Elder Legend
Banned
So what you are admitting is that an amputee can play games better than you? Ok. At least your honest and truthful. Respect earned.
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God of War Ragnarok: SPOILER-HEIM
- Thread starter struggler_guts
- Start date
- Spoilers
So what you are admitting is that an amputee can play games better than you? Ok. At least your honest and truthful. Respect earned.
Kamina
Golden Boy
It was likely Baldur. He was trying to get them at the time and nothing else makes sense.
Or perhaps Modi as he ambushes them later in Tyrs Temple.
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Shits_McGiggles
Member
They (those responsible for the narrative and such) hired Anthony Burch to be a writer for the game. Clearly the narrative design needs to be put on a much, much tighter leash, or else you will get shit like this.
FUBARx89
Member
Finished everything & platinumed it in 52 hours on Show Me No Mercy.
Honestly thought 2018 was better.
- Kratos didn't sound right compared to last time if that makes any sense.
- The Atreus sections where fucking awful and it wasn't even a surprise playing as him if you saw gryo aiming in the options.
- What happened to the writing? It seemed all over the place. Atreus going back to angsty wingy bitch boy did my head in like no tomorrow.
-His accent when he was moaning at the world serpent made me think he was from Boston aswell for some reason, the female dwarf blacksmith sounded like whats her name from borderlands
- Thor was a huge let down, Heimdall was Hermes 2.0, Odin was a mob boss at times.
-Plenty of bosses where just buffed up normal enemies and that was annoying.
-My boy Sindri though, telling Atreyus & Kratos to fuck off. How he acted at Ragnarok. He was great.
Honestly thought 2018 was better.
- Kratos didn't sound right compared to last time if that makes any sense.
- The Atreus sections where fucking awful and it wasn't even a surprise playing as him if you saw gryo aiming in the options.
- What happened to the writing? It seemed all over the place. Atreus going back to angsty wingy bitch boy did my head in like no tomorrow.
-His accent when he was moaning at the world serpent made me think he was from Boston aswell for some reason, the female dwarf blacksmith sounded like whats her name from borderlands
- Thor was a huge let down, Heimdall was Hermes 2.0, Odin was a mob boss at times.
-Plenty of bosses where just buffed up normal enemies and that was annoying.
-My boy Sindri though, telling Atreyus & Kratos to fuck off. How he acted at Ragnarok. He was great.
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Arsic
Loves his juicy stink trail scent
The game was great but I do think the narrative shit the bed in the end.
There was so much they could’ve done here. Like if Odin can be others he could’ve been anyone in the mythos to twist up the prophecies to make up lies. The time travel stuff could’ve been a huge plot point and lead to some madness and twists.
In the end they just picked a happy ending, and it just didn’t feel satisfying . I didn’t expect to kill Odin in this game. They could’ve had a part time 3 where he had manipulated everyone in this game, Kratos dies or Atreus dies, and the third is to get Odin back somehow.
Hell even Odin never came off truly evil. All he wanted was to know the meaning to life and death, and what happens when a God dies lol. And he can’t even abuse this since Atreus is the only one who could use the mask.
This was a strong 60% of a plot and falls apart in the final 40% immensely.
The entirety of the product is stellar, but the story actually ended up being the worst part sadly.
There was so much they could’ve done here. Like if Odin can be others he could’ve been anyone in the mythos to twist up the prophecies to make up lies. The time travel stuff could’ve been a huge plot point and lead to some madness and twists.
In the end they just picked a happy ending, and it just didn’t feel satisfying . I didn’t expect to kill Odin in this game. They could’ve had a part time 3 where he had manipulated everyone in this game, Kratos dies or Atreus dies, and the third is to get Odin back somehow.
Hell even Odin never came off truly evil. All he wanted was to know the meaning to life and death, and what happens when a God dies lol. And he can’t even abuse this since Atreus is the only one who could use the mask.
This was a strong 60% of a plot and falls apart in the final 40% immensely.
The entirety of the product is stellar, but the story actually ended up being the worst part sadly.
rofif
Banned
“Mom mom he is bad at video games. I am good at video games !
But son this is just single player chill game.
Git gud mom. “
I overheard this conversation when I was killing your in call of duty. You mic was on.
Elder Legend
Banned
Haha. That's pretty good dude.
Valt7786
Member
Just finished it, 9/10 game overall but they really shit the bed on some of the story elements for sure imo.
For stuff I didnt like:
I HATED Freya becoming your BFF. Now, I like Freya, but Kratos killed her son right in front of her. He may have had good reason to, but I don't see how any Mother, especially one that acts as Freya does, just forgives that. Ever.
Playing as Atreus sucked, hated all his segments.
No Mjolnir as a weapon was disappointing, a lot of build up in marketing, the post-credits scene of 2018 etc, the fact you got a replica in the collectors edition, shock being an element in combat but none of your main weapons use it, it seemed inevitable..
Kratos only kills 2 "Major" Gods the whole 2 games. Heimdall and Baldur. Magni and Modi were babies they dont count.
Thor's death was boring as fuck, so was Odins tbh. I wanted to see them getting torn the fuck apart by the end of the story.
Surtr just...disappearing once Ragnarok was over, genuinely thought that was leading to an OTT Epic fight with him, true GoW style especially since they were shouting about how he's gone off the rails.
