5/5 ★ – DirtyDan's review of God of War: Ragnarök.

God of War (2018) is one of my favorite game of all time. It was a much needed soft reboot and the best thing to happen to the franchise. How could God of War Ragnarok possibly live up to these massive expectations? Not only does Ragnarok live up to the hype but exceeds them in every single way! This was the greatest game and greatest gaming experience I’ve ever had! It’s unbelievable how amazing this game is its perfection. Everything from the previous game is improved upon in both quantity and quality. A perfect ending to the Norse saga. (Spoiler warning) It was a blast to visit all 9 realms this time. Each realm are so different from each other and beautiful as well. Fimblewinter changing the realms we visited before was also a breath of fresh air. Side quests were incredible and might be the best I’ve seen even topping The Witcher 3. Every place you explore has a story to tell. Freya’s side quests were incredibly important it’s make her character arc even better! Little things like Kratos petting Speki and Svanna. One of my favorite areas was The Crater there’s not a single main quests there. And the day and night cycle was cool because things change at night or day. There was so many things to do like hunt dragons or find out important things like what happened between Faye and Thor. Loved the return of optional difficult bosses this time Berserkers. Some are tuff as hell. And glad they brought back another Valkyrie queen in the endgame. Gna really kicked my ass. Combat/gameplay is a massive improvement. It takes the formula from last game and fine tunes everything. There’s even 3 different options for Rage mode which was neat. Probably my favorite combat in any game. Plenty of returning moves and plenty of new ones. The combat is just so addictive especially when switching between each weapon back and forth. I really enjoyed the skill token addition along with triangle button which did wonders for the combat. Different types of shields was also very nice along with the grapple and vertical attacks. Weapon specific finishes was awesome. Being able to split a enemy in half with blades or use axe or spear to stab enemies in the face is so satisfying. The addition of the Draupnir spear was phenomenal. It might be better than the blades and axe at the very least it’s equally as good. That scene using it for the first time was on par with getting the blades in GOW. We all expected to use Mjolnir but instead we get a weapon that’s important to Kratos past. Not only is it badass but it really pays respect to Kratos character. The sound design is so good for the spear especially Draupnir call. Atreus being playable was an awesome change of pace. They gave him an entire skill tree. His combat is so satisfying with using his bow, melee or his magic. His rage mode turning into a wolf or a bear had me screaming! I also love how one of his finishers if that jumping kick he used on Baldur so satisfying. He was just as fun as Kratos. Enemy and boss variety is a massive leap. You don’t even fight a Troll in the main story aside from a cutscene a Kratos chopping his head off real quick lol. Tons of cool new enemies like Dreki and Stalker and so many more. Every single boss fight is amazing especially the Norse gods. What a way to open the game with that Thor fight. Thor 2 was incredible as well. Seeing Kratos and Thor clash weapons was so satisfying. Especially the frozen lighting bolt and that slow mo clash at the end. It’s really hard to chose a favorite although if I had to I’d say both Thor fights. But all the bosses are fantastic. Odin final boss was spectacular his magical move set was a spectacle to watch and the triple team against him is so satisfying. Heimdall boss was unique and I felt very accomplished because he was such a prick. Hrist and Mist so badass that father and Son finisher was so fire. Massive ones like Garm and Nihdhogg. Even the weaker ones are still amazing. Some are even in side quests which was awesome. The boss mechanics are also much better. Each boss has a unique finisher some even Kratos and companion teaming up for the kill. Some of the best bosses in a game. The storytelling and the characters were brilliant! Bigger in quality and quantity than its predecessor. Ragnarok is up there as one of if not the best story. This time more ambitious with a ton of new characters and every single character gets to shine. Starts off with a bang and gets better and better. There’s a lot of emotional in this story I cried many times. So many twists and wow moments throughout the entire story. I really enjoyed the way Santa Monica Studios handled the Norse gods Thor was my favorite. He was a tragic character and the only time I got sad at a villains death on a God of War game. If was really interesting seeing a different side during the Atreus missions. You get to see all these characters and relationships like Thors drinking problems or Atreus friendship with Thrud. Heimdall was a shit. Odin was like a mafia boss. Constantly manipulating everyone. He just wants his answers. The Tyr turn had me screaming. Truly one of the greatest plot twists ever. There’s so many duo’s in this game it’s not just Kratos and Atreus. Kratos and Brok, Atreus and Thor so many unexpected duo’s which was really cool. Freya was incredible I loved her character arc. I’m so glad she got redemption because I didn’t want to kill her. Her becoming an ally was great and they even gave her a skill tree. That entire quest of just Kratos and Freya was done so well. Mimir is as hilarious and intelligent as he’s ever been. "Don’t forget me all fucker". Brok and Sindri arcs were so emotional. Rip Brok 😭. It was a very touching moment when he got to bless the spear. The way Sindri turns after his brothers death was so unexpected because he’s always the happy one and he never makes up with Kratos and Atreus. I really liked Angrboda’s character as well. The Ragnarok battle is perfection. Kratos blowing the horn will always give me chills. From seeing everyone fighting, all the destruction Jourmangandr fighting Thor in the background to controlling Atreus as a fucking bear etc. It really felt like you were in a battlefield. And then two epic final boss battles back to back. One of if not the greatest final acts in a game. The heart and soul of this story though is the father and son relationship. They both go through a lot but really it comes down to trusting one another. Atreus story was great it’s really a coming of age story for him. I enjoyed his missions they were very important for his development especially what he learns with Angrboda. After he learns his fathers fate all he wanted to do was to prevent it no matter what. The race scene with Angrboda gave me absolute chills! Kratos is just trying to be the best father he can be and there’s so many emotional bonding moments between them like when Kratos apologizes for pushing him away "don’t be sorry father be better" 🥺. Or him telling Atreus to open your heart to it in the middle of a war. There’s even some dream sequences with Faye that are emotional. Kratos being open and talking about his past to Freya was a very touching moment. Him being the general to march to war was incredible. Kratos letting Atreus go and there goodbye was a beautiful and gut wrenching moment "Loki goes and Atreus stays here" 😭. The shrine shows that Kratos is no longer a destroyer but a rebuilder. Truly one of the goat characters. Every single voice actor was incredible especially Christopher Judge who put his heart and soul into this character. Bear’s soundtrack was amazing as well. An absolute masterpiece in every conceivable way thank you Santa Monica Studios can’t wait for what comes next!!