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God of War: Ragnarök


one-armed dwarf
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I put an umlaut in the thread title 🪓

 

Quick thread post to say like some others I imagine I stayed up a bit last night to check out the intro to this. Very familiar, almost expansion like in how familiar it is. But as someone who's several GOTYs are FFXIV expansions I don't really consider that a huge negative, but it is noticeable coming into this from 2018. It's like changing a disc, if this was an older PSX rpg.

 

It's neat tho, it has that IMAX level presentation to its cinematic fights. Dialogue between characters is maximalist in every degree. Every mythical character is super expressive and drawn like a caricature out of a HBO mob drama, or a scenery-chewing performance from a Tarantino film, which I'm way into. I like the contemporary treatment of it all. 

 

I mainly want to ask the question here tho to the 120hz VRR users, what settings are you rolling with? I messed around with quality performance last night and I feel the fps wasn't quite as smooth as I'd liked (I don't know if it is the 40fps or not) and the resolution was very soft looking to me. The visuals aren't quite where I'd expect them to be. If that is the case I might just stick with quality and 30fps. For a game that's as deliberate and slow in its movement as this I think I can get by with that, it worked fine in 2018. But slightly foggy and soft visuals would spoil a lot more of what's going on here, imo.

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Good reason to be proud, right there.

Played for 3 hours so far. It does at the moment feel like “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. But my main issue with the original, was that troll boss got copy and pasted way, way too many times. 
I’ve already had a few boss fights that have been quite varied. So it’s off to a good start.

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That's really cool 👍

 

One thing I do really like that I forgot to mention is a good bit of diegetic soundtrack, where the in-game walloping and clobbering is a form of percussion itself. eg (hour 1, 'that' boss fight)

 

Spoiler

when Thor snaps the fingers, Mjolnir pops into frame and smacks you into a scene transition with an accompanying musical theme transition. I'm a sucker for that 'rules of nature' type shit

 

 

 

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So I made a start on this earlier, only an hour or so which is literally a tutorial and a couple of scene setting boss fights... first thing that struck me is why do I feel like I'm constantly fighting the game like I'm almost moving diagonally? I'm sure it controls the same as the previous game and I'm sure I'll get used to it but at the minute it feels odd.

 

It looks great but again the 2018 game looked great on the Pro, maybe my memory is playing tricks on me but it's not quite the jump I was expecting, admittedly I've not fired that game up since I completed it that year though. 

 

Voice work so far is again top notch,  Kratos just sounds amazing.

 

I sound more down on the game than I am, I'm really looking forward to putting some time in, it's just a shame it's dropped when I'm away for the weekend and part of next week... sods law.🙄

 

As for settings @one-armed dwarf I just thought fuck it and went with quality and turned off high frame rate, motion blur and film grain... I want the picture as pin sharp as I can get it. I'm guessing I should have a locked 4k image with 30fps at that setting.

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I'm same on the visuals. Probably if you put the two games side by side there will be noticeable differences, but 4 years apart it's quite underwhelming. But also I played some of the old game only about a year ago. PC version, but still

 

Speaking of the old game, I'm only 4 hours in but I did not expect these 4 hours to be so beat for beat familiar with the original. I'm actually having a hard time keeping the game turned on, cause as much as I liked the first game I sort of had my fill with it. I even liked the boat stuff in that game, but I didn't' really want or expect to do the exact same stuff again. It's even got a lot of the same 'row up to a small island, hit some trees with your axe, get rid of obstacles to get a vantage point on the main thingy you need to hit, loot lots of loot, solve an easy puzzle where you whack some more stuff'

 

I said it felt like an expansion before but I don't even think that is hyperbolic right now, to what I'm currently feeling anyway. It feels like more story with QOL improvements and some new mechanics but same structure, design and overall framework. eg the same thing that FFXIV Endwalker is

 

Maybe it's whiplash going to this from bayonetta 3, which is this crazy reinvention of that game's combat while this is so similar.

 

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Hyperbole police gonna be called on this post but yeah, HOLY FUCKING SHIT, this has been absolutely INCREDIBLE so far!

 

I'm about 7-8 hours in, played all of yesterday as I booked a day off of my annual leave. I really can't fault it, everything so far has been at the very top top tier of what gaming can do, it has a level of excellence, a degree of polish, confidence and assuredness other games can only dream of. Quite frankly it has been simply astonishing and extraordinary, WHAT A FUCKING VIDEO GAME! Jesus fucking Christ. I've been absolutely blown away by it, I played 7 hours yesterday and the Wife had to practically pry the DualSense out of my hands when she got in, absolutely fucking incredible.

 

It has been an absolute rollercoaster so far and I feel like I haven't really had the chance to breathe. It moves at such a cadence weaving narrative, emotion and set-piece spectacle on such a level and to such a degree of confidence I find it impossible to fault. Beat for beat it has been almost identical to the 2018 game, which I guess could be construed as a negative if you're that way inclined but for me it's nice how symmetrical it is with the first game if that makes sense, it's like the other side of the coin type of thing where things are happening where you expect from the first game but not necessarily the same way or same place, location etc. 

