The contest for the game of the year has been settled. God of War Ragnarok is an outstanding work [RECENZJA]

This won’t be an extensive review. This is due to the fact that going into any plot details related to the new installment of God of War could spoil your fun. In Ragnarok, surprises follow surprises, and the 40-50 hours you spend in the world (or rather sheds) created by the Santa Monica studio is a real roller coaster ride.

[Poniższa recenzja nie zawiera spoilerów fabularnych].

I’ll stop at the most important thing: In Ragnarok, we once again assume the role of of the title the god of war, who travels the lands of Norse mythology with his son Atreus. It is worth noting, however, that while Kratos was the key character in the first installment, and the story axis was his attempt to come to terms with the death of his wife, Atreus comes to the fore in the sequel.

Atreus, who is no longer a child. Kratos’ son has become a man and wants to discover his true destiny at all costs. Is he really Loki? What connects him to Tyre? What role will Atreus play during Ragnarok, and where does Kratos fit into all of this? This is one of the many questions that we will face during the game.

God of War Rangarok photo Sony

Ragnarok impresses with its graphic design. Initially, I was afraid that the decision to release the game also on PlayStation 4 would negatively affect this aspect. These fears turned out to be unfounded.

Character models, textures, animations, shadows, and environmental detail – it all looks phenomenal. The creators managed to create a beautiful, diverse, and at the same time visually coherent game world, in which you can even lose yourself.

It is worth adding, that Ragnarok offers as many as four graphic modes. We can decide for ourselves whether we want higher resolution textures or a smoother gameplay.

The majestic soundtrack he is responsible for Bear McCreary (Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power, Outlander) provides a great backdrop to the adventures of Kratos and Atreus. The English dubbing does not disappoint either (the outstanding Christopher Judge!). The Polish one is a bit worse. While Artur Dziurman in the role of Kratos is doing decently, the voice of the “Polish” Atreus irritated me a bit.

God of War Rangarok photo Sony

2018’s God of War took us on a journey through different worlds of Norse mythology. The problem is that most of them were empty. Ragnarok is a completely different game in that regard. While the worlds of Yggdrasill seem a little smaller now, they are bigger diverse and filled to the brim with contentmaking exploration a pleasure.

Seriously, I haven’t played a game in a long time where I wanted to look literally into every cave and under every stone. Many times I also happened to stop for a moment on a random hill just to admire the views. I was even more hurt by the fact that I was going to the game for the premiere photo mode failed.

In Ragnarok Of course, there were also the already famous puzzles environmental. Solving them is a lot of fun. They also allow you to “catch your breath” after subsequent grueling combat sequences, more on which in a moment.

God of War Rangarok photo Sony

Attention to every detail can also be seen during the execution tasks side. In the first installment, they were quite repetitive. I had the impression that they were created to “clog” the game with additional content. In Ragnarok, side missions are diverse and complement the main plot. Yes, there are still tasks like “bring, take out, sweep”, but they also have their plot justification.

The key element of each installment of the God of War series is, of course, combat and spectacular boss fights. And in this aspect Santa Monica studio did a great job.

The main weapon remains the axe Leviathan, but at the very beginning we also get access to the famous older games from the series Blades of Chaos. In the previous installment, they were handed over to Kratos only closer to the end of the adventure, which in my opinion was a wrong decision.

During the fight, we must skillful way to rotate our weapons. In the case of some enemies, Leviathan will be more effective, while opponents resistant to the element of ice are better treated with Blades of Chaos. Usually, however, it is better to bet on a combination of these two solutions.

In the course of the game, we can develop the character, improve weapons, and discover new combinations of blows, thanks to which the fight becomes even more spectacular. Atreus also received his development tree, who in Ragnarok became a key character not only from the point of view of the plot, but also … No, no, no. I won’t tell you this anymore. I promised a spoiler free review.

God of War Rangarok photo Sony

It attracts attention bigger diversity enemies. Playing God of War from 2018, I had the impression that for 90 percent. I’ve been fighting the Draugr for a while. In Ragnarok, in the first 5-6 hours of the game, I came across more types of opponents than during the 40 hours I spent with the prequel.

To this day, I remember how impressed I was with the first fight with Baldur in the prologue of the first installment of the game. In this aspect, Ragnarok does not disappoint either. There are even more long and exhausting boss fights here, and almost each of these clashes impresses with its scale.

A small caveat here: God of War Ragnarok is a difficult game. The fight can take its toll already on the normal difficulty level. The higher ones seem to be intended for masochists and true veterans of the series (we are probably talking about the same group of players here).

God of War Rangarok photo Sony

Is there anything I don’t like about God of War Ragnarok? Yes, but these are rather minor details. I still can’t convince myself menu inventory, which in my opinion is quite chaotic, and at the same time not very intuitive. It also fails a bit map worldwhich is too simplistic, which sometimes makes it difficult to explore and discover the secrets of the game.

Bigger, more interesting, more beautiful and even more spectacular – this is how you can briefly describe the new installment of God Of War. And yet Ragnarok is not the successor of some mediocre, but one of the best games of the previous generation of consoles.

This is probably the best proof that we are dealing with an outstanding work. A title that you just have to play. God of War Ragnarok is a 10/10 game. And I didn’t think for one moment about lowering her final grade by even half a point.

A review copy of the game was provided by its publisher.