Playstation 5

[Potato]

I want Thor to fuck me full furry

[demi]

Yeah I'll bark for him, feed me Thor

[demi]

Finished Ragnarok platinum

This couldn't have been any more lazy. Story sucks, gameplay sucks, combat sucks, everything sucks

Fuck this game

[Bebpo]

Finished Ragnarok platinum

This couldn't have been any more lazy. Story sucks, gameplay sucks, combat sucks, everything sucks

Fuck this game

Yeah, sounds like GoW2018.

This will probably be me when I get back to it.

[Let's Cyber]

I'm around 25 hours in. I found Forbidden West to be a lot more enjoyable and Elden Ring blows it out of the water.

I think it's better than 2018 and I like the larger cast of characters but it does feel like a retread in a lot of ways.

[BIONIC]

Got the platinum. You barely kill any gods. 0/10.

spoiler (click to show/hide)

I quite liked it, but I really wanted to murder more gods 

[close]

[Bebpo]

The critic reviews are just weird. 94 MC? Like this is some Half-Life 2 kind of once in a generation experience? wat.

Every once a while it feels like there is a game where industry people are so into their own hype they start believing it. But it's weird that it was for Ragnorak, a game that was basically in radio silence for 3 years and then had a few showings in the last few months and came out and is just a more of the same thing. It didn't seem like the gaming press were super hyped for this going in.

Like Elden Ring? Yeah, everyone wants on that Souls train and people were salivating for ER. That makes sense for critics to overrate it (and they did, but it's still probably the best AAA of 2022 and a great game). GoW2's score just don't make sense given the audience scores and response. It's like the critics played a completely different game. So weird.

Actually I just looked up 2018 and it has the same MC at 94. And that game is like a 7/10. But at least you can see where the hype came from at that time being a new reboot of a major franchise.

I think looking at MC scores lately with stuff like Elden Ring getting a 96 and GoWs getting 94s, etc...my main takeaway is that game reviewers really overrate big franchise games in general and 9s are handed out like candy instead of to only the truly great games. Zelda Skyward Sword has a 93 at release and it was just as bad as GoW 2018 or worse. Then on re-release on Switch it has an 81 because people are off the hype train and like oh wait this is a bad game (81 still way too high).

I mean fwiw I'd give Elden Ring a 9 and it's still my GoTY. But I don't even think it's the top3 Souls games (Bloodborne, DS1, DeSo) from From and those other ones scored lower so /shrug

[Pissy F Benny]

Big scores for exclusives are mostly out of cowardice. Work for an outlet people have heard of and dare give God of War a 7.8 or whatever at your peril.

People are still butthurt about Jeff Gertsmann giving Twighlight Princess a 8.8 almost 20 years later

[Let's Cyber]

Zelda Skyward Sword has a 93 at release and it was just as bad as GoW 2018 or worse. Then on re-release on Switch it has an 81 because people are off the hype train and like oh wait this is a bad game (81 still way too high).

Skyward Sword might be one of the oddest, most uneven major games ever released.  It had some fantastic music and rock solid dungeons, but the connective tissue was awful. I'd have difficult time throwing a number on a game like that as a reviewer. During Ancient Cistern, it's like a 9. Collecting tadtones or fighting the Imprisioned for the 3rd time, its a fucking 2.

[Potato]

Games media has been on a 20 year quest for legitimacy and the people in the industry have undeniably tied that legitimacy to big AAA games.

It's like they think if they convince enough people that games like GTAIV have "Oscar-worthy writing" and games like it are worthy of being taken seriously by serious people™, then they too will be taken seriously by their former classmates who managed to become real journalists.

Sadly, the people they're writing for don't give a shit and the people making these games don't give a shit and are happy just to spit out cookie cutter bullshit like GoW 2018/Ragnarok and manipulate the useful idiots in the gaming media to hype this sort of thing up as if it's some Scorcese-level family drama.

So, in short, the over rating of these games will continue for the foreseeable future.

[Bebpo]

Big scores for exclusives are mostly out of cowardice. Work for an outlet people have heard of and dare give God of War a 7.8 or whatever at your peril.

