God of War Ragnarök

About

God of War Ragnarök is a single player role playing game. It was developed by Santa Monica Studio and was released on September 19, 2024. It received positive reviews from players.

In "God of War Ragnarök," players continue the journey of Kratos and Atreus in a stunning Norse world filled with gods, monsters, and the impending threat of Ragnarök. As they travel across the Nine Realms seeking answers, they must confront enemies, make difficult choices, and learn more about their familial bond. This Digital Deluxe Edition includes the full game, Darkdale armor and weapons, a digital art book, and the official soundtrack.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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89%

Audience ScoreBased on 16,046 reviews

story2.6k positive mentions

stability162 negative mentions

The emotional depth and character development, particularly the evolving relationship between Kratos and Atreus, are widely praised, making the story a compelling continuation of the saga.
The game features stunning visuals and intricate details, creating an immersive atmosphere that enhances the storytelling experience.
The fluid combat mechanics and engaging gameplay, combined with a powerful soundtrack, contribute to a satisfying action experience.

Pacing issues and a lack of focus in the narrative, particularly towards the end, detract from the overall experience, with some players feeling the story becomes chaotic and rushed.
Performance problems, including crashes and stuttering, especially on older hardware, have led to mixed feedback regarding the game's optimization.
Certain gameplay elements, such as repetitive combat and tedious grinding, can make the experience feel drawn out and less enjoyable.

