What Makes God of War Ragnarok an Iconic Game?
Though God of War Ragnarok came out two years ago, it still holds a very special place in my heart. It continues the journey of Kratos and Atreus as they converse through the realms of Norse Mythology, uncovering new secrets as they go.
It’s pretty hard writing this article without mentioning spoilers, so if you haven’t played the game yet, I advise that you stop right here. For those of you who have played the game, here are some things that I found intriguing about God of War Ragnarok, even more than its predecessor. Let’s delve right in.
Atreus Changes Forms
We found out in God of War that Atreus is part Giant and part God because Atreus’s mother Faye was a Giant and his father Kratos was the Greek God of War. Therefore, both of them passed on certain characteristics to Atreus/Loki.
Something new that we found out in God of War Ragnarok is that Atreus can change his forms depending on his emotional state. At the start of the game, he turns into a massive Bear because he is upset and can’t control his emotions. Midway through the game, Atreus turns into a Wolf when he can’t keep his anger at bay.
However, once Atreus learns to control his forms, we get to use these form changes as “Spartan Rage” forms for Atreus.
Atreus as a Playable Character
In the first game, we only got to play as Kratos. However, Ragnarok pays a lot of attention to Atreus’ character development since the whole story is about Atreus’ destiny. It would only have made sense to make Atreus a playable character in this part.
In fact, as a side character other than Kratos, I enjoyed playing as Atreus. He has his skill tree to unlock and abilities to use. I also love the fact that Atreus wasn’t underpowered at all; he proved to be a great competitor to his enemies.
Kratos’ Improved Weapons
In 2018’s God of War, we only had the Leviathan Axe for most of the game, and near the end, we got Kratos’ old Blades of Chaos back from the original God of War trilogy. However, in Ragnarok, there is a new weapon called the Draupnir Speer which Kratos especially uses to fight against Heimdall.
Each weapon has its own set of upgrades that you can make once you gather XP by defeating enemies and completing story and side quests. Once you max out all the upgrades, each weapon becomes a breeze to use, overpowering even the most powerful of enemies.
An Engaging Storyline
The story of Ragnarok picks up a few years after the events of the first God of War. At the start of the game, we come across a very vengeful Freya who is set on seeking revenge for killing her son Baldur, the antagonist, in the first game.
However, Kratos and Atreus are still trying to figure out the prophecy they saw in Jotunheim, the land of the Giants towards the end of the first game. It prophesized the death of Kratos, and it had something to do with Atreus. It also showed the start of Ragnarok, which is supposed to be the end of Norse Mythology with the death of Odin.
Cinematic Storytelling
One thing that I loved about the game was the seamless transitions, especially between changing characters from Kratos to Atreus. There are no camera cuts, which makes gameplay very appealing. The seamless transitions are definitely among my favorite things about the game. You’ll have to play it yourself to see how brilliant it makes the game.
Though you cannot switch between characters on command, there are some instances in the game that begin as a cutscene, showing Kratos and the camera pans to Atreubs, and then you can play as him, without a camera cut in between shots.
The “Valhalla” DLC Expansion
Fans of God of War Ragnarok were given a treat in the form of a free DLC called Valhalla. It is the deeply personal tale of Kratos as he is invited by someone unknown to Valhalla, so that he may “find the answers to all his questions.” Valhalla includes only Kratos and Mimir, with the absence of Atreus or Freya.
The idea of Valhalla is to master yourself by traversing through your memories till you reach the deepest core. For Kratos, his core was his story in Olympus and how he became the Greek God of War. While moving through Valhalla, each room explores Kratos’ memories of his time spent in all the Nordic Realms till Kratos finally meets the person who invited him to Valhalla in the first place.
You can download Valhalla from the PlayStation Store for free. However, since it is an additional file to download, you just need to ensure that you have a fast internet connection to download the DLC as quickly as possible.
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A Bonus Tip
For smooth gameplay, make sure you upgrade all your gear as you go. This includes Kratos’ armor, including chest armor, wrist armor, and waist armor. Upgrade all his weapons and unlock all skills for the Leviathan Axe, Chaos Blades, and Draupnir Speer. This way, you can make combat easy for yourself!