People are still butthurt about Jeff Gertsmann giving Twighlight Princess a 8.8 almost 20 years later

Sure, but Horizon FW has an 88 MC and even though I didn't care for FW, 88 isn't crazy. It's like an 8/10ish game. ZD is an 89 (I think ZD is great). Ghost of Tsushima is sitting at an 83, even Last of Us pt.2 is a 93 MC. Spider-Man is an 87! Miles is an 85.

It's not that GoW 2018 and Ragnorak scored well for an exclusive. But that reviewers are straight up scoring them higher than like every other Sony exclusive AAA that weirds me out. I don't get what critics love about these GoW walking sims with combat interruption and repetitive puzzles games. Reviewers are basically saying these two God of War games are the pinnacle of Sony games. Very odd.

[Svejk]

It really is distinguished mentally-challenged and frustrating too, because how else are you suppose to hear about the details of how much a game is worth it or not other than gameplay trailers (and lack of demos)?   These journos of late are ruining it for others.. especially for Nintendo and Sony games... Blowing mediocre shit out of proportion.  Destructoid giving Bayo 3 a perfect 10 too?  Can they say least make it not so obvious they're hyper biased and/or paid off? 

[Bebpo]

Then again maybe it's a leftover legacy of critics scoring the old God of War games higher than any other Sony game franchise.

Even on PS2/PS3

God of War - 94 MC
God of War II - 93 MC
God of War III - 92 MC

Which is crazy high. The mainline series has never fallen below a 92 MC. But the thing is that I think most players? Would rate the original game series higher than the new ones.

[Bebpo]

It really is distinguished mentally-challenged and frustrating too, because how else are you suppose to hear about the details of how much a game is worth it or not other than gameplay trailers (and lack of demos)?   These journos of late are ruining it for others.. especially for Nintendo and Sony games... Blowing mediocre shit out of proportion.  Destructoid giving Bayo 3 a perfect 10 too?  Can they say least make it not so obvious they're hyper biased and/or paid off?

Yeah, an issue with shit getting ridiculous scores is it makes reviews feel worthless and it's hard to figure out what's worth your time/money anymore.

Steam reviews with 1,000+ reviews and being "overwhelminingly positive" is usually a better indicator that a game is actually going to be good (outside weird niches) than a 90+ MC these days.

But with GoW it's more that like...these latest two are kind of ...mediocre games? (assuming Ragnorak is more of the same since I haven't played past the intro yet). It's just hard to see what critics are like "omg this is so fun I can't put it down" 90+ MC is all about.

[MMaRsu]

Then again maybe it's a leftover legacy of critics scoring the old God of War games higher than any other Sony game franchise.

Even on PS2/PS3

God of War - 94 MC
God of War II - 93 MC
God of War III - 92 MC

Which is crazy high. The mainline series has never fallen below a 92 MC. But the thing is that I think most players? Would rate the original game series higher than the new ones.

I certainly would

a lot of slow walking and talking, interrupted by a boring puzzle which the other character will tell me how to solve, then some combat, then some more walking and talking, and more combat

And the combat isnt as good as the old ones imo.

[Pissy F Benny]

Big scores for exclusives are mostly out of cowardice. Work for an outlet people have heard of and dare give God of War a 7.8 or whatever at your peril.

People are still butthurt about Jeff Gertsmann giving Twighlight Princess a 8.8 almost 20 years later

Sure, but Horizon FW has an 88 MC and even though I didn't care for FW, 88 isn't crazy. It's like an 8/10ish game. ZD is an 89 (I think ZD is great). Ghost of Tsushima is sitting at an 83, even Last of Us pt.2 is a 93 MC. Spider-Man is an 87! Miles is an 85.

It's not that GoW 2018 and Ragnorak scored well for an exclusive. But that reviewers are straight up scoring them higher than like every other Sony exclusive AAA that weirds me out. I don't get what critics love about these GoW walking sims with combat interruption and repetitive puzzles games. Reviewers are basically saying these two God of War games are the pinnacle of Sony games. Very odd.

I was half joking about the cowardice thing, although I'm sure reviewers bump up scores for games they weren't very keen on if it leads to them being able to live an easier life online

I think alot of reviewers these days are more into the cinematic games and gaming being more "mature" and shit, possibly to justify to themselves that its art they're reviewing not just childish vidya And people do love that current era sony walking sim cinematic shit to be fair.

