It’s hard to think of a more hotly anticipated title as we ramp up to holidays than the sequel to the colossally successful God of War reboot of 2018 (which incidentally I gave one of my hallowed 10/10’s). There are less than two weeks to go before Ragnarök unleashes itself upon us, but to whet your appetite for more destruction we’ve got our initial impressions from the first part of the game. Rest assured that this will be 100% spoiler free, but if you’re keen to read about our journey through the Nine Realms thus far, grab a horn of ale and read on.
Kratos takes on 4Chan
Ragnarök picks up after the events of the first game, where after Kratos’ and Atreus’ deicidal romp up the mountain to scatter the ashes of their departed wife and mother, Fimbulwinter has settled in to the land of Midgard. Much like in the movie Frozen, this is essentially a bit of an eternal winter for Midgardians, but unlike Frozen it also signifies the movement towards Ragnarök – the fabled end of days in Norse mythology (and coincidentally the name of the game). Our preview begins in the snowy mountainous area surrounding the home of dad and boy, and reintroduces us to Kratos’ luscious beard and gruff demeanour. Kratos has a palpable weariness about him as he stomps around the frozen wilds, which is fair given the crimes he has committed, the losses he has suffered and a sense that peace will never be an option for him. Sony Santa Monica are clearly continuing the trend of making sure Kratos is infinitely more than an angry punchy man (although that shoe certainly fits when the need arises), infusing him with a depth and personality that immediately engages and evolves the rebooted Kratos we met in the previous instalment. Atreus too is no longer a pup, evidently changed by the events and revelations of his epic father-son trip, and he’s got a deeper voice and harder edge that foreshadows the fading of his youthful exuberance, although he’s still a cheeky bastard. It’s something that anyone who’s raised teenagers will resonate with, watching a child’s world expand outside the confines of the limits both self-imposed and external that were put on them when they were young. One gets the feeling that Atreus is destined to come into his own on this adventure, becoming more than the son of Kratos and truly stepping into his power.
Although Fimbulwinter is in full force, that doesn’t mean you’ll only be trudging through dreary wintery landscapes. Part of our preview took us to the dwarven realm of Svartalfheim, which is a brightly lit warm expanse featuring a huge lake and smatterings of dwarven settlements. This is not Kratos Breath of the Wild though, and even though this realm is fairly open, allowing free exploration via boat with several landing spots, the reins on where you can and can’t go are held a little tighter than in a true open world. This is absolutely in keeping with the style of the original, which featured small contained areas accessible from an open hub, and if you loved it then, you’ll likely love it now. Side quests are picked up naturally by quizzing the small handful of NPCs you can interact with, and elevate themselves over typical fetch quest yawnfests that can permeate action-RPGs by having meaningful impacts on the lore and always yielding tangible benefits. A remarkable side quest early on involves the past sins of Smartest-Man-Alive-cum-severed-head Mimir (who’s once again along for the ride), which manifests itself in such a way that a large swathe of the environment itself is significantly changed over the course of the quest. I don’t intend to spoil the details, but let’s just say it leans beautifully into the epic scale that Santa Monica is continuing to strive for in the design of the world and its denizens.
Olaf has to be around here somewhere
The God of War reboot was gobsmackingly beautiful on PS4, but prepareth thine gob to be smacked once more, because the environments I’ve been treated to so far are in just the first seven or so hours are mindblowing. From the aforementioned wintery peaks of Midgard and cerulean lakes of Svartalfheim, to the fiery pits of a labyrinthine dwarven mine, there’s an attention to detail that is basically supernatural at this point. Character models and motion capture are similarly god-tier (which is fitting really), with Kratos and Atreus in particular managing nuanced facial animations that gives their individual personality and interpersonal relationship a real sense of humanity.
But it’s called God of War, not God of Stunning Environments and Nuanced Facial Aminations, and that means you’ll also fight a beast or two while trying to figure out how to stop Ragnarök. So far only the Leviathan axe, Blades of Chaos and Shield are available, and while these weapons have a slew of crunchy abilities attached to them to upgrade and experiment with, time will tell if we get a few more fresh toys to play with over the course of the game. The combat maintains its claustrophobic over-the-shoulder camera which puts you right in the action, and it’s just as deep, visceral and engaging as you remember it. In fact, so far it’s going to be super close to exactly how you remember it. Moving forward it will be interesting to see how combat evolves and whether it will seek to surpass its predecessor or simply content itself with maintaining the same basic feel as the original. With combat of this quality though, either way you’re going to leave covered in blood and deeply satisfied.
The game legitimately looks this good
God of War made dozens of GOTY lists four years ago (including WellPlayed’s) for a reason, and its successor was always going to have big vambraces to fill. From what I’ve experienced so far, I’d say things are well and truly on track, and Sony Santa Monica’s expansion of this incredible world looks like it’s reaching for the heavens (no doubt to kill whatever god resides there). Stay tuned for our full review coming November 4.
Previewed on PS5 // Preview code supplied by publisher