Rest of the game though, pretty fucking great. They nailed the combat and side quest stuff. Vanaheim opening up like it did was a true surprise and was fantastic. Asgard not being too shiny I kinda appreciated, I was half expecting a Marvel type place but to get there and see that it's "just basically Norway" was kinda like, yeah, i get it.
For stuff I didnt like:
I HATED Freya becoming your BFF. Now, I like Freya, but Kratos killed her son right in front of her. He may have had good reason to, but I don't see how any Mother, especially one that acts as Freya does, just forgives that. Ever.
Playing as Atreus sucked, hated all his segments.
No Mjolnir as a weapon was disappointing, a lot of build up in marketing, the post-credits scene of 2018 etc, the fact you got a replica in the collectors edition, shock being an element in combat but none of your main weapons use it, it seemed inevitable..
Kratos only kills 2 "Major" Gods the whole 2 games. Heimdall and Baldur. Magni and Modi were babies they dont count.
Thor's death was boring as fuck, so was Odins tbh. I wanted to see them getting torn the fuck apart by the end of the story.
Surtr just...disappearing once Ragnarok was over, genuinely thought that was leading to an OTT Epic fight with him, true GoW style especially since they were shouting about how he's gone off the rails.
Rest of the game though, pretty fucking great. They nailed the combat and side quest stuff. Vanaheim opening up like it did was a true surprise and was fantastic. Asgard not being too shiny I kinda appreciated, I was half expecting a Marvel type place but to get there and see that it's "just basically Norway" was kinda like, yeah, i get it.
Captain Toad
Banned
Am I the only one who didn't see the Tyr thing coming - at all?
TheDarkPhantom
Member
Finished the game last night, loved it overall and have it as my number 2 game of 2022. Having been on media blackout for the past year nearly everything was a surprise and I had feelings similar to Elden Ring taking in the scope and scale of the world around me with vast, open areas continuing to open up throughout the campaign, ripe for exploration.
Voices, characters and writing overall was very good though there definitely some stuff I wasn't too fond of. First, the Good:
Brock and Mimir stole the show, never a bad moment, fantastic - often hilarious - dialogue, the voice actors owned their roles. Sindri is solid and his scenes at the end are god-tier. Freya is good though I don't love the actress' voice. Grandmother was an unexpected surprise, short but sweet. Heimdall aka the true villain of the game and only antagonist that actually felt menacing.
Now, the Strange:
Kratos. Judge did a solid job based on the script he was given and we get that Kratos is not the raging Spartan he once was but it's almost *too* understated, a quiet monotone throughout coming from a character whose rage is legendary, we know what our boy is capable of, would have been nice to hear it at least *once*, a guttural roar of unbridled blood lust.
Thor. Well, making him a drunk is one way to do it. Again, actor did a solid job with what he was given, just didn't embody the power we know Thor possesses. Tyr looks and sounds like an extra tall Woodstock hippie, again, strange choice, he is *a* God of War.
The Bad, oh boy:
Odin. Talk about a milquetoast villain, am I supposed to tremble before this decrepit fuck that looks and sounds like a retired accountant? What a bizarre design choice, I got used to it but wasn't a fan. Atreus... whiny and irritating, not much more to say. Thrud and Angrboda. I have no interest in hearing American teenage girls in my Norse mythology, thanks. Freyr, what a loser lol.
All the other minor characters I really dug overall
Now these character choices speak to a larger design choice SSM seemed adamant on: subverting expectations. This is a double-edged sword. Doing something wild and unexpected just for the sake of saying "look how different we are! No cliches here!" only really works if it's *good*. Yes, this is all subjective and I'm sure some people *love* Odin but overall I felt a lot of these choices boiled down to doing the opposite of what the player expected. Asgard is a perfect example. Sleepy village? Is this for real??? Say what you want about AC: Valhalla but their realization of Asgard was stunning, magical, enchanting, imposing, exactly what you would *want* the home of gods to look like.
OK, I've written a ton, will do another post later with my thoughts on the *glorious* combat, the game world and the narrative itself.
Voices, characters and writing overall was very good though there definitely some stuff I wasn't too fond of. First, the Good:
Brock and Mimir stole the show, never a bad moment, fantastic - often hilarious - dialogue, the voice actors owned their roles. Sindri is solid and his scenes at the end are god-tier. Freya is good though I don't love the actress' voice. Grandmother was an unexpected surprise, short but sweet. Heimdall aka the true villain of the game and only antagonist that actually felt menacing.
Now, the Strange:
Kratos. Judge did a solid job based on the script he was given and we get that Kratos is not the raging Spartan he once was but it's almost *too* understated, a quiet monotone throughout coming from a character whose rage is legendary, we know what our boy is capable of, would have been nice to hear it at least *once*, a guttural roar of unbridled blood lust.
Thor. Well, making him a drunk is one way to do it. Again, actor did a solid job with what he was given, just didn't embody the power we know Thor possesses. Tyr looks and sounds like an extra tall Woodstock hippie, again, strange choice, he is *a* God of War.
The Bad, oh boy:
Odin. Talk about a milquetoast villain, am I supposed to tremble before this decrepit fuck that looks and sounds like a retired accountant? What a bizarre design choice, I got used to it but wasn't a fan. Atreus... whiny and irritating, not much more to say. Thrud and Angrboda. I have no interest in hearing American teenage girls in my Norse mythology, thanks. Freyr, what a loser lol.
