God of War Ragnarok doesn’t have the luxury of being able to come out swinging on PS5 with a new look, new perspective (both gameplay and story-wise), and new world to establish. But while it is remarkably similar to the last game, given its undoubted brilliance that’s hardly a bad thing, is it? I was a bit worried at the start of God of War Ragnarok. Before it’s really had any time to re-establish its characters, setting and scenario, it’s already not so much pulling on the heart-strings but yanking on your arteries with the Chains of Olympus. If the whole game laid it on this thick then we’d be straying into the nine realms of melodrama, but thankfully Ragnarok quickly finds its feet and settles into the tonal ping-pong of a contemplative coming-of-age story that explores interpersonal relationships with a sombre edge that also takes regular breaks to wallop monsters with a giant axe until their heads fall off. Such is video games. God of War Ragnarok is a very direct sequel to 2018’s God of War, dealing with the fallout of the last game, the conflicts that have arisen from the revelations at its climax, and develops the arcs of existing characters while also introducing new ones. In the early part of the game, that’s all wrapped up in the familiar package of well-balanced, barbarous combat that’s simple to pick up but demanding enough in terms of reflex action and combo inputs to be as much of a challenge as you want. Plus the sound and visual design are as great as ever. It’s become cliche to talk about the “weight” of combat, but the audio tricks and artful slowdowns of the action to maximise the skin-to-skin spanking and axe-to-bone crunching eek out every drop of adrenaline and masterfully make sure your eyes are only ever front and centre during every fight. And of course, all of this is played from that over-the-shoulder perspective that feels like lugging a fully-loaded backpack down a flight of stairs - pounding but secure. The main problem with God of War Ragnarok so far, though, is that the bar is so high that it’s very easy to take some of its best elements for granted. A couple of times I’ve found myself barrelling through the lush, detailed environments, not really appreciating their scope and ambience as I bounce from one monster closet to the next. This is a sprawling retelling of Norse mythology with lots of impressive lighting, so maybe it’s to the game’s credit that the fantasy world around you doesn’t snag the suspension of disbelief. But it’s the same with the set-pieces, whether they’re astoundingly huge or intimate and grisly. They come so thick and fast that you’re almost spoiled for action. However, to consistently deliver on that front is unmistakably to Ragnarok’s merit and surely there are still some surprises lurking to take things to the next level as the stakes rise.
