God of War 2018 is a story about Kratos teaching his son to make the right decisions and not end up in the spiral of revenge he once landed in.
This time it’s sink or swim for young Atreus, as Kratos lets go of his hand and forces him to walk alone.
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Fimbulwinter is here throughout the land of the Norse gods, and the world is transformed by blizzards and turmoil.
Kratos and son spread his wife’s ashes at the highest peak and lay in hiding until the storm blows over.
In 2018, we found out that Atreus saw a prophecy that called him Loki. Now he weighs up the two possibilities of who he is.
While Kratos is desperate to see Atreus only as his son, he must accept his son’s will or risk losing him entirely.
We see the power shift between Kratos and Atreus. Kratos no longer calls him boy, having seen him proven himself.
He has to accept that his son is becoming a man, and the dynamic that comes with that if the two are to continue on.
Kratos is as dry as ever, with Atreus becoming a warrior in his own right, though deep down he’s still a child.
While Atreus is still curious about the world around him, Kratos forsakes everything that does not move the pair towards their goal.
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After a few hours playing God of War: Ragnarök, you will recognise the game you love with various improvements layered on top.
The story is more complex, the characters more fleshed out, the loot more meaningfu,l and the puzzles more sophisticated.
On top of all this there are more boss battles, more types of enemies, and your combat options more diverse.
You can also ride on a sled pulled by wolves — a very important distinction.
As in 2018, you start out with only your axe, but soon Kratos can pick up his infamous chains.
Combat works similarly to the original, but you can now freeze your axe and carry out a variety of new attacks.
Arenas have more verticality, so you can grapple up to ledges and quickly change your position.
Everything can be upgraded, including armour, hilts and shields, and they all come with a variety of benefits.
There’s a mix of linear areas, and more open ones full of optional fights, loot and puzzles to find.
Going off the beaten path will reward you with a number of useful items, making the main story easier to handle.
The first few hours will be repetitive to those who played the first, though it’s clearly intentional to link the sequel to the first.
First impressions are fantastic, but we won’t know if the game remains as strong until the review arrives a week before launch on November 3.
Written by Kirk McKeand and Georgina Young on behalf of GLHF.
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