God of War Ragnarök

An example of gameplay in God of War Ragnarök. The HUD is shown at the bottom left, indicating Kratos' health, rage meter, and equipped abilities. The bottom right shows similar info for the companion character (e.g., Atreus).

God of War Ragnarök is a third-person action-adventure game. It features an over-the-shoulder player-controlled camera, and the game is presented with no camera cuts or loading screens. The gameplay is similar to the previous installment, God of War (2018), including being single-player-only.[2][3] Throughout the game, players battle Norse mythological foes, with more enemy types than in the prior entry, including newer enemies, such as einherjar, wyverns, stalkers (centaur-like creatures with antlers), phantoms, human raiders, and nokkens, among many others.[4] The developers also added more mini-bosses to give the game more variety.[3]

The player primarily controls the character Kratos in combo-based combat and puzzle game elements. Kratos' main weapons are a magical battle axe called the Leviathan Axe, and his signature double-chained blades, the Blades of Chaos. He also dons his original Guardian Shield, and utilizes hand-to-hand combat. The Leviathan Axe is infused with ice elemental magic. It can be thrown at enemies and magically summoned back to his hand, similar to Thor's hammer Mjölnir. The weapon can be thrown at environmental objects to trigger a damaging explosion, and freeze objects and some enemies in place for puzzle-solving until resummoned. The Blades of Chaos, infused with fire elemental magic, are a pair of blades attached to chains that can be swung around in various maneuvers. A new mechanic for Ragnarök is that the blades can be used like a grappling hook to traverse over chasms, and pick up objects to hurl at enemies.[2][5] Kratos also obtains a new weapon called the Draupnir Spear, a close- and long-range attack spear that is infused with wind elemental magic and can make copies of itself; Kratos can throw multiple spears at an enemy then have them all explode at once. The spear is also used to traverse or unblock certain pathways.[6] Each weapon has standard light and heavy attacks. They can be upgraded with runes to allow for magical runic attacks, with slots for a light and heavy magical attack, providing a variety of play style options.[2][5] Additionally, a "Weapon Signature Move" ability was added, which unleashes a powerful magical attack for the equipped weapon.[7] Another added mechanic is that if on a higher ledge, the player can leap down to perform a powerful weapon attack on enemies below.[3]

The developers also revamped the shield for versatility beyond a minor parry; different shields can be obtained and used offensively or defensively depending on which is equipped. Smaller shields are more for parrying and can stun enemies while larger ones are more defensive and can create a large wave of energy to knock enemies back.[7] Kratos' Spartan Rage ability was also updated to three variants: Fury, Valor, and Wrath. Fury is the standard mode for Spartan Rage and is identical to the previous game in which Kratos uses bare handed attacks to greatly damage enemies. Valor consumes rage energy to restore health and can also be used as a parry if activated precisely, while Wrath unleashes a powerful weapon attack for the equipped weapon.[8]

The character Atreus provides assistance through artificial intelligence (AI), helping in combat, traversal, exploration, and puzzle-solving. The player can passively control Atreus by dictating where he fires his arrows with his bow, either in combat or for puzzle-solving, as well as what magical spectral animals he can summon to further assist with combat.[2] Additionally, Atreus' combat was updated to reflect his character's growth. He has longer chained combos, may initiate a fight before Kratos, and his magical abilities were expanded.[9] There are also points in the game where another character will accompany Kratos instead of Atreus and they too can be passively controlled.[6] For the first time in the God of War series, the player can play entirely as a character other than Kratos (not including Ascension's multiplayer). This only occurs during some story missions when Atreus goes off on his own without Kratos and the player takes full control of Atreus. His gameplay is similar to Kratos in that he has close range combat by hitting enemies with his bow, and he has long range attacks by using his bow to shoot arrows. Additionally, he has special magical arrows, can create a shield from magic, and can summon magical spectral animals to assist in combat. Atreus also has his own rage ability in which he transforms into a wolf (and later, a bear) to deal greater damage. During these missions, Atreus typically has another character accompanying him and the player can passively control this character just as they do with Atreus when playing as Kratos. For some missions, Atreus has a magical floating sword called Ingrid that replaces the accompanying character.[6][10]

