For the players who havent experience any of the previous titles the game got you cover. Before embarking on the heroes new adventure the title screen allows the users to view the past through the God of War recap. A small almost 2 minutes video showcasing the events
of the 2018. The greek mythology unfortunately is not part of the recap. For the greek mythology fans, their source of knowledge should be Youtube or other media. The 2018 title didnt dived deep into Kratos Past and the same goes for here. Obviously these types of games will
always reference elder titles one way or another, however the references that re being used are always well explained. For example, when Kratos speaks to a person about his old family, the person on the other side will react like any new person(player). They would ask as many
questions as possible in order to make sure both the player and the character understood the context.
The game begins with a dynamic cutscene of a teen Atreus and Kratos been on the run from the goddess Freya. Freya was a dear ally in the first title who helped the two in the past in many ways. Whether it was to help them with potions, secret passages and crafting medicines to heal
Atreus from a deadly disease she was always there for them. However, near the end of the past entry, Kratos had to make a tuff choice of killing Freya's only son to save her from his wrath. Since then Freya lost her mind and only seeks revenge on the two. She wont rest unless she either
kill Kratos the same way he killed her son, or by killing Atreus making Kratos feel the same pain she did watching her child die. Following that fast pace chase sequence the game instantly changes the atmosphere as we see their wolf Fenrir being to old to eat food and leaving his last
dying breath on Atreus' hug. Being filled with motion Atreus reacts with frustration at Kratos's request to forget about Fenrir and focus on their rest and trainning duo to petential of having enemies attacking them at any moment. Filled with all the emotions of rage towards Kratos request, sadness from the lost of his wolf and
confusion/frustration of his role as Loki Atreus loses his self control and sahpaneshifts a bear leading him in fight with Kratos who was not aware the bear was his son and could have had a grimm ending. Soon after Kratos nightmare of Thor visiting them became real as the god of Thunder pays them a
visit but he is not alone as his father Odin is also there. Odin seems to want to sort things out with dialog instead of violence despite Thor wishing the opposite. All of them dont want to go to war with each other but to do that a fair solution must be made. Kratos seems to be listening to them however Odin
reveals to him that Atreus was secretly escaping and was searching for Tyr(the Norse God of War.) in order to start the war. Eventually Kratos denies Odin's request causing him and Thor to have a face off. The battle ends in a draw and Kratos returns to his home to find his son who was left with Odin. Atreus was fine
and reveals to his father that Odin offered him a deal,"leave Kratos alone if Atreus visits Odin in Asgard." Since Odin found their hideout, Kratos takes his son and Mimir to Sindri's place for shelter.
The heroes then proceed to find the Norse God of War Tyr as he has a massive role to play in the story and they didnt believe Odins lies revolving his death. The trio succesfully locate and save Tyr from Svartalfheim. The former god of war seemed extremely weak and tired after being in prison for such a long time. He even
explains to the heroes how he no longer wishes to hold a weapon as doing so only brough him misery. The heroes seemed very dissapointing with the god standing before them. A few encounters and adventures later, the heroes arive at Groa's shrine where they see the profecy that when the war begins, only the realm of Asgard will be
destroyed and the rest will survive under a new champion. The champion Loki. Atreus is know aware of his purpose and wants to rage a war at Asgard whereas Kratos wishes his son wouldnt jump on the hype train based on his emotions. This disgussion make the two crush their believes alot of times. Kratos wants his son to be more thoughtful
when making decisions whilst Atreus is thirsty for evey single information he can receive from Odin or from simply visiting Asgard. One night while beeing asleep, Atreus is transported to Jotunheim, a forgotten land where he meets Angrboda,, the last of the giants. She then shows him a mural seemingly foretelling
Kratos's death in Ragnarok(which is what Kratos also saw at the end of the 2018) and Atreus serving Odin as his loyal servant. This new information shocked and scared Atreus as he wants to defy destiny and somehow make Kratos come out alive from the events of Ragnarok something which Angrboda insist is impossible. Before Atreus leaves the realm
she entrusts him with a bag containning all of the giants souls sealed in spiritual stones. On their little adventure Atreus used on stone in a pale white snake in order to escape certain danger. On his way back Freya attacks them again, although this time they agree on teamming up if Kratos helps her break the curse that binds her to Midgard.
