Gow Ragnarok is an absolute masterpiece, improving on countless elements from its predecessor while taking the player on a journey with gorgeous setpieces, incredible boss fights, beautiful landscapes, and fantastic story beats.
The gameplay itself is the biggest improvement over the original; everything feels more fluid and dynamic, there’s more variety in combat (both from an enemy standpoint and your weapons/abilities), the side missions are far more exciting, and the pacing for the main story is generally a little more fast paced and exciting. All the new characters are well written, and Kratos’s journey feels more cinematic than ever.
My main issue with Ragnarok, and what ultimately makes GoW 2018 a better game, largely stems from the characterization of Kratos, and the way some of the writing and emotional story beats are handled when it comes to characters like Freya, Atreus, and Kratos himself. It all feels a little overdone, forsaking a lot of the subtle characterization done through superb writing, body language, and more with very overt displays of emotional attunement. I absolutely love and agree with taking Kratos in a more emotionally intelligent and mature direction as things progress, but it just felt like they went slightly too far. Toning it back just a dial could’ve possibly, ironically, made everything feel more emotional.
I also felt like the world itself felt a lot more grandiose in the original, shrouded in mystery and ruins that you steadily uncover as you progress. Everything felt larger than life, and Kratos felt like a small (and powerful) part of this new, daunting world. Even though a lot of it was incredible (especially the depiction of Thor, Heimdall, and Asgard), every little detail being exposed in this game took a lot of the grandiose feeling out of this world (including the intimate details of his relationship with Faye, which felt more impactful wrapped in mystery).
Putting those minor details aside, though, Ragnarok is easily one of the best games I’ve ever played; a cinematic spectacle with incredible storytelling.
Is It Worth Playing ?
Absolutely.