God of War: Ragnarök

The further I get in GOW, the more I get the "DLC" stuff. It legitimately does feel like that. Obviously it's a full-length game, but they didn't really change anything and they're following the exact same formula for everything.
 
Aside from it basically being a continuation of the last game, I'm enjoying how the game accommodates us lazier gamers. I chose the default/middle difficulty and I've noticed that the bigger fights have checkpoints. Die at a certain point in the fight? Start with full health from the last fight checkpoint. I typically carry one of those revival stones, but often choose to just die and then put effort into the fight instead of using the stone.
 
djoye said:
Aside from it basically being a continuation of the last game, I'm enjoying how the game accommodates us lazier gamers. I chose the default/middle difficulty and I've noticed that the bigger fights have checkpoints. Die at a certain point in the fight? Start with full health from the last fight checkpoint. I typically carry one of those revival stones, but often choose to just die and then put effort into the fight instead of using the stone.
Click to expand...

I'm doing the same thing. Those Drogir pit fights are pretty tough, but the game lets you keep trying them repeatedly via auto-save checkpoints. I've been redoing them and just dying rather than using my revival stone. I remember the hell that was fighting NG+ Valkyries, so I'm paranoid about wasting my revival stones in fights where it isn't 100% necessary.
In spite of the game being more of the same, I still think it's really good. It's easier to note the faults and similarities to the last game vs. all the great things that have carried over after all.
 
  • Like
Reactions: djoye
like this
I played the last one like four years ago, and if this one is similar, that’s fine by me. The formula is really fun, I enjoy the interactions between the characters, and enough time has passed that I would never have noticed similarities any more than any other sequel. I mean … it’s a sequel, what do people expect?

I’ve been getting sucked into it longer than I expect for the past few nights. Playing on the second hardest and dying plenty, but the gameplay is fun enough that it doesn’t bother me trying some fights (first Draugr pit …) like 20 times.

I’m heading away for thanksgiving for a week tomorrow and am honestly going to miss it during that time, super rare for me these days when it comes to video games.
 
polonyc2 said:
I keep hearing that one really annoying thing in Ragnarok is that the other characters keep spoiling how to solve the puzzles lol...

Click to expand...

Handholding at its peak? God, I hate this crap. This feature should be part of "journalist" mode.

Adding thoughts as I watch:
  1. If players have a hard time in playtesting, then the puzzle is badly designed.
  2. If you're playtesting when the game is already done, then you should do more playtesting before it's too late to change anything. This did used to be a thing 20 years ago...
  3. If you're going to have characters help, make it organic instead of on the nose. Do not put a leash on the player and lead them to water.
  4. Speaking from experience, I think one of the issues is actual game design is not taught anymore. Most game design degrees are either teaching how to program game engines or create assets. Actual gameplay theory takes a backseat or is not taught at all. In my degree I got a single one hour class while my programming classes were 3 hours long and populated most of the schedule. Speaking conceptually the class was great, as it was lead by Dave Arneson, but due to his declining health we never got into lengthy discussions after playing various board and card games. The person who stood in for him expected us to talk amongst ourselves, I guess, but that doesn't do any good when nobody understands the intricacies of the theory and mechanics of player engagement. And we never got into doing flow charts or anything of that nature, for what Will Wright is famous for. The short of it is I believe modern game designers are just shooting from the hip while trying to please the non-gaming people in the company. And this leads to the "get off my lawn" attitude of how gaming in the past was so much better.
 
Last edited:
polonyc2 said:
I keep hearing that one really annoying thing in Ragnarok is that the other characters keep spoiling how to solve the puzzles lol...

Click to expand...

I didn't find this a issue. They rarely have any tips when I play. I guess people are just too stupid and take too long to figure out the simple puzzles? Maybe they chime in quicker playing on easier settings? I been playing on normal.
 
vegeta535 said:
I didn't find this a issue. They rarely have any tips when I play. I guess people are just too stupid and take too long to figure out the simple puzzles? Maybe they chime in quicker playing on easier settings? I been playing on normal.
Click to expand...
It happened to me once - I was exploring making sure I didn't miss a chest when Tyr made a suggestion on how to solve the "puzzle" - which I already knew what to do, I was just exploring.
Hasn't happened since though.
 
I haven't run into this problem on my end of things. Usually it's Mimir saying something painfully obvious like "You should line them up, brother!" when you have to jump through a bunch of unexpected hoops to actually do that. They aren't spoiling anything so much as irritating you for being on step 2 of a 12-step puzzle.
 
scojer said:
It happened to me once - I was exploring making sure I didn't miss a chest when Tyr made a suggestion on how to solve the "puzzle" - which I already knew what to do, I was just exploring.
Hasn't happened since though.
Click to expand...

