God of War: Ragnarök (PS4) Review | VGChartz

VGChartz's Paul Broussard: "In summary, God of War: Ragnarök feels like a ride at an amusement park. Despite the openness of the world and the ability to branch out for side quests, it never feels like Santa Monica is quite willing to fully take its hands off the steering wheel and let the player drive. The end result is a title that feels like it wants to incorporate a variety of gameplay elements, but is unwilling to expand on them in meaningful ways.

As a result, all we’re left with is an admittedly very well-told story and some crunchy combat animations. Perhaps that’s enough to carry the game for some, but this feels like settling for far too little; this is a series that had combat with a solid amount of depth yet still managed to tell stories that, at the time, were widely considered the height of video game storytelling. Ragnarök’s fantastic narrative and enjoyable characters ensure that it isn’t getting out of here without a recommendation, but its gameplay shortcomings mean that it ultimately falls short of some of its loftier ambitions."

[hotnickles]

I’m not a fan of what they did with Odin. He disguises himself as an old dude to walk with mortals. They just made him an old dude

[Hofstaderman]

Dude THAT is Odin based on mythology

[VenomUK]

@hotnickles.
I haven't played Ragnarok yet and a review is useful for people who haven't played a game and are seeking to.
Please, consider that before spoiling details without warning.

[hotnickles]

Lmao no. That is Odin based on Seinfeld

[hotnickles]

@venom

That’s not a spoiler. The myth is thousands of years old. In the myths he disguised himself as old man to walk with humans. All of the gods were young because because they have iduns apples. How is it a spoiler by saying I’m not a fan they made Odin old with a Brooklyn accent? I think a few of the voice actor choices missed their mark, actually.

[neutralgamer1992]

Spoiler damn alert 😆

[hotnickles]

Odin being an old guy is a spoiler? It’s well known in myths he disguised himself as an old guy in a cloak to walk with mortals lol.

He doesn’t diguise himself as an old
Man in the game. He’s just an old guy lol. That’s why I’m saying it not a fan, no spoilers

[CrimsonWing69]

Y’know, I was with you before having played the game. I was like this about Thor, but seeing what they’ve done I absolutely love the direction and can’t imagine it being different.

[hotnickles]

Thor was fantastic

[CrimsonWing69]

@Snarkbark

“Yea? Well, y’know.. that’s just like uh, your opinion, man.” - The Dude

[hotnickles]

To be clear:
In the myths he disguised himself as an old man to walk with mortals. That is not a game spoiler.

In the game he’s just an old man, not a disguise. My disappointment stems from an epic Odin reveal that never came.

[sinspirit]

No.

In the myths he is an old man. In disguise he makes himself another old man when he chooses to.

A lot of mythology portrayed the older looking the exterior of a god also means they are actually more powerful. This is why the mightiest gods, or god of gods are so old looking. They are more wise. They are a more powerful god. In many mythologies you will find that several gods are no longer far off in terms of age from their fathers, but their father looks old old while their sons/daughters still look 20s-30s. Zeus is a direct parallel. He is also old looking and is described that way just like Odin in mythology. They both are described as disguising themselves as old men. Not because they don't already look old. But because many myths have gods disguise themselves as young men, as women, or animals. When it tells you he is in disguise as an old man it's just giving you context. Not telling you he changed himself to appear older. But telling you he still looks old, but unrecognizable.

[Lexreborn2]

****spoiler******

Since you spoiling for people, Atreus literally asks himself that question when he looks at Orin’s picture in his office. He was wondering if the self portrait of him being young was because it was very old or if he had people paint him young by order.

That gives the nuance of the characters vanity and self narrative versus his reality for the story. All while leaning on the mythos of Norse mythology.

[AnotherGamer]

uhh... that is how Odin is portrayed i the mythology,.

[hotnickles]

An old skinny man? No.

[Wintersun616]

Now there's a complaint. Let me guess Kratos is just an angry dad and Atreus is just an annoying teen? Mimir is just a talking head. What else? Thor is just a god swinging a hammer. You must be a very wise man.

[hotnickles]

“So what you mean to say is…”

No. If I meant to say any of those things I would have said them. You don’t need to reply to me to have a conversation with yourself.

