Current Events > God of War Ragnarok is a massive slog

(+) Yeah! (+)

Feels like I've been playing forever and i'm apparently only on Chapter 6, which wouldn't be so bad if the game itself wasn't absolutely unimpressive. Sure it looks pretty but it feels... uninspired to play and there are so many forced walking segments and unnecessary gameplay parts that should have been a cutscene or cut for pacing reasons, followed by parts that seemingly go on forever just to have enemies to throw at you(Uncharted school of game design i guess) that I am very close to considering just dropping the game and uninstalling it forever lol.

I was playing on the 2nd hardest difficulty and set it to easy so i could rush through the game and take it off my PS5

I don't know where chapter 6 is, but it sounds like it's after Iron Wood, so you're at least beyond the worst part of the game. I think I did ultimately have fun with it after that, but it is pretty boring and mindless most of the time, and I agree that unimpressive is a good term to use. Even if you're in it for the """"deep"""" storytelling, Ragnarok doesn't do anything that the first one didn't do better.

Draupnir is really fun to play with, though.

i already know the major story beats anyway so i'm thinking ill just uninstall it now and get back to it whenever i feel like i'm in the mood(probably never)

I liked it ( even platinumed it) but it's not nearly as enjoyable as 2018. The story has pacing issues and the combat doesn't feel like it was expanded upon enough.

party_animal07 posted...

I liked it ( even platinumed it) but it's not nearly as enjoyable as 2018. The story has pacing issues and the combat doesn't feel like it was expanded upon enough.

Just started. The only thing I didn't like about the first was the lack of real bosses and enemy variety--but mainly the lack of bosses...I swear it was just Baldur (first and last) and then like Thor's sons and that was it?

indica posted...

Just started. The only thing I didn't like about the first was the lack of real bosses and enemy variety--but mainly the lack of bosses

That's one of the things they did improve on a lot.

party_animal07 posted...

That's one of the things they did improve on a lot.

good, then I think I'll enjoy it

adopt this philosophy on games, as it's saved me a lot of time and disappointment lately:
if a game looks fun to play, play it. if a game looks fun to watch, watch it.

sometimes i get home from work and just do "game title the movie" on youtube. never have to play these chore-level games, but get to experience the full story without wasting 50 hours of my life walking down hallways and beating the same gaggle of minions 500+ times.

i got ragnarok in a ps5 bundle, there was no option to buy it unbundled, so i didn't try to go out of my way to buy it >_>

https://www.escapistmagazine.com/marvels-guardians-of-the-galaxy-ghost-train-ride-extra-punctuation/

It is a ghost train ride

i might eventually get it when it hits PC but is the story definitive or is carrot territory with a cliffhanger like the first was?

The story is mostly definitive. Like people always talk about which mythology the franchise should move into next, and that's possible with some returning characters, but we're done with Norse Gog of War.

BurmesePenguin posted...

The story is mostly definitive. Like people always talk about which mythology the franchise should move into next, and that's possible with some returning characters, but we're done with Norse Gog of War.

"thumbs up"

Akagami_Shanks posted...

https://www.escapistmagazine.com/marvels-guardians-of-the-galaxy-ghost-train-ride-extra-punctuation/

It is a ghost train ride

that's such an accurate descriptor of these types of games, damn.

I didn't enjoy it that much tbh. The story and lore were amazing but the actual world and gameplay weren't in my opinion.

Traversing the map and backtracking is a slog. The pacing is horrible. Puzzles are everywhere and become mentally exhausting after a while. The combat is technically good but poorly balanced on higher difficultys, especially against mutiple enemys. And the leveling system ia one of the worse I've ever used in a game.

From my experience they actually nerfed the leveling system hard in GoW2. In the 2018 game it was so bad you practically couldn't hurt something if you were 2 or more levels below. And because equipment couldn't level up, all the diversity of perks on your pommels and shit was lost because you really had to pick the higher level one to not nerf your own level.

LinkDaLunatic posted...

that's such an accurate descriptor of these types of games, damn.

yeah thats why i said all these sony games feel the same because under the hood they are basically the same game lol, Sony LOVES the ghost train ride formula.

Also if i had a dollar for every time in a game where you're supposed to escape stealthily and end up getting into a fight anyway i would be out of debt

Akagami_Shanks posted...

Also if i had a dollar for every time in a game where you're supposed to escape stealthily and end up getting into a fight anyway i would be out of debt

God of War doesn't have that problem, at least lol. Mimir suggests they try stealth at one point and Kratos just flatly tells him no.

pegusus123456 posted...

