God of War Ragnarök PC Review

Written by our own Gray Aris

The following does not contain spoilers for God of War Ragnarök. Does contain major spoilers for God of War 2018.

God of War Ragnarök has hit the stores, and I’ve dived into the game.

How do you follow a masterpiece?

By deepening character development, enhancing combat mechanics, and delivering another exceptional world and narrative, God of War: Ragnarök stands as a worthy successor to the God of War 2018. It refines and builds on what was already an incredible gaming experience, and can make you laugh, cry, and feel like an absolute badass.

Fimbulwinter is Upon Us. And Ragnarök?

The game starts off with Kratos sitting by a fire in a cave and Atreus entering with a freshly hunted deer strung over his shoulder. In 2018’s game, Atreus would be waiting and Kratos hunting, but Atreus is older now and taking on more responsibility. The two are closer now and on top of a higher level of respect and understanding than the first game. Despite the vast differences between these two, their journey to the top of the highest peak in all the realms has bonded them, and it shows.

With Baldur now dead, Fimbulwinter has come, heralding the approach of Ragnarök as foretold by the prophecy. Or, as Kratos sees it, something bad is coming and so he and Atreus must prepare for it. To Kratos, this – especially Atreus – is everything; and so it is of the utmost importance that he protect him, therefore training and preparing Atreus for what he and his son know is coming.

Atreus, meanwhile, is desperate to learn more about himself after discovering his godhood and the giants’ prophecy for him in 2018’s God of War. This newfound knowledge fuels his curiosity and determination, pushing him to seek answers about his identity and destiny as Loki. So, while Kratos is intent on protecting his son, Atreus is yearning for independence, identity, and journey. These dueling desires form the basis of an excellent story that tests the relationship between father and son as they face fate and what could be the end of the world.

God of War

The core of the gameplay is the combat, which is as brutal and satisfying as I had hoped. God of War Ragnarök takes the already refined combat system of the 2018 game and builds upon it, speeding up the pace while offering new mechanics and abilities. Like the first game, you have light and heavy attacks, block/parry, aim and then grab with the Blades of Chaos or throw/recall and freeze with the Leviathan Axe. You can also power up your weapon with its according element and command Atreus to shoot multiple different types of arrows or perform runic summons. New to God of War Ragnarök is a shield strike move that allows you to interrupt enemies movements, and is required to stave off damage from some attacks.

As far as weapons go, the Leviathan Axe is best for up close and personal heavy hitting, while also offering a long range throw that can hit or freeze enemies. Meanwhile, the Blades of Chaos are faster and offer a level of distance, as they whip out and can grab and pull in enemies. Both of these weapons allow you to launch enemies into the air for extra combo potential. Meanwhile, Kratos’ fists can stun and quickly lead to finishers. You’re encouraged to and best off if you switch around with different playstyles. I frequently found myself switching between weapons, such as throwing my axe at an enemy to freeze them, beating them down with my fists, and then turning around with the Blades of Chaos to hit a group of enemies.

Returning and adding variety to combat are Runic attacks. There are light and heavy runic attacks, relic attacks, and runic summons for Atreus. All of these can be customized and upgraded. Runic attacks are unique to each weapon, such as Blades of Chaos’ signature Tartarus Rage, a fiery slam from each of your blades that stagger and launches enemies, which has made it into every God of War game, or the Leviathan Axe’s Leviathan Roar, in which Kratos spins and throws his axe and then bounces it off his shield. There are also skills which can be unlocked, which you gain separately for Kratos and Atreus. My favorite for the Leviathan Axe was Serpent’s Snare, in which Kratos swings his axe so hard it impales his enemy, then lifting them up and throwing them as he completes a 360 spin. Cool as hell.

Overall, combat is faster and more responsive than GoW 2018 while retaining the same weight behind each swing and hit. Finishing moves are brutal, such as choking an enemy with your blades until you chop their head off, or ripping a Wulver’s jaw off, peeling off its neck and part of its torso in the process, or cut off somebody’s arms before splitting them in half.

Wyverns and Draugrs and Trolls, Oh My!

Enemies are many and varied – I encounter new enemies all the way to the end of the game. This allows for a myriad of unique enemy combinations in the game, making every fight feel fresh and exciting. As far as bosses go, there are almost double as many as in the first game. Main bosses have checkpoints in the fight which reigned in the difficulty and particularly made the last couple of bosses feel easy. Still, I found challenge in many of the optional one-stage, bosses like The Hateful, of which there are 6 (two more and they could’ve been in a Tarantino movie) and all with unique and increasingly difficult movesets, to be quite challenging, and even regular fights can keep you on your toes.