There is usually a level of polish and production value to a sony exclusive that will get extra points from the people who treat it as a product review. IIRC the biggest mess they'e put out recently was probably Horizon Forbidden West and that would be considered a highly polished product on release by most other pubs standards.

[paprikastaude]

People are still butthurt about Jeff Gertsmann giving Twighlight Princess a 8.8 almost 20 years later

People hate TP now. Even though it's easily one of the best Zelda games 

[Bebpo]

I guess I'm going to sub to PS Extra cause with the 25% off it's like $20 for the rest of the year for my sub (~8.5 months left). I looked through the list and it looks mostly whatever if you already have/had game pass and humble bundles on steam. Mostly getting it since I want to get back to W101 and PS4 on PS5 is the best version and it's like $40 or $18 on sale.

Guess I'll give Stray a shot and been wanting to play through Trials of Mana but Square sales on PC fucking suck and never go below 50% of like full MSRP. I'm still waiting for FFXII Remaster to be cheap. It's never fucking cheap goddamnit 

[Pissy F Benny]

Played some more god of war and this shit fucking sucks, the combat can be enjoyable but you need to slog through 10 mins of walking simulation and overly long cutscenes between battles at the start. I don't care about the story because kratos is a prick and his son is somewhere between a punk and a little bitch.

The first boss even says lol you fucking suck now, aka we've taken away all of your abilities again even tho it's the 5th mainline game in the franchise so this shit technically makes no sense

[Bebpo]

I'm the opposite. I didn't really like the beginning after the intro. Just felt like zzz GoW 2018.

But last few nights I've been enjoying the hell out of Ragnorak. For whatever reason this game is just working more for me than 2018 did with the same formula. The level design feels way better, the scale, art and vistas are constantly better, and the combat is a lot better even if it's still designed as a TPS game rather than a character action melee game. The formula still has its own flaws but the game has been wowing me constantly for a couple nights since I've gone back to it after finishing up Bayonetta 3.

[Bebpo]

Also Ragnorak is giving me a lot of Uncharted vibes. Like the way the levels are designed, the integration of combat segments, puzzles, storytelling, vistas, set pieces. It feels very Uncharted inspired in design. 2018 never gave me that feeling. Felt like a weird Ubisoft-lite walking sim/combat game. Just feels like they figured out how to fit it all together better this time around so far.

[HardcoreRetro]

Why does it wrest away the control from me so much. The game seemingly has more fun playing itself than I have playing it.

Reviewers must be scoring this as a product, cause the production values are really high. But as a game? A 9,4 average? This is one of the high points other games should measure up to? This shit is barely a game for more than 50% of it's runtime.

Pressing forward to do automated climbing or listen to some walky-talky shit isn't gameplay. Half the game is predicated on this mystery box bullshit with the promise of something great coming up later. That's cool, but what reason do I actually have to care about anything I'm doing in the moment?

I also love how it only sets up stuff by straight up telling you. How the fuck am I supposed to be intimidated by Thor and Odin when they're like a drunk uncle at a wedding and a frail old grandpa. "Yeah well, but what about Mimir's stories." How about you actually show them doing shit. They seemingly also forget which character you play as in these games. Kratos just got off the shift killing the entire Greek pantheon. What can fat fuck and old fart over there actually do.

[Nintex]

Games like God of War Ragnarok got caught up in the idea that every game should be accesible. For the most part this has resulted in making the gameplay as easy as possible.

There are very few 'easy to play - hard to master' games out there anymore, which is strange considering those games are some of the highest rated historically and the original PS2 God of War was just like that.
God of War turned into a cinematic game experience as opposed to an action game.

I liked it better when games were rated on different aspects (some YouTubers still do this) like Story, Gameplay, Graphics, Sound etc. .

also what this guy said
https://twitter.com/TAHK0/status/1589747218097262593

[paprikastaude]

God of War was always cinematic and accessibility>depth. If anything, the battles are more demanding than before.

The problem is, the story is just bad.

[Bebpo]

Yeah, I'm not sure how accessible Ragnorak is. When I play it I keep thinking the combat is tuned very hardcore. The parrying/blocking necessity to get big damage in, while dealing with the yellows and reds, especially on certain bosses, reminds me of Sekiro. Like I watch that God of War ad and I try to imagine Ben Stiller making it through these battles and I can't see it. Maybe on easy mode.