I am a mythology fan, especially Norse. This boomer doomer sickly version of Odin isnt banging to the rhythm of any war drums. That’s all I’m saying and that’s all I said.

[Wintersun616]

BTW nice ad hominem. "a wrestling fan of all things…" Never have I been so insulted. :D

[Wintersun616]

I mean dude if you were a wrestling fan 20 years ago, you'd be chanting "You suck" to Kurt Angle AND MEANING IT.

[hotnickles]

Hahaha getting critiqued by a wrestling fan of all things… yeah… I wasn’t watching wrestling ever so your reference is lost on me.

[Wintersun616]

Okay maybe I put words in your mouth with my straw man arguments, but your own argument is equally flawed. What were you expecting? You're not making sense. I don't believe you actually played the game. I also have so many other arguments against your faulty logic within the lore of God or War, but just can't find the words to say it without spoiling stuff for others. Actually I redacted a couple of sentences from here as well, because I realized some more intelligent people than you can count 1+1 from what I wrote.

[goldwyncq]

Did you react the same way to Baldur's appearance in the first game which looked nothing like how he was described in the myth?

[Huey_My_D_Long]

I think your nuts, Richard Schiff had an amazing performance as odin, I didn't know who he was, but he is fantastic as odin

[myfathersbastard]

He’s an old wise man in litteraly every depiction out there. He disguised himself as a hermit to mortals.

[generic-user-name]

Gods in this universe age. Kratos himself is noticeably older than when he was in Greece. Zeus aged too. It probably takes thousands of years but still.

[Levii_92]

Vgchartz with their scores think they’re soooo different, they really seem me to that they want to stand out more. Gameplay shortcomings.. oh come on if there’s anything not to criticise this game for it’s it’s gameplay. I think someone else has lofty ambitions when it comes to video games there at VGchartz. Bring it down guys.

But i’ll tell you one thing, i am now curious.. if Ragnarok is a 7 and Elden ring is an 8.5 i am dying to find out what this site considers a 9.5 or above. But i suspect when that score comes that i’ll die from laughter rather than anticipation.

[Crows90]

Itll be the next fifa...or next farcry

[steven_seagull]

Hilarious.

[steven_seagull]

Getting butthurt and taking an honest review as a personal insult isnt very big boy, is it? You loved the game - great. Super duper for you. Others didnt. You understand the concept of different opinions?

[Crows90]

You understand the concept of objectivity? When you add up all reviews there is an objective consensus. Others may not enjoy it but it does not mean that it's a bad or even that they're capable of reviewing the game objectively. I couldn't review a racing game since I don't like racing games...just as I couldn't review an eggplant dish...hate eggplant.

[coolbeans]

@Crows90

That is not how objectivity works. lol

Just because a bunch of people arrive at a similar consensus doesn't mean that morphs into a fact. Imagine how little room that leaves for criticism if you just assume a collective of people have determined what *x creative work* deserves (with recency bias no less). Reviews are and will continue to be inherently subjective because that's the nature of opinions.

-"I couldn't review a racing game since I don't like racing games..."

That doesn't really apply here anyways, so I'm not really following.

[sinspirit]

@coolbeans

That's exactly how objectivity works in a professional environment that is supposed to judge and dictate the quality of something. Let's say engineering. Do you hire an artist to review engineering? What about food and what type of food? Do you get someone to review steak when they're a vegan food reviewer? What about coffee reviews from someone that only ever drinks tea? I'm sure some fun reads and the opinion of an outsider can be interesting. But, it's not the same for outlets in media that are supposed to judge story, gameplay, graphics, performance, game length, repitition, replayability, and audio.

If someone is an online only gamer and has no interest or experience with storybased games this easily leads to two issues. They either gloss over the story and forget important details, miss plotholes, and might still find a story they've not paid that much mind to amazing when other serious story interested gamers find it generic, predictable, find plotholes, or find it just a lack of effort on the writers end. The second issue this can cause is simply not caring about story enough at all to recognize a good story or to find every story insufferable and uninteresting because of reasons such as this happens in other stories or I just don't like thiiss genre of story.