The game retains the role-playing video game (RPG) elements of the 2018 installment. This includes the crafting system with many of the same resources to create new armor or upgrade existing armor and weapons with better perks. There are also many side quests found outside the game's core narrative.[2][9] Ragnarök also adds armor transmogrification, which allows the player to change the appearance of their equipped armor to any other acquired armor without losing any of the equipped armor's stats.[11][12]

Ragnarök has over 70 accessibility options. The game's user interface (UI) system was redesigned "to allow for more flexibility and readability", and more customization options for combat and interaction systems were also added. All accessibility features from the 2018 installment were retained but also expanded upon to allow players to adjust the gameplay to suit their own play style and needs.[13][14]

During the development of God of War (2018), that game's director, Cory Barlog, confirmed that the 2018 installment would not be Kratos' last game,[15] and that future games would continue to be set in the Norse environment and include Atreus.[16] A sequel was then teased at the end of that game; it ended with Ragnarök looming, as well as a secret ending that showed a vision of Thor confronting Kratos and Atreus at the end of Fimbulwinter.[17] Following this saw various pre-release marketing materials that included the hidden phrase "Ragnarök is coming".[18][19][20]

During the PlayStation 5 (PS5) Showcase event on September 16, 2020, a new God of War was officially announced for a 2021 release on the newer console.[21] After Sony Interactive Entertainment revealed their plans to support their previous console until at least 2022, it was later confirmed that the game would also release on the PlayStation 4 (PS4),[22] in turn marking the first cross-gen release in the series.[23][24] The game's title was confirmed to be God of War Ragnarök during the following year's showcase event,[25] although earlier that year, the title had accidentally been leaked.[26][27][28] Although the 2018 installment was ported to Windows (PC) in January 2022, Barlog, who served as a producer and creative director for the sequel, could not confirm if Ragnarök would also receive a PC port.[29]

Development of the game was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. In June 2021, head of PlayStation Studios, Hermen Hulst, confirmed that the game had been delayed, partly due to the pandemic,[30] as he stated that there were issues getting access to performance capture and talent.[22] Santa Monica Studio issued a statement regarding the delay, which said that while they were focused on delivering a top-quality game, they also wanted to maintain the safety of those involved with the development.[31]

Cory Barlog (pictured in 2019) and Eric Williams served as the creative director and game director, respectively.

The delay brought a unique issue with Atreus actor Sunny Suljic, who was going through puberty during the time of production. Due to the change in his voice, supervising dialogue designer Jodie Kupsco said "We had to go in and even out that performance so [that in the game] it sounds like it took place over a short period of time". Senior producer Ariel Angelotti noted there were no changes to cinematics as a result of the delay, but they had to get creative in how they made the content. In following pandemic guidelines, they had actors "stand in" for background characters in some scenes "to avoid a situation where too many people were on-set".[32] In a series of tweets posted by Kratos actor Christopher Judge in late September 2021, he said that he was the reason that the game was delayed due to surgery he needed in August 2019, and that Santa Monica allowed him time to recover and rehabilitate before continuing production.[33]

During the 2021 PlayStation Showcase event, Eric Williams, who worked on every previous installment, was confirmed as the game's director, continuing the previous era's tradition of having a different director for each game. It was also revealed that Ragnarök would conclude the Norse era of the series.[34] The main reason Santa Monica decided to end the Norse era with Ragnarök was due to the game's size and scale. The 2018 installment and Ragnarök each respectively took about five years to develop, and they did not want to take another five years, totaling nearly 15 years, to tell one story.[35] Lead writer Rich Gaubert said there were pros and cons to doing a trilogy or ending the Norse era at two games. The developers debated this and said that Ragnarök could have been split into two games, as it was much larger in scope than they had originally planned. They also had worry if Ragnarök would do the apocalyptic concept justice in just one game.[36] This caused some of the team to have concern if the game would be good as they originally thought that the Norse era would be a trilogy with Ragnarök split into two games.[37] The decision to end the Norse era with Ragnarök was ultimately left to Barlog,[36] and Williams stated that although they had to make adjustments for pacing, the story was not scaled back.[37]