The rest of the game is accessible, sure. The puzzles actually aren't bad if they just patch in shutting up the kid/head from yelling out hints/solutions.

But the combat doesn't strike me as accessible. I almost gave up last night on a boss as I was getting stonewalled attempt after attempt making no progress and then I had a run where I just went ham non-stop aggressive and perfect parried like every hit and the fight was over in an instant and was very satisfying.

[Bebpo]

I think the easiest example of the bad writing though is all the lore books you pick up. They're terribly written. Haven't read one that was enjoyable. If you can't nail journal entries, you've got writing problems.

But I do like the jokes. Even if they don't fit the series. But the series has been a stupid series since the start.

[paprikastaude]

Oh, and Atreus has to be one of the shittiest main characters of all time. Zero pesonality, the actor feels like a random bland school kid. I wish I could throw the axe into that punchable face. Heimdall was the best character, but probably by accident. I guess they wanted me hate the guy for dissing all those goofs, but that was great. 

tbh the OTS close combat system is like the best since Godhand and when it's just bosses, fighting and a little exploration the game is very good. The transition between gameplay and cutscenes can be quite nice at times and makes perfect sense following the cinematic camera angles of the old games. It just falls apart because it wants to be a pretentious Marvel epic. If this still was a simple pulp story about cartoon versions of myth characters killing each other, it would have been amazing.

[Bebpo]

I never thought of God Hand. But you’re right, that did the OTS melee tank controls combat. Though pretty sure the camera was pulled back further so you could see around you more. Also iirc there was some time slowing Bayonetta stuff to help manage crowd control with that type of camera.

[Bebpo]

Man, I'm reallly liking Ragnorak. Very surprised.

I don't like GoW1, but I love GoW2. I don't like GoW2018, but I'm really liking this? Feels like the best Sony AAA since Last of Us II which I guess wasn't that long ago but still.

[MMaRsu]

Its universally known that kids in videogames and movies generally suck ass

[headwalk]

"having trouble with the combat in a cinematic sony game?" is one of the opening lines in a life insurance advert.

[Bebpo]

I like how Ragnorak handles the ludonarrative dissonance with jokes. When you have people tagging along and Kratos is just going off doing side stuff the commentary is pretty good.

"My dad likes loot"   

[Tasty]

People are still butthurt about Jeff Gertsmann giving Twighlight Princess a 8.8 almost 20 years later

People hate TP now. Even though it's easily one of the best Zelda games 

Always was.jpg

[chronovore]

I like how Ragnorak handles the ludonarrative dissonance with jokes. When you have people tagging along and Kratos is just going off doing side stuff the commentary is pretty good.

"My dad likes loot"   

Friend of mine noted that when you find hidden packages and chests, the boy says, "How are you so good at finding those?"

[Bebpo]

There are times playing Ragnarok where I am all "holy shit that was fucking awesome", and it's often during combat when I'm kicking ass.

They really nailed the brutal kills from the old games but modern in this. And the combat system is so much better than 2018 it's not even funny. I don't know if the whole game is a GoW1->2 level of jump, but the combat definitely is. I'm getting pretty good and the combat is very satisfying when you are good and parrying and dodging and block breaking and stunning and elemental hitting and using the environment, etc..etc... just needs a combo meter.

This is actually a very good technical melee combat game. I felt like you couldn't really say that about 2018. It was alright but it had too many issues. The camera is still the biggest issue here, and it has very few weapons for a character action game, but otherwise goddamn it's good.

That said the worst enemies in 2018 were the Dark Elves and their bullshit flying around and blinding shit and they fucking suck here too. All the new enemies are great, but these dudes still fucking suck. At least you have a better arsenal and more fluid combat to deal with them this go around.

[paprikastaude]

I like how Ragnorak handles the ludonarrative dissonance with jokes. When you have people tagging along and Kratos is just going off doing side stuff the commentary is pretty good.

"My dad likes loot"   

I like how original GoW handled ludonarrative dissonance by simply being honest and making your character an edgy war criminal.

[HardcoreRetro]

My favourite part was when Atreus shouted at Kratos: "Giant enemy crab! Attack it's weak spot for massive damage."

Damn, gaming has finally grown up. "Ridge Racer!!!"

