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God Of War Ragnarök - PS4/PS5

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Comments

  • Registered Users Posts: 33,136 ✭✭✭✭Penn


    I don't think so, especially due to the single-shot aspect of the game.



  • Moderators, Category Moderators, Arts Moderators, Computer Games Moderators, Entertainment Moderators Posts: 29,027 CMod ✭✭✭✭johnny_ultimate


    I'm around a third or halfway through now - 13/14 hours territory. There's plenty to like here - the combat is a cut above your average title (shy of a Bayonetta, but well beyond your average title), the presentation is excellent (at high frame rate possibility the smoothest console experience I've played?), and the game is at its best when letting you off to deal with some big, multi-stage sidequests.

    I liked but didn't love the last game, but I think this falls short of its predecessor in a few regards (although boasts some improvements, including to the basic combat flow). This is a better game than Horizon Forbidden West, but it has the same problem of trying to redo the storytelling style of the original without having the same central hook. While there was a lot going on in GoW 2018, there were clear central hooks and missions that kept things focused (visually, in the case of the mountain). I think this has a lot more going on, and while there are certainly nice character beats, colourful banter and interesting ideas, I'm often completely tuned out when it comes to the immediate or even imminent stakes. For a game with catastrophe looming in its very title, it's oddly unfocused TBH.

    Part of that is me sort of growing immune to the prestige PS-exclusive house storytelling style, especially in a year that has given us remarkable narrative-led games like Citizen Sleeper, Norco and Pentiment. But even within its own limitations, I think it's a story stumbling for purpose at times, and a bit too overloaded with prophecy and dreams to find its way.

    The overall level design is a mixed bag. Like I said, I think the game is excellent when it says 'here's a new region, go wild'. It's less compelling in the lengthy linear stages IMO. There are highlights like a visit to a giant's house, but honestly could've used a bit more variety or puzzle diversity to break up with are often quite long corridor-style levels. And despite the designers saying there are more bosses here than in the previous game, it possibly needed a few more at least in the early game?



  • Registered Users Posts: 857 ✭✭✭one armed dwarf


    It genuinely feels to me like it's stymied by its pursuit of ultimate visuals but also needing to scale down to PS4. The decision to have such a tight fov, for instance. They find ways to design the combat around it, it's clearly got a kind of God Hand thing going on and it keeps you active in terms of space management. But it's also a game which pushes these big vistas on you which you then look at with blinkers with a massive hulking man taking up 30 percent of the frame. I would say without hyperbole I was more impressed by the low resolution sunsets in BOTW than the high resolution complicated looking scenery in this game.

    In general tho what I liked about 2018 is it had an almost reverse Odyssean story structure to it. Where the small scale stories and personal journeys were not smothered out by the machinations of the gods. If anything it took more of an oral story-telling approach, appropriate to the forms of stories that it is... appropriating. Those quite moments on the boat might have felt plodding at times but I think they helped suggest the scale of the world and setting without smothering the smaller scale stakes they were trying to deal with. Which inevitable Ragnarok cannot do, because of what the game's name is. It's kind of an overly busy game in its narrative, and I really liked 2018 a lot. Maybe the most singularly impressed I've been by one of those AAA PS tentpole releases. But I could not really care much at all about what went on in this game and I'm mostly just treating Ragnarok is a game to flex the combat systems with, while largely disregarding the MCU-stylised hijnks of the main plot, which has clearly discarded a lot of the things from 2018 I did enjoy. Tho not without purpose I guess.



  • Registered Users Posts: 13,763 ✭✭✭✭Potential-Monke


    I don't get any of that. No idea how far I'm in, but I've at least 30 hours or more done. I keep feeling like it's going to end, but it drags me off on another amazing adventure. When I initially said this is more of 2018 GoW, that wasn't a bad thing. It's exactly what I wanted. More of the same but better. The combat is meaty and explosive, and without spoiling anything I think it gives you an excellent take on the original trilogys style.

    I don't feel it's losing direction or is missing anything. Ragnarok is coming. It's not here, but it's coming. It's not a quick burning game. There is no major immediate threat, but it's looming, coming soon and you're involved. Granted, there are times where the game makes you think you should be rushing and you don't have to, but forcing you down a specific path when exploration is such a joy is not good, and I think they've handled it excellently in this. The few times there were immediate moments in the main quest, the game does keep you on the path.