 

I think it is fair to say it's overly familiar to the first game, but when the first game is so good I don't really see what the issue is. It's not overly familiar for me, it's playing on your expectations, if you were to tell me some of the stuff that happens in the opening hour before I played it, I wouldn't of believed it quite frankly. The way it happens is similar to the first game but again I don't see that as an issue or an 'expansion', it's absolute codswallop to me. In a sequel things are usually familiar mechanically, narratively, environmentally, it's a sequel not God of War Mars Space Adventure.

 

Everything is fairly linear during the first couple of hours, it's only after that once you reach your first realm outside of Midgard that the game takes the blinkers off and let's you fully explore it's world. Exploration is largely similar to the first game here too in that you'll be in a rowing boat with Atreus, hearing stories from Mimir, Atreus asking you questions about all sorts of stuff including (most interestingly) about Kratos' past whilst exploring a vast network of waterways. You'll arrive on beaches to explore only to be met with something you can't progress with yet, other beaches you'll be able to explore and uncover their little mini-mysteries. There have been two side quests too so far which have been superb, they both tie into one of the central characters' backstory and surprising past transgressions which makes the quests feel meaningful and worthwhile whilst also tying in to the overall narrative of the game perfectly. 

 

Not going to go into any detail about the story and I've already said a lot on the opening couple of hours, but once things settle in it has that but it has that perfect carrot on a stick at the moment with you wondering what's going to happen after you reach this particular destination whilst still allowing you breathing space to explore the first realm of the game to your hearts content. 


Enemy variety and combat have been such a huge improvement from the first game, I agree with that from what others have said on the matter. The first game had too many troll and similar looking Draugr(?) enemies as others have said, whereas in this there's already been 3 different types of enemy-types introduced and I'm still a short way into the game. Their attack-types differ to, they aren't just all humanoid types with blunt objects, there's things that spit venom at you, weird floating eyeballs and the like and the bosses have been completely different to one another. 

 

Having the Blades unlocked from the very beginning on this has made me have such a better time with the combat as I didn't 100% get to grip with the Axe or combat in general until perhaps the last 10-15 hours of the 2018 game whereas the Blades feel much more frenetic to me and a lot more fun to do combos with, juggle enemies in the air whilst Atreus shoots some arrows into them and all that good stuff. I think the two weapons in general and their fire and ice elements are better incorporated into the game as a whole and in combat too, there are some times you need to use the Axe to freeze water to solve a puzzle, there's some times you need to use the Blades. Some enemies have Ice resistance so you can only really use your Blades against them too.

 

The visuals are the only very slightly blemish in that they're very cross-gen so far. The game looks absolutely phenomenal, the character detail, facial details, environments and all that good stuff look awe-inspiring at times but you can't help but notice a little bit of a cross-gen look to some of the textures, which is a tad disappointing as it's not much of a visual jump from the 2018 game, but when everything is as good as it is and the game is as extraordinary as it is, it matters little, to me at least.

 

So yeah, it's been a perfect experience so far, I can't fault it at all, a developer and studio on the very top of their game. Extraordinary.

 

Not sure what pics to put up that won't spoil stuff or has been shown in the trailers but here are a few:

 

Spoiler

840CBD14-5546-4FB6-A489-BB66C31046CB.jpeg07CE8FC4-E10A-4F74-9407-00AAB39D4A48.jpeg44ED3305-C415-4E62-A6E0-11597F9C33FC.jpegDF7B822B-75EE-444D-A575-DFB8BA8F81D1.jpegDD656477-9BBE-4EF0-A363-2DF5A283AA61.jpegE449D163-17EC-43DC-BDDE-A35B0486D56F.jpeg05FAA3DC-8BE2-4846-A121-0C1AB74D8C76.jpeg204AB34B-96D5-46FC-AEE3-2EB6904FF444.jpeg3F9D9E41-C180-4EB7-AED0-3D027783F354.jpegD63AA188-1E19-42AD-AF53-CCFB54441DEC.jpeg3430C3EC-C90E-4414-AE3A-846CC1BF2308.jpeg4B4E91CC-FA0C-4F5E-AAFA-19305708A589.jpeg56DC5C71-2406-413F-8269-5364A6C6B184.jpegD4DC7A3E-A6F2-411D-A4C7-22168E41DB15.jpeg

 

D50B5D5C-BA9B-40A2-B51F-8FC55250D17D.jpeg

 

ADF78A84-8F73-4FEB-A1E1-0F964E3DF9F1.jpeg

 

CE79F925-2683-4DBD-89F0-39C83BAFBAAD.jpeg

 

 

 

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I won't drag this into an argument about semantics over impressions, but for me expansion carries a different enough connotation. It's not like a Skyrim expansion when I say it, which are fairly fleeting and forgettable experiences. I'm thinking about FFXIV. Many of the highest rated recent FF games have been expansions while the core game is considered fairly mid in comparison to those expansions, and I just think the term fits here with this. 

