God of War: Ragnarok

⭐⭐⭐⭐

File under: Action and Adventure

I don’t have much time for games anymore, but over the last month or so, I’ve been chipping away—or maybe I should say chopping away-at God of War: Ragnarok. And I’ve to admit, loving it.

It’s a sprawling game that somehow manages to feel intimate and well-scoped. It’s not an open-world; if you stop to think about it at all, the world feels a bit too on-rails. But as someone who doesn’t love open-world games anymore—I get lost in them and just don’t have the time to explore—I found the constraints made the game better and easier to enjoy.

This is not to say the worlds here are limited; they’re massive and full of things to do. As I drew towards the game’s conclusion, I kept being surprised by a new side-quest or new errand that it was asking me to run. Most of which I very much enjoyed.

I enjoyed the story and worldbuilding as well, even though it hardly felt authentic and, at times, seems a bit too slanted towards giving the action-gamers what they want—bloody hacking and slashing everything in sight. Ragnarok takes extreme liberties with the source material, twisting the Norse and Greek myths in ways that often appear unrecognizable. For the most part, however, I liked what they did, especially with the characters. This franchise has a unique take on the personalities and relationships of the Gods, and while at times it’s a bit like a soap opera or HBO drama, I found it entertaining and, frankly, liked that I didn’t have to think about it too much.