    I think people were maybe expecting more from this, but it's more of God of War and doesn't try to be anything else. It's fantastic, it looks stunning, the voice acting by everyone so far is top notch. The original story weaving into the Norse lore has me hooked. I do have a few niggles so far, but no game is perfect and the positives vastly outweigh the very few negatives. It also has a vast audience, so obviously people will want different things from it. But it's a story driven action adventure game, and it delivers that in spades.

    Oh, and it's flawless for me (PS5). Not a single issue, crash or bug. It's great to see some studios can release a finished game. SSM I think are the leaders of that right now. Only Dysmantle comes to mind as the only other game that was perfect on release. A spoiler free review I read before I started playing said that other devs would have made 2 or 3 games out of the content in this, and they're not wrong. Speaks volumes that SSM put it all in one game.

    Game of the Year by far. I can't wait to bathe in the tears of salty Elden Ring fans! :P



  • Registered Users Posts: 33,136 ✭✭✭✭Penn


    I can definitely see both points with regards to how the story is now so much larger and based on external things (Ragnarok) compared to the first game, but is also treated as being not that immediate, as after every main mission you're about to leave the realm and Atreus or Mimir will say something like "We need to go stop this immediate threat concerning Ragnarok... or maybe it'd be better to take some time and do side stuff before we leave here first!"

    I do think the story is a bit less personal than the first game, but I also think they do tell a decent, personal story relating to the characters, with Ragnarok mostly just being the framing which keeps it in motion. I also think they would have struggled to stretch it into a trilogy.

    There are far more side characters in this than 2018, and side characters are given far more attention, but I think we also got a lot of Kratos and Atreus' personal journey in 2018 that if this game was still so focused on that relationship and those characters, they'd be really stretched thin and likely creating conflict between them for the sake of it in order to make it sustain a full game.

    But like I said, I also don't think Kratos and Atreus' personal stories suffer too much in this game in the midst of the expanded cast and Ragnarok. I think their individual and combined personal journeys are still the main focus and has a satisfying evolution and conclusion.



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  • Registered Users Posts: 857 ✭✭✭one armed dwarf


    Beat the last of those jokers now. In the end I enjoyed the post game a bit, and I do think the RPG build options amount to some pretty meaningful player expression, at least within the confines of a fairly strictly defined action RPG. I went with something which offered boosted damage on status inflicted enemies, based on having a high cooldown, and boosting the power of triangle abilities too. Also had it so that parry had a chance to lower cooldown. So a lot of parrying into triangle moves and runics with some big damage bursts now and then.

    I feel pretty much done now, there's other stuff to do and another fight but I've had enough now I think. Might go for something the polar opposite for a bit like the new Josh Sawyer game, then back to Bayonetta lol.



  • Registered Users Posts: 13,763 ✭✭✭✭Potential-Monke


    Wow. Just wow. An incredible game from start to finish. So much has happened, so many characters met and expanded. And to top it all off, a completely flawless experience. It's simply astounding how they have crafted such a huge and beautiful looking experience without so much as a glitch or bug in my 50+ hours so far. A testament to Sony Santa Monica and a new bar, imo, for how to release a finished product. Maybe its because I'm so used to buggy or broken games on release, that it is sticking out so much, but it was a genuinely flawless experience.

    The story had me hooked from start to finish, and encompassed so much that it's impossible to initially remember it all. While it is basically a continuation of 2018, it improves in every way, most notably the scale and size of everything. The only real complaint I have is the lack of varied death animations, with some not even changed or updated from the 2018 one. A bit disappointing, but it didn't detract from the overall experience too much.

    The Draupnir spear was a completely unexpected and extremely welcome addition. I love it, and it feels like a natural addition to Kratos' arsenal.

    There's a lot going on in the menus, and it took a while to take in everything, but it also really shows the variance available if that's your thing. I finished the game with the fully upgraded original armor, but swapped a good bit throughout. I'd love the transmorg feature AC Odyssey had, should be standard for end game in these types.