 

It's just that this isn't specifically what I was looking for here, I think. I wanted something a lot more different and not build on the same framework (or at least with enough changes that it doesn't feel so similar), but I hope I turn around on it later on. Anyway that's what I mean with that

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Just a quick one, as no one has yet as far as I'm aware. Make sure you don't post any spoilers, I can see this game going a few places, so just be wary.

 

That includes if you're posting pictures elsewhere, like the screenshot thread or the completed games thread

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Quote

God of War Ragnarok has got off to a massive start in the UK, according to charts firm GfK.

Now we are at the launch of God of War Ragnarok, and based on boxed sales alone, it will become the biggest God of War title launch in the UK.

"God of War Ragnarok will debut at No.1 and is the first cross-gen title in the series," Bloch says. "Day 1 physical sales were already greater than any other full-week launch sales for other titles in this franchise."

Bloch adds that 55% of PS5 console sales this week are part of the God of War hardware bundle.

 

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I have but they aren't much help when an enemy can basically jump an entire screen length at will.

 

I might just put it down to "I'm a pussy" difficulty and be done with it.... or maybe I'm just in a grump today, who knows.

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I've always found the audio cues from Mimir and Atreus far better than the 'danger arrows'. "Behind you!" etc.

 

I really feel like a lot of people would find the game easier to play if they try it this way. You need to be listening to audio cues in games like this anyway. While the arrows just seem like a lot of cognitive overheard. Which will end up meaning you react slower just cause you're looking at arrows all the time, more distracting than helpful. I turn them off every time

 

If we want to talk about some bullshit enemy telegraphing, keep me company in the Bayonetta 3 thread. That game is unfair bullshit (but great, still unfair bullshit tho)

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Oh I'm listening too... again, reacting far to late. This isn't helped by the fact my God of War seems about as durable as a wet paper bag.🙄

 

Like I said, I'll probably just drop the difficulty and concede that I'm just a bit shit at this type of game nowadays... rather that than turning in to OG Kratos everytime I boot the game up.

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Did a big binge on it today, says 10 and a half hours. I've taken some days off work, so I reckon I could make a big dent in it and who knows maybe fight whatever the super boss enemy is in this game. Anyway, this is a very conservative sequel, I'm enjoying it a bit more now but I still find it a bit disappointing. 

 

What I find is it leans fairly heavily on some of the same tricks as 2018, but they aren't as effective here once you've seen them once already. In acknowledgement of that they do try and switch some things up, in puzzles and in combat. They also try different takes on the 'hub' sections of the game and have a bit more biome diversity. But there's nothing very surprising going on. Some parts also seem a tad overdesigned, like the way you can basically slot materia type buffs into your skills*. I didn't think they really needed to include more customisation there. I'm also not sure if the freeze and burn stuff deepens combat or makes it more linear, tho it does give a strong incentive to swap weapons which is a plus. 

 

It's still good, but 2018 was a very surprising game which quickly catapulted into 'unforgettable' status for me, for a lot of the reasons HD already said in his threadbump earlier. But nothing in Ragnarök is coming together nearly as superbly as that game for me, even if it is improved in certain areas. It's a solid iteration but a lesser title overall, I feel like. Unless it turns around in a big way. 

 

That basically sums it up so far I think, it's just a really solid iteration. Insert disc 2.

 

*if you use a skill enough times successfully in combat it levels from 'bronze', to 'silver' and 'gold', at which point you can put a 'mod' in it to buff its stun damage, raw damage, burn/freeze, immolation/leviathan equivalent buff etc. Give it enhanced properties

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I hate puzzles. My dyspraxia doesn’t fare well with them. And the Applecore section in the second quest, is seriously pissing me off. 3 bastard water puzzles, which are tedious as fuck. The 3rd one has completely got me stuck. I’ve no idea what it wants me to do. The ign guide wasn’t helpful. So I resorted to a YouTube guide. Unfortunately they didn’t really know how to solve it either, and I’m still stuck at it.
 

It’s proper pissed me off. So I’m going to play something else, and do it again some other day. Whoever made those water puzzles: You’re a cunt. Fuck you. 

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I hate puzzles too! I wish I could punch them. I spent so long looking at trees and flowers last night trying to figure out how to set the fuckers on fire. Was standing in the wrong spot for a whole hour :facepalm:

 

I'm not sure of the best way to signal progress in this game, as hour count will vary massively depending on difficulty and sidequest investment. I guess I can say I got to a realm that was very 'green', and the main quest there was quite good. Then it opened up to a smallish hub area with meaty sidequests with optional story sequences. This is the type of thing I really liked about 2018. The fact that their sidequests had so much care and attention to them, and all the optional dialogues in the boat that build out the characters. Some of the incidental dialogue can be a bit much in this game, a lot of characters overly vocalising their inner thoughts and the themes of the game. But I love how these games turn what would be 'grinding' from another title into meaningful development that you actually don't want to miss out on. So I hope this is a sign of that turn around I was looking for

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