I have been anticipating God of War: Ragnarok for a while, especially after playing the first game. My hype for this game was honestly so high that I was worried it would lead to my inevitable disappointment. Thankfully, God of War: Ragnarok did not let me down in the slightest. Every single aspect of the game is finessed to the highest degree. The first game hit peaks only few do, and its sequel joins those thin ranks. From the characters to the action to the cutscenes to the emotion, everything gels together perfectly.

I was initially a bit dismayed when I began playing, as the combat was the same in terms of upgrades. However, that feeling faded when I started flinging my ax in this smooth 60 fps gameplay. It was heaven. The combat felt better this time around due to that improved frame rate and to how enjoyable doing the same combos and discovering new ones was. You could also flip through the varied weapons to switch up your gameplay constantly.

The game design itself, in terms of production, level design, and art, was just breathtakingly spectacular. In several areas, nearly every shot could have been a background wallpaper. I was just continuously blown away by how utterly beautiful the game was. The amount of work put into it really astonished me.

The difficulty in this game felt more forgiving than its predecessor, which was a bit of a shame. In particular, I didn’t love the fewer number of puzzles and their lessened difficulty. However, it wasn’t that much of an issue for me. My only actual gripe with the game overall is that the 2nd Atreus mission is just way too long. Other than that, this game was a simply marvelous experience. The boss fights were all jaw-droppingly incredible. In the final fight, despite that sense of epicness being toned down due to the first game’s setting being superior, I had a breathtaking experience thanks to how much more emotionally invested I felt. When the scenes that want to make you feel something happen, they go straight for the jugular.

I will forever be excited for games from this crew, and (of course) for the next entry in this franchise. God of War: Ragnarok is a magnificent game that I highly, highly recommend.

10/10