God of War Ragnarok Review (NO SPOILERS) - Game of the Year?

In this God of War: Ragnarok Review we’ll be sharing our impressions and takeaways from having finished and platinumed GoW Ragnarok. Is God of War: Ragnarok better than the 2018 version? How is the story? What changes have they made to the formula? In this Ragnarok review, we’ll answer all these questions and more.

All the footage of this preview sticks to the first 25% of the game bar some skill trees and predictable mechanics, and there are no story spoilers, except for mild explanations on the very first few hours and events of the 2018 game as it’s unavoidable to play this title without finding out the ending of the previous game. Also, note that we played on both PS4 and PS5, so we’ll be giving our impressions on how the GoW: Ragnarok played on both platforms thanks to Sony Playstation, who graciously gifted us a review code a couple of weeks ago!

The gameplay footage seen in the video was recorded on both the PS5 and the PS4 Pro

Timestamps
0:00 - God of War Ragnarok Review Impressions
1:38 - Story and Setting
6:07 - Gameplay
10:38 - Design, Audio, and Visual
13:41 - Playtime, Replayability & Longevity
14:44 - Pricepoint
15:20 - Final Thoughts
15:40 - Summary

Developed by: Sony Santa Monica Studio
Published by: Sony Computer Entertainment
Release date: November 9th 2022
Platforms: Playstation 4, Playstation 5 (reviewed on both platforms, code provided by Sony)
Price: Standard Edition $59.99 / 69.99 USD

God of War: Ragnarok is an epic tale of celestial struggle with emotional narratives of love, family, personal growth, hope and despair weaved together for added depth. And while the main storyline wasn’t without significant flaws for me, spending time doing the side quests provided so much more context to the lore and world that it made up for it in many ways.

Incredibly high production values that keep your jaw hanging open for a large portion of your playthrough, and new gameplay features enhance God of War: Ragnarok’s combat, though it can still get a bit repetitive at times, particularly on harder difficulties where enemies can become damage sponges.

In short, God of War: Ragnarok is a worthy successor to the previous title in practically every way, but it is not the flawless master piece I was hoping it would be. Considering that God of War 2018 is often referenced as the best PS4 “exclusive” game of all time, there were incredibly high expectations for this game, expectations that I’m not sure they were ever going to be able to meet.

Sony seems to have mastered a formula, one that produces highly pleasant albeit somewhat safe games, which results in a very highly polished and fun experience that just falls short of true greatness, yet should not be missed.

9
Summary: God of War: Ragnarok is a highly polished and incredibly produced but predictable entry into the series. A worthy continuation of the reboot, this is another must-play Sony title that continues to define the development style of first party studios.
Story & Setting (8.5)
Gameplay (8.5)
Design, Visual & Audio (10)
Playtime, Longevity & Replayability (9)
Pricepoint (9)

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[zain]

A lot of respect and appreciation for an honest and no nonsense review, especially from someone who has the context of the whole franchise and not just the 2018 game

[primecalibur]

Can we just appreciate this man, gets a platinum for his early review - absolutely based

[zwhsantwnopoylos]

There is something almost euphoric in following fextraife for all these years and get to experience great games alongside their reviews and guides. Let's have some fun !

[falkarios]

Forced humor in modern games/movies is turning into such an annoyance for me. It's fine if it fits the mood or tone, but breaking the serious tension with uneeded jokes is so irritating. Total immersion killer.

[deformedwolf]

THANK YOU for the spoiler free review!IGN had no spoiler stories but they showed off big fight scenes. Couldn’t be more hyped 🔥🔥🔥

[yogendramisra]

SPOILERS AHEAD] Am I the only one who thought Ragarok, while still a good game, falters heavily? The most anticipated boss fights were underwhelming compared to Baldur.
While performances were good, the use of modern dialogue was jarring and felt out of place.
The Fenrir plot went nowhere. You'd think he'd be instrumental in defeating Odin.
The Jormingandur plot went nowhere. You'd think he'd be instrumental in defeating Thor.
The Sutr plot went nowhere. His selflessness and ultimate transformation was pursued so that they might break through the walls of Asgard. They did that without him.
The destruction of asgard meant nothing, as the main antagonists were dead already and the other Aesir had joined the good guys.
The mask plot went nowhere. It was merely a mccguffin with no pay off.
Broks death, while sad, changed nothing. It's not like they wouldnt have gone to war, were he still alive. Nor was it as though Sindri wouldnt have helped with the destruction of the siege weapon.
I still give the game a solid 8. However, my GOTY choice goes to Elden Ring.

[theworld]

I’m happy to hear a more critical review. Not that I want to tear down a game, but nothing is perfect, and knowing the flaws of a title is important. Still can’t wait to play it! Great review!

[CrimsonSun]

I completely understand the remarks about the vocalizing of the dialogue and the Netflix comparison with the jabs and jokes. Very Marvel like, which I'm quite tired of, but overall still looking forward to the whole package.

[gaminginhdmax]

The amount of work that went into making this game on this scale and detail with this much polish is just phenomenal. It's a truly crazy game that I think everyone will have a good time and forget the world. Considering this is the game I wish I had as a kid can't understand how spoilt we are now to not fully appreciate just how nuts it is that a game like this exists. It's a must buy and doesn't matter what score anyone gives it its worth your time, money and appreciation and you will never regret it

[Silentfeety]

This channel is so professional it's great. Loved every single video of yours!

[__Weasel__]

I feel like this is probably the most honest review I've come across.

[unchartedrocks]

I agree with the cursing. The old god of war games never used modern swear words so it really strange hearing f bombs in god of war but then again it’s Kratos himself in a world that is foreign to him.

[ckmishn]

"Game of the Year?"

You ask that as if there's any doubt that Fextralife's "GOTY" could be anything other than Elden Ring.

[Evaquiel]

whats up with the dislikes? just because he was honest and wasn't a suck up?

[bryceb]

Loved god of war 2018. One of my favorite games of all time. But though I haven’t played this yet I don’t need to watch this video to know there is no way this will be goty. You see Elden Ring was released in February. This looks like a great follow up to 2018. But unless it’s massively better there’s just no way it competes with ER.

[thriftypsgr]

Just started playing today and the game looks gorgeous. I already teared up in the first 2 hours. Beautiful storytelling. The combat seems to be improved. Such a great game. Thank you for the wonderful review. Always given in a very “matter of fact” kind of way. Love that

[seanfroelich]

I prefer classic God of War, much better replay value and more engaging combat. I tried to replay GoW 2018 and found it hard to slog through the story a 2nd time. I feel like the balance between gameplay and story is off

[redronin]

After having finished the game. I do believe there could've been more story from Thor and Odins side. I was hoping there would've been at least 1 or 2 extra fights against Thor as well. Would've felt a bigger impact.

[pizza_con_pinha]

An honest review, this is what I like, what I appreciate. Definitely going to play it. Thanks for the review Cas.

[rohitrastogi]

Love the review! Honest, insightful and fair, as always. Thanks for the amazing video Cas and Fex!