Set to follow on from 2018’s God of War, one of the best PS4 games ever, God of War Ragnarok remains slated to arrive this year, though we’ve yet to get a lot of details about it beyond a trailer with some game footage.
Set to tap into the power of the PS5, game footage of God of War Ragnarok already look stupendous. This time around, Kratos and Atreus look set to explore more of the Nine Realms of Old Norse mythology. While you’re waiting, we suggest going back to God of War and playing it on the PS5, as the enhancements it offers can take the seminal adventure and make it feel even better.
With that in mind, here’s what we know about God of War Ragnarok so far.
God of War Ragnarok release date
After being pushed back from a 2021 release and mostly silence from Santa Monica Studio, God of War Ragnarök now has a release date: November 9.
After a strong start to the year, there’s a worrying lack of PS5 and PS4 exclusive games on the horizon. But now God of War and PlayStation fans can breathe easily, as they’ll have a major game to play this fall.
God of War Ragnarok trailer and story
After much anticipation, we finally received an official reveal trailer for God of War Ragnarok, which debuted during the PlayStation Showcase 2021. It shows off the interplay between an older Atreus and his father Kratos. Returning as well are a familiar cast of characters from 2018’s God of War, as well as Norse gods Thor and Tyr.
But what we can take from this announcement is that the next God of War is a direct sequel to the 2018 game. Spoiler alert: The end of that game sows the seeds for the Old Norse tale of Ragnarok. During the ending, the Norse god of thunder, Thor turns up at Kratos’ house, seemingly to seek revenge for Kratos killing his sons, as well as his brother Baldur.
With that in mind, we can expect God of War Ragnarok to follow Kratos and his son Atreus — who happens to be the trickster god Loki — as they travel across the Nine Realms.
In fact, we now have our first look Svartalfheim, the dwarven realm. In an exclusive YouTube video, GameInformer got a look at God of War: Ragnarok’s Svartalfheim level. The realm is expansive, offering many potential opportunities for challenging puzzles. We also get some gameplay of Kratos swinging the Leviathan axe around.
In addition to Svartalfheim, we should also get to explore Asgard, as well as other areas.
We can also expect the combat to have the satisfying mix of chaotic-yet-weighty feel to it, likely with an added depth thanks to the advanced haptic feedback of DualSense controller.
A brand new story trailer showcase during the most recent State of Play live stream has given us further insight into the game’s narrative. As you might expect Ragnarok will see Kratos and Atreus venture out on another adventure, but they’re being closely watched by Asgard evert step of the way. Plus, not all the Gods the duo cross paths with will be friendly.
The three-minute long trailer also teases a pretty epic showdown with Thor, as well as encounters with Freya, Odin and, the Norse god of war, Tyr. It’s fair to say that this latest look at the highly-anticipated sequel has made the wait until November 9 feel even longer.
Speaking of the story, it’ll apparently take 20 hours to complete the main quest and a further 20 hours to finish off the side quests and and post-game content. But we can imagine that various challenges in the game and secrets to uncover could see that time extended even further.
2018’s God of War didn’t really come with any post-launch contents, so we can expect a similar case with Ragnarok, but never say never. If Ragnarok makes it to the PC, there could be a healthy modding scene for the game, but this is speculation on our part for now.
God of War Ragnarok PS5 and PS4
God of War Ragnarok is set for a release on PS5 and PS4, making it a cross-generation game. But that shouldn’t mean it’ll be held back by older technology.
Information spotted on U.K. retailer ShopTo (opens in new tab)‘s website has God of War Ragnarok set to get a 4K resolution mode that targets 30 frames per second on the PS5 or a dynamic resolution upscaled to 4K at a targeted 60 fps.
And the game is tipped to take advantage of the PS5 DualSense controller‘s advanced haptics and adaptive triggers. It’s also set to work with Sony’s Tempest 3D audio, meaning there’s likely to be some finely tuned audio.
God of War Ragnarok outlook
If God of War Ragnarok does arrive this year and follows in the footsteps of its predecessor in storytelling and action, then we could be looking at a new entry among our best PS5 games.
It’s a big ask, but there’s a lot of talent at Santa Monica Studio. As a first-party Sony developer, the company could really extract a lot of power out of the PS5 to make God of War Ragnarok a feast for the eyes. Even if that doesn’t happen, we’re still eager to see where the story goes next, as well as explore more of the Nine Realms. Although we will be careful about returning to God of War on PS5 — because it’s making the wait for Ragnarok unbearable.