So imagine an mmo being reviewed by a single player gamer. I guarantee most will hate them because the quests are repetitive af and the gameplay is nowhere near as deep or versatile. But if you're interested in mmo's and read their review then you are now mislead by an inexperienced and biased review. I don't like mmo's myself. But I would expect that an mmo experienced person would be giving me their thoughts and not someone else with taste similar to mine. By reading a properly conducted review I can deduce what pros and cons are important to me. This is also why review scores aren't all that matters. It's also the context of the review. Hell, I didn't even use horror as an example. Do you want a person with no horror experience to give positive reviews for being scared from something that's not scary at all to horror fans? Horror fans couldn't trust that review.

[coolbeans]

@sinspirit

Ironically enough, that's *OBJECTIVELY* incorrect. Look at the first meaning of "objective" in any standard dictionary:

https://www.merriam-webster...

The core purpose of that word is to remove *ANY* sense of personal opinion. Having some general consensus doesn't get around that either.

-"I'm sure some fun reads and the opinion of an outsider can be interesting. But, it's not the same for outlets in media that are supposed to judge story, gameplay, graphics, performance, game length, repitition, replayability, and audio."

1.) I don't really get how you can string these two sentences back-to-back nor see how it ties back into being objective. Now, in principle, I can agree with seeking out opinions from those who are the most well-versed in a particular genre. It's beneficial when comparing and contrasting its strengths/weaknesses with what else is out there.
2.) But if even you can see a benefit to an outsider's perspective as well, I don't really see how you push the argument of "objectivity."

-"Do you want a person with no horror experience to give positive reviews for being scared from something that's not scary at all to horror fans? Horror fans couldn't trust that review."

I mean... the rest of your argument is fine on its own. That's not about "objectivity," but I follow what you're emphasizing. The problem I have between you and Crows90 is this presumption of said critic simply not liking this genre. As I already said, this literally doesn't apply here. The person who reviewed Ragnarok (above) is literally the go-to action critic. He's done the majority of action blockbusters over the years.

It's so weird to see this insinuation back-to-back too, especially when the review's text literally dives into its shortcomings as an action game: camera, lack of consistency & clarity, and so on. Like, that's literally an assessment of its action fundamentals you just argued should be the standard; in fact, I'm willing to bet Paul has a longer resume with action games than the average critic who's closer to Ragnarok's critic consensus. That doesn't dismiss their takes either, but it's weirdly insulting how you two have approached your disagreements here.

[sinspirit]

@coolbeans

You're overthinking it. Simply said, a review for a genre should be objective and an experienced reviewer of those genres should be used. I'm not saying they should be totally biased for a genre they're going to review, leading to favorable reviews. I described someone that should be into the genre and like it. To be experienced in it and knowledgeable about it. We need experienced reviewers of a genre for a fair review based on their total experience and ability to compare it to other games in the genre to give an objective score on where it stands, exceeds, or falls short of to other games.

Also, I didnt really comment on the critic. I was just describing examples of the contrary of what I believe to be objective.

[coolbeans]

@sinspirit

Invoking the definition of a word shouldn't be considered "overthinking it." These terms mean something and just casually tying a broad consensus with 'factual' is the kind of nonsense I hope we move away from.

-"We need experienced reviewers of a genre for a fair review based on their total experience and ability to compare it to other games in the genre to give an objective score on where it stands, exceeds, or falls short of to other games."

But just earlier you brought up how outsider thoughts can also be interesting. Aside from the "objective score" part, I generally agree with your thoughts here: having someone well-versed is preferable to someone more ignorant of the genre.

-"Also, I didnt really comment on the critic. I was just describing examples of the contrary of what I believe to be objective."

That's a fair clarification. I just wasn't sure how much you were latching onto Crows90's comment, because he tied together the assumption of "if you're not with consensus you're not viewing it *objectively* or you dislike the genre altogether." When the person in question here *LIKELY* has a more catalogued background in action & action/adventure titles than the average critic handing Ragnarok a 9 or 10 its way.

[nommers]

They're of the nintendo frame of mind similar to Edge magazine where they believe nintendo can do no wrong and is somehow still the highest standard of game experience despite being 20 years out of the loop.

[Asplundh]

You're getting worked up over a 7, relax. Some of you guys had this game at a 10 before the thing even enter production.

[Flewid638]

I love Sony exclusives but the puzzle-filled level design dampered my experience. God of War was an action game with puzzles, now it's a puzzle game with action.

