The most anticipated of Playstation exclusives is starting to show the tip of its nose. Sony did not hesitate to present us with a new exclusive gameplay trailer for God of War Ragnarök at its State of Play in mid-September.
[Mis à jour le 14 septembre 2022 à 12h17] Kratos and Atreus make their comeback in God of War: Ragnarök. Our favorite family duo still have their work cut out for them in this sequel to 2018’s excellent God of War, as evidenced by the story and gameplay trailer that Sony presented to us in its State of Play in mid-September. Unpublished and frankly impressive images for this size Playstation exclusive, the one that intends to take us to the borders of the nine kingdoms, from Asgard to Helheim, in a quest for murderous and deicide answers. The hype is at its highest after these three minutes of great show trailer, we let you discover it just below.
Besides this three-minute trailer, Sony Santa Monica remained quite silent about the scenario of God of War: Ragnarök. We only know that the game will resume where its predecessor left off, that is to say after a somewhat brutal osteo massage given by Kratos to Baldur, the main antagonist of this first part. Except that Baldur comes from a fairly prestigious family, his dad being called Odin, his mom Freya and his brother Thor. And in this universe, Thor is far from Chris Hemsworth, more bloodthirsty brute than Australian playboy. As much to tell you that Kratos risks again exercising his talent as a deicide.
It is also in a hidden end of the previous God of War that we were able to see the god of Asgard for the first time. Directly threatening Kratos outside his hut. A few lightning bolts, a hammer, and an out-of-the-box threat that makes our back hairs stand on end, and that’s what Sony Santa Monica is all about. And the hard part is that Thor is not alone in his murderous quest for Kratos, he is accompanied by his stepmother Freya who mourns the loss of her son Baldur, or even Odin and Fenrir that the we could well meet in this new episode. In short, it’s all of Asgard that arrives to take care of our grumpy Spartan. Moreover, Ragnarök will also be the time to meet Tyr and Mimir, the two allies of our favorite father-son duo.
As for the worlds where the continuation of the quest of Kratos and Atreus will be held, it will once again be the Nine Kingdoms composed of Ásgard, home of the gods, Vanaheim home of the Vanes, Alfheim kingdom of the light elves , Midgard realm of men, Jotunheim the home of giants, Svartalfheim realm of dark elves and dwarves, Nilfheim abode of the Mists, Muspelheim realm of fire and Helheim, the empire of the dead and rather literally hell. For now, we don’t know much about the path our heroes will take in this second part of their adventures, but we can’t wait to find out.
If we can not yet be ecstatic in front of official gameplay sequences of God of War: Ragnarök, we were still able to see some images thanks to our colleagues from Game Informer. Indeed, it is in an exclusive interview with Mihir Sheth and Denny Yeh, the two responsible for the fight in the game, that we were able to learn more about the fight in this next release. And according to our two friends, Kratos has new ways of “playing with his food”. Concretely, our Spartan will now have two shields, a smaller and more offensive one and a larger and defensive bulwark. The hatchet can also be “infused”, as well as other elements of Kratos’ arsenal, in order to add elemental fire or ice damage to them. The Blades of Chaos also seem to have been redesigned, and the bestiary greatly expanded.
All of these changes speak to Yeh and Sheth’s desire to deepen combat in God of War: Ragnarök: “In the last game, if you pressed the “Triangle” key, the ax would return. But if you already had the ax, nothing happened. In the same way, if you held the Chaos Blades, you switched to the Axe. We wanted to add something to this button: a new set of options.“Small highlight for this interview, four images, showing us some Kratos fight sequences.
With such enthusiasm around the release of God of War: Ragnarök, Sony had to think big for the edition of its video game. That’s why God of War: Ragnarök will be released in four different editions, available for pre-order from July 15. You will find there the edition “Launch“, including the digital game and skins of Kratos and Atreus, the edition “Digital Deluxe“with additional skins of our two heroes and their weapons, as well as the soundtrack of the game and a digital artbook, the edition”collector“which will also include a replica of Mjölnir, Thor’s hammer, as well as wooden figures, a Steelbook, an altar of knowledge box and dwarf dice, and finally the edition”Jotnar” which in addition to these elements includes a map, pins and an exclusive vinyl.
The release date of God of War Ragnarök is finally known! The game is planned for PS4 and PS5 for the November 09, 2022 and is already available for pre-order. You will therefore have the opportunity to discover the continuation of the adventures of Kratos and his son trying to thwart the Apocalypse on old-gen as on next-gen, although the first gameplay images published during the Playstation Showcase may be worrying as to the technical capabilities of the Playstation 4 to run the game in good conditions. On PS5, on the other hand, no problem, the game will benefit from the technical advances of the console for a display in 4K and at 60 fps.
Last September’s Playstation Showcase delivered many surprises, but it was God of War Ragnarök that made an impression. Santa Monica Studios presented us with a three-minute trailer of its little protege, the PS5 exclusive capable of capsizing the hearts of even the most extreme Xbox fans. Kratos comes back, and comes back strong. The adventures of our favorite Spartan and his son Atreus pick up where they left off, at the end of the last God of War, and are still unlikely to be likened to a walk in the park. We can also note muscular gameplay sequences and breathtaking graphics. Nothing better to exploit the full power of the Playstation 5 than an exclusivity of this level.
If Sony’s announcements about the release date of God of War: Ragnarök do not mention the PC as a game medium, nothing is carved in stone regarding the future of this Playstation exclusive. Indeed, although the game is reserved for Playstation 4 and Playstation 5 consoles, it could well arrive on PC in a few months or even a few years. Sony’s policy regarding its exclusives is changing, and the video game juggernaut intends to transport the exclusives that have made the success and identity of its keyboard and mouse consoles. This is particularly the case for the previous Horizon: Zero Dawn and God of War which appeared on Steam a little over two years after their release on Playstation 4. The PC market is indeed too huge to be ignored by console manufacturers. .