I've had it a few times, but I tend to either have an issue with over thinking puzzles (happens in general, not just in this game) or I'm just looking around at different things and ignoring the puzzle until I feel like it. Never once have I been glad about being told what to do. If I'm overthinking it, it's fine. Let me poke away at it until I realize I'm complicating the puzzle, or let me poke away until I stumble on a solution that wasn't entirely intended by the developers. I enjoy that. A game throwing solutions at me makes me feel like I'm being rushed and that the developers are annoyed that players aren't getting on with the game at a pace they would like. It does nothing to encourage players to explore more or to feel good about getting past a puzzle. It's like they're mad that the player has the audacity to try and have fun in ways that don't involve moving on to the next combat room.

I think having it as an option is great. More accessibility features are awesome, but it should just be an optional thing that you can enable or disable.
 
I've pretty much avoided most of the reviews/commentary related to the game just because I didn't see the point of learning too much. What has surprised me the most is the size of this game vs. the original one. It feels gigantic by comparison. Along the lines of TLoU1 and TLoU2, although I'm not far enough to know if that's completely true. I've roughly traversed the entire length of the first game and I'd guess I'm no more than halfway finished, though. It's probably no spoiler to mention that there are sections you play as Atreus (without Kratos) that are really well done. Ditto on the other side of things, too. I like the difficulty and pacing a bit more, too. It's no longer just easy, easy, DARK SOULS DLC HARD ENEMY, easy, easy, etc.
While the game is a little too similar to the last one for my tastes, I appreciate what they've done as I've progressed more.
 
Some annoying boss-itis in this game like its predecessor. Be sure you have lots of saves.
 
I can't really put my finger on it but like the new Horizon game I just can't get into this one either. The puzzle spoiler is just one of the many things irritating me.
 
On the puzzle front, I'm noticing far more puzzles that have execution requirements. They aren't challenging in the sense that they're tough to figure out. They're challenging in that you have to align arrow sigils flawlessly or nail an axe throw at a very peculiar angle/distance. I'll figure out what I'm supposed to do in 30 seconds but spend the next 5 minutes actually making the stars align so that the solution actually works. With some, I've wondered "is this even possible?" only to have it finally work after like 50 attempts.
 
Q-BZ said:
Some annoying boss-itis in this game like its predecessor. Be sure you have lots of saves.
Click to expand...

I don't find it as bad in that regard as the last game. It helps that the game is very good with autosaving right before each encounter so, if you die, you're really only losing the time you spent in the encounter itself and not the time it took to get that far. It's really a great autosave system.

Domingo said:
On the puzzle front, I'm noticing far more puzzles that have execution requirements. They aren't challenging in the sense that they're tough to figure out. They're challenging in that you have to align arrow sigils flawlessly or nail an axe throw at a very peculiar angle/distance. I'll figure out what I'm supposed to do in 30 seconds but spend the next 5 minutes actually making the stars align so that the solution actually works. With some, I've wondered "is this even possible?" only to have it finally work after like 50 attempts.
Click to expand...

There are a few puzzles where it's a bit challenging to figure out what you can and cannot stick sigils too. That said, being able to stack each one up to three times does end up opening some of them to more creative ways of being solved.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Q-BZ
like this
With the various boss battles and occasional tough fights with normal enemies, I've just been using the auto-save when I die. I don't even use resurrection just in case I run into a fight I can't win otherwise. I don't think I've lost any more than a few times, although occasionally the auto-save will leave me with no health, no meter, and in a bad situation. Nothing unwinnable, but in a tough spot. Yet in other fights, there are phases and the auto-save will start you at phase 2 or 3 of a longer fight, too. Some of the Valkyrie fights in the first game were absolutely beastly. On part with Fromsoft's toughest stuff on NG+. A couple of the rifts (if you attempted them early in the game) were really rough, too. I've seen nothing like that so far. Running like hell and letting your companion do the heavy lifting (+building your special meter) works if all else fails.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Q-BZ
like this
LOL, I just ran into one of those dumb situations where my autosave basically put me in a bind. I couldn't leave an area without fighting a boss and I was on death's door with zero resources. That was quite the pain in the ass. I ended up having to make like 10 perfect parries, which aren't exactly my forte. That's been twice that's happened, so I guess that IS a pain in the ass.
 
