Early reviews for God of War: Ragnarok are out and things are looking very positive for Santa Monica Studios’ latest PS5 exclusive. As a follow-up to what many consider one of the greatest titles in modern gaming – 2018’s paradigm-shifting God of War – this latest God of War game is but the latest in the wider God of War franchise, which has proven a consistent winner for Sony ever since the first entry was released for the PlayStation 2 in 2005. And as far as sites like IGN, Forbes, and The Guardian are concerned, lightning does indeed strike twice… God of War: Ragnarok is a masterpiece.
There was little doubt God of War was going to be a big release to round out 2022, and it’s not hard to guess that Sony Santa Monica would be putting their full creative force behind its signature title. Yet, from a quick read around the internet today, even the most cynical of gaming critics had their expectations well and truly outstripped.
“There is little God of War: Ragnarok fails at, period,” writes Paul Tassi of Forbes.
“Everything you liked about the first game is here, again, but with enough added to it in order to warrant the length and depth of a sequel.”
What Is God Of War: Ragnarok About?
It seems like writers Matt Sophos and Richard Gaubert have gone even further than the previous game’s “dad and boy” dynamic between Kratos (Christopher Judge) and his son Atreus (Sunny Suljic), playing the game’s emotional core with a charming coming-of-age story. Atreus is now a teenager navigating the prophecy of Loki and striving to live up to his role in Ragnarok.
As per the official plotline, “Kratos must decide whether he will be chained by the fear of repeating his mistakes or break free of his past to be the father Atreus needs.”
Just from reading that you can tell God of War: Ragnarok reaches a bit deeper than most big-ticket gaming titles do. This isn’t as surface-level as a Call of Duty or overly complicated as an Edlen Ring. Santa Monica Studio has plenty to play around as they draw heavily on Norse mythology and deepen the Nine Realms setting while telling the story of an emotionally-stunted father trying to support his son.
Reviews tout epic boss battles, hyper-violent combat and beautifully designed Norse gods. But most refuse to dip into any spoilers. And this is important. Many games these days are cinematic enough to inspire the same level of anticipation as films and TV shows, but few are to the point where spoilers would actually ruin the experience. After all, God of War has morphed from being a graphic action game where animated violence is an art form, to a story-driven video game that could very easily translate to a TV show (which is probably why Amazon is making a God of War series).
Boss fights and emotional plot beats aside, it’s clear the Nordic cash cow for Sony Interactive Entertainment is going to be a success. Anticipation has been sky-high for God of War: Ragnarök since the game was first announced in 2021.
How Big Is God Of War: Ragnarok?
If any criticism could be levelled at early previews for God of War: Ragnarok, it was that Santa Monica Studios seemed to be rehashing a lot of the settings for the last game in an attempt to make the new God of War game as big as possible.
As per the Forbes review, the new journey is every bit as “sprawling and massive a game as the original.”
And that’s a relief. With deeply involved games like this, you want the experience to last much longer than your standard 20 hours. From reports, it takes just over 30 hours to complete the main story of God of War: Ragnarok, and even longer if you want to tackle the numerous side quests, optional bosses and challenges.
According to IGN’s God of War: Ragnarok review, just about every character included from the Norse pantheon is given significant screen time so you’d hope the game is big enough to equally divide time to its characters without feeling stretched thin.
God of War: Ragnarok will be released for PS4 and PS5 next week on Wednesday, November 9th.
