Get all of your favorite Dad of Boy memes ready because the sequel to 2018’s God of War soft reboot is here in God of War Ragnarok. Kratos and Atreus have begun the start of the end times as prophesized and now the duo fight for survival in an increasingly harsh winter. In addition to supernatural weather they must contend with new enemies and friends turned enemies as they also attempt to defy destiny itself.

God of War Ragnarok is a 2022 action-adventure game, it is developed by Sony Santa Monica and published by Playstation Studios. It is available exclusively on current and last gen Playstation consoles.

Editor’s Note: Near complete to complete spoilers for God of War Ragnarok and God of War 2018 as well as the overall mythos of the franchise may be present within this review.

The God of War of Norse and God of War of Greek mythos meet.

The former Greek God of War Kratos and his son Atreus set out to defy the path of prophecy supposedly foretold by Kratos’ late second wife Faye in God of War Ragnarok. Taking place some years after the events of the previous title Kratos is as watchful as ever over Atreus who learned the truth of his origins as a quarter-God/quarter-mortal/half-Giant hybrid. Following a a dangerous spell of arrogance which ended with the kickstart of Ragnarok, Kratos & Atreus try to survive Fimbulwinter. Their troubles are made even worse as they’re given a visit by the All Father Odin & his son the God of Thunder Thor.

Atreus is nearly all grown up in God of War Ragnarok.

THE GOOD: Some years have passed since the defeat of Baldur and thus the subsequent start of Ragnarok. Fimbulwinter has been raging and all appears set for the end times. Attempting to learn from his past mistakes while regaining his father’s trust Atreus searches for any opportunity to protect Kratos from his impending supposed death as prophesized by his mother Faye. While struggling to survive Fimbulwinter the two are ruthlessly hunted down by Freya; the mother of Baldur who’s out for revenge over his death. Upon escaping her latest pursuit Kratos & Atreus are paid a visit by Odin & Thor with the latter still holding a grudge against Kratos for the death of his sons. Thor takes the opportunity to test Kratos in battle while Odin speaks with Atreus in an attempt to gain a peaceful alliance.

Kratos and Thor reach a draw leading to an excited Thor retreating. As Kratos returns to Atreus he is told by the latter that Odin wants them to abandon their search for Tyr and offers Atreus an invitation to Asgard. With their home no longer safe Kratos and Atreus take refuge at the home of old friends Sindri & Brok who live at the World Tree. Atreus admits that he and Sindri have been going off to find other Giant shrines looking at clues left behind by his mother. He learns that Tyr is in fact alive and held captive, but Kratos remains suspicious although he reluctantly agrees to continue the search. They find and rescue a tormented Tyr in the Dwarven realm.

The group head onward to Alfheim for more clues to analyze at Groa’s shrine they get in between the ongoing Light & Dark Elf war in the process. Having under gone a newly pacifistic mentality Tyr is disgusted and angered by the violence eventually becoming upset with Kratos & Atreus for their continued participation in it. Tyr refuses to be further involved feeling that Kratos and Atreus bring too much violence their way and Kratos & Atreus end up arguing over the prophecy. Atreus goes to bed in anger and winds up in Jötunheim where he meets giantess Angrboda. Angrboda shows Atreus another mural once again prophesizing Kratos’ death as well as Atreus’ betrayal in joining Odin. Atreus gets angry and undergoes an animalistic transformation like before but Angrboda helps him control it. The two later stop her grandmother Grýla from stealing animal souls. Angrboda also tells Atreus that his Giant name is Loki and that the Giants transferred their souls into stones to hide from Odin and even transferred their souls into animals. Atreus returns to Sindri’s home where Kratos is angered by his sudden appearance.

He tells Atreus that the boy was gone for two days which shocks the latter. Freya suddenly attacks now dawning her Valkyrie armor and she nearly kills Kratos. Atreus transforms and attacks her but Kratos protects Freya reminding Atreus that she was once their friend. Freya realizing that she may turn Atreus to a path of revenge like herself if she kills Kratos relents and though she can’t forgive Kratos the two come to a truce. Kratos and Freya agree to travel to Vanaheim to break a curse Odin placed on Freya which binds her to Midgard. There she reunites with her brother Freyr who has planned to lead a rebellion against Odin. While heading off to break the curse Kratos confides in Freya about his original wife and child. The two kill the Níðhögg freeing Freya in the process and she joins Kratos’ side.