story
5,504 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
47%
49%
4%
The story of "God of War: Ragnarök" is widely praised for its emotional depth and character development, particularly the evolving relationship between Kratos and Atreus. While many reviewers highlight the game's stunning visuals and engaging gameplay, some express concerns about pacing issues and the inclusion of certain side missions, particularly those involving Atreus, which can detract from the overall narrative flow. Overall, the game is celebrated as a masterclass in storytelling, offering a compelling continuation of the saga that resonates deeply with players.
- “Unforgettable masterpiece that pushes the envelope of what it means to be a story-driven action game.”
- “The storytelling is on another level; the relationship between Kratos and Atreus keeps evolving in such a powerful and believable way.”
- “The story blends mythic scale with human vulnerability, showing Kratos’ transformation from a god of vengeance to a father defined by restraint and compassion.”
- “The pacing and plot points are often introduced and discarded or put on hold at the worst times.”
- “You can tell the writers rushed the story near the end because the entire game's climax and ending happen in the span of maybe 3 hours of gameplay.”
- “The story feels all over the place, like it’s trying to do too much and losing focus.”
gameplay
1,735 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
42%
54%
4%
The gameplay of "God of War: Ragnarök" has received mixed reviews, with many praising its fluid combat mechanics, engaging story, and stunning visuals. While some players appreciate the refined mechanics and expanded gameplay options compared to its predecessor, others criticize the repetitive nature of certain gameplay elements and the pacing issues, particularly during sections involving Atreus. Overall, the game is seen as a solid continuation of the series, offering a blend of cinematic storytelling and satisfying action, though it may not fully meet the expectations set by the 2018 title.
- “The gameplay is fluid, as you'd expect from the God of War series.”
- “The combat is brutal yet precise, with expanded mechanics and satisfying variety.”
- “The gameplay balances cinematic storytelling with brutal, satisfying combat.”
- “You can tell the writers rushed the story near the end because the entire game's climax and ending happen in the span of maybe 3 hours of gameplay.”
- “There is a mechanic in the game where you can swap stats between armors so that you can have the stats of one piece of armor but wear another (same category of course).”
- “The gameplay loop gets repetitive.”
graphics
1,299 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
39%
1%
The graphics of "God of War: Ragnarök" have received widespread acclaim for their stunning visuals, intricate details, and immersive environments, often described as breathtaking and cinematic. Players have noted the game's ability to run smoothly on high-end systems, with many praising the optimization and graphical fidelity even at lower settings. However, some users have reported performance issues and crashes, particularly on older hardware, indicating that while the graphics are impressive, they can be demanding on system resources.
- “The visuals, voice acting, storytelling, and animations stayed top notch.”
- “With settings maxed out, the visuals are breathtaking — razor-sharp textures, detailed character models, and lighting that brings the nine realms to life.”
- “The graphics are stunning, the landscapes and scale are amazing, and the combat has even more options and combos, which feel smooth and refined.”
- “It honestly looks like it was designed by someone with zero sense of aesthetics.”
- “Even the visuals somehow look worse, which I didn’t think was possible.”
- “The graphics are improved somewhat, but the new armor models are not good in design, they have a lot of clipping, textures are reduced in quality in comparison to God of War 2018.”
optimization
701 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
42%
15%
The optimization of "God of War: Ragnarök" has received mixed feedback from players. While many report smooth performance and impressive visuals, particularly on high-end systems, others have experienced significant issues such as stuttering, crashes, and inconsistent frame rates, especially in specific areas or with certain hardware configurations. Overall, the game is considered well-optimized for most setups, but persistent performance problems have led some players to recommend waiting for further patches before diving in.
- “It is reasonably optimized where I can get 4K 144Hz on max settings.”
- “Technically, Ragnarök is a marvel, impressively optimized for its scale.”
- “The game is amazing, it seems all the performance issues were resolved.”
- “The technical state of this game is unacceptable; it's a year after release and still there are constant widespread crashing and stuttering problems on even the most powerful PCs.”
- “It's incredible how a game from such a successful studio with such a well-known publisher can be so poorly optimized, and that after months and months of posts in the community hub about crashing and freezing issues that literally prevent many from playing the game, there hasn't been a single update to address this problem.”
- “The constant stuttering makes this game unplayable for me.”
emotional
511 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
1%
The emotional aspect of "God of War: Ragnarök" is widely praised, with many players highlighting the profound character development and the deepening relationship between Kratos and Atreus. The narrative is described as a powerful blend of heartwarming and heartbreaking moments, often evoking strong emotional responses, including tears. While some reviewers noted that the emotional impact may not always reach the heights of its predecessor, the game still delivers a rich, engaging story filled with themes of family, sacrifice, and personal growth, making it a memorable emotional journey for players.
- “Few games achieve this level of emotional resonance through performance alone.”
- “The storytelling is phenomenal — every dialogue feels meaningful, every cutscene is crafted like a high-budget movie, and the father-son dynamic between Kratos and Atreus is both powerful and emotional.”
- “The emotional depth, the characters, the writing — I even shed a few tears.”
- “It feels more like a movie than a game, and the story is quite boring.”
- “The emotional moments fall flat and fail to resonate with the player.”
- “I expected a deep emotional experience, but it left me feeling disconnected.”
music
387 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
56%
42%
2%
The music in "God of War Ragnarök" has received widespread acclaim for its emotional depth and ability to enhance the game's narrative, with many praising Bear McCreary's orchestral compositions as both epic and hauntingly beautiful. While the soundtrack complements the gameplay and storytelling effectively, some players noted a lack of background music during exploration and boss fights, which detracted from the overall experience. Overall, the sound design and music are considered top-notch, contributing significantly to the game's immersive atmosphere.
- “The music doesn’t just accompany the experience; it defines it.”
- “The soundtrack, composed by Bear McCreary, intensifies the epic atmosphere with haunting melodies and powerful orchestration.”
- “The music perfectly complements the atmosphere, and the graphics are pure works of art.”
- “However, it's important to note that this game does not really have background music during the exploring, which is a bit of a missed opportunity in my opinion.”
- “It also doesn't have music during the boss fights, which is a major no-no.”
- “That's because ragnarök’s soundtrack mainly consists of redone versions of tracks from its predecessor, with not many new compositions that stand out.”
stability
263 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
37%
1%
62%
The stability of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players reporting frequent freezes, crashes, and various bugs, particularly on the PC port. While some users with high-end systems experience smooth gameplay, others face significant issues, including game-breaking freezes during cutscenes and combat. Overall, the consensus suggests that while the game can run well under certain conditions, it remains plagued by stability problems that detract from the overall experience.
- “Runs great on my i7-9700k, RTX 2080 Ti, 32GB RAM.”
- “About 40 hours in and no glitches whatsoever.”
- “The game looks amazing on an ultrawide and runs great even at 1440p.”
- “Overrated buggy mess.”