[HardcoreRetro]

Enjoyed the Angrboda section so much, I hooked up my PS3 and am now installing the God of War Collection 2 containing Chains of Olympus HD and Ghost of Sparta HD.

[Bebpo]

Enjoyed the Angrboda section so much, I hooked up my PS3 and am now installing the God of War Collection 2 containing Chains of Olympus HD and Ghost of Sparta HD.

 

The game has some pacing issues. It's honestly my only complaint where I'm at in the game (a bit further than you). Actually my other complaint is re-using certain enemies from GoW2018. Every time I fight an enemy from 2018 I realize that one reason I didn't like 2018 was a lot of the enemy types were not fun to fight. Ragnarok would've been better off not re-using any of the old enemies.

That section, on its own was a fine 8/10 game in the vein of like Plague's Tale. But it went on way too long and is a lot lesser quality than the 9/10 GoW Ragnarok game that surrounds it. If the section was like 1/3rd the length I think it would've been a fine diversion. And I don't think anything in that section was actually bad. It was just a different kind of game that wasn't as good as the main game.

I had no issue with the first Sindri section though. Length was fine and it was fun. I think the shooter combat, while not as good as the main game combat, is pretty solid 8/10 combat so it works in small bursts.

*edit* One thing I did think about while in the Angrboda section by the end was how much I would not enjoy having to go through all this on a NG+ speedrun. I don't see any way around it still taking 1-2 hours because it's such a walk & talk section. NG+ needs like a "skip this section" button. Reminds me of the issues I just had with Bayonetta 3.

[HardcoreRetro]

I like the sections that only pretend to be gameplay. The part where you chase Angrboda as the wolf, I put the controller down. Nothing happens. So it isn't gameplay.

I can not in good conscience call a game that is seemingly ashamed of being a game, a good game. I think it's a fine product. The combat that's there has a solid feel. But the overall package makes for a pretty bad game.

[BIONIC]

It’s an experience not a game you troglodyte 

[Bebpo]

I like the sections that only pretend to be gameplay. The part where you chase Angrboda as the wolf, I put the controller down. Nothing happens. So it isn't gameplay.

I can not in good conscience call a game that is seemingly ashamed of being a game, a good game. I think it's a fine product. The combat that's there has a solid feel. But the overall package makes for a pretty bad game.

Fair enough, but it's not like scripted sequences that play themselves is new to AAA gaming or even the God of War franchise. Just throwing a QTE prompt here and there doesn't make it gameplay.

And Bayonetta 3 is a good comparison. A Platinum games action game is about as "game" as you can get, but it still has a bunch of short sections with no gameplay every level. This is just gaming in 2022.

[Bebpo]

I think the combat here is extremely good. I know some people are complaining about fights every 10 steps, but I actually feel there aren't enough combat sections in the game to interrupt the walking/talking/puzzles.

Combined with the character customization, this is like peak brawler combat. Coming straight from Bayonetta 3 which has great combat too I'd have to flip a coin to decide which has better combat at this point. Which is the highest praise I can give any GoW game in combat.

When you git gud at Ragnarok's combat and you're blazing through arenas with no-damage entire fights, fucking up everything in your way, it's incredibly satisfying. Love how you gotta keep moving, use the environment, mix up attacks, parry/shield bash, dodge, etc...just a really great flow to the combat. The moves have great weight and impact and the DS5 haptics work really well.


It helps I actually like the story stuff in this one. So great combat + engaging story/characters + great gfx/music + some good puzzles and lots of secrets + some light metroidvania design all clicks really well for me. But at the same time I get bored if sections are too linear without the chance to go off-route and solve a few puzzles. The beginning of the game was like that and the Angroboda section was like that. The best parts are the more open-world bits of each realm where you can explore around solving puzzles and doing sidequests and fighting optional bosses.

[Let's Cyber]

The best parts are the more open-world bits of each realm where you can explore around solving puzzles and doing sidequests and fighting optional bosses.

100%. I imagine the next game on better hardware will lean harder into that content. Or at least I hope so.

Game is good. The berserkers are fun, they giving me Crucible Knight vibes. It's probably the mid-air hover followed up by a dive bomb.

I enjoyed Ironwood as a change of pace but I wouldn't want to replay it after knowing what it is all about. I doubt I'll touch this again after I get the platinum.