Back at Huldra, Kratos & Atreus have an argument over the prophecy leading to Atreus running off to Asgard to find a way to save Kratos. There Atreus meets Heimdall and other Asgardians with many initially being hostile. Odin gives Atreus a mask which he believes will help give answers on dealing with Ragnarok. Atreus travels with Thor’s daughter Thrúd & later Thor himself to find the missing pieces of the mask. He begins to slowly gain the trust of the citizens of Asgard mainly Thrúd whom he bonds with over their conflicting fathers. Meanwhile, Kratos & Freya head to meet the Norms who reveals that Heimdall is going to kill Atreus. Despite trying his hardest to be better than who he was before Kratos resolves himself to kill Heimdall in order to protect his son. Kratos & Brok form the Draupnir; a magic spear which can help aid Kratos against Heimdall’s ability to see into the future.

While searching for a piece of the mask Atreus & Thrúd free the Gram a giant, aggressive wolf which can open dimensional rifts. Atreus reunites with Kratos and the two fight Gram which leads to Atreus learning that he accidentally bonded Fenrir’s soul to his knife and he transfers it into Gram finally taming it. Kratos & Atreus return to Sindri’s home to discuss their new information and learn Freya’s brother Freyr has been captured by Odin. During an attempted rescue Kratos is forced to fight Heimdall, as Heimdall refuses to relent despite Kratos holding back the latter loses control and kills Heimdall disappointing Mimir. Kratos reluctantly allows Atreus to return to Asgard to complete the mask where he’s met with renewed hostility following Heimdall’s death. Out searching for the final piece with Thor he tries to get Thor to understand his family’s feelings and the two complete the mask. An angry Thor feeling manipulated blames Atreus instead of Odin and attacks him but Atreus escapes. Back at Sindri’s Atreus now in possession of the mask hands it to Tyr who agrees to fight alongside everyone, but a suspicious Brok forces Tyr to reveal he was actually Odin in disguise and he kills Brok.

A distraught Sindri abandons the group while Kratos and Atreus head Muspelheim where they help Surtr begin Ragnarok. Back in Midgard Kratos once again dawns the title of general and gathers his forces across the nine realms. At the start of the battle Kratos and his forces begin to lose, but Sindri arrives alone refusing to allow any other dwarves to die. He destroys Asgard’s war machines and as the battle ensues Angrboda arrives with Fenrir turning the tides of battle. Realizing just how mad Odin has become Kratos and his group decide to save the innocent Asgardians caught in the crossfire. Thrúd and her mother Sif join Kratos’ side upon learning Odin used innocent Asgardians in the war. Thor attacks and fights Kratos, Kratos defeats but refuses to kill Thor recognizing their similarities. As the two are about to join forces, Thor is killed by Odin who then faces Kratos, Freya, Atreus, and Mimir in a final battle.

Odin is defeated but refuses to stand down forcing Atreus to transfer his soul into one of his marbles, but Sindri smashes it in revenge for Brok killing Odin. Surtr begins to destroy Asgard leading to Freyr sacrificing himself so the others can escape. As everyone recovers from the war Kratos and Atreus are shown a new tablet which shows Faye destroying a tablet leaving the prophecy up for Kratos & Atreus to decide. Knowing their futures are in their own hands now, Atreus decides to travel with Angrboda to find the living yet missing giants & Kratos along with Freya, Mimir, and the survivors of the war plan to truly unite the realms. As Atreus bids farewell to Kratos he checks the tablet one more time revealing that Atreus grows into a great man with Angrboda by his side as Kratos becomes the new Allfather. Freya defeats Gna; Odin’s new Valkyrie Queen reclaiming her title, the group clear Asgard’s Einherjar, the Aesir move to Vanaheim & make peace with the Vanir, Thrúd wields Mjolnir to honor Thor, the real Tyr is found and freed, and Kratos, Freya, Mimir, and an unforgiving Sindri attend Brok’s funeral.