Domingo said:
LOL, I just ran into one of those dumb situations where my autosave basically put me in a bind. I couldn't leave an area without fighting a boss and I was on death's door with zero resources. That was quite the pain in the ass. I ended up having to make like 10 perfect parries, which aren't exactly my forte. That's been twice that's happened, so I guess that IS a pain in the ass.
Click to expand...

What difficulty are you playing on? I’m playing on the default difficulty and they fill up your health (but not rage) on death.
 
Question about boss battles: I just
"freed" Freya from the dragon thing that protects the roots of the tree of life. Is it just me or are the "boss battles" getting easier?
 
scojer said:
Question about boss battles: I just
"freed" Freya from the dragon thing that protects the roots of the tree of life. Is it just me or are the "boss battles" getting easier?
Click to expand...
I don't feel any of the main story bosses are hard at all. I only did a handful of the optional bosses and they weren't that hard once you learn the pattern.
 
scojer said:
Question about boss battles: I just
"freed" Freya from the dragon thing that protects the roots of the tree of life. Is it just me or are the "boss battles" getting easier?
Click to expand...

Boss battles are a lot better balanced vs the last game. That boss is pretty easy in general and there are a couple slightly harder ones , but none of them seem overly hard compared to what you fight on the way up to it.
 
Certain side quests have notoriously harder bosses but overall pretty balanced. Pick the right difficulty for yourself and once you get some timing for blocks down, get some of your abilities down, and let your companions light it up for you, you will be ok at least 9/10 times. Auto saves are pretty generous and just have a good spread on manual saves and all should be well.

Great game. :)
 
Derangel said:
Boss battles are a lot better balanced vs the last game. That boss is pretty easy in general and there are a couple slightly harder ones , but none of them seem overly hard compared to what you fight on the way up to it.
Click to expand...
It was almost too easy.

I've played every GoW at the hardest difficulty and the last one the main bosses were consistently challenging, this one they started that way, but after
the alligator thing
they seem to be getting easier.
But I might not even be that far along and it might just be the last couple, the next one can be a return to form for all I know.
 
Derangel said:
What difficulty are you playing on? I’m playing on the default difficulty and they fill up your health (but not rage) on death.
Click to expand...

I think I'm on the one above that. I don't seem to be getting my life or anything else back after restarting, but I do get everything back whenever I activate a world gate door. With predictable boss fights I'll trek out of my way to find one first. I've run into at least 3 fights where that hasn't been possible, though. 1 was easy, the other two were pretty difficult. I think the most challenging thing to me has been the onscreen color prompts. They throw my timing off since they aren't always onscreen at the right time. Plus you can parry (and even block on occasion) red attacks, which seems weird to me. The POV of the game occasionally makes seeing attacks coming, too. You're in close and wailing away with Kratos taking up 60% of the screen. You can't always see random limbs or attacks coming, but if you don't go totally ham, you don't necessarily do enough damage to things, either. That said, it's still easier than the first game so far. I'm looking for the Norns right now and have done everything possible to do with my current equipment. I'm still unable to do anything about those little geyser looking things, though.
 
Still trucking through the game and enjoying myself. It's been largely the same game as the first title, but some new gameplay elements do spruce things up.

Game's performance has been great so far on PS5, though
during the Helheim section with Atreus and Thrud, it got real 'choppy' feeling. At first I thought this was framerate, but I think it might've actually been the auto-aim of his bow acting up, like it was locking onto hidden enemies.

I'm pretty happy with the default difficulty I'm playing through, the game's story is stellar and I'm mostly interested in experiencing that for my first playthrough. The game's solid enough where I might replay it again at a higher difficulty.
The later optional boss fights have been challenging and required me to strategize which jewels to install. I started them as soon as the questline opened up, so things likely get easier as my gear score raises.
 
...and I found the equivalent of the Valkyries in this game. I don't think they're quite as bad, but they're still pretty rough. I think the main difference I notice is how quickly I'm getting killed vs. the first game. Part of it is because I'm kinda stingy with upgrading my armor. Resources are really, really limited and frankly I don't want to end up upgrading the wrong stuff only to wish I chose something else. As a result, I'm dying in like 2 hits every time. That doesn't offer much wiggle room considering how reliant these fights seem to be on parries.
 
Domingo said:
...and I found the equivalent of the Valkyries in this game. I don't think they're quite as bad, but they're still pretty rough. I think the main difference I notice is how quickly I'm getting killed vs. the first game. Part of it is because I'm kinda stingy with upgrading my armor. Resources are really, really limited and frankly I don't want to end up upgrading the wrong stuff only to wish I chose something else. As a result, I'm dying in like 2 hits every time. That doesn't offer much wiggle room considering how reliant these fights seem to be on parries.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I'm finding the same thing (dying in a hit or two). However, I haven't played much with armor types (just usually upgrade whichever one gives me the most strength).
I've noticed the dwarves are starting to sell more resources, I'm hoping as we enter the endgame upgrading items become trivial due to the dwarves stock - or there's some sort of optional dungeon that you can farm rare resources from. Pretty sure the original game had a similar mechanic for upgrades.