[HardcoreRetro]

Fair enough, but it's not like scripted sequences that play themselves is new to AAA gaming or even the God of War franchise. Just throwing a QTE prompt here and there doesn't make it gameplay.

I feel this is highly disingenuous. Usually there's still a fail state or some form of interactivity. Like 66% of this game literally plays itself. I'm not just talking about the QTEs.

I was in the Vanaheim section and there's this pit with spikes. You can't fall in and the jumping is automated. What is the fucking point? Any climbing section might pretty much be a cutscene. The original games had combat on those, sliding down and avoiding obstacles. What does this have? Nothing. Pushing forward on the boat, goat or whatever to listen to exposition. That isn't gameplay. Just make it a cutscene, then I can at least skip all that garbage on a subsequent playthrough.

Even Let's Cyber that says he's enjoying the game doesn't want to play it again after 100%. Sign of a fantastic game that is. This has been the absolute worst of this kind of design. At least Last of Us Part 2 had the decency to give the combat arenas it's own section in the menu that if you want to just go through the gameplay sections, you can.

[BIONIC]

Now that I think about it, can you actually fail any of the QTEs in the new games? Or does it auto-complete or just awkwardly linger like the Avengers game?

[HardcoreRetro]

Depends on the QTE. Game basically has a mix of all. The Freya setpiece at the start has bits that play itself and some that ask for player input. There's some that awkwardly linger like the Avengers game.

[Bebpo]

Fair enough, but it's not like scripted sequences that play themselves is new to AAA gaming or even the God of War franchise. Just throwing a QTE prompt here and there doesn't make it gameplay.

I feel this is highly disingenuous. Usually there's still a fail state or some form of interactivity. Like 66% of this game literally plays itself. I'm not just talking about the QTEs.

I was in the Vanaheim section and there's this pit with spikes. You can't fall in and the jumping is automated. What is the fucking point? Any climbing section might pretty much be a cutscene. The original games had combat on those, sliding down and avoiding obstacles. What does this have? Nothing. Pushing forward on the boat, goat or whatever to listen to exposition. That isn't gameplay. Just make it a cutscene, then I can at least skip all that garbage on a subsequent playthrough.

Even Let's Cyber that says he's enjoying the game doesn't want to play it again after 100%. Sign of a fantastic game that is. This has been the absolute worst of this kind of design. At least Last of Us Part 2 had the decency to give the combat arenas it's own section in the menu that if you want to just go through the gameplay sections, you can.

Have you played like...any AAA game in the last 5 years?

If this climbing might as well be a cutscene I can't think of a single AAA game where climbing is not that. This isn't Tomb Raider where you can fail jumps. Platforming has been automatic in AAA since like Prince of Persia 2008.

Saying the game plays itself any more than your average game seems silly. The majority of the game time is spent in combat and no, that doesn't play itself. Figuring out puzzles doesn't play itself given how many times I've had to google solutions.

Honestly it feels like you should probably just cut your losses at this point if you're disliking the game so much already. You've seen the formula and if you don't care for it, it's not going to get any better.

[Bebpo]

The best parts are the more open-world bits of each realm where you can explore around solving puzzles and doing sidequests and fighting optional bosses.

100%. I imagine the next game on better hardware will lean harder into that content. Or at least I hope so.

Yeah, the open-world non-linear gameplay areas feel a bit like Elden Ring with it's go around and do small puzzles, fights, bosses and a good deal like Uncharted Lost Legacy.

If they were starting design right now on the next God of War title, they'd probably look at Elden Ring since the open-world stuff here is already a bit of that. I can see the next game being structured similarly to Elden Ring with a giant sandbox map filled with puzzles and fights and collectibles and loot and then legacy dungeons to block progression at certain points for main story.

[Raist]

I honestly don't know how you can make climbing non-automatic without turning it into a controls shitshow like RDR2.

[HardcoreRetro]

Have you played like...any AAA game in the last 5 years?

If this climbing might as well be a cutscene I can't think of a single AAA game where climbing is not that. This isn't Tomb Raider where you can fail jumps. Platforming has been automatic in AAA since like Prince of Persia 2008.

Saying the game plays itself any more than your average game seems silly. The majority of the game time is spent in combat and no, that doesn't play itself. Figuring out puzzles doesn't play itself given how many times I've had to google solutions.