Barlog told Williams that with the second game concluding the Norse saga, the three important plot aspects of the story that had to be retained were that Ragnarök would happen, Atreus would depart from Kratos in the game's conclusion, and Brok would be killed off, which was a decision Barlog had made during the development of the 2018 installment, as Brok was described as the "family dog". Thematically, the game explores what kind of man Kratos would be without his son, and what kind of god would Atreus be without his father.[38] Narrative director Matt Sophos revealed that during early development, there was an idea pitched in which Kratos died during his first battle with Thor and then there would have been a 20-year time jump where Atreus would rescue him from Helheim. This was rejected as Williams did not like it, but he also did not want to repeat a plot sequence that had been done during the Greek games. The emotion and main hook of Ragnarök's actual story were also missing in this proposed idea, and the actual ending worked better for what they wanted to do, which was to say that prophecy and fate are not predetermined.[39] Williams also said that there would likely not be a story-based expansion pack post-launch.[40]

On July 6, 2022, a new cinematic trailer was unveiled, which confirmed a worldwide release date of November 9, 2022.[41] Another trailer was shown during Sony's 2022 State of Play event on September 13, and it was confirmed that just like the 2018 installment, Ragnarök was done in one shot.[42] Additionally, the game supports options for players to run the game in either higher resolution or better performance, including 4K resolution at 30 frames per second (fps), 1080p resolution at 60fps, a high frame resolution mode in 4K at 40fps, and a high frame performance mode that syncs to 120 hertz. The latter two high frame options are only available for the PS5 version and require monitors with HDMI 2.1.[43] Animation director Bruno Velazquez stated that Santa Monica wanted to ensure that Ragnarök was fully optimized for the PS4, and as such, it does not utilize all of the capabilities of the PS5. Velazquez said that the PS4 version is a visual improvement over the 2018 installment and noted that all of the studio's design goals were achieved on the PS4 version, so the PS5 version "is essentially an enhancement of what's already possible [on the PS4]". The game does, however, include several features exclusive to the PS5 hardware, such as 3D audio, haptic feedback, higher frame rate, and overall better graphics. In terms of design, Velazquez said there were no compromises for the PS4 version and that the game would essentially be the same experience on both consoles.[44] Santa Monica also confirmed that the game would have a photo mode, but it would be added in a post-launch update.[45]

On October 7, 2022, Santa Monica announced that the game had gone gold. Additionally, it was revealed that eight other studios contributed to the development of Ragnarök, including PlayStation Studios Creative Arts, Valkyrie Entertainment, Bluepoint Games, Red Hot, SuperAlloy Interactive, Jetpack Interactive, Super Genius, and Original Force. The exact contribution from each studio was not detailed, except SuperAlloy, which worked on motion capture.[1] SuperAlloy specifically assisted with combat choreography, and the studio provided stunt coordination and stunt work for the game and key characters. Eric Jacobus also revealed that he again did the combat motion capture for Kratos, just as he did in the 2018 installment, as well as for some other characters.[46]

Soundtrack

God of War Ragnarök (Original Soundtrack)
Soundtrack album by Bear McCreary
Released	November 9, 2022 (2022-11-09)
Genre	Contemporary classical music
Length	1:59:00
Label	Sony Classical Records

Bear McCreary (pictured in 2010) returned to compose the score for Ragnarök.

