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God of War Ragnarok, since its release back on November 11 this year, has been making headlines. It has garnered overwhelmingly positive reception among fans and critics alike, and the record-breaking sales have made it PlayStation's fastest-selling first-party title.
The previous entry in the series, God of War (2018), was already a masterclass in storytelling and world-building. And while it was indeed a challenging and daunting task for developer Santa Monica Studio to one-up their previous title, they somehow did manage to do just that.
All the praise and accolades God of War Ragnarok is receiving is well deserved, since it basically surpasses every expectation players had for the sequel to God of War (2018), both in terms of the gameplay and narrative-depth.
Having played through the entirety of the previous title more than a dozen times, I was really skeptical going into God of War Ragnarok. However, it genuinely surprised me with its quality gameplay, and a stellar and satisfying narrative conclusion to Kratos' Norse saga.
Evolving basically every aspect of the previous title, be it the combat system, world-building, exploration, and narrative, God of War Ragnarok is a masterpiece in every sense of the word. Despite that, it still isn't without its fair share of shortcomings that, in my eyes, prevent it from being the "perfect video gaming experience."
Here are five of the most annoying things in God of War Ragnarok that prevent it from being the perfect video game.
Note: This article reflects the author's personal opinion and contains spoilers for God of War Ragnarok.
God of War Ragnarok is almost the perfect gaming experience, if not for these five annoying things
5) Having to crawl, duck, and squeeze to transition between zones feels counter-intuitive
As mentioned in our God of War Ragnarok review, having to crawl, duck, and squeeze through tight cracks, crevices, and tunnels feels really archaic. In my opinion, doing so hampers the pace of the otherwise seamless and fast-paced action.
While I understand that these animations are probably added in order to mask loading screens, they still really left me loathing the game's exploration segments.
It is even more tedious to go thorugh multiple crawl, duck, and squeeze sections back to back when hunting down those pesky Odin's ravens or collecting artifacts that are required to get the Platinum Trophy for the game.
I remember feeling exhausted every time I had to go through Vanaheim, knowing I would have to row the slow and clucky boat, and squeeze and crawl my way through multiple sections just to grab one artifact or a Raven.
God of War (2018) also had the same issue, where the transitions between regions were masked by rather slow climbing, crawling, ducking or squeezing animations.
4) Companions and NPCs speaking way too often during regular gameplay
One of the biggest complaints that many players have with God of War Ragnarok is its NPCs. In narrative segments, the non-player characters Kratos meets throughout his journey, including familiar faces and quite a few new ones are amazing.
However, the over-reliance of companions on helping players with puzzles, and needless banter between Kratos and some NPCs, feels truly out of place.
The biggest problem that I have with over-talkative NPCs is the way they point out solutions to environmental puzzles, without giving the player enough time to figure out the solution. I feel it would be a great addition to the game as an accessibility option for those who might need it.
However, having NPCs point out solutions before players can even assess the possible solutions feels like an insult to their intellect.
I also have a personal grudge against Lunda, the new Blacksmith added to God of War Ragnarok, who feels the need to comment every time I upgrade my gear or craft a new one. The first few times it was fine. However, by the time I reached the end of the game, having multiple armor sets to craft and upgrade, often in quick succession, I was tired of her spouting the same few lines of dialog ad nauseam.
3) The borderline broken "Bifrost" elemental status
While I personally love having a bit of a challenge in combat, the newly added "Bifrost" elemental status feels more like a nuisance than a true challenge in my honest opinion. The concept behind the Bifrost is pretty cool, once Kratos is inflicted with the status ailment, any further damage, even a single hit from an enemy will result in a massive HP loss.
The Bifrost on itself doesn't do any damage, and much like Poison, Burn, and Frost, it slowly dissipates over time. However, the ability for the status to basically one-shot players with low Vigor stat makes it a really infuriating effect to deal with.
The enemies that deal Bifrost damage are mostly the Einhejar. However, a few late-game bosses, such as the Berserkers and the hidden Valkyrie in Muspelheim, Gna, are also capable of inflicting Bifrost.
The worst enemy in God of War Ragnarok that is capable of practically one-shotting a level-9 end-game Kratos is the Berserker King - King Rholf Kraki. He has a move where he rises up in the air and causes a massive Bifrost explosion that covers Kratos' enitre healthbar, and follows it up with a perilous attack.
This one combo, which the boss can perform multiple times during the fight, is the singlemost reason that made me hate the Bifrost status effect in God of War Ragnarok. While there are some Shield Ronds and armor sets that can somewhat reduce its effect, they come at a hefty cost of either reduced strength or vitality.
2) Reuse of mostly the same runic attacks from God of War (2018)
Runic Attacks were the highlight of the last game's combat system. They are more like get-out-of-jail-for-free cards that players can use to deal a ton of damage, while staying safe due to the hyperarmor during the Runic Attack animations.
It is understandable why Santa Monica Studio would've reused a few of the Runic Attacks in God of War Ragnarok, such as Rampage of the Furies, Meteoric Slam, Njord's Tempest, Breath of Thamur, and my personal favorite, Ivaldi's Anvil. However, I was expecting new ones to take the spotlight this time around, which sadly wasn't the case.
There were quite a few fun new Runic Attacks added for the Leviathan Axe and Blades of Chaos, but nothing topped the efficiency and damage of the old variants. I was also somewhat disappointed to see how much these special abilities were nerfed in the sequel, which made them rather redundant during the first half of the game.
1) The omission of Executioner's Cleave in favor of Serpent's Snare
Playing through God of War Ragnarok, one thing that I sorely missed from the last game was the very satisfying charged heavy attack, called "Executioner's Cleave." The skill was essentially my basic combo finisher for the Leviathan Axe, as it allows Kratos to "cleave" enemies in half at the end of the light-attack combo.
While the Serpent's Snare is a cool addition and lets Kratos toss around enemies or even throw them off cliffs, it's not a replacement for Executioner's Cleave, which felt much more satisfying to pull off during the heat of the battle.
I feel Santa Monica Studio should have at least given players like me the option to toggle between the classic charged R2 finisher and the new one.
While these five points are the shortcomings that were apparent to me during my 55-hour-long playthorugh of the game, these are nothing but my personal nitpicks in the grand scheme of things of an otherwise flawless narrative and combat experience.
God of War Ragnarok, despite having these "shortcomings," is nothing less than a masterpiece, and one that satisfyingly concludes Kratos and his son Atreus' Norse saga.