Honestly it feels like you should probably just cut your losses at this point if you're disliking the game so much already. You've seen the formula and if you don't care for it, it's not going to get any better.

Did you read my comment? Since I pointed out Last of Us Part 2.

Prince of Persia 2008 had you time your jumps. Elika saving you is the fail state. This literally has you following a painted line and a giant circle prompt for when Kratos can jump. I don't decide when to jump. The game does. And how is another game having dogshit traversal an excuse for this game then having even worse traversal. Uncharted 4 had these dogshit climbing sections as well, but then it also had stuff like the Madagascar level where the climbing and combat worked in tandem. An actual great section. When does the climbing in this game ever add anything to the game? The Huntress at the start of the game gave me some hope of them actually improving the climbing sections by having something happen while on them. Nope, that was the only time so far. I'm not asking for depth. I'm asking for it to do more than just be a glorified loading screen. Loading screens that take way too long.

In this game, when you have to follow an npc it sometimes literally locks you into whatever the game wants you to do. When I got back from the Vanaheim section I wanted to check the blue chest to check for missed loot. No no no, you can't do that. First you gotta listen to one of the dwarves spout some shit. You know, the characters I planned to talk to anyway after looting the chest since they function as the weapon shop. Give me some fucking agency. And when it doesn't lock you into what it wants you to do, it has the NPCs commenting on it. "It's this way Kratos, follow me." Dear lord, shut up. I'm trying to have fun here. Then they make fun of you for trying to engage with the parts of the game you actually enjoy. "My dad sometimes does that." "He likes loot." "He must've seen a nornir chest." Yes, haha. Funny joke. Keep repeating it... It actively makes me hate these characters.

[Bebpo]

/shrug, I'm not sure how the climbing in Last of Us 2 is necessarily any better or challenging than in God of War.

You seem like you're saying adding a fail state makes these auto-games/qtes suddenly good. I disagree. I don't think being able to fail a QTE vs a QTE that just sits there until you complete it makes a lick of a difference. QTEs have always just been a cutscene where you mash a button here and there. Platforming for AAA stuff has been totally on-rails with it being near impossible to fall since PoP 2008 and Uncharted 1. Last of Us is still just follow the path narrative platforming.

The stuff where the game takes away control for a conversation is a thing. But at this point it just seems like you hate the game and everything is bitch eating crackers for ya. I really think you should just drop it rather than hate finish it for completion, but it's your time.

[HardcoreRetro]

/shrug, I'm not sure how the climbing in Last of Us 2 is necessarily any better or challenging than in God of War.

You seem like you're saying adding a fail state makes these auto-games/qtes suddenly good. I disagree. I don't think being able to fail a QTE vs a QTE that just sits there until you complete it makes a lick of a difference. QTEs have always just been a cutscene where you mash a button here and there. Platforming for AAA stuff has been totally on-rails with it being near impossible to fall since PoP 2008 and Uncharted 1. Last of Us is still just follow the path narrative platforming.

The stuff where the game takes away control for a conversation is a thing. But at this point it just seems like you hate the game and everything is bitch eating crackers for ya. I really think you should just drop it rather than hate finish it for completion, but it's your time.

Did I mention Last of Us 2 having good climbing? You're responding to shit that isn't there. It's directly pointed towards you asking me if I played any triple A game in the last 5 years. I said Last of Us 2 had a menu where you can pick the combat sections so you don't have to deal with the shit that isn't gameplay. I said Uncharted 4 had some sections where it actually incorporates the climbing into the gameplay. You know, stuff I think is actual good game design.

The second part of yours makes no sense to me as a gamer. If my input doesn't matter, why be a game at all. Just have it be a cutscene so I can skip that garbage on a second playthrough. In other games this stuff also doesn't take up to 10 minutes at a time. Usually a QTE is like a quick capstone to combat showing you something that can't be done through regular gameplay and then you get back to the game. Here you are watching a cutscene which then randomly pops up a QTE. Once again, other games doing this shit badly isn't an excuse for this to also do it badly.

I hate the main meat of the game. I thought some of the side-content was alright. I see people talking up the part of the game called The Crater. I'll at least keep playing till I get to that. The game reeks of squandered potential. If that part is as good as people talk it up to be, it's basically confirmation of that. There has to be a better way to tell a narrative in a game than this. Imagine a movie where parts of it are spent just reading a book instead.

