Even with delayed access to the game affecting our release coverage schedule and development of this review, we could not fail to analyze this long-awaited game that has been acclaimed by fans and media alike. It is impossible to be a Sony fan and not love God of War. Prestigious several times with BAFTA awards and The Game Awards he is one of the most beloved games by Playstation players.

Only the greatest of all can stop Ragnarok (Story)

Returning to the Norse mythology presented in the 2018 game, Ragnarok expands on the successes of its predecessor. Offering more depth to the plot, but not giving all the grandiosity that Norse mythology adds, as well as including several gameplay improvements with stunning visual graphics.

God of War: Ragnarok takes place approximately three years after Kratos and Atreus annihilate the god Baldur and begin the cataclysmic accident Fimbulwinter. Freya, Baldur's former ally and mother, has sworn to destroy Kratos; the powerful god Odin and Thor also want revenge. The winter of Fimbulwinter has finally begun and after three consecutive years of all-consuming winter, the game begins and Ragnarok begins the destruction of the Nine Realms.

Despite overcoming their crises, Kratos and Atreus are still working on their relationship and in the narrative, the new secrets break the trust that has been built up between them and they both want different things.



Atreus wants action and immediate answers to his existence; Kratos wants to enjoy fatherhood and his hard-earned peace, avoiding battles and longing for home again. In addition, there is pressure on the prophecy discovered in Jotunheim, showing that father and son played a crucial role in this apocalypse.

This upsets Atreus, who wants to learn more about himself and stop Ragnarok. However, the two find themselves against each other's will, fulfilling part of the prophecy they wanted to avoid. Therefore, one of the biggest questions raised by the plot is whether it is possible to rewrite your own history, or whether everyone is bound to a fate that has already been written. Ragnarok skillfully explores very human themes. Grief, revenge, acceptance, purpose, loyalty, sacrifice...

Beyond Battle

Kratos is a character who is not stuck in a "slayer of gods" state, but is always evolving and learning and evolving, including with Atreus himself. If your question is about accepting fatherhood, the answer is being willing to do anything for your child.

This evolution is intensified by situations that show an ex-god of war, with empathy for the suffering of others, and eagerness to retire, something that would have been impossible for Kratos in God of War III, for example. But it is a change that happens gradually and very subtly in many situations.

The stories of Ragnarok are told with sincerity and authenticity by the main characters, with supporting characters that bring extra charm, interesting dialogues, a well-crafted plot, and a cozy atmosphere.

Angrboda is a major highlight. The character performs important events while conveying emotions ranging from happiness to sorrow. Her scenes are some of the funniest in the game, in addition to the scenes of Ratatoskr Squirrel tending the world tree. Thor on the other hand has more to do with Kratos, they have done horrible things, and are cruel warriors but have a side of caring for the family.



Even Odin presents a certain appeal, which sometimes makes you wonder if he is really as brutal as we have been told. It is a plot full of different twists and turns and emotions. I found myself laughing listening to some of Brok's dwarf dialogue, taking note of the Kratos vs. Atreus moment, and getting emotional with some great moments.

Ragnarok is more revealing than the previous games, even offering some flashbacks of Kratos with his late wife Faye. But, unfortunately, not all the answers are given this time around. Part of the gap left between the final trilogy of God of War and this new phase still exists.

A spectacle in Visuals and Music (Sound Effects and Soundtrack)

The visual richness of the new God of War goes beyond the fact that it is a content-heavy game. The art direction once again conveys the Santa Monica studio's unique interpretation of Norse mythology. Whether in character design or in the scenery, there is always a lot of ingenuity and attention to detail.



Because of Fimbulwinter, even places you have already visited in the original God of War have changed for real, after all, the Lake of Nine is now a big lake full of destruction and ruins. With this, the game features an impressive amount of new scenery and enemies right from the start.

In Vanaheim, for example, it is possible to trigger the alternation mechanism between day and night, the environment changes, and the new atmosphere affects the flora and fauna. Even the realms that were already present in the 2018 game seem to have been completely altered by Fimbulwinter. It is as if the environments are telling more details about what happened in those places in the lore of the game.

The game's original music is not far behind either. Ragnarok revisits some musical themes from its predecessor and introduces new ones. The story scenes would not be what they are without the melodies orchestrated by composer Bear McCreary.

Glory comes after battle (Combat)

In this God of War, the director of the previous work, Corey Balog, has been named producer and creative director, passing the overall direction to Eric Williams. This is a piece of interesting information because Williams is a game designer and has designed the gameplay for all the other major games in the series, bringing Ragnarok more variety and creativity than the previous one.

The basic scheme is still combat and exploration, but new content is often introduced so that the experience does not repeat itself, bringing more dynamism to the combat. There is room not only for the combo Leviathan Axe and Blades of Chaos but also for the shield.Using the defense is highly encouraged and provides various functions in combat. There are even different types of defensive effect shields in the game. They reward players for good performance and positioning in combat.

