Our return to Midgard and the remainder of the 9 realms is sort of right here. God of War Ragnarök launches on PS5 and PS4 on November 9, and I’ve had the fortunate alternative to scout forward and go palms on with the PS5 model of Kratos and Atreus’ persevering with journey.

No huge story spoilers lie forward on this article – and that’s simply wonderful as a result of there’s tons to speak about by way of pure gameplay, visuals, ingenious new enemies, areas, and extra. Without mentioning particular characters or moments, I’ll say this sequel doesn’t wait lengthy to ship memorable, sudden moments with a various forged of legendary characters.

Read on to study God of War Ragnarök’s familiar-yet-fresh fight, lethal new enemies, unique locales, and extra.

Mythical immersion on PS5

Winter surprise – The world of Midgard sparkles on PS5 because of crisp 4K visuals and fluid framerates (I performed in Performance mode). Fimbulwinter is creeping throughout the lands, together with Kratos and Atreus’ homestead. Snow crumbles and elements as characters trudge via it, with mild catching tiny ice crystals on its floor. Frozen waterfalls stand like intricate, towering artwork items. The ambiance of this snow-covered Midgard captures the serene vibe of a winter stroll within the woods completely.

Haptic immersion – Santa Monica Studio has taken full benefit of the DualSense wi-fi controller’s haptics. One sequence includes dogsledding away from a violent avalanche. The DualSense controller’s haptics thrummed in my palms, conveying each a deep rumble of speeding land and lighter clumps of snow tumbling about. In fight, the Leviathan Axe packs an additional visceral punch, and when the boomeranging weapon is recalled the haptics steadily swell till the axe lands in hand with a meaty thud The vary of haptics additionally brings texture to delicate moments, like Kratos laying his weary physique down in his cot to sleep.

Versatile fight choices

Settling again in – I’ll admit it took me till the again half of God of War (2018) till I felt proficient with the brand new fight mechanics. The intimate digicam place, ranged and melee Leviathan Axe, and plentiful fight choices overwhelmed me a bit. In distinction, choosing again up Kratos’ axe and Blades of Chaos firstly of God of War Ragnarök stuffed me with confidence and a lust for battle. Wielding each weapons on the outset inspired me to make extra full use of Kratos’ arsenal, and it’s a blast.

Death From Above – Kratos can now take a sprinting leap off a cliff and slam into enemies beneath – a livid intro to any group battle that stuns enemies. The new fight choice is a potent instance of God of War Ragnarök’s elevated deal with verticality within the setting.

Stay frosty – The triangle button, used for equipping and recalling the Leviathan Axe, could be pressed when held to use a Frost Awaken impact to your subsequent melee or ranged assault. Pressing R1 throughout Frost Awaken executes Frozen Breach – a large swing and applies Frost to close by enemies. Aiming whereas urgent R1 throughout Frost Awaken executes Frozen Spike – a fast throw of the Leviathan Axe that creates a Frost explosion on influence. Kratos’ expanded vary of elemental assaults injects refreshing new choices into every encounter.

Flaming Blades of Chaos – Similar to the Leviathan Axe’s Frost Awaken, you possibly can mash the triangle button with the Blades of Chaos geared up to carry out a Flame Whiplash. This costs Kratos’ chained implements with hearth, nice for melting enemies’ icy defenses. More importantly, Kratos appears undeniably cool spinning the blade’s chain to stoke the flames.

Huldra homestead – Kratos and Atreus go to Brok and Sindi’s store and residential to gear up. While there, I upgraded my Leviathan Axe to stage 2, boosting harm considerably and unlocking a brand new tier of talent tree skills. Atreus was additionally outfitted with new armor. My favourite element is the inclusion of a chest containing misplaced loot, the place the Huldra brothers retailer any assets that gamers might have by accident left mendacity on the battlefield.

Customizing gear – Once once more, you possibly can customise your weapons and armor, together with slottable gems for Kratos’ Leviathan Axe. After a battle with a ferocious stalker named The Huntress, I acquired Winter’s Bite, a lightweight runic assault that kinds a mass of ice round Kratos’ axe for additional harm. Another applies a flaming uppercut-style assault to the Blades of Chaos. I discovered each strikes useful as fast get-out-of-jail-free playing cards when surrounded by enemies. Just thoughts that cooldown timer.

Shield of alternative – Kratos’ Guardian Shield is broken throughout battle, and Brok provides to craft an extra protection whereas he works on repairs. Players can choose from two new shields to begin with: the Stone Wall Shield, specializing in absorbing assaults and placing again, and the Dauntless Shield, which is all about high-risk, high-reward parries. Eventually gamers can scrounge up sufficient assets to craft all shields.

Dauntless Shield check drive – I opted for the Dauntless Shield, hoping that my expertise mastering slim parry home windows in motion video games like Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice might come in useful. It did! A fastidiously timed faucet of L1 towards an incoming strike parries assaults and produces a flash of sunshine, gorgeous foes for a beneficiant size of time. I discovered this immensely useful for crowd administration and relish the inducement to raised research enemy assault patterns.