The boss battles and finishing moves are epic, but nothing in this world is above criticism. Shit, I love my mother...doesn't mean I can't talk about the things she does that annoys me. Fair score imo.

[TreMillz]

Puzzle game with action?..... Get a refund for whatever that game with a God of war cover slapped on it was

[Flewid638]

So you're saying "Puzzle Filled Level Design" is a lie here? lol.

https://www.youtube.com/wat...

[wiegraf]

If only they were good puzzles or had variety...

[Extermin8or3_]

Wtf were you playing it wasn't god of war ragnarok.

[Flewid638]

"Puzzle Filled Level Design". WTF else would you call it? lmao.

https://www.youtube.com/wat...

[H9]

Not in a million year did I expect not to like the game, but everything about it (beside the visuals) is a downgrade, especially the story, it's atrocious

[andy85]

That's an odd take. The story is nothing short of outstanding tbh. Never been so gripped by game story for a long time. Obviously personal opinion though

[TheLordOfStuff]

Thats because he hasn't actually played it lol

[H9]

@TheLordOfStuff that's the weakest argument in the world, I have played the game from start to finish with a handful of side content

[hotnickles]

I thought the first games interpretations were much more creative and interesting. For example, adding freya into the mix in a slick way were unique and interesting. I liked ragnarok but I can see where you are coming from from the story downgrade perspective. Fenrir and mimirs origins were the only unique interpretation in that regard.

[Extermin8or3_]

There's literally a video on IGN of an expert in norse mythology going through the games story beats and discussing their authenticity snd moat of the time his general view is that its an interesting take thst isn't inaccurate but is also pretty unique in how its interpreter and represented things

[TheKingKratos]

The story is downright incredible...sooo much better than the first one
Also you can't be serious saying it's downgrade when it offers so much content gameplay wise and offer so much more enemy types and far more open than the previous part and the side missions are amazing with soo much heart putt into it

I disagree completely with your opinion ... I have never played a complete package like this game from gameplay to story to graphics to boss fights to side missions... I have nothing but at most respect for the hard work they have done to make something this good

[H9]

I thought the story was riddled with plot holes and illogical decisions and downright contradictory plot!

As for the gameplay, I thought there were much more weight in the combat in the first game because every upgrade could change your playstyle but here, the game cares way more about your stats than it does about your skill, I played on no mercy and near the end I found no reason to learn any new technique!

I am gonna give you that about the side missions, some were actually good, I kinda forgot about that!

And hey it's not like I don't respect their hard work, but respect doesn't equal liking something, they went into a direction that I simply didn't enjoy despite loving the first one

[Extermin8or3_]

@H9 what plot holes? In sorry but if you think it was full of plot holes I'm afraid you were perhaps too dense to understand the plot. I literally can't think of any off top of my head and I'm usually a stickler for Any plot holes at all.

[wiegraf]

First one sucked too

[H9]

It didn't suck in my opinion, I still think that it was the best example of Sony's design model that happened since uncharted, I enjoyed it, but here the entire time the plot was irritating me with it's nonsense

[Lexreborn2]

That’s weird… had more enemy variety types. Had more locations and environmental changes. Had different character perspectives and gameplay. Evolved the characters and world narrative in a 2 part take vs a 6 part series. Grew every character to grander proportions without relying solely on Kratos to carry. Didn’t back seat the character we came for to much where you wonder why are you doing this other thing.

Had much better puzzles and navigation between story and exploration. A much more developed post game process that wasn’t Grindy. This is awkward to say this game was a downgrade especially considering the enhancements to graphics, performance and gameplay.

[TheKingKratos]

**I thought the story was riddled with plot holes and illogical decisions and downright contradictory plot!**

Stories are subjective so you like it or not that's with you and i am fine with that ... But there was no plot holes at all in the game and everything was linking just fine to me plot wise ... it's you preference anyways
So moving on from that because we don't want to spoil it on ppl who didn't finish it yet ...let agree to disagree here.