[Bebpo]

I hate the main meat of the game.

Yeah, this is game isn't your thing. Fair enough.

From what I'm seeing in audience response, Ragnarok is a divisive game. People love it or hate it. Really just depends on if it clicks. Where I'm at about 25 hours in now, it's probably around the 3rd best game I've played this year and sitting around an 8.5/10 for me. With some tightening could easily be a 9/10 game. I think it's probably the 2nd best game in the franchise after God of War II and is a good comeback for a franchise that's been stale for a while. I don't hold this franchise up on a pedestal outside that game and I've played them all including the PSP ones. I think this is a step in the right direction and makes me excited about their next game which hopefully corrects some of the mistakes in this one and expands on the best parts.

And this is coming from someone that greatly disliked GoW 2018 and some of Sony's recent AAA offerings like Horizon FW. But I also like all the Uncharted games/Last of Us and the Naughty Dog AAA formula works for me and Ragnarok borrows heavily from it.

[Let's Cyber]

Had to buy a new DualSense, the stick drift was becoming unbearable. I tried cleaning it out but to no avail.

I think my first ps4 controller only lasted around 18 months, so this one made it a little further. 

[HardcoreRetro]

Summer 2023 boys.

[MMaRsu]

no

[Pissy F Benny]

I'll play it for half an hour for the cringe if it comes to soypass

[Bebpo]

30 hours into Ragnarok and I'm still going "fuck, I love this game"

Pretty impressed with everything. This, Elden Ring and Signalis are pretty close for GoTY for me. Probably gonna end up being my favorite GoW game in the franchise and one of the better action adventures. I keep hoping there's dozens and dozens of hours more of content even though I'm getting towards the end of it. But can't really complain about getting 30-50 hours of this quality even if it's not 70-100 like Elden Ring.

I'm really impressed by a lot of things in Ragnarok, but one thing I haven't mentioned is the variety of enemy types. This game has a fuckload of enemies, coming from Bayonetta 3 this creams that. Since so much of Ragnarok's combat is about learning enemy patterns for parries and dodges and various weakpoint openings, having tons of enemy types and quite a few bosses is really enjoyable. I did one of those optional sword hilt fights and was out of rage going in so couldn't cheese or heal. Took me about 15 mins of 4-6 tries, but by the end parried/dodged every attack and was satisfying.

One thing that makes the combat 10x more difficult is that you don't have i-frames during your special cooldown moves or even during the shield special. I don't mind this, but it makes combat more strategic because you've got to be aware of what will stagger enemies and what won't so you're going to eat the damage if you do the special. Like during that green hilt fight I tried switching to the big shield to block yellows to not have to perfect parry them all. The tough part of the fight was actually getting rid of the charge up from blocking those before the next one comes since double tapping to get rid of the charge with shield slam locks you into a canned animation that you can eat damage during. Was pretty interesting. Ended up going back to my parry shield and just perfect parrying all the yellows, but there's a lot of strategy in the combat.

Combat-wise, the only thing throwing me off is

spoiler (click to show/hide)

I completely suck with the spear. It feels way weaker than the axe and chains and doesn't have the AoE spread of the chains. It's a ranged weapon for fights where you often have enemies rushing your face from every direction. I just get destroyed whenever I use the spear.

I'm sure there's a good way to use it, still getting the hang of it. Honestly didn't think the game would introduce a 3rd weapon which was one of my few complaints that for a character action game there's only two weapons. Though the shield is deep enough with its customization and different types to be a half-weapon on its own. Anyhow, didn't expect a 3rd weapon so it's cool to have even if I'm not being impressed by it.

[close]

[Bebpo]

To be clear, I really like the story, the characters (so many, and some are pretty well done), the combat, the character customization, the level design, the puzzles, the mini-sandboxes, the art direction, the music, the size of it and amount of content.

I think the pace bogs a few bits like the Angraboda section which so far is still the weakest section the whole game, and the camera is still not the greatest for combat at times dealing with all these indicators. The codex entries are all boring as fuck and not worth reading even though the art sketches are good. It's not a perfect game, but it's a pretty damn great one.


And yeah, the customization of the weapons is super, super good in how many builds you can make. The amount of depth they put into these weapons and skills and perks is extremely impressive for what the combat system is.