God of War Ragnarök

God of War Ragnarök feels like a bigger God of War 2018 — more weapons, more companions, more characters, and a longer story. Gameplay-wise, I am happy with these added contents. Narrative-wise, not so much

God of War 2018 was an incredible journey. The story was focused on the relationship between Kratos and Atreus. The best moments were all about them. Players were right alongside them thanks to the single-take camera approach, so when the characters met their arc, it felt close.

This is not how it felt in Ragnarök. The scale of the story grows - be it the size of the stage, the number of characters, or the times the plot twists. Because of it, the story is not focused like it was in 2018.

Don’t get me wrong. Those new plots and characters are well crafted, and there are many great moments. Kratos has more character progress than he had in 2018, and those moments are absolutely beautiful. I was tearing up during the Helheim part — to see the old stubborn god of war facing his fear and weakness, apologize to his son — it’s the brightest moment of Kratos's arc for me.

But I can’t help noticing how lackluster the third act is, especially the Ragnarök aesir war part — which should’ve been the ultimate climax of the game! After all the army gathering parts, I wondered how Santa Monica Studio would handle a war scene. Will there be hundreds of soldiers from every realm? In the game that uses every trick to secure loading time? Turns out there are no hundreds of soldiers. The “battlefield” is just another one-way hiking trail.

And there are the Thor fight and the Odin fight. In the Odin fight, I kept thinking “so this is supposed to be the final boss fight, right?”. And it was, although it didn’t feel like one.

After recalling the final boss fight of GoW 2018 I realized the difference that made me feel underwhelmed — the Ragnarök Odin fight was nothing but a boss fight.

The Baldur fight in 2018 was a series of in-game fights with cut scenes and QTEs between them, each pushing the story while contributing to the anticipation of the emotion climax.

That was not the case in Ragnarök.

I have no inside story, but the rushed last part felt like cut contents. More cut scenes mean more directing, animating, and motion captures.

To be fair, this game still has content that worth more than 50 hours of playtime, and Santa Monica Studio delivered without a Twitter delay announcement months before. It’s undoubtedly one of the best games of the year. While I’m disappointed in some aspects of this game, I remind myself not to take it for granted while criticizing.

But this game certainly made me appreciate God of War 2018 more. Narrative-wise, it has one of the best execution I’ve ever experienced.

It is a shame the aftertaste of God of War Ragnarök for me is a bit bitter, but the memory of God of War 2018 definitely becomes sweeter. I wouldn't say it’s the worst outcome for its successor.