God of War Ragnarök

An almost-perfect, phenomenal action game that balances deeply emotional, beautifully acted storytelling with fun, varied, and mechanically deep combat, all wrapped in stunning visuals. The pacing, character work, and ending are masterful. It is held back only by minor annoyances: an abundance of invisible walls and low environmental interactivity, slow non-interactive climbing, fiddly sigil puzzles, and a close camera that turns multi-enemy fights into guesswork.

A worthy and supreme conclusion to the Norse saga that reinforces everything great about its predecessor, with industry-leading performances, writing, animation, and music. The emotional highs and lows hit even harder, and small quality-of-life improvements make it a joy to follow. A brilliant, cherished experience from every angle.

A rare AAA blockbuster that is genuinely great, opening with a relentless run of dog-sled escape, bear, and Thor fights and packing in more crazy boss battles than its predecessor with no recycled mini-bosses. Its balanced, flashy-but-fair combat marries beautifully with incredible performances and stunning environments. Traversal is a weak spot and the sprawling, character-heavy plot loses the original's focus, but it remains thrilling high entertainment.

An absolutely extraordinary conclusion to the two-part saga, masterfully telling a story of a father and son bound by prophecy that makes the 2018 game even better in hindsight. It is a technical tour de force with better combat, more bosses, larger semi-open worlds, and a remarkable cast, though the combat is iterative rather than reinvented and the resource-chest collecting feels played out. The story is what stays with you, demanding multiple playthroughs.

A masterpiece that surpasses its acclaimed 2018 predecessor, delivering one of the best video games ever crafted through an immaculate presentation, a beautifully written character-driven story, and a phenomenal soundtrack. Combat is more fleshed out and satisfying, and the vastly improved enemy variety across all nine distinct Realms keeps the lengthy 50-60 hour journey fresh. Minor gripes include inconsistent defensive timing and lock-on issues against the toughest optional bosses, plus a few non-game-breaking bugs, but none diminish a magnum opus.

The plot the 2018 game was building toward finally arrives, with polished visuals, impressive set pieces, functional combat, and a genuinely good story full of distinct, complex characters. But it is crippled by excessive length and padding: endless narrow-cave loading corridors, copy-pasted combat, fetch-quest chapters that resolve in a single line, and the fiddly gear-crafting and upgrade systems. It brute-forces ambition by volume rather than elegance, filling enjoyment with weariness.

A massive, beautiful sequel that delivers enormous value with more realms, characters, and refined combat than its predecessor. The story can feel rushed and slightly bloated, and the constant hint-dropping from companions during puzzles and fights grows irritating. Still, the fluid combat, varied enemies, and standout performances make it a heartily recommended must-play.

A worthy follow-up to the 2018 game with combat that is undeniably superior and more polished, plus excellently balanced puzzles and meaningful side activities. The story can drag across long stretches and exploration feels cramped and linear, while the safe familiarity diminishes some of the magic of its predecessor. Despite these limitations, it stands as one of the most epic adventures of the year.

Bigger and badder than the 2018 original, with more combat, more realms, fantastic side quests, and greater gameplay variety. The story does not hit quite as hard as before and the pacing falters, with Ragnarok never feeling as world-ending as it should. It remains an amazing, highly recommended must-play for PlayStation owners.

A tremendous sequel that delivers bigger battles, larger worlds, and more gods while doubling down on a gentle, emotional, and surprising story. Combat is solid and expanded, the bosses and sub-bosses are excellent and varied, and exploration is fun for its own sake rather than just loot. A deeply satisfying, savor-it adventure that is fun as hell.

A worthy successor with incredibly high production values, stunning visuals, and rich side quests and lore that do the heavy lifting for the world-building. The main story stumbles with weak character motivation, a lack of mystery, and immersion-breaking modern dialogue, while the familiar combat stays good rather than great. Highly polished and not to be missed, though it falls just short of the flawless masterpiece many hoped for.