As for the issue of new weapons in the arsenal, one of the most creative weapon concepts that are in this game. To preserve the experience of those reading this review, I will just say this, in order to clarify in a little more detail, that there is a lot of newness and a great variety in combinations.

One of the biggest problems in the last game was the number of enemies, but fortunately, this has been corrected. In Ragnarok, various enemies are present throughout the environments in various forms, from small, gossamer, floating creatures, to huge dragons and deformed enemies, and various mini-bosses.

With all this diversity, the arsenal is customizable for most enemies that are vulnerable to one type of weapon, hit, or element combined.

Atreus is Kratos' partner in most battles, now a teenager, he has acquired more melee moves and more presence during combat. He now launches more arrows that help even defeat enemies farther away from his field of vision.



The narrative runs along two lines, one of Kratos and one of Atreus in their detours along each other's paths in different storylines, making us play with the boy as well.

Weapons Master (arsenal customization)

Equipment customization is another highlight of the game. Weapons, armor, trinkets like Talisman and even the special attack Spartan Fury give you more power and adapt to each style of play. As in almost any RPG game, you will be able to "upgrade" equipment according to each moment of battle but be careful, this can make the game boring, changing weapons in front of the enemy like: hold on a sec...

Special attention has also been paid to the animations, especially during combat. Instead of always ending the enemy with the same animation, there are some variables. Different weapons often trigger different endings.

But you can save weapons with strength, damage, and runic power attributes as if you were building a build yourself. Combine this with skill trees that intensify combos and improve your performance in battle. Other perks are unlocked with activity XP and can completely change the effect on a given enemy.

Another cool new feature of Ragnarok is that you can combine the abilities of Kratos and Atreus to solve puzzles to obtain special items.

However, I found the inventory menu more confusing in Ragnarok, especially when making equipment upgrades with the smiths. The item comparison and on-screen display of what you need to manage were more straightforward.



Among snow, hills, and valleys (settings)

In Ragnarok, the mobility is a bit faster and more vertical, with more direct climbing that lets Kratos use his Blades of Chaos as a hook to move obstacles and climb walls and thus explore various places.

While large areas can be crossed with boats or wolf-drawn sleighs, the best is the fast travel system: magic portals are opened and let you go from one point to another in any world, speeding up the pace and discarding unnecessary trips to Tyr's Temple with the Bifrost.

It is possible to travel through all nine realms of the Yggdrasil tree, and most of them have a large area. After finishing the game it is possible to travel again from Midgard to Svartalfheim to collect the missing collectibles or during gameplay to the many side quests and other minor jobs to complete. However, there are few portals scattered around for fast travel and the map does not detail the routes very well.

There are elaborate puzzles that will demand more attention from the player this time, the areas have puzzles that will require patience to access all the blocked corners.



Huge areas like the Vanaheim kingdom feel like mazes, with single-pass entrances, slow stretches to traverse, and giant turns to get to places that are right in front of you. This makes it a bit discouraging to search for collectibles and the path to do secondary activities.

Accessibility features are present in the game's menu. There are various types of assistance with gameplay, as well as features that offer that help for those who are visually and hearing impaired.

The subtitles are essential, you can change the size, and color put to display the name of who is speaking, among other things. Of course, all in Brazilian Portuguese. Likewise, the game offers voice dialogs in Portuguese, with much of the cast of the last game returning.

My experience of completing the campaign was with the original audio, in English, and pt- br subtitles. The localization is acceptable, but not perfect. Not to mention that the subtitles are not written as a translation of the original script, they are a direct transcription of the Portuguese voices.

In the original audio, he calls Kratos and almost everyone else "Brotha", which is a colloquial way of saying "brother". In the Portuguese version, he says "Cara" and "Bicho", as if he were a bit of a hippie. However, calling people "brother" is important in certain parts of the story, and this gets a little lost in the localization. But it's just a detail, besides the dubbing which was exceptionally well done.



The wait was worth it (Conclusion)

God of War: Ragnarok, uses the foundations of its predecessor to expand its narrative, visual, and gameplay aspects with great success, revamping some points and innovating in others while maintaining the same characteristics.

Ragnarok is a journey through visually impeccable worlds, accompanied by frenetic and brutal combat. It is even more challenging than the last game, and this is rewarded at the end of each battle. In addition to the many surprises in the storyline, and several additions to the gameplay.

The adventure of Kratos and Atreus is much richer and more massive than that of God of War. Even though looking like a DLC or expansion. His campaign takes you to many new places, in realms that we had explored little or not at all, such as Helheim or Svartalfheim.

For this Review, God of War: Ragnarok was played on Playstation 5.