    I'm excited for the future, can't wait to see what else they do. Hopeful for a visit to Celtic regions, and while I've yet to finish the end game stuff, I wonder if we'll get a hint at the future intent. With Atreus off on an adventure, which I assume will create a spin off series (possibly aligning to Barlogs comment on 5-6 games), I'd like to get a semi return to the pure rage of the OG games. Could be possible with a Kratos only adventure.

    Give me more already! Easily GOTY, if not just simply for being a AAA product that has been released in a basically perfect state. Amazing acting all around, improved and expanded combat, excellent story, fantastic visuals and world. This has it all. Even with the lack of death animations which really is a personal preference, it's still a perfect 10/10 from me.



  • Registered Users Posts: 33,136 ✭✭✭✭Penn


    "I'd love the transmorg feature AC Odyssey had, should be standard for end game in these types."

    While not the same as the system in AC Odyssey, there is a kind of transmog system for the armour. It only becomes available though once you've fully upgraded the item of armour you want to transmog; ie. if you fully upgrade an armour piece you can then transmog it to look like another piece while retaining the properties of the original.



  • Registered Users Posts: 423 ✭✭DarC_Kn1ght




  • Registered Users Posts: 2,363 ✭✭✭recyclops


    zero punctuation put up a vid on this, agree with most of what he is saying on the game




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  • Registered Users Posts: 23,082 ✭✭✭✭J. Marston


    This game is huge. I probably play at a snail's pace but I'm 45-ish hours in and only in the North most region of Vanaheim.



  • Registered Users Posts: 13,763 ✭✭✭✭Potential-Monke


    I enjoyed that ZP review. I don't agree with him, but I still enjoyed it. He basically said it's an amazing game but he didn't like some parts of it. Whereas I found no issues with it. It's a continuation of 2018 with improved features, I don't know what else people were expecting. I see he compares it to What Remains at one point, so it's obviously not the type of game he enjoys anyway. Each to their own.

    Plat'd this last night. Have everything but the stone golems done, and not much interested in doing them. Time to trade while it's worth a bit extra. Easily my GOTY. It delivered exactly what it promised.



  • Registered Users Posts: 2,363 ✭✭✭recyclops


    Yeah thats how I am finding it , really loving it when left to my own devices and its as close to 2018 as possible but the overlong add on bits drags it down not to a terrible level but doesnt really make ya want to keep going .

    An example is the other night after starting a new mission and next thing I know it was a bit of slow dragging on of the story. Reminds me sometimes as Kojima game were it gets bogged down in building a world instead of recognising what it really excels at.

    Where it excels its top of its game and far above majority of games, all it really needed is someone to reign it in at times and less changes of pace with a tighter plotline. I cant remember half the names and couldnt care less whats going on in their worlds.

    Hopefully doing the ghostbusting style catching of worms for the squirrel has a point but not holding my breath



  • Registered Users Posts: 8,936 ✭✭✭Royale with Cheese


    I just finished it there, 32.5 hours and I'd say I did the main side content but steered clear of Muspelheim, the beserkers and a lot of the smaller side missions. I said prior to release that more of the same would be just fine, and it did feel quite iterative. I really didn't enjoy the Atreus parts though, just wanted to get through them as quickly as possible. I found the game visually lacking a bit at first too as I'd just come from the last of us part 1 remake. It was less noticeable after a while though, I really hope this is the last major release for PS4. It's been two years now, time to move on from it and stop holding things back.

    Will go back to it later on when there's a lack of decent games out to finish the other content.



  • Registered Users Posts: 1,050 ✭✭✭Sandor Clegane


    I thought 2018 GOW was better, it was just more focused and didn't have a million things going on at once, I thought Ragnarök suffered because it just had too much going on...I honestly enjoyed nothing about the Atreus parts, going from butchering enemies as Kratos to whacking things with a bow just didn't work for me.

    It's hard to predict where it'll go from here, obviously Atreus is more than likely going to get his own spin off game which id honestly have no interest in, I can't see him ever taking the reigns from Kratos and being the main protagonist of the GOW series, I just don't think they could ever sell that.



  • Registered Users Posts: 2,363 ✭✭✭recyclops


    all done found the final fight fairly straight forward. As said too much going on all round and its worse for that.