- “I would have liked to recommend this game since it was a blast playing God of War on the PS4 a few years ago, but this PC port is just a bug-ridden crash fest at the time of this writing.”
- “Game freezes frequently, almost always at the end or during cut-scenes.”
character development
188 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
47%
51%
2%
Character development in "God of War: Ragnarök" is widely praised as exceptional, particularly highlighting the growth of Kratos and Atreus as they navigate their complex father-son relationship. Reviewers note that the game offers deep emotional storytelling, with characters evolving in meaningful ways that resonate with players, making it a standout example of character development in video games. While some critiques mention pacing issues and moments where development feels rushed, the overall consensus is that the character arcs are compelling and contribute significantly to the game's narrative depth.
- “Kratos, Atreus, and Freya go through some of the deepest character development I have seen in media, let alone a video game.”
- “The emotional weight, the character development, the way Kratos and Atreus evolve—it’s all just next level.”
- “The character development is exceptional, providing a rich emotional depth that is rarely seen in video games.”
- “It starts off really well and sucks you in, but then the story comes to a screeching halt for 'character development' that overstays its welcome.”
- “In the end, said 'character development' has no meaning or reason by the end of the story.”
- “My only other complaint is how chaotic having so many different combat partners felt, which ultimately makes some of the character development feel rushed, which is again weird in a game that spends so many hours painstakingly explaining and developing certain things that end up not mattering later.”
grinding
153 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
2%
31%
67%
The grinding aspect of the game has been widely criticized for being tedious and repetitive, with many players feeling that combat encounters often devolve into frustrating chores due to enemies soaking up excessive damage. While some side quests and exploration elements are engaging, the overall pacing and design of puzzles and combat mechanics contribute to a sense of monotony, making the experience feel drawn out and less enjoyable. Despite these issues, some players still find enjoyment in the story and character development, though they acknowledge that the grind can detract from the overall experience.
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “Play both God of War (2018) and Ragnarok for an amazing time and amazing story. If you are a perfectionist like myself, 100% this game is not tedious by any stretch.”
- “No grinding.”
- “Hard ('no mercy') makes every fight tedious; you die from a couple of hits, but have to deal enormous amounts of damage to enemies to get rid of them.”
- “The lack of satisfying feedback after each hit, combined with the enemies soaking up endless damage, made combat encounters feel like tedious chores rather than thrilling moments of action.”
- “Once the initial wonder wore off, I realized every single gameplay element is filler - tedious, repetitive, and boring puzzles, environmental hazards, and critical chests also hidden behind puzzles and environmental hazards.”
humor
83 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
99%
1%
The humor in the game is widely praised for its clever writing and engaging character interactions, particularly between Kratos, Atreus, and Mimir, which provide a delightful balance of wit and emotional depth. Many players found the dialogue and situational comedy to be genuinely funny, enhancing the overall experience, although some noted that the humor could occasionally feel overdone or forced. Overall, the game's ability to blend humor with serious themes has resonated well with players, making it a standout aspect of the narrative.
- “That talking head had me laughing harder than any modern comedy.”
- “The humor hit well with me, the sadness hit, the happiness hit, the angst... it all just hit so well.”
- “The dynamic between Kratos, Atreus, and Mimir adds humor and depth, making their journey even more engaging.”
- “The plot is unfocused, the character arcs feel forced, the jokes and quips are unfunny, and for some reason the words 'intel' — as in information gathering — and 'ecosystem' are used in a game about an ancient Greek god visiting an ancient Norse mythical world.”
atmosphere
72 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
63%
33%
4%
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its stunning graphics, immersive world design, and rich audio elements, creating a vibrant and alive environment that enhances the storytelling experience. Reviewers highlight the meticulous attention to detail in each realm, the hauntingly beautiful soundtrack, and the dynamic weather effects that contribute to a captivating atmosphere. Overall, the game successfully evokes a range of emotions, from awe to desperation, making it a standout feature that resonates deeply with players.
- “From sweeping landscapes to intimate, atmospheric locations, the attention to detail makes the world feel alive and immersive.”
- “The world of Ragnarök is a masterclass in design—every realm you visit feels alive, with secrets hidden in every corner, breathtaking vistas, and an atmosphere that shifts seamlessly between awe-inspiring and haunting.”
- “The atmosphere and the visuals are top notch, some of the best I have ever seen in a video game with a great story.”
- “The game's atmosphere and story feel less serious than the previous game, partly due to the characters.”
- “I think the only thing that I preferred in the first game over this one was the atmosphere.”
- “Comparing *God of War (2018)* to *Ragnarök*, the former felt more 'hopeful' and uplifting, whereas *Ragnarök* truly captures the atmosphere of desperation and the end times, as it rightfully should.”
replayability
64 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
62%
5%
Overall, the reviews highlight a mixed perception of replayability across various games. Titles like "Valhalla" and "God of War: Ragnarok" are praised for their extensive content and new game plus modes, enhancing replay value significantly, while some players feel that once the main story is completed, the incentive to replay diminishes. The addition of free DLC and varied difficulty modes also contributes positively to replayability, though some users express concerns about the narrative's impact on long-term engagement.
- “The gear and accessories give the game incredible replay value, especially with new game +.”
- “Side stories are designed with attention to detail, as there are plenty of optional dialogue lines that will trigger depending on certain circumstances, enhancing the game's replay value.”
- “The story is engaging, the combat mechanics are top-notch, and the addition of the free Valhalla DLC with its roguelike elements keeps the replay value high.”
- “Only challenge are berserkers and Valhalla DLC; pretty much the rest is easy and has 0 replay value.”
- “And due to the strictness of the plot itself, once you complete the story there's not too much replayability as you already know what will happen.”
- “Another big thing for me to not grant this 5 stars is its lack of replayability.”
monetization
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
39%
44%
Overall, the monetization aspect of the game is praised for its absence of microtransactions and DLC, allowing players to enjoy a complete experience at launch without additional costs. However, some users criticize certain versions, particularly on PC, as cash grabs with performance issues, suggesting a disconnect between the game's quality and its monetization strategy. Despite these concerns, many reviewers appreciate the game's focus on storytelling and artistic integrity over profit-driven motives.
- “If you like AAA games with no microtransactions, no online account requirements (PSN link is no longer mandatory) and no BS, then this is one of the very best PlayStation has to offer.”
- “Good single player games without endless DLC and microtransactions can be made.”
- “It's a game beyond profits and microtransactions and soulless greed.”
- “Sony cash grab for what otherwise is a great game.”
- “Edit: the longer you play after you bought the game, the later areas are less optimized; they crash way more because they already have your money on the cash grab port.”
- “Plus, many games deceive the buyer; for example, on soulslike it says adventure or impossible to complete without paid modifications, or the game is just very boring hackwork with cool advertising.”