God of War: Ragnarok
Credits to IGN & Official “God Of War: Ragnarok”
All I want for Christmas is God of War Ragnarok!
On March 22, 2005, the world witnessed the release of what would later become an iconic franchise for Playstation: God of War.
Developed by Santa Monica Studios and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment, the game now has 10 sequels and spin-offs. Each tells the story of Kratos, a Spartan general who, after surviving a near-death experience, calls upon the God of War, Ares, to aid him in defeating his enemies. In return, Kratos, serves Ares, using the Blades of Chaos, the weapon of the Gods, to go on adventures, attack armies, and participate in the destruction of villages from ancient Greece.
God of War: Ragnarok was released on November 9, 2022. On its first day selling more units than any other God of War game did in a week. The Youtube trailer reveal has a whopping 18 million views with 778K likes to 11K dislikes and a 30-second cinematic trailer has 10 million views with 262K likes to 3.5K dislikes. If you check Twitter before and after the release of the game and have ever had someone in your timeline talk about video games then most likely there was someone talking about Ragnarok. It’s also expected to win Game of the Year for The Games Awards (The Grammys of the video game world).
Although I have yet to get my hands on the game — maybe for Christmas — watching playthroughs on YouTube leads me to believe that this game is the most obvious contender for Game of the Year. The story, gameplay, characters, and even acting tell me this is PERFECTION.
Since its beginning, the best part about playing God of War is its epic battles and good storytelling. Ragnarok has focused more on storytelling than other game franchises. This time around we won’t be seeing the Kratos that beat up Poseidon with his bare hands to the point of death. This time Kratos is more focused on how to properly raise a teenager being a single father all the while killing a few gods to pass time.
Also, it’s important to remark on the setting because of the big and meaningful change that is for the franchise. Not only does the setting change from original Greece to Scandinavia, in ancient Greece they were well known for their nudity and so were the original game but Scandinavia serves for a change in that aspect in order to find a younger audience. Nevertheless, Scandinavia is not going to be the only place to visit, because God of War Ragnarok explores Norse Mythology. We get to visit The Nine Realms, which are Mythological planets that exist.
As mentioned before one of the defining features of the franchise is the epic battles and I can say it definitely delivers. The fights are as epic and brutal as ever, we have different finishing moves depending on what weapon or lack thereof you have. Now talking about weapons, we have three of them. One of them you don’t get until later in the game. But, the other two are the Blades of Chaos and the Leviathan Axe. The Blades of Chaos are two blades attached to chains that are burned into Kratos’s arms and are a constant reminder of his past. Then we have the Leviathan Axe, Kratos’s new weapon given to him by his new wife, if the Blades of Chaos are a reminder of Kratos’s past then the ax is a reminder of his new life.
God of War Ragnarock is ought to be a huge Christmas hit for the Playstation community. From where I stand, I can’t wait to get my hands on a copy. It’s going to be such a MURDER.
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My name is Joshiel. I'm a junior at 223.
Cassidy G
Apr 18, 2023 at 1:21 pm
Joshiel, you did an amazing job putting your voice into this article which benefits readers’ understanding and how much you wish to have it for yourself. You also did very well at explaining what the game is. For example, “This time around we won’t be seeing the Kratos that beat up Poseidon with his bare hands to the point of death. This time Kratos is more focused on how to properly raise a teenager being a single father all the while killing a few gods to pass time.” This part of the article is very beneficial as it allows viewers to understand the characters that are involved and how this newer version is different than past games that have been released. Additionally, in the second to last stanza, you elaborated the different weapons that are included which adds even more detail to what makes the game so intriguing. And lastly, I really like your voice in the end when you wrote “From where I stand, I can’t wait to get my hands on a copy. It’s going to be such a MURDER.” Overall, this was a very fun read. Have you gotten a chance to play the game yet??
Storey Ahl
Apr 18, 2023 at 12:21 pm
Hi, I am a student journalist for Inklings Newspaper at Staples High School in Westport, Connecticut. I read your article and really enjoyed it! Although I had never heard of this game series, and I don’t really play video games, it made me very interested! The topic of the game and the worlds and fantasies that it dives into sound really cool and engaging. I really like how you capitalized certain words to further bring your voice into the article without sounding too biased. For example, when you wrote, “The story, gameplay, characters, and even acting tell me this is PERFECTION.” I know it may be discouraging to be a part of a relatively small newspaper, but from this article I can tell that you guys as a club are very sophisticated and have a bright future as a school newspaper!
Charlotte B
Apr 18, 2023 at 12:15 pm
Hi,
I am a student journalist for Inklings News in Westport CT. Reading this video game review, I was really intrigued, even as someone typically not into video games. You did a really good job structuring your article by providing background about the game and statistics about its popularity while also providing your own opinion on the game as well. I really liked how you ended your review by providing a connection to the book one can gain from he insights throughout your piece.