All the other minor characters I really dug overall
Now these character choices speak to a larger design choice SSM seemed adamant on: subverting expectations. This is a double-edged sword. Doing something wild and unexpected just for the sake of saying "look how different we are! No cliches here!" only really works if it's *good*. Yes, this is all subjective and I'm sure some people *love* Odin but overall I felt a lot of these choices boiled down to doing the opposite of what the player expected. Asgard is a perfect example. Sleepy village? Is this for real??? Say what you want about AC: Valhalla but their realization of Asgard was stunning, magical, enchanting, imposing, exactly what you would *want* the home of gods to look like.
OK, I've written a ton, will do another post later with my thoughts on the *glorious* combat, the game world and the narrative itself.
Trazyn the Infinite
Member
Agreed. It is the biggest flaw this game has.
RickSanchez
Member
hehe, i can't believe that, in 2022, there still even exist people who think like this. i should have ignored him to begin with.
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Pedro Motta
Member
My fight against the Alfheim Berserker. Give me no Mercy.
Ghost of Caelid
Banned
It has that “major battle with 10 soldier” feel many games had in the end. Ragnarok itself get very anti climactic. Also by the time I hit Ragnarok I put the game on give me story because there were so many non stop encounters it was just ruining the pace for me. Positives Kratos is an amazing character and this game solidified him as one of my favorites. I would have like less back tracking to tems to focus more on the ones that had build up. A lot of fetch quest to get items and shit. I thought the overall story was okay. Odin didn’t feel powerful either. But overall a really good game. Idk how people could consider this a generation defining game and I think the expectations going it set mines high. 2018 felt like a tighter focused experience even tho this one had overall better characters.
Ghost of Caelid
Banned
Kratos story should be done. This was a good swan song for him. I wouldn’t even want to play him again cause a part of the game he goes “where ever I go it’s always vengeance” and I was like damn this man is just tired. I know the writing is great when I don’t want to kill things as Kratos any more. Do a fresh cast. We can do parallel to Kratos
in a different pantheon. Let the old man rest tho.
They had black people in Scandinavia…people traveled all over the world. Probably more black people than Greek people at that lol. Also back then race wasn’t really a thing. Was all about local tribes/village. There was only two in the game at that lol. We had a greek god, a Scottish head, two black people and a papa the rappa canon reference. Which one bothered you the most?
https://scandinaviafacts.com/were-the-vikings-black/
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hinch7
Member
The thing is there is no God of War without the God of War himself.
If the next game didn't have Kratos in it it would lose a huge amount of people. So that won't happen unless its a spin off series set in the same universe. In which case, why not a new IP?
Ghost of Caelid
Banned
Santa Monica is talented so I don’t doubt their ability to reset with a new cast. Cory Barlog is working on a new ip so they seem to have teams for two projects.
WitchHunter
Member
SSM did a big release and the betatest is done by the players. SSM is a top tier AAA game studio. And yet they release a half assed game like this. WTF HAPPENED HERE? I have a feeling that they hired new peepz let them create the game and they judge by the feedback whether they were up to the task or not. Or there were mass layoffs or talent went somewhere else, puzzling.
Voiceover direction is terrible except for maybe thor and brok.
Freya acts like a woman who didn't have sex for 55 years and instead of doing a gargantuan fuckfest with kratos she nags the hell out of everyone. Plus talk about total zero interesting things, like describing what she sees.
Kratos is on all fours... like a semi retarded spartan who wasnt properly kicked down from Taygetus.
The most annoying bastard was angrboda, then came freya and atreus wasnt annoying at all, just plain naive.
The ironwood part was... like a tlou2 lets walk over the amusement park scene.
I had some moments where I was thinking about smashing the PS5 bc the experience was so lacklustre, especially on gmgow where even a little fartmonkey zeroes your health.
Did aliens invaded Sony and now ruining every franchise they have or what the holymackarel is happening?
Voiceover direction is terrible except for maybe thor and brok.
Freya acts like a woman who didn't have sex for 55 years and instead of doing a gargantuan fuckfest with kratos she nags the hell out of everyone. Plus talk about total zero interesting things, like describing what she sees.
Kratos is on all fours... like a semi retarded spartan who wasnt properly kicked down from Taygetus.
The most annoying bastard was angrboda, then came freya and atreus wasnt annoying at all, just plain naive.
The ironwood part was... like a tlou2 lets walk over the amusement park scene.
I had some moments where I was thinking about smashing the PS5 bc the experience was so lacklustre, especially on gmgow where even a little fartmonkey zeroes your health.
Did aliens invaded Sony and now ruining every franchise they have or what the holymackarel is happening?
hinch7
Member
Oh that I have no doubt. I just don't see them making a game without the MC in it.
It would be like making a Zelda game without Link in it. Would it be interesting to see, yeah. But it would also mean leaving a lot of money on the table. Seeing as Kratos is GoW as Link/Zelda is to, well Zelda. Except GoW is a very narative driven game with its story and Zelda titles usually are self contain stories with a very passive MC. People are fairly interested and invested in the new adventures with Kratos.
And SSM or Eric Williams are interested in making more GoW games.. coming off from a post release interview. So its a not if but when.