**As for the gameplay, I thought there were much more weight in the combat in the first game because every upgrade could change your playstyle but here, the game cares way more about your stats than it does about your skill, I played on no mercy and near the end I found no reason to learn any new technique!**

What?? ... that's not true at all the game keep giving you gameplay options after options to help you through you playthrough and make them as stylish as possible...the previous part was limited gameplay wise compared to this new sequel...i was overwhelmed with so many gameplay styles and was enjoying everyone of them and i loved that they took few of the runic moves and put them into the regular gameplay to add more runic attacks ...if you choose to limit yourself to few moves and leave the rest that's up to you but that's not the game fault plus if you are facing a tough enemy there is always coming back later to fight him when you are ready the game is not forcing you to do anything you don't like to do

plus They add better.. much better enemy types it's not even funny and far more open world with so much to do

Better boss fights and better mini boss fights.

It's a very big improvement over the previous part and the graphics and ray tracing is top notch in that game

As i said i never played a complete package like this game ...big game with top notch story, gameplay, graphics, music,side missions

[robtion]

I haven't even played the game yet but you are clearly a Nintendo enthusiast so why are you commenting here? I like Nintendo, I had a NES when I was 8, my kids have a Switch.

Go back to your home. Why you don't you just go HOME? That's your HOME! Are you too good for your HOME? (sorry if you are too young to get the reference ;)

[H9]

God you guys are too desperate, i play every game from every developer, some of favorite games are Souls, NieR, Shadow Of the colossus, Tales Of, come back with a real argument next time

[SullysCigar]

Lmao awesome film. Although I also love Kingpin (just rewatched last week, still amazing!).

That and Happy Gilmore are SO similar in plot, I kinda want to hate one of them for copying the other...but they're both from 1996...

My head hurts, so I'll just continue to love both!

[Flewid638]

Characters & story are easily my favorite thing about it. I still prefer the OG series though.

[Crows90]

" Despite the openness of the world and the ability to branch out for side quests, it never feels like Santa Monica is quite willing to fully take its hands off the steering wheel and let the player drive."

So...in laymans terms...these guys wanted an open world ala elden ring. Reconfirming by suspicions on the obsessions over open world games.

[Masterchief_thegoat]

God of war Ragnarok game of the year has everything you want in a game

[TheKingKratos]

I don't care about scores any more .... That game is flat out a masterpiece and it just never stops on giving...every side quest ...every new place i open ... Every type of enemies

The game deliver on every front ...and the graphics and story are top notch, every realm feels alive and graphics are sooo damn good and the ray tracing is incredible and i love the haptic feedback and the dualsense of ps5

I have nothing to complain about but very minor things that would not change it from 10/10 for me ...if it wins Game of the year then good if it's not it would still be my favourite video game in this new gen so far and likely will stay that way till i see Naughty Dog and Insomniac, Sucker punch next gen games

[gangsta_red]

Going to agree with this score. This game so far has been a chore to play. It's puzzles, talking and climbing with a little bit of fighting mixed in between. The graphics as per usual with Sony games are amazing, but the pacing of this game is terrible. The fact that you can't skip those overly dramatic, long talking scenes makes it worse.

[P_Bomb]

@gangsta
You probably won’t like Alfheim and you’ll despise Jotunheim…BUT…the story does pick up and for pure gameplay you’ll eventually have access to the Berserkers, Drakes and the Trials of Muspelheim. Good for gettin’ rich. Good gear too.

[Knushwood Butt]

overly dramatic, long talking scenes

To be honest, I don't think I ever had the urge to even try and skip a dialogue scene. I'm now 46 hours in and will take any dialygue I can get. Quite often I'll sit in the boat or whatever without docking just to listen to the remaining conversation without cutting them off.

9.5 out of 10 for me. There was one bit fairly early on where I thought the tempo was a bit off, and I just wanted to get out of that section to get on with other things, but that was the onvy time, and things hot up immediately after that section anyway with a really cool moment.

[EternalTitan]

Carefull. People are getting death threats for criticizing he game.

[Extermin8or3_]

Obvious troll that hasn't played the game is obvious.

[sinspirit]

I'm wondering what scenes you find "overly dramatic". It's also story driven so if that's not your thing then it is what it is.

I do agree in a way about the climbing. Not so much climbing segments themselves. But, I'm a freakin god. I have to kick those shields off to expose convenient spots to latch onto, or I just can't jump to areas even though I know he could. Not even boost Atreus up and grab those shields. I understand the game design wants ways to have these things fun to do and spend time with, but I love when something is more realistic as to the capabilities of the character and what obstacles are in their way. We know if Kratos and company want to reach most of these areas optional or not that if it's 10ft high they'd not be doing the puzzles to do them in most of these cases. Just think some different designing is needed to seclude these areas/goals is all. I still like the puzzles to get to them.

