*God Of War Ragnarok is out now and available to play on Playstation 4 and Playstation 5
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