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Zok310
Banned
I would not be surprised if their explanation for some boss fights not being a thing was due to timing and ps4 limitations. But with Thor’s hammer it makes sense we never got it because of the narrative, no way kratos would have been able to use it when odin can just take it away at any moment just like he did to Thor and his daughter in the last encounter. Kratos had to have his own weapons made. And with Brok dead, no way for sindri to modify the hammer to only respond to Kratos. It checks out imo.
Bonsaibäumchen
Member
Actually you can find Tyr now roaming the realms. I've met him in Midgard and Muspelheim so far. He'll probably appear in all realms at least once. There might be another clue/info once you've found him in all realms.
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Bonsaibäumchen
Member
Funny how often I've read this now.
What you don't seem to understand is that Faye intervened with Fate. She forced Kratos and Atreus on this journey so he would see all those things and prophecys because seeing all that and experiencing it together with the dreams both had of faye changed their behaviour and therefore their choices.
I mean they litterally told them that these prophecys are based on knowledge about people and their choices and actions. He they had to change in order to stop this fate
adamsapple
Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
For the game that's supposed to end the Nordic saga, they sure do leave a lot of questions unanswered.
Random real-Tyr out of nowhere in a post-game sub-quest with nothing beyond 3 lines was a bit jarring.
The ending for the main narrative and the "father letting his son go in the world" theme was very strong and pulled on various heart strings tho, not gonna lie.
Random real-Tyr out of nowhere in a post-game sub-quest with nothing beyond 3 lines was a bit jarring.
The ending for the main narrative and the "father letting his son go in the world" theme was very strong and pulled on various heart strings tho, not gonna lie.
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rofif
Banned
Yeah I understand it now. The game is growing on me since I’ve finished it
Bonsaibäumchen
Member
Never even spent a thought about that.
Maybe you are just sensible to that kind of stuff?
Slothbeing1209
Member
It's not about the story how Odin can take it and throw away. They can change it however they want. It's about the gameplay.
The axe and the blade almost have no new move or new animation. It's biggest negative thing in the game for me.
When i saw the "frozen lightning" tree after Thor vs Kratos fight i was so sure that we'll have Mjonir as new weapon. Such a tease. But we don't. It's really a disappointment.
They could let us duel-wield the hammer and axe together and create that Frozen + Lightning combo. Don't even need to add a new button for new weapon.
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Blitzmangoman
Member
Cringe and yikes, you get both of these replies.
Topher
Gold Member
Seems Loki’s story without Kratos has already become quite eventful….
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Dibils2k
Member
i just finished it, GoW18 is still my fav playstation game by far. Time to get platinum but abit disappointed tbh, didnt get enough boss fights again imo, i mean interesting ones like that big monster that was going through portals. Still a great game ofcourse
i cant see myself replaying this though (replayed 2018 atleast 4 times over the years)
i cant see myself replaying this though (replayed 2018 atleast 4 times over the years)
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Low Moral Fibre
Member
Finished it and it was very good overall but with some huge flaws.
Good stuff:
-Great acting all round - like some of the best I've ever heard.
-The high points in this game are real 10/10 content. The best set pieces put a lot of Hollywood stuff to shame.
-Way better enemy roster instead of a troll every time a big fight rolls around.
-Tons of side content - they could have dumped a lot of this in a DLC and people would have paid for it and been happy about it.
-I loved Thor and loved the direction they went with Odin as even though you knew he was manipulating Atreus the softer demeanor and great performance meant I found myself agreeing with him a lot of the time.
Bad stuff:
-The story needed a better editor as it starts slow, speeds up for about 15 minutes then completely stops for like 10-15 hours. Then it moves at a decent pace for a bit then rapidly accelerates and then just ends after a couple of unsatisfying boss fights. The highs are very high but there is way too much flab and I found myself bored more than most games I've played recently. The gear is also badly spread out - you get nothing for like 10 hours then a few are drip fed then after 20 hours you are just completely spammed with gear.
-The Freya stuff was weird - she goes from trying to kill you to best mates in Vanaheim then is a little frosty in Midgard and then a total dick who seems to hate you again in Svartalfheim. Maybe stuff was moved around in production and they didn't redo the voice work?
-Maybe just my style of play but it feels like they massively reduced the difficulty this time and exchanged difficulty with messy fights with tons of stuff happening off screen - that they need arrows and NPCs shouting about incoming attacks tells you all you need to know. The one on one fights are still great and getting a parry chain still feels fantastic. You can fight the one on one Berserkers with really shit under leveled gear so the combat can be really tight when you aren't getting spammed from every direction. The side effect of reducing the difficulty is that half the fights feel like filler as they are over before they begin. There were are definitely a few sections in 2018 that I feel I'm just scraping through but nothing like that here.
-I see a lot of praise for epic boss fights but most of them felt mechanically very basic and the 'epic' stuff happens in a cutscene - nothing wrong with this and most games are like this to be fair but the way people were going on made me think I was in for something special. I never once beat one of the big bosses and felt like the same satisfaction you get when you take down a Souls boss. I know people are challenging themselves to do no damage runs and stuff but an average player shouldn't have to make their own challenge if a boss is well designed.
-A lot of the levels felt very PS3 in design hindered more by the very low FOV. A lot of the levels are very restricted so you couldn't really move around at all and could only see what they want you to see. The last level should have felt insane but felt like one of the warzone levels from Mass Effect 3 and things have moved on a lot since then. Strangely the completely optional zone The Crater feels amazing with the extra freedom you have and I liked that it had a bit of a nod to the Lake of the Nine with the water levels.
