
Kratos is again equipped with his Leviathan Axe and Blades of Chaos, and they remain a formidable and extremely fun pair of weapons to use on the many mythical beasts Ragnarok throws at you. From a gameplay perspective, that means a lot of the familiar combat that Santa Monica Studio introduced in 2018's God of War. Whether by prophecy or their own decisions, Kratos and Atreus unsurprisingly get pulled deeper into the machinations of the gods and begin journeying through the nine realms looking for a solution to the potential world destruction that is now at their doorstep. Kratos meant to save Baldur's mother Freya from death, but he instead turned Freya against Kratos and Atreus and also brought about Fimbulwinter, a years-long winter that is the precursor to Ragnarok, which it is said will bring about the end of the nine realms. Along the way, they inevitably caught the attention of the Norse pantheon of gods, which led to Kratos killing the deity Baldur. God of War: Ragnarok is the direct sequel to God of War, which saw a semi-reformed Kratos and his son Atreus try to carry out his wife's final wish. It throws Kratos and his companions in the middle of a full-on war, the kind of battle that calls to mind epic cinematic showdowns like the climax of Lord of the Rings: Return of the King or Avengers: Endgame.īut I'm getting a little bit ahead of myself.

But God of War: Ragnarok, which arrives tomorrow for the PS4 and PS5, manages to add to that impressive list. He's ridden giants up Mount Olympus, murdered the pantheon of Greek gods, come back to life from the underworld (several times) and, in 2018's reinvention of the series, dealt with an unruly pre-teen who just learned he was a god. The God of War series has thrown nearly everything you can imagine at its protagonist Kratos since the first installment arrived way back in 2005.

This story contains extensive spoilers for the 2018 game ‘God of War’ and light spoilers for ‘God of War: Ragnarok’.
