God of War Ragnarök (2022)

As someone who barely touched the original PS2 games, and was reintroduced to the series via the 2018 reboot, I was immediately enthralled. I've always been slightly interested in mythology, so upon learning that the Grecian Kratos was traveling to Midgard - I knew I had to play the game. Hack and slash games are fun, but Adventure RPGs are my bread and butter. That being said; this is a review of Ragnarök, not the 2018 release, so let's just say that my excitement for this sequel was astronomical

TLDR; It didn't hit as hard as the first game did, but I was still left a crying mess by the end. The story was engaging and thoughtful, with beautifully executed story beats. It builds off of the first game so well, while still leaving room for us to explore the realms more. I definitely agree that some of the story felt rushed in certain places, but overall I feel like it lived up to my expectations. The characterizations, the development, the MUSIC. It all came together and felt alive. If you enjoyed the 2018 reboot, you'll likely enjoy this one.
Spoilers ahead, tread carefully.

Seeing that time has passed from the very beginning of the game, and consistently having NPCs comment **on** the progression of time, helped solidify the reality that things had changed over the course of several winters. To no ones surprise, after rescuing Týr and finding out that Odin basically beat him into a(n) (extreme) pacifist, was just one of the first of many disappointments that Kratos and Atreus would overcome together. I could only hope he would eventually come around and assist in fulfilling Gróa's true prophecy to kill Odin.

*boy was I wrong*

I think one of the sudden, but delightful, surprises this game offered was a chance to play things out from Atreus' perspective. We gained an entirely new way the story was being told to us, complete with different Friend and Foe Codex entries! A small detail I definitely enjoyed were the subtle differences in the way that Kratos, Atreus, and Mimir all spoke in their writing. To see the way that Atreus spoke about the same people, but in a different tone set us up early to expect big things from this kid. That being said, we're constantly reminded he is a kid! He's maybe 16 now, and what do 16 years have? No impulse control! Time to go try and convince Freya that they're on the same side.
Ah, Freya, love of my life - I am absolutely biased, but she is the GOAT and I will not be convinced otherwise. Truly, we have been gifted an incredibly powerful and 3 dimensional female lead in an adventure game that is not just a bunch of terribly written stereotypes mashed together to make a "I'm just complex! UWU" companion. That being said, obviously I was thrilled when Freya joined the fight in Vanaheim. The banter between her, Kratos and Mimir truly encapsulates the golden triad of ["a family can be..."](https://www.reddit.com/r/antinatalism/comments/hbxw4e/sure_a_family_can_have_two_dads/) (a God Killer, the Valkyrie Queen, and a talking head)." With this banter, we're able to learn more about her relationships with the Aesir, other Vanir, and gain valuable insight into her knowledge (and other times ignorance) about the realms and their denizens. We see this come to a head in her quest for vengeance when Atreus returns from Asgard after his failed mission to Hel: *Odin must die, no matter the cost.*

We also see interesting development from the Dwarves and their relationship with each other. Our journey to meet the Lady of the Forge was probably one of my favorite quests, if only because of Brok's incredible one-liners. Not only is his dialogue an absolute pleasure to listen to, the foreshadowing we receive is so dense, you can cut it with a knife. The [gun](https://screencraft.org/blog/everything-you-need-to-know-about-chekhovs-gun/) has been shown, and it's cocked - ready to be used. Delightful.

The absolute bomb drop that was the reveal of Odin disguised as Týr the whole time ramped up the urgency to 110% - but when the story is brought to a full stop, we’re reminded that Atreus is still a child, and this is the first death of a loved one (outside of his mothers') he's had to witness, and grieve for. I was with the others, the time for action is now. But Atreus was not ready - he needed time to process. He needed a distraction. And so, they left. I felted stunned, it felt wrong. But, this wasn't about what Freya, or Freyr, or hell even what Sindri wanted. This was about what Atreus needed from Kratos. And so, Kratos did what any good father does to comfort their child; he helped his son mourn.

I will say, the pacing for the remainder of the game after this point did feel rushed- from locating Surtr and creating Ragnarök -

Sidenote:

Which, by the way, felt completely useless after we went through the pain of gaining Ragnarök (killing Surtr and putting Sinmara through unimaginable pain of loosing her beloved), just to toss that plan away the moment he's summoned? Because Kratos was determined Atreus wouldn't have to fight in a war (which, this was more like a siege, not even a war) where innocent bystanders (i.e. the Midgardians) wouldn't be sacrificed or used as cannon fodder? Idk - the more I sit with this, the more it frustrates me. I understand the purpose of showing that sometimes plans don't end up working out because of last minute reservations, but at this point they would have been better off without Ragnarök because of all the pointless loss faced from the outcome it created (coughFREYRcough)!!! ... Anyway.

to storming Asgard, and breaching the wall, to the final fight against Odin himself and then escaping. That was a lot in a short amount of time, which like, I get? The build up is always gonna be bigger and longer than the actual climax of the story. But I sinked a minimum of 55 hours into this game, for perhaps a total of 4 hours to be spent in an adrenaline filled state where everything was happening all at once all of the time. I felt like I missed a lot of little details, which sucks - because the whole experience was very epic-feeling! All of that to say, it all ended so abruptly.

I'm not unhappy with the outcome by any means, but I do wish we were able to spend more time in Asgard; infiltrating, and discovering just how awful the Midgardians were being treated by the Aesir. Can we also talk about Sif's complete 180 degree attitude change towards Atreus and Kratos? Where was the support from her before?! She's part of the reason Thor turned against Atreus in the very end, when we were so close to him understanding!

If the side quests and overall arching story of the game weren't as fulfilling as it was, I more than likely would have had a different opinion of the game overall, because of the last few hours of gameplay alone. But, fortunately, the game relies on it's other aspects, when parts fall short. Which is not a bad thing, by the way.

Moving on from the incredibly deep and thoughtful story, the music is composed intentionally, and I fell in love with the married Greek and Norse undertones that were occasionally present in Kratos' cutscenes. Combat is polished (nothing really changed from the last game - which is FINE. I LIKE it when games stick to the thing they're good at. If it's not broke, don't fix it! Combat doesn't always need to be innovative!) For reference, the difficulty I played on "Give Me Balance" which is my default to most games I play for the first time. I'm not going to go out of my way for a harder experience, that's not why I play single-player story games usually. Playing on "Normal" gave me plenty of a challenge, right up to the fight with Gná, and a couple of the Berserkers (I'm looking at you Svipdagr, Hrómundr, and Vöttr!!!)

That's all from me, I happily give God of War: Ragnarök 4.5/5.

"The cycle ends here. We must be better."