We were all expecting to see God of War Ragnarök and after two years of secrecy and a delay, Santa Monica Studios pulled the curtain back, giving us our first look at gameplay for next year’s sequel.
The freezing winds of Fimbulwinter have come to Midgard, making survival for Kratos, Atreus, and Mimir in the Norse wilds even more challenging than before. Picking up a few years after where we left everyone, things are dire and our favourite Spartan and his mischievous son are in hiding.
Speaking on the PlayStation Blog, Grace Orlady had a few things to say about God of War Ragnarök, iterating that we’ll see things unfold after the late-game revelations about Atreus.
As a young adult would naturally be at that age, Atreus is wildly curious about who he is and wants to know more about his heritage. We don’t know the role he’ll play as Ragnarök consumes the land, but we do know he won’t let go of whatever it may be he’s destined to do. A hotheaded individual, Atreus won’t stand by and do nothing as everything freezes over.
Kratos, still dealing with his past, is looking to keep his son safe from the dangers encircling them. There’s no one else who knows better about interfering with the Gods and intends to keep his nose out of their business. However, that’s no longer possible as they are all looking for the duo.
“Together, Kratos and Atreus will have to make a choice about which path they will take. Whatever they choose will define the fate of all those living in the Nine Realms as Ragnarök approaches,” says Orlady.
This time, Kratos needs to be wary of two main antagonists in God of War Ragnarök: Freya and Thor.
After the events of God of War, Freya is hellbent on killing Kratos and who could play her for wanting revenge. Freya is fierce, powerful and terrifying in a fight with her use of Vanir magic.
As for Thor, he’s heard Kratos disposed of half-brother Baldur and his sons — thus he seeks to aim Mjölnir at Kratos and Atreus.
Instead of radically changing combat and the flow of battle, the team at Santa Monica Studios is smartly refreshing things. “As a team we’ve worked hard to take our learnings from God of War and improve upon combat to feel fresh, yet familiar. With God of War Ragnarök, one of our main goals was to push player choice in combat. Whether it’s through hard-hitting combos, a mastery of elements, or clever defensive tactics – you will find plenty of opportunities to fight alongside our duo in a way that feels uniquely expressive. ”
We get a glimpse of new combos, a new Runic Summon for Atreus and the Leviathan and Blades of Chaos once again. And you’ll need to take full advantage of your arsenal because we’re heading to all of the nine realms this time.
God of War Ragnarök will take you to the previously unreachable Vanaheim, Svartalfheim, and Asgard – as well as to new areas from locations featured in the last game. Exploring the realms will take you everywhere from verdant, otherworldly jungles to intricate subterranean mining networks.