God of War doesn't have that problem, at least lol. Mimir suggests they try stealth at one point and Kratos just flatly tells him no.

ragnarok, grandma

Tbh I forgot I even started that game. Dropped it like 3 weeks after launch. Really forgettable. Probably won't touch it ever again.

I had a similar experience. I know there was puzzle solving in the first game but in Ragnarok the world felt so artificial because you can't move more than three feet without having to solve a series of convoluted contraptions and there was far too much of it, it felt like padding.

Story-wise, I also felt that Kratos had very little agency and spent most the time just listening to people monologue at him about their own issues and ambitions while he reluctantly got dragged along to all the major story beats.

It's not a game I'd like to play again, and I much preferred the first.

I loved it. Made it into my GOAT top 10. That said you gotta be into the story and battle system. And it did drag a lil bit into the beginning for me.

That ghost train ride descriptor can't catch on fast enough.
I don't know what you were expecting from the game.

ViewtifulJoe posted...

That ghost train ride descriptor can't catch on fast enough.
I don't know what you were expecting from the game.

I have beaten both Horizons, GOW 2018, and the last of us 1 and 2, i didn't hate any of them, Days Gone was a slog too that went on longer than it should have but I beat it, I couldn't even drag myself halfway through this game. I think I had a pretty good idea of what to expect, it just did not stick the landing.

I had a great time with it. I played on GMGoW difficulty and never acquired revival stones so fights would often take multiple attempts and felt pretty satisfying to get through. Had a good time 100%-ing the game.

I can see getting bored with the gameplay if fights are easy, though.

i was playing on the Give Me Balance i think. Combat wasn't hard, i was beating everything on the first try but idk i guess i have been spoiled by other games now

Nah

idk I liked it more than Elden Ring

I couldnt beat the first one, started it like 3 times, but Id rather watch a movie

Akagami_Shanks posted...

https://www.escapistmagazine.com/marvels-guardians-of-the-galaxy-ghost-train-ride-extra-punctuation/

It is a ghost train ride

I feel personally attacked. Some of my favorite games of all time being mentioned. Also, I feel like the Doom reboot could be called a ghost train ride and that would be fucking bullshit.

god of war ragnarok is a 5/10 game (being generous) with 10/10 production value. after i finished the game i played RE4 Remake and I was absolutely floored by the contrast in level design, pacing, etc. its like Sony was so intent on trying to make ragnarok cinematic that they forgot to hire people who have actually played video games before

Romulox28 posted...

god of war ragnarok is a 5/10 game (being generous) with 10/10 production value. after i finished the game i played RE4 Remake and I was absolutely floored by the contrast in level design, pacing, etc. its like Sony was so intent on trying to make ragnarok cinematic that they forgot to hire people who have actually played video games before

This sounds fair.

I loved it. I enjoyed the gameplay, boss fights, puzzles and the story. I didnt think pacing was an issue either. On the other hand, I also dont play video games that much anymore, so maybe the game was targeted more towards casual gamers like myself?

AdrianBeterson posted...

I loved it. I enjoyed the gameplay, boss fights, puzzles and the story. I didnt think pacing was an issue either. On the other hand, I also dont play video games that much anymore, so maybe the game was targeted more towards casual gamers like myself?

Yes it is designed to appeal to casuals like most AAA games, that's where the money is after all

AdrianBeterson posted...

I loved it. I enjoyed the gameplay, boss fights, puzzles and the story. I didnt think pacing was an issue either. On the other hand, I also dont play video games that much anymore, so maybe the game was targeted more towards casual gamers like myself?

I mean, I loved all these things in GoW: Ragnarok and I play games all the time, always on the hardest difficulty, play competitive Starcraft/Splatoon, speedrun Metroid games at a high level, play tons of JRPGs and puzzle games (not basic falling block ones, stuff like Baba is You, The Witness, The Talos Principle), do not play any MMORPGs and generally do not like Western-style RPGs much. I'd say I'm pretty far from a "casual gamer".

My only real issue with Ragnarok was that traversing areas I'd already been through was kind of slow, and the loading times were really long on PS4. Other than that, it was fun the whole way through.

GoW 2018 was one of my favorite games last gen, but Ragnarok was a little underwhelming to me. It was more polished and the combat was better, but the pacing felt kind of off. I also don't think the seamless narrative works for some parts of the story, and kind of takes the wind out of the ending.

This is an eye opening topic. I recently played God of War 2018, and for the most part enjoyed it after I got used to the combat changes.