-There is a lot of backtracking if you want to do everything so the crawl through gap or lift a boulder stuff gets really old.
-There was a big gulf between the quality of character models and even motion capture - not sure if something went wrong here but some NPCs look like mannequins while some look amazing.
-Kratos felt neutered and frail this time. I know that's the direction they wanted to go and they are probably gearing up to dump him next game but it was hard not to think back to the crazy shit he was up to in Greece. I prefer modern Kratos by far but he really lacked an edge here.
-The puzzles felt like filler a lot of the time. A lot of them are more like scavenger hunts looking for stuff hidden in trees and on cliffs rather than actual puzzles you have to think about. I can remember getting stuck on exactly one of them all game.
-The one shot camera felt very gimmicky and they cheated their way around it so many times that they may as well have just cut to the different characters as it would have afforded them more room to build up some of the side characters. It worked well in 2018 as the story in that game is very limited in scope in comparison.
-The UI looks like a mobile game but somehow has less even less functionality.
Lots of complaints but still a banging game and a 100% buy if you like action adventures.
Good stuff:
-Great acting all round - like some of the best I've ever heard.
-The high points in this game are real 10/10 content. The best set pieces put a lot of Hollywood stuff to shame.
-Way better enemy roster instead of a troll every time a big fight rolls around.
-Tons of side content - they could have dumped a lot of this in a DLC and people would have paid for it and been happy about it.
-I loved Thor and loved the direction they went with Odin as even though you knew he was manipulating Atreus the softer demeanor and great performance meant I found myself agreeing with him a lot of the time.
Bad stuff:
-The story needed a better editor as it starts slow, speeds up for about 15 minutes then completely stops for like 10-15 hours. Then it moves at a decent pace for a bit then rapidly accelerates and then just ends after a couple of unsatisfying boss fights. The highs are very high but there is way too much flab and I found myself bored more than most games I've played recently. The gear is also badly spread out - you get nothing for like 10 hours then a few are drip fed then after 20 hours you are just completely spammed with gear.
-The Freya stuff was weird - she goes from trying to kill you to best mates in Vanaheim then is a little frosty in Midgard and then a total dick who seems to hate you again in Svartalfheim. Maybe stuff was moved around in production and they didn't redo the voice work?
-Maybe just my style of play but it feels like they massively reduced the difficulty this time and exchanged difficulty with messy fights with tons of stuff happening off screen - that they need arrows and NPCs shouting about incoming attacks tells you all you need to know. The one on one fights are still great and getting a parry chain still feels fantastic. You can fight the one on one Berserkers with really shit under leveled gear so the combat can be really tight when you aren't getting spammed from every direction. The side effect of reducing the difficulty is that half the fights feel like filler as they are over before they begin. There were are definitely a few sections in 2018 that I feel I'm just scraping through but nothing like that here.
-I see a lot of praise for epic boss fights but most of them felt mechanically very basic and the 'epic' stuff happens in a cutscene - nothing wrong with this and most games are like this to be fair but the way people were going on made me think I was in for something special. I never once beat one of the big bosses and felt like the same satisfaction you get when you take down a Souls boss. I know people are challenging themselves to do no damage runs and stuff but an average player shouldn't have to make their own challenge if a boss is well designed.
-A lot of the levels felt very PS3 in design hindered more by the very low FOV. A lot of the levels are very restricted so you couldn't really move around at all and could only see what they want you to see. The last level should have felt insane but felt like one of the warzone levels from Mass Effect 3 and things have moved on a lot since then. Strangely the completely optional zone The Crater feels amazing with the extra freedom you have and I liked that it had a bit of a nod to the Lake of the Nine with the water levels.
-There is a lot of backtracking if you want to do everything so the crawl through gap or lift a boulder stuff gets really old.
-There was a big gulf between the quality of character models and even motion capture - not sure if something went wrong here but some NPCs look like mannequins while some look amazing.
-Kratos felt neutered and frail this time. I know that's the direction they wanted to go and they are probably gearing up to dump him next game but it was hard not to think back to the crazy shit he was up to in Greece. I prefer modern Kratos by far but he really lacked an edge here.
-The puzzles felt like filler a lot of the time. A lot of them are more like scavenger hunts looking for stuff hidden in trees and on cliffs rather than actual puzzles you have to think about. I can remember getting stuck on exactly one of them all game.
-The one shot camera felt very gimmicky and they cheated their way around it so many times that they may as well have just cut to the different characters as it would have afforded them more room to build up some of the side characters. It worked well in 2018 as the story in that game is very limited in scope in comparison.
-The UI looks like a mobile game but somehow has less even less functionality.
Lots of complaints but still a banging game and a 100% buy if you like action adventures.
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Slothbeing1209
Member
Hm? Not really understand the complain here. Sound like you just want a hard boss fight like Souls game which is completely difference kind of game.
Do you think GOW 2018 have any epic boss fight? Because the Garm fight alone is better than every boss fight in GOW 2018.
Every main story boss in every GOW game are not hard. It's all about the set piece.
If you want real challenge like Souls boss, fight the Valkyrie Queen or Berserker King.
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Zok310
Banned
I dont know anyone that wanted to use the hammer or hoped to get it. Like i said, us getting that hammer in terms of narrative makes zero sense.