Threats of the realms

Thor throwdown – If you really liked the bombastic Baldur encounter at first of God of War (2018), sit up for clashing axe and hammer with Thor in a equally spectacular battle. Thor unleashes a combo of grabs, lightning-infused Mjölnir blasts, area-of-effect volleys, and extra. The two gods grapple and fly via the air because the battle rages throughout a number of frozen landscapes. Thor’s assault is nonstop, peppering in chopping insults towards Kratos’ parenting abilities when he’s not outright attacking. It’s a memorable encounter that left me longing for a rematch towards the God of Thunder.

Raider rumble – Hardy, violent Raiders wander the Wildwoods, attacking Kratos as a result of they know he’s liable for bringing on fimbulwinter. These melee and ranged foes are straightforward fodder for sharpening your melee abilities and satisfying check dummies as well.

Björn battle – A mighty bear assaults in one of many first boss battles. The burly animal begins with predictable swipes for Kratos to parry, but in addition introduces extra cues, like yellow circles that point out Kratos can block however will nonetheless obtain harm, and pink circles indicating unblockable assaults. The bear’s assault sample is a ferocious but forgiving onramp, hinting at harder battles to return.

Dreki brawl – One of my favourite fights from this slice of the sport pits our duo towards the Dreki, a crocodile-like dragon beast. The quadrupedal creature snaps with its huge maw, swipes with its scaley story, and dishes out electrical assaults that pressure gamers to maintain transferring. Using the Dauntless Shield to parry a volley of assaults whereas dodging zaps feels pure and satisfying – a well-tuned battle that completely exams gamers’ rising talent with tough-but-fair depth.

Bifröst harm – Near the very finish of the preview session, a brand new bloodthirsty enemy kind emerges to guard one thing deep in a dwarven mine. The pale, tattooed Einherjar unleash fierce assaults that deal Bifröst harm to Kratos – represented by a purple part of the HP bar. Bifröst harm is innocent at first however when these foes hit a second time it detonates the affliction and slices a big chunk off your HP. Watch your again, dodge readily, and be able to parry to outlive weaponized Bifröst.

Exploring the realms

Realm lockdown – Odin has the realms lower off firstly of God of War Ragnarök, so Kratos is unable to make use of the Bifröst to journey. Thankfully, Brok and Sindri have reconfigured the mystic gateways as an alternate technique of journey.

Wintering in Svartalfheim – While Fimbulwinter has enveloped Midgard in chilly and snow, it’s had totally different results on different realms. In Svartalfheim for instance, subterranean stress has elevated, pocketing the land with highly effective geysers. Mimir (the smart, speaking head strapped to Kratos’ belt) additionally mentions a potent odor has unfold throughout the land.

Puzzling platforming – Navigating the realms requires intelligent use of Kratos’ implements. In one occasion I wanted to maneuver a pillar blocking the trail. This required me to first toss the Leviathan Axe to shatter a log bracing the pillar down, then brandish the Blades of Chaos to wrangle the pillar from the trail. Another instance includes artful use of the Leviathan Axe’s elemental properties to control watery obstacles within the realm of Svartalfheim… however I’ll depart that to you to find.

Sonic arrows – In the dwarven city of Niðavellir, Sindri equips Atreus’ bow with a brand new sonic-powered string. This enhancement is attuned to blast aside objects pulsing a lightweight blue inexperienced across the setting, like passages resulting in new areas and alcoves hiding chests stuffed with Hacksilver. Atreus’ capacity to destroy this glowing materials injects a deeper layer of joint environmental puzzle-solving and navigation for the pair.

Exploration and aspect quests – Fans who adore turning over each stone within the realm can relaxation assured that exploration is plentiful and rewarded on this sequel. While venturing via a captivating but uninviting dwarven city, Kratos and Atreus cross paths with a dwarf who has historical past with Mimir. The dwarf mentions mining rigs that Mimir as soon as championed have precipitated a multitude in these lands. If gamers select to pursue this Favor, they will right Mimir’s previous wrongs for a reward. Later, whereas navigating a canoe throughout an enormous, sensible blue lake I spot pillars of black smoke billowing from these mines. I selected to forge forward on the principle quest path however was reassured when Atreus organically talked about we may return to finish the Favor later.

Dwarven Compass – Sindri bestows a “beautiful gift” upon Kratos – a compass that enables gamers to trace targets on the map, then observe a compass on the high of the display screen in the direction of their vacation spot. Perfect for effectively monitoring objects like Favors and different aspect quests.

The opening hours of God of War Ragnarök are jam-packed with thrilling story moments and top-notch fight encounters. These are only a few moments and particulars from the outset which have me so excited to dive deeper into fight, discover the realms, and be taught what the fates have in retailer for our heroes.

Not lengthy to attend now – God of War Ragnarök launches on PS5 and PS4 November 9.