I didn't know Ragnarok was viewed as a less game. Looking on Metacritic the user review score for God of War is 9.1, and the score for Ragnarok is a 6.5. Maybe I'll pass on playing Ragnarok. I can't see myself enjoying the game if the novelty has worn off and the gameplay itself is worse than the first game.

I honestly didn't finish the first one cause of the same reasons. It just felt so eh.

Then Spider-Man or Ghost of Tsushima (don't remember which was first) came out and I uninstalled it same day.

The gameplay in Ragnarok is better in that you get a new, really cool weapon (2/3 into the game), there's a lot better enemy variety and the permafrost/immolation mechanic is really sweet. The problem is that it's not enough difference to make up the "novelty" being gone as you say as well as other shortcomings and nuisances.

I think beyond all the other issues and ignoring Ironwood, my biggest issue with Ragnarok is that it's strict adherence to puzzle mechanics is extremely offputting in a game that is trying to be so incredibly immersive through graphics, narrative, camera angles, the lots. It's easy to slip into that world, but then suddenly you come across a conglomerate of sulfer-coloured rocks and your brain snaps back and goes "well, gotta find the right camera angle so I can throw the axe at the red pot hidden somewhere!"

i don't remember the first one being that bad about it, though it probably was, but it just feels off-putting. Like the game is giving you whiplash on whether it wants to be a mechanic-focused video game or if it want's to be an experience.

hyperskate65 posted...

I honestly didn't finish the first one cause of the same reasons. It just felt so eh.

Then Spider-Man or Ghost of Tsushima (don't remember which was first) came out and I uninstalled it same day.

honestly ghost of tsushima is no better than GOW it gets repetitive as hell halfway through i almost deleted that game lol

foxhound101 posted...

This is an eye opening topic. I recently played God of War 2018, and for the most part enjoyed it after I got used to the combat changes.

I didn't know Ragnarok was viewed as a less game. Looking on Metacritic the user review score for God of War is 9.1, and the score for Ragnarok is a 6.5. Maybe I'll pass on playing Ragnarok. I can't see myself enjoying the game if the novelty has worn off and the gameplay itself is worse than the first game.

The gameplay is definitely not worse. The only real low point for me was Ironwood.

Im 40 hours into the game so far and Im loving it.

I felt that way once getting to the lake in the first. Made me have no interest in the 2nd.

ViewtifulGrave posted...

The gameplay is definitely not worse. The only real low point for me was Ironwood.

Yeah, the combat is most definitely better than 2018. It's just that there's a lot of other stuff that brings it down a lot.

I'd say it's still worth playing, but temper your expectations going into it.

foxhound101 posted...

This is an eye opening topic. I recently played God of War 2018, and for the most part enjoyed it after I got used to the combat changes.

I didn't know Ragnarok was viewed as a less game. Looking on Metacritic the user review score for God of War is 9.1, and the score for Ragnarok is a 6.5. Maybe I'll pass on playing Ragnarok. I can't see myself enjoying the game if the novelty has worn off and the gameplay itself is worse than the first game.

To be fair the score for Ragnarok is skewed by people taking "issue" with uhh...other things.

Bio1590 posted...

To be fair the score for Ragnarok is skewed by people taking "issue" with uhh...other things.

Why did they review bomb the ps4 version and not 5? I just looked. I bought it on ps4for a friend and he loved it.

I guess racists don't have money to buy a ps5.

Also, how the hell does the ps4 version of ragnarok only have 2 critics reviews on metacritic? Surely some outlets reviewed the ps4 version.

BurmesePenguin posted...

From my experience they actually nerfed the leveling system hard in GoW2. In the 2018 game it was so bad you practically couldn't hurt something if you were 2 or more levels below. And because equipment couldn't level up, all the diversity of perks on your pommels and shit was lost because you really had to pick the higher level one to not nerf your own level.

nerfed as in made it easier to level up?

As in nerf the disadvantage of being underleveled.

The level curve follows the story, until you unlock the Muspelheim trials, then you can immediately get full tier 7 or 8 armour.

I think the most jarring thing in the game for me is that after about the halfway mark, every major plot beat is something that kind of needs to be addressed immediately. But because this is an open world game, the game makes a point of having the NPCs mention that you could go deal with that plot point or you could go fuck around on dwarf world and try and find all the collectibles for a while.

The open world aspect worked beautifully in the first game because, end goal aside, the entire journey was just Kratos and Atreus connecting as father and son.