GOW Ragnarok Thoughts

As a big fan of the original, I was hyped for this one. I played it for an hour or three every day until completion, and it's a great game for the most part. Some thoughts.

1. It's very fun to play

The excellent combat in the 2018 prequel got better. Combat as an abstraction is about problem solving expressed in 3 primary ways: Character kit, Enemy design and Level design. GOWR is better in every respect especially Enemy design which was previously too limited, and more space and verticality is incorporated into fights better it never hits the traversal heights of an Uncharted or Returnal. 

Outside of the strong underlying combat interaction design, the actual expression in the visuals, animation, SFX and ambient commentary is top notch. 40 hours into the game in the final level, I'm still thrilled and satisfied at performing an R3 execution. 

The world is also larger and filled with content, which makes it a joy to explore. The RPG component worked about as well as it did for the GOW 2018 and is critical to getting a sense of progression without making it a complex stats management or build crafting game.

My only critique is it felt like the game could have benefitted from interesting breaks in gameplay. E.g. the sniper segment in TLOU2, or the stealth grass crawling segment in the original COD Modern Warfare. The on-rails sledding segment in the opening and a slightly more open world map design in one of the later levels ala Elden Ring were all we got, and it wasn't quite enough.

Overall, two thumbs up!

2. Overarching plot and themes didn't satisfy

The story really struggled to manage its main overarching threads and felt like a series of micro character interactions which sometimes felt like mere foils and plot devices. To me, the plot was a disappointment and did not meaningfully build upon its predecessor or bring it to new interesting places.

Following from GOW 2018 where Kratos and Atreus discover a prophecy, the central theme posed is about destiny -- can you carve a path of your own or are you bound to your fate? The question is never explored or executed in any interesting way so when Kratos rallies the party to create their own fate before the war, there isn't enough of a buildup and it doesn't resonate.

Apart from the lack of direction on exploring destiny, I also think there's a missed opportunity where the at least one side quest in the game could have helped explore the destiny theme to provide color and tangential explorations.  

Ultimately, what's most disappointing is the end ending where they discover the "secret unviewed giant prophecy". Viewed through the lens of all the talk of defying fate, it feels like it cheapens the entire journey that came before it and I'm honestly puzzled at what the game is trying to say, if anything. 

3. Character interactions are mostly lovely but sometimes lacked believability

The core interactions between Kratos, Atreus and Mimir are fantastic like they were in GOW 2018, but they feel more evolved as you feel a deepened brotherhood between all of them. It's also notable how Kratos has more respect for his son, and "BOY" is not a thing in GOWR. Even at the beginning of the game, you get a strong sense that the trio have a deep relationship and that they've lived through many real moments in the time lapse since the prequel.

Most of the other character interactions and arcs have at least some spots where it feels inauthentic. An example is Thrud and Sif not having a proper interaction with Atreus about Thor at the end. It just felt like the script wanted Atreus to move along, and the thunder family just couldn't grieve because there was no time for it. Moments like this pepper the entire game and it stands out. 

I can't see myself playing it from start to end again as the narrative isn't there for me, but I'm happily going to put in more hours into finishing the content post endgame. It's really fun and taking the Leviathan Axe from 7 to 9, and parrying more boss moves is a dopamine boosting time I'd love to have.