God of War Ragnarök (Original Soundtrack) was released on November 9, 2022, by Sony Classical Records and was also included in the game's special editions. It was composed by Bear McCreary, returning from the previous game. The soundtrack features Faroese singer Eivør on the tracks "God of War Ragnarök", "Holding On", "Svartalfheim", "Pull of the Light", and "Remembering Faye".[57] McCreary had previously featured Eivør on the 2018 installment's soundtrack.[58]

Irish folk artist Hozier is featured on the track, "Blood Upon the Snow", which was Hozier's first contribution to a video game soundtrack. Hozier was particularly interested in working on the song as he was a fan of the series and also interested in the maturing medium of digital arts. He was also familiar with McCreary's other works. Due to Hozier being signed with Sony's Columbia Records in the United States, he was approached by Sony to contribute to Ragnarök. To help in composing the song, the game's director Eric Williams talked Hozier through the character arcs of Kratos and Atreus. Hozier was also inspired by nature and the natural world. In working with McCreary, Hozier said they were able to find a balance so that the song was "not too elegiac, not too much of an elegy, not too sweet, not too lullaby-esque, not too outrageously doom and gloom, and not too absolutely metal". Paolo Ragusa of Consequence described the song as "a daring, cinematic number that hits at all the thematic notes of God of War: Ragnarök, and finds Hozier using his signature velvety tone to evoke both tenderness and awe".[59] Hozier and McCreary performed the song live at The Game Awards on December 8, 2022.[60]

God of War Ragnarök was released worldwide on November 9, 2022, for the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5.[41] Players who purchase the PS4 version can upgrade to the PS5 version for US$10. In addition to the standard base game (physical and digital), there are three special editions: the Jötnar Edition, the Collector's Edition, and the Digital Deluxe Edition. Early copies of the base game were also marketed as a Launch Edition and included the Risen Snow Armor and Tunic skins for Kratos and Atreus, respectively, which are also included with the three special editions. Pre-orders for all versions opened on July 15, 2022.[61]

The items in both the Jötnar Edition and the Collector's Edition are housed within a box called the Knowledge Keeper's Shrine (a shrine featured in the game). Both editions include a SteelBook game case; however, they do not include a physical copy of the game, only digital versions for both platforms. The centerpiece of both editions is a 16-inch replica of Thor's hammer Mjölnir, and both also include 2-inch carvings of the Vanir twins (Freya and Freyr). Physical items exclusive to the Jötnar Edition include a 7-inch vinyl record of music by Bear McCreary, a pin set of a Falcon, Bear, and Wolf (which represent Faye, Kratos, and Atreus, respectively), a replica Draupnir ring, Brok’s dice set, and a Yggdrasil cloth map which shows each of the nine realms. Instead of Brok's dice set, the Collector's Edition has a Dwarven dice set. The Digital Deluxe Edition includes the Darkdale armor and weapon skins for Kratos and Atreus, the official God of War Ragnarök soundtrack, a mini art book by Dark Horse Comics, a PlayStation Network avatar set, and a PS4 background theme; all of this downloadable content (DLC) is also included with both physical special editions.[61]

Available separately is a limited edition Ragnarök themed DualSense controller for the PS5.[62] Additionally, two PS5 bundles were available the same day as the game's release. One bundle is for the disc version of the console while the other is for the digital version, with both including a regular DualSense controller and a voucher code to download the standard version of the game.[63] Furthermore, an official art book from Dark Horse Comics titled The Art of God of War Ragnarök, in both a standard and deluxe edition, was released on November 29, 2022.[64]

Since launch, Santa Monica has supported the game with patch updates to address software bugs. As well, the developers have added new features along with these free updates. A photo mode, which was revealed prior to launch, was added as part of update patch 3.00 on December 5, 2022. It allows players to take customized in-game screenshots adjusting, among other things, the field of view, depth of view, filters, and the visibility and facial expressions of most major characters.[65] A New Game Plus mode was added in update patch 4.00 on April 5, 2023. Players must have completed the game on any difficulty before they can access New Game Plus. Experience levels and previously acquired gear carry over into New Game Plus (with a couple of game-progression related exceptions), which increases the level cap and adds new gear and resources to be acquired, as well as enemy adjustments to make them more challenging. The option to skip cutscenes was also added.[66]

God of War Ragnarök on PS5 received "universal acclaim", according to review aggregator Metacritic, garnering a score of 94/100.[67] This ties it with both the original 2005 installment and the 2018 installment for the highest Metacritic score in the series.[84][85] The game was praised for its storytelling, characters, visuals, level design, and overall improvements to the gameplay over its predecessor. Most reviewers agreed that it excelled over the 2018 installment in many aspects, and that it was a fitting end to the Norse era of the series. The game was, however, subject to minor criticism, such as the excessive hints during puzzles, as well as some gameplay mechanics.[67]