    Trying to decide what felt longer the end of peter jacksons LOTR trilogy epilogue or this this 🤣



  • Registered Users Posts: 33,136 ✭✭✭✭Penn




  • Moderators, Category Moderators, Arts Moderators, Computer Games Moderators, Entertainment Moderators Posts: 29,027 CMod ✭✭✭✭johnny_ultimate


    I had been hoping to finish this by the end of November as I was away from my PS5 for a fair chunk of this month. Alas, the game is realllllyy long so didn't get there in the end. Booting it back up now after a few weeks away and my enthusiasm for it has definitely continued to fade. There's definitely good stuff here:

    just had a great multi-stage setpiece fight against Garn the giant wolf, for example.

    But man there's an awful lot of filler too. It totally zaps my interest when there's another Atreus-led section or a long series of corridors accompanied by rote puzzle design or climbing / shimmying around walls. As strong as the immediate, moment-to-moment combat gameplay is, it too is bogged down by the excessive RPG-ification and loot grind of it all (so many chests, so much micromanagement). It's a bit all over the shop pacing-wise - as much as I prefer the more 'semi-open' gameplay zones, they do drag you away from the main path for long periods, and then the lengthy linear sections can't help but feel more limited in comparison.

    I will see it through at this stage - I think I'm in the back third or close to it, and am curious enough to power through to see where they end up with a few of the central characters. But the game too often feels like a chore to play - so many genuinely good elements bogged down by AAA bloat and a story that has lost the novelty, focus and urgency of its predecessor (and its predecessor was by no means perfect). It's very much a 'three-stars-out-of-five' game for me: too competently made to dismiss entirely, but too weighed down by 'prestige game' excess to properly take flight.



  • Registered Users Posts: 277 ✭✭denashpot


    Hi,

    Did anyone have issues downloading GOW when using the activation code when they bought the PS5 GOW pack?

    My son got a PS5 and we redeemed the code that comes with the PS5 and it never downloaded.

    It accepted the code and the game is purchased in the account transaction history but were lost from here?

    Any ideas where we went wrong?

    Thanks, Pat.



  • Registered Users Posts: 27,630 ✭✭✭✭TitianGerm


    Find the game in his library or the store and hit the install button?



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  • Registered Users Posts: 277 ✭✭denashpot


    Hi. I found it in his library but there is a lock on it.

    I have done all the recommended fixes and its still locked.

    Fixes tried so far:

    1. Turned off PS5 and disconnected from mains for 2 mins and turned PS5 back on.
    2. Restored licenses.
    3. Activated Console Sharing and Offline Play on the PS5.


  • Registered Users Posts: 27,630 ✭✭✭✭TitianGerm


    Is he on the account that he used to buy the game with? Only other thing I can think is that the code didn't activate properly.



  • Registered Users Posts: 1,893 ✭✭✭eggy81


    Sounds like you’ve redeemed the code through the wrong account or you are currently signed into a different account



  • Registered Users Posts: 6,522 ✭✭✭El Gato De Negocios


    Finished this the other night, around 45 hours play. Not close to platinum. Enjoyed it but was too long imo, alot of bloat. It looked gorgeous and not a single glitch throughout which in this day and age is nothing short of astonishing. As others have said, it lacked the "wow" factor of GOW but overall worth playing.



  • Registered Users Posts: 277 ✭✭denashpot


    Would they lock the game due to his age (12)?



  • Registered Users Posts: 277 ✭✭denashpot


    The code worked as its in his transaction history.



  • Registered Users Posts: 277 ✭✭denashpot




  • Registered Users Posts: 1,893 ✭✭✭eggy81


    Is his account set up in his real age and is he younger than the rating by any chance

    Edit: thinking about it I think that may restrict you starting game but not downloading it. 🤷‍♂️



  • Registered Users Posts: 277 ✭✭denashpot


    Yes I think he set the account up to his real age. I tried Sony support today but I think they're on hols til next week.



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  • Registered Users Posts: 13,763 ✭✭✭✭Potential-Monke


    I had major issues trying to sort this for the nephew. I wouldn't know much about the parental stuff anyway, but in the end we made another profile where he was 18 (he's 17) so he could play something online.



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