Low Moral Fibre
Member
I just felt that the big set piece bosses were way too straightforward. The only one with different mechanics was Nidhogg which was unfortunately ruined by Freya telling you what to do every few seconds. There was no sense of satisfaction for me beating them as I just plowed through them with zero tactics as there was nothing to figure out. The set pieces are great but I was expecting some interesting boss fights what with the way people were going crazy about them and I got some really basic fights but with amazing graphics and beautifully done cutscenes.
I just watched this video which is about the puzzles and why the NPCs spoil them and the theory from other game devs is playtesting showed people were getting stuck so they put in spoilers to help. I feel the bigger boss fights have been designed the same way in that they have tried to make it so there is nothing to figure out so no player will ever struggle with the mechanics. I just think it removes too much from the encounter when every major boss is so straightforward.
I appreciate that they don't want to roadblock people from the main quest but they could have made it so if you died a few times on a boss the NPCs start explaining the mechanics to you but the problem is that there is nothing to explain for virtually all of the story bosses.
Elder Legend
Banned
Oh shit for real? Where at exactly you found him at in the realms? Any interesting lines or foreshadowing?
Bonsaibäumchen
Member
I've met him in Muspelheim first where Ragnarök was created and the valkyries appeared: He'll talk briefly about ragnarök and sinmara.
In Midgard I met him near the elevator to tyrs temple there are stairs thar lead to him in between the way to the raider cove and the way to the berserker king: He'll only tell you to leave him alone.
In Svartalfheim I met him by the lighthouse: He'll talk about the imprisoned creature.
In Alfheim hes on the path to the temple of light: He'll talk about Freyr and wants to pay him his respects
In Vanaheim hes in the Camp: Will talk about how Freya helped their people despite the hate she got from them.
I'll post some screenshots later of his positions I found so far.
While we are at it, did you guys find the relic that has a feature outside of battles? Theres on relic that can be used in certain places to unlock access to additional gear.
I'll post a screenshot of the relic later.
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Slothbeing1209
Member
The person you quoted wanted to use the hammer...
I saw a lots of comments want to use it too.
And like i said, they can spin the narrative whatever they want. I'm sure they can find a way to make it fit the narrative.
I feel the boss fight is epic enough for me personally. Final boss can be better though.
One thing i think they should include in the boss fight is the new hopping attack. Kind of weird that the only new mechanic is not available in any boss fight.
I got upset by Freya too. But it fit the narrative in that part. And her brother warned us about her personality too lol.
I've been through with much worse if not the worst experience with Aloy about spoil puzzle so I'm kind of fine with this game lol. Nothing can compare to how annoying Aloy is!!
struggler_guts
Member
Even if not the hammer, there really should have been more than one new weapon. Especially considering the axe and blades have most of the same moves...
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Benniewise de Clown
Banned
I personally liked the parts with Atreus better.
For character building, tying Loki's "scheming" and "lying" into the story, seeing him growing up...
Much more enjoyable than Kratos trying to be a better man and teaching his son right from wrong. We've seen that in the previous game already.
Then again, maybe it's because I've been a single-parent father raising a son all on my own for 12 years (currently in a relationship again) and having been through enough shit that this game could've been some sort of biography of our life.
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rofif
Banned
Some very good pointe there! My comments in red.
I really like it and it grows on me every day since I finished it! The Sindri music is incredible and I keep listening to it. I wish they gave a glimpse of hope in his eyes. He really should be better to Kratos...
I also am disappointed there is nothing more on connection to previous games. There should be something with Athena and Zeus. How he breaks free , they still haunt him and what happened to Greece. Something to give Kratos more of an arc
You got proper manupilated by Odin I see, which means writers did a great job. You sir, were Atreus the whole time being warned throughout the whole game that Odin is evil by multiple ppl including his own kin.
struggler_guts
Member
Goin for this platinum is has been mostly fun but I really wish I get tele to the doors, vanaheim is rough
T0minator
Member
That's the beauty of opinions. I have the almost exact opposite opinion. I enjoyed 2018 but I had no urge to replay it once I finished it. I'm already on my second playthrough on Ragnarok. GOWR is better in my opinion in almost every way
Arsic
Loves his juicy stink trail scent
Huh ? He was barely evil in the games. The only actual shit thing he did was stab Brok and kill him. The rest is off screen heresay.
I’m not following at all wtf you mean.
The story could’ve had far more bad ass use of this character . I legit feel like the story was rushed out, and they didn’t want to make this a trilogy so it got ham fisted.
It’s fine if you dig it, most do. It just did not feel satisfying with the build up being done. There was many opportunities to do more.l
remember_spinal
Banned
Same, although im gonna wait for New Game +, i didn’t enjoy 2018 nearly as much as this one. It just lacked a lot of variety.
I’ve already got the platinum for this one. I have almost the same experience with this sequel as I did horizon although i didn’t like horizon zero dawn as much as god of war 2018.
But i went and got the platinum for both games, just because the gameplay is so signicantly improved.
SF Kosmo
Al Jazeera Special Reporter
Finished the game last night. It definitely feels like a direct extension of 2018, not a new generation but the back half of a two part episode. The added weapon and enemy variety help address some of that game's shortcomings, and GoW2018 is a really strong foundation to build on, narratively, technically, and mechanically, so it's okay if this isn't another reinvention for the series, but some of the choices in the direction and story undermined what I liked about the previous game so much.