Essentially this would mean that she will be able to escape and travel to other realms. Through this adventure, the two talk about their mission and eventually Kratos reveal some information about Kratos greek Family and greek Past. As an aftermath of their adventure the two become allies again and decide to team up temporarily againts Odin and Asgard.
The story gets more interesting when Atreus visits Asgard and gets close to Odin. Through Odin Atreus learns his plans and his goal of creating an Ancient mask which will allow Odin to gain all the worlds knowledge, which he claims he wants to use to escape the fate of Ragnarok. Atreus wishes to help Odin as he feels like the more time he spents time
with him and in Asgard in general the more information he can gater. He also wishes to bertay Odin once the mask is done. Eventually Kratos become aware of his son's Asgard adventure and needless to say he is not pleased with his son. The two clash all the time and Ragnarok comes closer and closer.
Will the heroes prevent Ragnarok?
Will Kratos die at the end of the game?
Will Atreus succeed in his mission?
All will be answer in the game.
I personally liked the story of the game alot as it had me at the end of my sit from the very start all the way to the very end with a very minor negative critisism. For me, the reboot of God of war if you wanna call it that, was always about the story of Atreus first and Kratos second. In that aspect i enjoyed it alot and the same goes for Kratos. Through out
the Game we see how both react to what is happening to them. Its a Tragic irony where we know both know Kratos fate but both re willing to continue in their own plan without them exchanging this information between them. Many of their issues could ve settled if they simply spoke to each other. The new characters and the events fortold along with the plot twist is
amazing. Honestly a great game. My problem comes within the last 10 minutes, as at the end of everything Atreus walks through all of his allies and shares dialog with them. Mimir and Freya in particular speak about how he gre up since they first met him and make it emotional. I was expecting when he reached Kratos they would ve had the best scene topping the previous one in
Helheim. Instead Angrboda was also featured in their scene and they both tell their future plans to each other and Atreus leaves. Here is also when Kratos gets a nice scene for everyone who loved his character. There's a secret ending where the heroes give a funeral to the fallen allies and Atreus is missing even though he was close to that person. Something about the way he
left the time on screen felt weird to me.
During the Playstation 2 era, god of war began as a legend of zelda clone where the player moves in areas, slay enemies and obtain new weapons. With each instalment Kratos and his franchise became its own iconic series packed with action, brutallity and amazing storytelling ultilizing the Greek Gods.
The new game changed the formula to a more standard formula that can be found in many recent games. This was a changed that was first received badly but aged relatively well. God of War Ragnarok continues to improve based on the 2018 entry. This means its a semi-oppened world as the players venture around
the kingdoms of Midguard, some similar to the past some brand new. All the returning realms have new areas to visit. It's also worth mentonning how the frosty weather introduces a more frozen/cold area. Eg. The big ocean we used the boat in the first game is now frozen and we re using the slay to move around.
The players once get the control of Kratos but during battles they can command Atreus or Freya(based on the mission party) in order to shoot their arrows or in order to use their other teckniques. While outside of combat the players can walk around, interact with the environment, solve puzzles and spent time on boat trips
or slay trips with the Atreus/Freya and Mimir. There's plenty of NPCS and collectables that can have the player explore, but more on these later.
Around the worlds there's plenty of enemy encounters that will try to prevent Kratos and Atreus from reaching their goal. Usually in Combat Kratos had plenty of weapons to used againts enemies, however in this game Kratos has his three weapons from before. First of all introduced in 2018, Kratos has his Leviathan Axe.
The axe is a very powerfull weapon forged by the best blacksmith of Midguard. With the axe Kratos can use quick swift strikes and slow heavy blows in order to take down the enemies. These attacks can also combo with each other in order to add further depth to it's combat. Moreover, when Kratos levels up he can Upgrade the
Axe to deal more damage but also to gain more abilities that shoot projectiles, cause massive AoE attacks and expansion to it's combos. Furthermore, another massive use of the axe is to throw it towards enemies who will freeze temporarily and slowly lose life. In doing so Kratos can choose to "throw hands with them" or call
the Leviathan back similar to how Thor calls his hammer back. The punches also come with a heavy and quick attacks.