Definitely feels like there's more variety over the Valkyrie fights, but the grouped Berserker fights feel frustrating. I'd be focused on one named berserker only to be shot at and hit by his offscreen groupie. A FOV slider could help reduce this frustration as it's hard to see stuff around Kratos and the Berserker's big bodies.
 
SeymourGore said:
Yeah, I'm finding the same thing (dying in a hit or two). However, I haven't played much with armor types (just usually upgrade whichever one gives me the most strength).
I've noticed the dwarves are starting to sell more resources, I'm hoping as we enter the endgame upgrading items become trivial due to the dwarves stock - or there's some sort of optional dungeon that you can farm rare resources from. Pretty sure the original game had a similar mechanic for upgrades.

Definitely feels like there's more variety over the Valkyrie fights, but the grouped Berserker fights feel frustrating. I'd be focused on one named berserker only to be shot at and hit by his offscreen groupie. A FOV slider could help reduce this frustration as it's hard to see stuff around Kratos and the Berserker's big bodies.
Click to expand...
I've only killed 4 of them so far and just rolled up on my first group fight with them. I might end up coming back to that one just based on the pitiful damage I was doing and how much chaos was involved. In general, damage seems to be the issue I'm having with those fights. They're killing me in 2 hits, and I'm doing zero damage outside of my special attacks and rage. I find myself taking them down to about 20% of their health and being forced to waste a lot of time until my specials recharge. Normal hits might as well not even hurt them at all. I watched a couple videos and those people are just shredding them with damage that's like 3x what I'm doing, so I'm thinking maybe I'll proceed with the story and hope I get better gear. The dwarves aren't selling anything I can use (yet), so I'm still stuck on that front.
 
^^ I know what you all are talking about and for me, they are friggin' tough even if I turn the difficulty way down. "Git gud"....fine, fine.... they are still tough and the Valkyries were tough as hell for me in the first game.
 
Q-BZ said:
^^ I know what you all are talking about and for me, they are friggin' tough even if I turn the difficulty way down. "Git gud"....fine, fine.... they are still tough and the Valkyries were tough as hell for me in the first game.
Click to expand...

They're absolutely tough. I've completed every Fromsoft Souls-like game (+ the DLC's) solo and the optional bosses on GOW can be just as tough as anything in those. GoW's bosses kinda remind me of Sekiro in that it's very much a game of rock/paper/scissors with dodging, parrying, and shielding/breaking. You're basically learning a pattern and having to execute it with pinpoint precision. There aren't typically alternate strategies available - you have to "git gud" at single approach.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Q-BZ
like this
I ended up bailing on some the optional bosses and have decided to proceed with the main storyline for now. That seems to be wise as items that should make some of those fights much easier are starting to appear. I'm still in a weird bind with armor upgrades, though. The better sets can only be upgraded with finite resources and it seems like new sets are still popping up, too. I don't want to upgrade something that becomes obsolete, but man it seems like I'm dying quickly. 2 hits and I'm toast against anything but trash mobs.
 
Just finished the game - excellent title all around.

And yeah, the berserker difficulty is more or less a non-issue once you progress the game further. Also there seems to be a decent amount of post game content to enjoy (which I will be playing through).
 
  • Like
Reactions: Q-BZ
like this
I hope they bring this to PC in a better time frame than the first game, I want to play it but I'm not buying a PS5 and I don't want to settle for PS4.
 
SeymourGore said:
Just finished the game - excellent title all around.

And yeah, the berserker difficulty is more or less a non-issue once you progress the game further. Also there seems to be a decent amount of post game content to enjoy (which I will be playing through).
Click to expand...

Spot on. GOTY no question for me. I'm quite optimistic about this series and its future, too.


If you are waiting for the PC version of this I would certainly say PLEASE get the first game on the PC ASAP and enjoy it.
 
Last edited:
After not being that impressed by the earliest sections of the game (they literally copied the first game), my opinion of the game keeps getting higher the further I get. I still prefer Elden Ring, but this is the 2nd best game I've played this year.
 
/sigh idk I think I am done with gaming. I can't get into it. Three weeks later and still haven't beaten it. The game is great I just don't have any desire to play games anymore. I been watching more and more videos on YouTube instead. Pretty much spoiled most the game already.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top