The world is semi open world, divided into 9 realms, each with favors (side quests), chests, and lore to uncover. The chests are often well hidden and contain materials, runic attacks, equipment and amulet upgrades to spice up your gameplay. Levels contain all sorts of bends and turns as you open new paths and areas to progress. I never felt overwhelmed by the options of the level, just often surprised and excited by how many hidden or interconnecting paths or areas there were. It was very satisfying going on a long trek that would lead back to the start with a new path unlocked. I think it’s an excellent system and a welcome change from overly open world games like Assassin’s Creed where you mostly just walk (or run or swim or climb) in a straight line or linear games like Uncharted, which, though fantastic, really just leads you from one set piece to the next.

Puzzling Perplexities

Often you’ll come across puzzles. These might be rune puzzles, which had you finding three often very well hidden or hard to access runic objects and then smashing them, lighting them on fire, or ringing them in quick succession. These types of puzzles will open a Nornir chest containing either an Iddun Apple which can extend your health bar or a Horn of Blood Mead to increase your rage bar. Other puzzles might include figuring out how to unlock a locked door, or some other way to proceed in the area. Puzzles can be challenging, but thankfully your companions will give you small clues on the mandatory puzzles, so you don’t get too stuck if you’re just following the main story and side quests. These clues can be reduced or delayed should you want to go at it all on your own, and for the rune puzzles you’re on your own no matter what.

Do Me a Favor

Of course, you’ll be completing goals in the game, primarily in the form of Quests (A.K.A the path), or side quests (favors). There are also small challenges, treasure maps to find, and artifacts to collect. All of these net you XP as you complete them. Favors can be pretty significant, with stories that develop a character or provide insight into their past. Some of these took me around an hour to complete, and they were all really satisfying to play. Other favors are smaller and for minor characters. Overall, the side quests range from simple but solid to main quest-worthy, and there are a lot of them to keep you busy that you can complete at your leisure most of the time.

One optional and totally missable side quest opens up a very large area called The Crater, which is arguably one of the best areas of the game. Late in the game, you obtain the quest “Scent of Survival” where you are called upon to chase down a hound and follow her to a new area. This is a massive area that could almost be a whole realm on its own, not just a part of Northern Vanaheim. It takes several hours or more to complete and just goes to show the wealth of content hidden away that can completely expand your playing. And all from following one boar-looking dog!

I do recommend playing through the side quests as you play the game rather than waiting until after you beat the game, as you will have a different experience if you do.

Be Better

Over the course of the game, through combat and completing quests, you earn materials and collect experience points – separate for Kratos and Atreus, unlike 2018. Each character and weapon has its own skill tree with meaningful skills such as new moves, which you can also level up. These moves can really open up combat and make it more enjoyable.

As far as crafting goes, Brokk and Sindri return as the best blacksmiths in all the realms, and can upgrade existing or craft new equipment. All of the armor pieces have unique effects in addition to stat boosts, such as restoring some of your health with attacks after you take damage, and just about every armor piece is viable if you upgrade it enough. There are three armor types – chest, wrist and waist – as well as grips for your weapons and, new to this game, customizable shields. There are also enchantments that you place on your amulet, and that can enhance Kratos’ ability and stats. You can find Jewels of Yggdrasil around the world to upgrade your amulet and add enchantment slots.

Ok, But How Does God of War Ragnarök Look?

I played the PC version of the game (thankfully, not on Windows 10) and had a great experience. I have a 4090 Laptop GPU and encountered no graphical glitches, playing on ultra settings at 1440p and a high frame rate with temporal anti aliasing and frame gen via Nvidia DLSS. The game also has frame gen through AMD FSR, and scaling through TAA, FSR, XeSS, and DLSS. Because it’s an older game, it’s not as demanding as some current games and you should be able to squeeze out decent performance even on older/less powerful hardware, after you tinker with the graphics settings a bit

The game’s graphics look incredible, though they already looked great in God of War 2018. Most of the environments looked absolutely spectacular; I especially loved the bright lush jungles of Vanaheim. And the characters! Kratos might be the most detailed character model I have ever seen in a game, all the way down to the hair on his beard. His face is so expressive, it adds a human element to the character and to the game. It’s a testament to just how much graphical fidelity can add to the game, as the characters, be they gods or not, seem to become just people, helping to make a story that is completely out of this world somehow relatable.