Furthermore, Kratos obtained his iconic weapon, the Chaos Blades. Unlike the Leviathan which is an "ice" weapon, the blades are leanning into the element of fire. These blades are used for longer attacks and
apply a burn status. Once again there are light and heavy attacks which are allowed to combo. The chaos blades cannot be thrown but they can pull enemies closer to Kratos for him to punish very similar to Scorpion iconic Get over here fatality. The game offers a different unique skill board for those who wish to have the blades
as their main weapon of choice. Powering the weapon and using it in combat will unlock more skills.
Kratos can use in combat is his shield. The Guardian Shield as it called, is a retractable shield located inside a gauntlet on Kratos' arm. It can not only used to parry and block enemy attacks but can also be used offensively in combination with the Blades of Chaos and Kratos' fists. Similar to the axe and blades,
it has its own skill tree and can be upgraded. Kratos can unlock various skills with his shield such as counter attack counter step and others. A new addition to the game is the Draupnir Spear. Kratos new weapon is forged with the help of Brok. The spear just like his axe and blades has its own unique attacks and skills. Kratos
was forced to obtain the weapon as it held the key to defeating Heimdal who threaten to kill his son Atreus. The spear has multiple abilities that can easily stun opponents or throw them off balance.
All weapons can be used Outside of Combat to solve puzzles. Axe freezes lakes and items, blades light fire and can be used to reach high areas, spears thrown on rocks allows Kratos to jump spear to spear across cliffs.
When fighting enemies, the game will pop quick command for the player to react and get a cinematic brutal kill on the enemies. During these, the player gets invinsible frames meanning they enemy attack will miss Kratos. Additionaly Kratos has a rage system which when filled, the player can tap into Kratos berserkSpartan Rage
status which allow him to increase his attack speed, his damage and overall buff him. In ragnarok, Ghost of sparta has 3 different styles. The last attack the players can do during battle is to use Atreus/Freya. They will always be in combat with Kratos unless the story takes them elsewhere, and they are acting as back support shooting arrows to help the player. They have
different type of arrows and certain special attacks. They re on cooldown and they automatically recharge. Additionally Atreus/Freya and Kratos also have their own unique skills to combo in order to defeat their opponents. Eg. Kratos will drop to his knees for Atreus to use him in order to jump and shoot arrows etc.
In combat, when an enemy falls they ocasionally drop items, some of these are for weapon upgrades, others are to heal Kratos and so on.
A new addition to the game is playable Atreus. Something that was honestly obvious was that Atreus would aslo become hero in the sequel which came true. Unlike Kratos Atreus is mainly a long range fighter using his bow and arrow. Unlike his dad he doesnt have any sword or Krato's muscles but what he does have is his Bow. Atreus simply uses his
bow to mellee his opponents. Another main difference between him and his dad is the fact that Atreus is very fast and acrobatic making his combat feeling fresh and very different to Kratos. The Ghost of Sparta mechanick also works with Atreus but with its own unique spin.
Personally i was a huge fan of the change from the original Ps2 titles to the Ps4 ones. I really enjoyed my time freelancing and trying to solve any puzzle available to me at the time. Kratos always felt like a baddass from the beginning all the way to the end. The combo attacks of the weapons felt so satisfying when landing and the times i was activating Ghost of Sparta i felt
like a true God amongs the monsters. On the other hand as a fan of Atreus, it felt so good to control him. As mentioned his gameplay although is close to Kratos feels alot more different. Very similar to Marvel Spiderman Miles Morales Atreus has the same button mechanicks but with the help of animations and different skill sets the heroes feel different
from each other. Also if you know me, you know i love using Bow and Magic in games, so him beinh able to shoot arrows and dodge with his agility it was perfect.
Outside of Combat the game had a couple of puzzles that i enjoyed, whether it was to solve them or to use the environment to move around. What i didnt enjoy, was the developers forcing the party members to shout the answer relatively soon. For example, if i had a puzzle ahead of me, the member would scream the solution before i even see the full picture or approach the area. (something which many complained and the
developers patched). The post game content was very good and was filled with some tuff fights that required me to perfect time my parries and skill cooldowns.
The maps are wonderfully design filled with amazing details and identity the defines each area and each kingdom and the game is filled with plenty of collectables and post game content for the player to continue playing. You venture around either on a boat, slay or by using the Byfroast a bridge that combines the kingdoms/realms.
Using any of them allows the players to hear stories from either Kratos or Mimir who will share their knowledge. Each map has plenty of collectables and hidden chests that offer mainly trophies. The hidden chests require the player to find a certain way to approach it in order to interact. Some of them require the
player to use their weapons in order to proceed. For example certain thorn wont grant access to Kratos unless he burns them with the blades which he wont have at that point and the player will have to come back afterwards. The chests have armor pieces, rare crafting items, health and rage expansions etc. Moreover there
are favors AKA side quests given to Kratos by interacting with NPCs around the world. The game has alot of Lore location that expands upon the universe, Artifact locations that the players can get, Burried Treassures and different types of Chests. Further more, around the realms Odin has his Ravens which the player can kill. Killing the ravens
will allow you to go to the tree and retrieve armor pieces. Unlike the first game where Kratos released Dragons, here the players can release the Hafgufa, gigantic Jellyfish trapped underground. On the other hand the playes can phase of againts the Berserkers who act as a boss fight who upon defeated will unlock the ultimate boss fight. Defeating them
rewards you with a powerfull weapon and armor.
Two years after its release the developers released a free DLC Valhala. Valhala takes place after the game where Kratos and Mimir with the help of Tyr help Kratos settle with his past. The game is a rogue like experience that allows the player to go through a boss rush with different power ups and weapons each time. Kratos begins with a certain weapon
and the more he proceeds he gets new weapons, passives and abilities. It's a nice way to keep players in the game as rogue like games are usually very addicting. The game also has lore inside including an iconic meeting with Old and Young Kratos.
God of War 2018 was praised by the amazing graphics and the original world designs made. In Ragranrok, we get to visit new areas which we havent seen yet but we also get to revisit realms that we had before although this time are very different. For example i remember beeing blown up by Freyas house, a place filled with colorful flowers and live colors. This time,
Freya abadoned her house and sicne the frost everything looks dead and gloomy. The lake where we used to travel all the time is frozen and overall the weather beens tuff. On the other hand areas like Asgard and the lands of the Giants looks really nice. the new characters have unique designs and different figures. The cinematography of the game and the cutscenes are movie
quality and honestly cant get enough.
On the other hand, the sound field of the game very commentable. First of all Blood upon the Snow by Hozier, Bear McCreary, is an amazing track and definetely worth its award. Each area has its own unique Ost that always escorts your action and what the players been doing. The weapon sound effects and the enemy noices are also worht commentating on. However what
was really amazing was the voice acting and specifically Atreus. His performance for me was phenomenom, from his acting when his wolf died i knew he was 100% into it. his moments of rage, saddness and all were perfect. Kratos VA did allhe does best which got him the award for best performance. Freya, Thor and Odin were also spot on with their character and their behavior.
In conclusion, God of war Ragnarok set a new high for all of Sony's IP. The game is a true sequel who continues where the previous one left and adds it's own unique additions to the game without ruinning what the first one build. The plot is well centered around the fear of Ragnarok's approaching and continues during. Some say Ragnarok should ve been it's main focus instead of the build up and its characters but i dissagree. The element has nice build up and a great ending. The characters old and new got their time to shine without making anyone feeling less developed. The gameplay continued improving on the 2018 entry and added new mechanicks in order to differ. The audio and sound department are once again top notch and the games receival by the critics and gamers alike proves it. Furthermore the game has alot to do once finished adding to its overall completion time. Last but not least the free DLC Valhala added a rogue like boss rush which can keep everyone visiting the game here and there.