[TheKingKratos]

Man, leave it to xbox/playstation fanboys who have nothing better to do other than come to every Sony/Microsoft article to spread negative comments....this place will never change

[VersusDMC]

Leaving Nintendo out means you are a Nintendo fanboy i guess...because alot of copium(pokemon) and shitting on Remakes from Sony while praising 60 dollar switch ports comes from Nintendo fanboys as well.

We are going to see this exact nonsense when breath of the wild 2 comes out...all 3 have annoying fanboys.

[TheKingKratos]

Lol, an oversight on my behalf.....i don't care about Nintendo or Microsoft at all for that matter i love playstation consoles and games only but i love to be open minded about things so i don't need to go to their articles and start consoles wars ...even though sometimes i am guilty of doing so when pressed but i try to slim it down as much as possible...i don't like to rub it in much

[gold_drake]

i agree with the puzzle clues by characters being too fast, but theres a setting for it. altough that doesnt quite help either ha.

i disagree with the rest of the criticism wholeheartedly.

[Ramboforlife]

This is a good review. It's like a marvel movie, an entertainment park or amusement ride.

[Huey_My_D_Long]

I don't agree with this review but has anyone else noticed an increase of simple bs to intrude your path? Like once in vanaheim I had to open a door that seemed to be pretty pointless like why was it there and also the flora in the game are fucking annoying af, but I'd still give the game 9

[gangsta_red]

I noticed that and the instances of jumping over a small ledge or small path. I can understand using your weapon to cross large spaces to get to the other side, but there were times in the game that designers decided to make the bridge broken, or a stone ledge miss a piece so that the player has to press the button to do a small hop over...why?

It doesn't take away anything from the game, I just found it strange in some instances.

[Extermin8or3_]

Because it was on ps4 aswell and the gsme needs those things to have time to load on the older hardware. Beyond impressive it even runs on ps4 tbh.

[anast]

Next there is going to be an article "The harassment must end!"

[EternalTitan]

You think death threats are funny?

[anast]

I see what you are doing there. And it's a fallacy.

[Orchard]

Hopefully not? It sure would be nice if all gamers were mature enough to not send death threats to someone for 'negatively' (not that 7/10 is that negative) reviewing their favorite game.

[Petebloodyonion]

Here are my 2 cents, I love GOW Ragnarok and to me, it's as close as perfection a Ps4 game can be.
I would give it a near-perfect score (Perfection does not exist).
But I can agree that the reviewer brought fair issues that could explain why he scored it 7 instead (I still find this harsh but perhaps 8.5 is the best a game can get).

1) Yes the close camera can be frustrating, especially when fighting some elite characters that usually spawn 2 weaker clone versions (for example werewolves). The problem lies often with losing track of the elite and not knowing what's the attack and from who resulting in some cheap deaths. As a fan, I had no problem overcoming this but I would have been the 1st to complain about it in a lesser-known title.

2) Press F to pay respect, If I had a gripe about this game that would be it (especially on Ps5) where I have short unneeded QTE just to let me feel the Dual senses features. cutting a log, carving stone for Dwarf, and shooting arrows in a bar fight.

[EvertonFC]

Really enjoyed the game excellent 9/10 but I aint gonna lie it felt like a mix of 3 games Uncharted, TLOU and GoW all rolled into 1? also way too many puzzles for my liking.

[Flewid638]

Waaaay too many.

[S2Killinit]

SPOILER DUDE COME ON NOW

[obidanshinobi]

A pretty fair review.
I'm almost 25 hours in and probably give it an 8/10 so far.
Way too many puzzles early on. The bit when your with Atreus and Tyr in the Elven realm is god awful, move through a corridor into a room to solve an open the door puzzle, move through a corridor into a room to solve an open the door puzzle, move through a corridor into a room to solve an open the door puzzle, move through a corridor into a room to solve an open the door puzzle, terrible game design.
The game is way too padded out unnecessarily. It literally wastes your time.

[Flewid638]

This.