I Hear Draugr

Like the rest of the game, sound design is also top notch. Music is great and can be epic, though also has a bit of a quiet sound to it; I didn’t notice the music too much unless I really tried to hone in on it. There was also less of it because of how much dialogue is in the game as you explore. The one problem I have with the sound is that the voices sometimes are so quiet that I need to turn the volume up to hear them, though this can be addressed by mixing in the audio settings.

Valhalla

About a year after God of War Ragnarök’s initial release, Sony Santa Monica released a free DLC update: Valhalla. This narrative-driven DLC, taking place after the events of the main story, is a new roguelite mode that strips you of all of your armor, runic attacks, and health/rage upgrades, forcing you to start back at square one (though with all skills unlocked) as you make your way through Valhalla, exploring your past memories of all 9 realms. You’ll fight a battle in a new area, and for each battle you fight, you get to choose between some type of upgrade, usually some type of perk or runic attack. Maybe you’ll be able to increase the damage of that skill you like, or maybe you’ll unlock a runic attack that can turn the tides of battle.

Perhaps the most interesting part of Valhalla is its narrative aspects. Valhalla (the place, not the expansion) stirs Kratos memories, from his adventures here in the nine realms but all the way back to his time in Greece. He is faced with his past, a past that he had escaped and put behind him, and he is once again challenged by it. But he is a changed man, and that is what this DLC is all about. The new Kratos making peace with all he’s done, who he is and who he was. It’s a fitting epilogue, as well as a reason to bring back old locations and enemies for Kratos to fight.

God of War Ragnarök Playstation Requirement? Yes-ish

God of War Ragnarök’s PC launch was met with controversy at release due

Some gamers (including me) did not experience any problem playing the game without a Playstation requirement, but others were met with a wall that prevented them from playing the game until they had signed into PSN. This especially affected users in countries where Playstation Network was not supported, making the game mostly inaccessible. For a while, a mod that bypassed the requirement was available for free but the mod was taken down over fear of Sony retribution. So, you might just need a Playstation account but you also might not. It’s pretty ridiculous that Sony has implemented this requirement for another single player game (Ghost of Tsushima also requires an account) and hopefully (but probably not) is not continued as a trend.

To sum it up:

Elevated by one of the best stories and set of characters I’ve ever seen in a video game, as well as gameplay that’s evolved from the already superb gameplay of 2018’s God of War, God of War Ragnarök strikes just as big as its predecessor. Its graphics and art design are distinctive and beautiful, with tons of unique character designs and locations to transport you to another world, and one of the most expressive and realistic character faces in Kratos. Ragnarök had me invested and reflective; I felt so many different emotions as I played, as well as empowered. Altogether, it makes for a triumph of a game and one that any gamer who appreciates story or enjoys character action games should play.

God of War Ragnarök Game Score: 9.7/10

PC Port Score: 9/10
(Terrific performance but awful Playstation Network requirement)

Pros

Some of the best characters and stories in gaming
Rich mythological world
Deep, refined gameplay
Beautiful environments and character detail
Narrative driven roguelite DLC that connects the Greek and Norse games
Lots of PC graphics options to optimize performance

Cons

Last two bosses too easy
Words can occasionally be hard to make out
Possible PSN requirement

Q&A

Q: Can I play God of War Ragnarök without a PSN account?

A: There was a mod that allowed you to completely bypass the requirement but it was taken down. So, unless you can get your hands on that mod, it’s a risk whether you’ll need the account or not.

Q: Is the Valhalla DLC included?

A: Yep! This version has all of the content from the PS4/PS5, and that includes the Valhalla DLC.

Q: What are the system requirements for God of War Ragnarök?

A: Taken from Steam:

Q: Where can I buy God of War Ragnarök?

A: The game is available for PC on the Steam and Epic Games stores for 59.99 for the base version and 69.99 for the deluxe edition. If you’re in search of a deal, look no further than gg.deals. They roundup deals from across the web, allowing you to purchase games on Steam and Epic for cheaper than the official stores. For example, you can buy the Steam version game for more than 10$ cheaper (at time of writing) than directly through Steam or Epic. Although, because you are buying keys from resellers, you are ineligible for Steam and Epic’s under two week and two hours refund policy and will not be able to return it.

Some more screenshots I liked: