Santa Monica studios take a look back at God of War as fans prepare for launch of Ragnarok

God of War Ragnarok is just a few weeks away from release, and as such, PlayStation and developer Santa Monica Studio have ramped up the game's marketing. Notably, promotions have been quite sparse for a title that is easily one of the year's most anticipated arrivals.

PlayStation recently gave fans a behind-the-scenes look at how Santa Monica Studio shaped the game's narrative in an attempt to match, if not surpass, its predecessor's phenomenal storyline. The feature also concluded the Ghost of Sparta, Kratos' Norse saga.

The video marks the beginning of a "behind the scenes" series that will give a glimpse at the game's development and new aspects that the developers have introduced.

The series kicks off with a deep dive into the game's narrative and how Santa Monica Studio, despite the hurdles they faced during development, manifested their vision.

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BTS for God of War Ragnarok focuses on game's narrative, giving a glimpse at some cutscenes

According to Ariel Angelotti, senior producer on God of War Ragnarok, contriving the story for the sequel to the phenomenal 2018 soft-reboot was tremendously challenging.

The God of War games were always known for providing a cathartic experience, as opposed to narrative nuance. Much of the love stemmed from the fun platforming and combat sections that saw Kratos slaughtering anyone unfortunate enough to fall victim to his rage.

However, after Ascension, Santa Monica Studio wanted to try something new and fresh. The ambition was to evolve the character of Kratos from a two-dimensional rage monster to someone more relatable.

This is exactly what Cory Barlog did with his vision for the soft-reboot, giving Kratos, a demi-god known for his blind rage, a brand new character arc that despite in-keeping with his Spartan personality, added many layers.

God of War Ragnarok takes place few years after the previous game, with the onset of fimbulwinter that was triggered early by Baldur's death. This initiated the prophesied end of the world, the titular Ragnarok.

Richard Gaubert, lead writer on the sequel, discusses how everything Kratos and Atreus did in the last game will ripple back towards them in the sequel, whether it be facing the Aesir for killing their own or clashing against the ally-turned-enemy Freya. The latter is hunting Kratos for the killing of her son Baldur.

Supervising dialog designer of God of War Ragnarok, Jodie Kupsco stated that the studio started working on filming the scenes much before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. However, there was still a lot of work left, which was further exacerbated due to the restrictions enforced in light of the global pandemic. Despite that, the team did not compromise on the game's original vision.

The 10-minute long video also gives fans a glimpse at some of the game's cutscenes, including an extended look at the very first scene of God of War Ragnarok's announcement trailer. The visuals demonstrated the deep bond between Kratos and Atreus.

Unfortunately, there wasn't any gameplay or combat-related information in the video, which will probably be saved for the next episode of the series coming on October 25, 2022. It will feature an in-depth look at Ragnarok's gameplay, combat systems, and a glimpse at the land of the elves, Alfheim.

God of War Ragnarok is scheduled to be released in just three weeks' time, on November 9, 2022 for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5.