Everything about 2018's design was about "zooming in." They moved the camera in to this more intimate view. They focused on human-sized enemies with real characterization. They made the main quest about something really personal, the whole game is anchored on this father-son relationship. They're haunted by the memory of this matriarch that goes completely unseen. The game is done in real-time, in a long-take style specifically to give it that kind of immediacy and continuity. The drama with Gods were simply obstacles in these characters personal journey, they weren't the end goal in and of itself. It was really a brilliant reinvention of the series.
Ragnarok has a little trouble sticking to that. It keeps the long-take thing, but it turns it into a visual gimmick, cheating it by jumping perspectives, going into flashbacks or dream sequences, showing Faye who was very deliberately not shown before... All of which waters down the reasons this was done in the first place. Worse, it jumps into the apocalyptic stakes of Ragnarok, and does it so casually it's a little hard to swallow. We're leading the realms to war over what? Vengeance for a dead dwarf? Preemptive strike before Odin comes for the mask? (Why not destroy the mask? Why didn't Odin come back immediately if he can travel there?). These don't feel like end of the world stakes. Kratos rescuing Atreus might have, you could see that character doing that, but this... didn't feel right.
And of course they build up this whole point of "We don't need to destroy Asgard, we can just kill Odin" thing, and you figure once Odin is dead, now I am going to have to fight the Ragnarok monster and save everyone, but NOPE, cut to white and wake up in the denouement. Asgard is destroyed but don't worry the name characters are all here safe somehow, roll credits. I can't help but feel like we cut out the last boss for time or budget or something.
There's also a lot of loose threads that tell me they changed aspects of the story late in production. We never really pay off why Atreus carved into the inscription the mask, it's obviously meant to trick Odin somehow but it never really comes up. We never really close the loop on the "new" Jormungandr, especially since we encounter the old one earlier. We never really deal with where Kratos was meant to die and how they ended up on a different path. The Norns say he will die trying to fight Heimdall, but he does and just... wins instead? Because draupnir, which we never really explain why it's a weakness to Heimdall, it just becomes one over the course of the fight because reasons.
Obviously this is an excellent game, extremely polished, beautiful, and to its great credit it manages to really sell its story in the moment through excellent direction, score, and performances. It just doesn't really stick the landing, with a disappointing ending that isn't able to save the messy plotting in the third act.
Everything about 2018's design was about "zooming in." They moved the camera in to this more intimate view. They focused on human-sized enemies with real characterization. They made the main quest about something really personal, the whole game is anchored on this father-son relationship. They're haunted by the memory of this matriarch that goes completely unseen. The game is done in real-time, in a long-take style specifically to give it that kind of immediacy and continuity. The drama with Gods were simply obstacles in these characters personal journey, they weren't the end goal in and of itself. It was really a brilliant reinvention of the series.
Ragnarok has a little trouble sticking to that. It keeps the long-take thing, but it turns it into a visual gimmick, cheating it by jumping perspectives, going into flashbacks or dream sequences, showing Faye who was very deliberately not shown before... All of which waters down the reasons this was done in the first place. Worse, it jumps into the apocalyptic stakes of Ragnarok, and does it so casually it's a little hard to swallow. We're leading the realms to war over what? Vengeance for a dead dwarf? Preemptive strike before Odin comes for the mask? (Why not destroy the mask? Why didn't Odin come back immediately if he can travel there?). These don't feel like end of the world stakes. Kratos rescuing Atreus might have, you could see that character doing that, but this... didn't feel right.
And of course they build up this whole point of "We don't need to destroy Asgard, we can just kill Odin" thing, and you figure once Odin is dead, now I am going to have to fight the Ragnarok monster and save everyone, but NOPE, cut to white and wake up in the denouement. Asgard is destroyed but don't worry the name characters are all here safe somehow, roll credits. I can't help but feel like we cut out the last boss for time or budget or something.
There's also a lot of loose threads that tell me they changed aspects of the story late in production. We never really pay off why Atreus carved into the inscription the mask, it's obviously meant to trick Odin somehow but it never really comes up. We never really close the loop on the "new" Jormungandr, especially since we encounter the old one earlier. We never really deal with where Kratos was meant to die and how they ended up on a different path. The Norns say he will die trying to fight Heimdall, but he does and just... wins instead? Because draupnir, which we never really explain why it's a weakness to Heimdall, it just becomes one over the course of the fight because reasons.
Obviously this is an excellent game, extremely polished, beautiful, and to its great credit it manages to really sell its story in the moment through excellent direction, score, and performances. It just doesn't really stick the landing, with a disappointing ending that isn't able to save the messy plotting in the third act.
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Slothbeing1209
Member
Hm? What's the loop with Jormungandr?
The prophecy showed Kratos die because of the fight with Thor. Not Heimdall. He want to stop Heimdall because Heimdall intend to kill Atreus. The Norn predicted that Kratos will kill Heimdall, and he did. He tried to change the fate the first time but he can't change himself. He even enjoy killing Heimdall.
The reason the spear is weakness to Heimdall is it doesn't let him focus to read Kratos mind. It's quite obvious and i think Brok or Sindri already explained.
The moment Kratos changed his fate is when he told Atreus to open his heart, to rescue people. So that Kratos change himself too and was able to convince Thor turn up again Odin, not fight to the death with him.
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SlimySnake
Flashless at the Golden Globes
The prophecy says he’s meant to kill heimdall not die to him. That’s why he resists killing him so much. Prophecy also said that heimdall will kill Loki or try to.