Writing for IGN, Simon Cardy said that Ragnarök provided fresh interpretations of well-known Norse mythological characters, and the actors gave them a unique take that was different from their popular MCU counterparts.[76] Tamoor Hussain of GameSpot opined that out of all the many different takes on Norse mythology, Ragnarök's is "easily one of the most memorable", as it takes the mythology, deconstructs it, and rebuilds it as an epic story about families.[74] Eurogamer's Chris Tapsell, however, felt that because Ragnarök tried to include as much of the series history as possible, the game can feel "both bloated and crowded", but positively noted that due to its length, it meant that there was more of the game to play.[71] Kyle Hilliard at Game Informer wrote that although Ragnarök did not have the same unique impact that the 2018 installment had, everything that worked well in that prior game is present.[73]

In terms of gameplay, Ragnarök does not make any drastic changes over the 2018 installment, but there are some new additions to the existing mechanics. Hussain said that while the core gameplay is fundamentally the same, this is in Ragnarök's favor, as it made it easy to begin playing.[74] Tapsell, however, was somewhat critical of the combat, stating that he would have liked a more systematic approach, and although there is synergy across the weapons' skills, there is practically no room for expression.[71] Cardy was positive on the combat, saying that being able to perform a weapon attack when leaping off a ledge added another layer to battles. He also said the combat harkens back to the series roots, noting that the Blades of Chaos have a more similar feel to how they performed in the Greek games, but still also felt modern.[76] The update to the shield was also praised, with Hussain stating that it "enhances the offensive feel of combat".[74] Cardy similarly felt the shield was more of an offensive tool, and that parrying is a skill players would want to perfect.[76] The variety of enemies and bosses were also praised among the reviewers.[71][73][74][76][77]

Hilliard opined that the only negative thing about the gameplay was that it was not much different from the previous game.[73] Hussain did have criticism over some gameplay mechanics, stating that in more challenging scenarios, "the mechanics can struggle under the pressure of the increased speed and aggression".[74] Tapsell had similar comments and stated this can be a hindrance in battle.[71] One common criticism among reviewers was the excessive hints in solving puzzles, as the accompanying character offers these hints too soon and too frequently, barely giving the player any time to think about a solution.[71][76]

Although the RPG elements were praised for giving players a variety of play styles, reviewers felt the system was not innovative.[74] Tapsell further noted that although there were some new ideas, nothing was really memorable or expressive like in other RPGs, and players could get by without engaging much with it.[71] Cardy, however, said the system was more streamlined and felt it encouraged players to make their own custom builds, praising it as accessible and not overwhelming.[76] Writing for PCMag, Clay Halton was more critical of the system, stating it was the game's "most tedious aspect", as it can be difficult to determine which weapon or armor piece needs upgraded. He also noted this was an issue in the prior game, but it was more complicated in the sequel.[77]

The environments were also well-praised for their sense of scale and the changes to returning locations. Hussain praised the changes as not only did they show the effects of Fimbulwinter, but they provided new areas to explore.[74] Tapsell shared similar sentiments and said that the realms were more varied and more inviting, and also said that the sense of scale that was missing in the 2018 installment was resolved in Ragnarök.[71] Halton said that although there is not a noticeable difference from the prior game, largely due to Ragnarök releasing on both the PS4 and PS5, the game is still beautiful, saying that each realm and their respective environments are "thoughtfully crafted".[77]

Prior to the release of the 2018 installment, Cory Barlog said that after the Norse era of God of War, future games could see the series tackling either Egyptian or Maya mythology.[127] He said that the game alluded to other mythologies co-existing in the world, including Celtic, Japanese, and Irish mythology.[128] Ragnarök would subsequently also have similar references.[129]

• Official website
• God of War Ragnarök at IMDb
• God of War Ragnarök at MobyGames
• God of War Ragnarök at Metacritic