Freya hunts down Kratos in her own path for revenge.

God of War Ragnarok is once again the beginning of the end of the franchise while providing a multitude of different directions the series can go in the future. As God of War 4/2018 was a story of a father changing and evolving from his past to become better for the sake of his son it too is a story about Atreus’ own growth and evolution as a man. The story and character development for all involved in ‘Ragnarok’ is some of the best I’ve ever seen in fiction, especially if you’re familiar with the original trilogy (?). The world building while not as strong as 2018’s entry is still pretty powerful stuff for what we got with Ragnarok often rewarding players with extra story beats and loot for exploring beyond the beaten path. Most of this is limited to armor for Kratos, Atreus, and the other companion characters who are playable in limited sessions. However, on occasion you can unlock new weapons such as a blade for Freya and even the ability to weaponize Mimir (yes the talking head).

While much of the gameplay remains the same which admittedly was rather disappointing there are small bursts of genius that change it up a bit. Specifically the sections of the game where you play as Atreus. It’s honestly some of the most fun gameplay experiences I’ve ever had and it’s nothing too extravagant. In fact Atreus plays an awful lot like Kratos with melee and long range attacks as well as defensive moves with his bow & magic capabilities that match Kratos’ axe & shield gameplay. However, Sony Santa Monica does enough to get Atreus to feel like his own character as you play. In addition to Atreus’ gameplay companion AI is at an all time high. One of the frequently praised aspects of 2018 was the AI competency of Atreus, here it’s just as good but also improved slightly and revolves around more characters outside of Atreus.

Including Freya, Thrúd, and Thor all allies have a level of competency where you never felt like you were in danger of dying simply due to them being of no use. Companions have certain abilities that aid with trimming down hordes and can also add debuffs such as stuns and burning. This is usually limited to a cool down timer with a certain amount of uses that can be upgraded as you play the game. Thor is probably going to be the MVP companion for some as he’s a huge help when taking advantage of his power. There’s actually a video of a player using Thor to get rid of a horde by himself without the player lifting a finger outside of dodging enemy attacks. I kind of wish there were more opportunities to play as characters outside of Kratos and Atreus and perhaps that was a plan at one point, but the team not following through with the potential is unfortunate. Maybe we can get that as an update at some point in the future?

The Norse God of Thunder Thor makes an impactful debut in God of War Ragnarok.

THE BAD: When you think God of War (if you’re old enough to remember the original) the initial thought process is “go bigger”. Something that was easily accomplished for much of the original series run. While Ragnarok definitely goes big in a lot of eras that count in others I feel like it lacks a bit namely in it’s gameplay presentation. This is an issue I had with The Last of Us Part 2 where it felt like the game played it a bit too safe with evolving it’s gameplay mechanics in any significant way. And yes there are some noticeable changes with ‘Ragnarök’s” signature gameplay but it never really feels as big as expected for a sequel of its level. I’m also not much of a fan of how restricted the world felt in Ragnarok. It’s still very much open, but it feels like a much lesser scale compared to 2018. Thankfully this is limited to certain areas whereas otherwise the game is fairly open-world.

Kratos continues his journey into becoming a better father to his growing son.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: God of War Ragnarok mostly lived up to it’s “go big, go better” approach though it’s gameplay can be a bit repetitive compared to 2018 and other entries in the franchise. Even so it’s an admittedly weak complaint when every other asset of the title gives a 110% effort in being an upgrade from the initial release within the Norse pantheon. The growth of it’s central cast especially Kratos, Atreus, Mimir, and Freya caps off so much and in Kratos’ case it provides such a satisfying ending for long time fans of the franchise that I’d believe most would be content if this were the final game within the series before an inevitable full on reboot decades later. While a new entry hasn’t been confirmed Ragnarok has paved the way for several directions for the franchise’s future going forward including some that may surprise fans who haven’t gotten their hands on it yet. Whichever story is next there’s no doubt Cory Barlog and his team will take passionate aim at it’s presentation just as they did before.