One of the best things about 2018’s God of War is that it quickly grabbed you in the opening hours. Not only did it have a great introduction to the characters and throughline plot that would serve as the base of the experience, but it also showcased some stellar boss fights and gameplay sequences. In the same way, God of War Ragnarok also comes out of the gate swinging and reaffirms that developer Santa Monica Studio hasn’t skipped a beat with its highly anticipated sequel.ย
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The initial mission that God of War Ragnarok sends you on takes about five hours in total to finish. Across that period of time, Ragnarok begins to slowly introduce some of the handful of new elements that will be seen in the game. Not only does that include new characters and locales but also some new gameplay mechanics. And while the new additions to Ragnarok aren’t vast right away, I get the sense that Santa Monica Studio is trying to ease players back into this series before introducing too much else.ย
God of War Ragnarok’s first major area that you visit is the dwarven realm of Svartalfheim. While God of War allowed players to travel to many of the Nine Realms seen in the Norse world, Svartalfheim wasn’t accessible in the previous game. For that reason alone, Ragnarok feels pretty fresh in its inaugural hours purely because you’re navigating a completely new locale. Svartalfheim is constructed in a very similar manner to Midgard from the previous entry as you’ll get around the realm through a mix of walking and boat travel. And while there is a main path to follow, there are a handful of side quests to take part in.ย
Based on what I have currently played, the gameplay of Ragnarok is very similar to God of War. Kratos once again comes equipped with the Leviathan Axe and Blades of Chaos, while Atreus assists in a support role with his bow. Much of Kratos’ moveset from God of War is again present here in Ragnarok, although some new abilities have been added. Specifically, Ragnarok has a greater sense of verticality this time around. Not only do enemies try to get the jump on you from higher up, but Kratos himself can quickly launch himself across environments through the use of his Blades of Chaos. These changes aren’t necessarily all that vast, although they do force you to pay better attention to your surroundings and stay on the move.ย
There are a number of compelling narrative moments within the first couple of hours of God of War Ragnarok that practically had me jumping off my couch with excitement. I’m someone who has been theorizing about the plot of Ragnarok for years at this point, so to see how Santa Monica Studio has opted to follow up on the events of God of War has been nothing short of thrilling. Although I won’t say anything specific about these story moments, I will say that many of the moments that have been shown off in previous Ragnarok trailers take place within the opening hours of the game. As such, it’s clear that there is so much of Ragnarok that Santa Monica Studio hasn’t talked about at all which has me that much more ecstatic to see through the full narrative.ย
This shouldn’t come as a surprise at all, but if you were a big fan of the previous God of War, there’s no doubt whatsoever that you’ll enjoy Ragnarok. What I’ve played so far of Ragnarok hasn’t been drastically different from the last game, but it feels a bit more refined in some areas. As my playthrough continues onward, I’m curious to see how Santa Monica Studio looks to capitalize on the engaging first hours and build out an experience that can rival its last outing.ย
God of War Ragnarok is set to launch early next month on November 9th for both PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4. Be sure to check out ComicBook.comย next week on November 3rd as we’ll be sharing our full review of Ragnarok at that time.ย