But aside from that you are 100% right. They are morons for including faye. They had it right the first time but they listened to the dead mom critics. Just morons. I like how Nolan still doesnt give a fuck about those criticisms and that’s why he’s still producing hit after hit. You can’t listen to a small tiny portion of professional whiners on the internet.
Everything about the ending was underwhelming. They should’ve at least tried to stick to the prophecy. Maybe have Odin turn into Kratos at the end and have Loki kill him holding him lying down dying for a second before he turns back into Odin. You can’t ignore the threads you sew not just in the first game but also the entire fucking game this time around.
And yes, i couldn’t believe that they took 4.5 years to make this game and still ran out of time to do a proper ending battle. When the first gow has a better final boss setpiece you know fucked up. Thor and Odin are basically beserker fights. What’s crazy is that they have so much content in the game that it could probably take 50 hours just to finish the story if you explore all the hub worlds. Maybe cut 1 and focus on the final battle with thor? There are literally no giants in that final boss and it literally takes place in a basement. The wolf, sutr, serpent, just don’t show up when you are fighting Thor and Odin. The serpent is sent back in time in the most underwhelming way possible.
And fuck one shot takes. They suck in movies. They are a gimmick and they don’t work. They take you out of the story and simply fail miserably at conveying emotion. You don’t see thors reaction to Odin killing him after he makes a crucial character defining choice because they didn’t want the camera going back and forth. Same thing with Lokis reaction after his best friend verbally berates him blaming him for the death of his brother. Camera stays behind Loki. So stupid.
And yes i think 1917 is trash. The whole one shot take thing is supposed to keep you immersed but instead it draws attention to it by reminding you of it constantly. I can’t believe artists are falling for this gimmick in every medium.
vivftp
Member
Off the top of my head...
- Imprisoning Mimir for about a century or so in a tree and personally torturing him daily
- Trapping Freya in Midgard so she can never travel to any of the other realms or return home to try and fix her relationship with her own people, some of which view her as a traitor for marrying Odin - which she did to try and broker peace.
- Making it so that Freya can't hurt another creature, even in self defense. Thus robbing her of her "warrior spirit" as Mimir put it, and Freya in Ragnarok implies it was much worse than that.
- Berating Thor at every opportunity and killing him the moment he refused to obey Odins commands
- Putting the Midgardians along the wall to act as cannon fodder during Ragnarok
- Subjugating the dwarves, destroying their economy and basically giving them the choice of working for him or dying while also polluting their air
- Manipulating Kratos and Atreus into searching for Tyr, impersonating Tyr and when found out killing Brok
- Imprisoning Tyr and others for decades in case he needs to impersonate any of them
- Using his resources to hunt down and kill all the giants he could because prophecy told him that a giant army would fight him at Ragnarok
How much more do you need for him to be evil?
EDIT.
Adding to the list...
- After Kratos rescues fake Tyr who is Odin, Odin has his forces invade and occupy Svartalfheim, or at least Nidavellir as part of the deception
- Invading Vanaheim
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Aaron Olive
Member
Mimir: A Hole.
Kratos: What?
Mimir: Gets bigger the more you take away.
Kratos: Hmph
Roll credits
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Anchovie123
Member
I echo a lot of opinions here, it was great but just cant shake the feeling of slight disappointment.
Final act was the biggest let down for me.
Thor dying so abruptly was lame, didn't seem like there was enough resolve with his character or his daughter (Or anybody really.)
Surtr (Ragnarok) should have been a boss battle that rivaled Chronos from GOW3. How it panned out and cut suddenly didnt even make sense. (Wtf was freyas brother even doing???
)
I didn't like how Sindri was left so lost and bitter even after Brocks funeral, wish there was more resolve there. (Boy didnt even show up to Brocks funeral??)
The "God of Peace / All Father Kratos" ending was touching (I shed a tear) but it was a bit too happy and open ended, needed a bit more weight. And although i didnt mind playing as Boy and thought his decisions made sense for his character. God of Boy isnt going to work Sony. Dont even try it. & Kratos going to a different mythology really wouldn't make sense. IP needs to be shelved after this & SSM need to work on a new IP.
Lastly I was not a fan of the "modern" writing style. (Mostly the swearing.) Just felt out of place for me and didn't fit the world. The performances were all strong though.
Final act was the biggest let down for me.
Thor dying so abruptly was lame, didn't seem like there was enough resolve with his character or his daughter (Or anybody really.)
Surtr (Ragnarok) should have been a boss battle that rivaled Chronos from GOW3. How it panned out and cut suddenly didnt even make sense. (Wtf was freyas brother even doing???
)I didn't like how Sindri was left so lost and bitter even after Brocks funeral, wish there was more resolve there. (Boy didnt even show up to Brocks funeral??
)The "God of Peace / All Father Kratos" ending was touching (I shed a tear) but it was a bit too happy and open ended, needed a bit more weight. And although i didnt mind playing as Boy and thought his decisions made sense for his character. God of Boy isnt going to work Sony. Dont even try it. & Kratos going to a different mythology really wouldn't make sense. IP needs to be shelved after this & SSM need to work on a new IP.
Lastly I was not a fan of the "modern" writing style. (Mostly the swearing.) Just felt out of place for me and didn't fit the world. The performances were all strong though.