God of War: Ragnarok analysis: as continuous as it is outstanding

God of War: Ragnarok is a sequel game. This is literally a 2019 sequel to God of War that completely reimagined the glorious PlayStation saga. New setting and mechanics for serve as a starting point for a new story about going against the gods involving maturity. The new part is just the culmination of maturity.

Not only because of the evolution of his characters, but also because he lays the foundations that were already outstanding in the first game. The saga develops at a slow pace and, like its narrative, returns to a similar dynamic that will please those who played the first game. Because here is the key to everything. God of War: Ragnarok offers almost no important news, and does not need them.

The game is a literal sequel to the first, both in its story and in its offering. Yes, it may be bigger and perhaps more ambitious, but its inner axis remains the same. This is a Santa Monica Studios strategy similar to that of Horizon Forbidden West. It adds little, but enough to be a breath of fresh air while still maintaining familiarity throughout.

Perhaps, for many, this is the most negative aspect of the new God of War: It has everything that was good in the first game, but also everything that was bad. While this may seem like a huge oversimplification, it is not. The first game, both in structure and approach, brought a number of changes to the franchise that made it something new, fresh. It is logical to understand why Santa Monica decided to put everything on one formula.

This poses a dilemma between those who come to God of War: Ragnarok looking for a complete reimagining and those who are looking for familiarity. The game has both. There are new combat mechanics and improved customization in both weapons and skill tree, something that makes the experience more personal. But the essence of the game is the same.

On the other hand, the storytelling is also similar. God of War: Ragnarok starts with the premise of playing with the player, pardon the redundancy, using a single camera trick, with transparent transitions between cutscenes (which don’t seem to be) and gameplay. And this can be seen from the first cycles of the game.

God of War: Ragnarok knows he has a diamond in his hands and reveals his most saved cards from the first hour of play. We won’t spoil the story, but you can imagine if we mention the names of Thor and Odin where the footage goes. Yes, it’s true that the narrative part it’s a bit bumpier than the first game, especially in the beginning. It’s hard to see why everyone hates Kratos if you don’t have the events of the first game particularly fresh.

Santa Monica knows about it even before the launch of the game they offer you a sort of recap of the previous game. Sequence of images with key events of the first game and how the situation came to the beginning of the second. After a rather impressive sled lesson of sorts, which already shows that the turns are coming.

However, things are slowly getting ready, and it will take you several hours to set off on what will be the last journey in the game. While opinions are divided at this point, the truth is that depending on which sections the game can take too long. This may not be a problem for most given the price of the games at launch, but as with the first game, God of War: Ragnarok. He knows how to use his tricks to lengthen some of the game’s storylines.

The game lacks combat everywhere and is much more brutal than the first in this aspect, although its mechanics are similar. Also his puzzles, distributed among the first platform ones at the basic level, down to the type metroid sheath They require certain actions and items to advance.

Where he continues to stand out is undoubtedly his visuals. It remains quite faithful to the previous one, and the differences between generations, as in the case of Horizon, are small. Yes, on PS5 you will get more frames per second, and the ability to select a quality mode with some graphics, excellent draw distance and texture quality. But the PS4 experience is also impressive and far superior to most third-party games, including the PS5. Here work first party Sony still has no competition in the industry, at least for its systems.

More than the visual part we’ve already seen will shine on both consoles, special attention should be paid to the sound. The soundtrack is incredible and there are moments that, along with the scripts It gives an epic feel to the game that we haven’t seen in a long time. However, we were especially surprised by God of War: Ragnarok – it’s an immersive engine storm PS5 sound. The game is fun, and it is this aspect that is perhaps most surprising to locals and strangers, especially if you use good headphones or have good sound equipment.

Be that as it may, God of War: Ragnarok is a sequel that completely surpasses the original. maybe lose Blimey who did not leave the first game, but has his own. The only one, but that it’s such a continuous play in the game and in the narrative and there are some surprises, they won’t be the same, and perhaps for many there is something to criticize the Santa Monica game. And also the only one. Because it will be a literal continuation, but what a continuation. Apart from a few minor bugs and some glitches graphics, Ragnarock is a landmark piece that is sure to rise to the top of single player games. And next to it will be the previous God of War.

In short, this is an essential game for all video game lovers, with more elaborate mechanics, outstanding graphics and, above all, the sound section, one of its tricks is to put together a set in which each of the parts shines on its own.