2018’s God of War was a fantastic reboot of the over-the-top and grandiose action-adventure series starring the fallen demi-god Kratos, and developer Sony Santa Monica Studios plans to release the follow-up sometime in 2022. Revealed during Sony’s June PS5 reveal event, the next game will see the return of Kratos and Atreus as they explore more of the ancient Norse realms and encounter more powerful gods looking for retribution. Even more information about God of War: Ragnarok–and a new trailer–was released during the September PlayStation Showcase event. Here’s everything we know about the upcoming God of War sequel so far.

Release Date: Is God Of War Ragnarok Coming In 2021?

The next God of War game is poised to be one of the PS5’s biggest upcoming games. However, with the shifting changes resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and the need for more development time, the sequel was recently delayed to 2022. Sony Santa Monica Studios explained the delay vita Twitter, asserting its need to “remain focused on delivering a top-quality game while maintaining the safety and wellbeing of our team, creative partners, and families.” During the PlayStation Showcase in September, Sony announced that Ragnarok will be released at some point in 2022 for PlayStation 5 and PS4 (more on that next).

Will God Of War Ragnarok Be On PS4?

The God of War sequel is planned for PS5, but it’s also coming to PS4. The news of a previous generation version was quietly shared via a Q&A with Hermen Hulst, the head of PlayStation Studios, on the company’s blog. At the September PlayStation Showcase, Sony confirmed that Raganrok will be released across PS5 and PS4, though there is no word yet on any differences between the editions that might exist.

Will There Be A PC Version?

Given Sony’s recent track record of slowly bringing some of its biggest PlayStation games to PC, it makes sense to question the possibility for a PC version of God of War: Ragnarok. Sony also recently acquired the PC port specialist Nixxes Software, fueling rumors that Sony might bring more of its first-party games to PC to help expand their audience. While a PC edition of Ragnarok hasn’t been confirmed yet, Hulst mentioned in an interview on the PlayStation Blog that the company continues to further invest in the PC space. But if it’s anything like previous Sony releases on PC, it’s likely not to come to the platform for some time, if it ever does. Regardless, we’ll update this feature with more details as we learn them.

The Story So Far

The new trailer for Ragnarok released in September confirms that the game takes place “a few years” after the events of 2018’s God of War. “The freezing winds of Fimbulwinter have come to Midgard, making survival for Kratos, Atreus, and Mimir in the Norse wilds even more challenging than before,” Sony said in a blog post.

“While the last game built an enormous amount of trust and understanding between father and son, there is still a great deal of complexity in their interactions–especially after the revelation of Atreus’ Giant heritage and the hidden prophecy only Kratos saw.”

In Ragnarok, Atreus is “desperately curious,” according to Sony. “Like most young people, he wants to understand who he is more than anything. In this case, he wants to understand who he could be. The mystery of Loki’s role in the upcoming conflict is something that Atreus cannot let go of. He wants to keep his family safe, but Atreus also doesn’t want to stand by and do nothing while conflict consumes the Nine Realms.”

As for Kratos, Sony says he is intent on helping to spare Atreus from the “bloody lessons he learned from his conflict with gods.”

“He wants to keep his son safe, above all, and their confrontation with Baldur has vindicated the belief that only tragedy will come from further entanglements with the Aesir,” reads a line from the game’s description. “Together, Kratos and Atreus will have to make a choice about which path they will take. Whatever they choose will define the fate of all those living in the Nine Realms as Ragnarök approaches.”

Enemies

Two of the main enemies that you’ll face in Ragnarok are Freya and Thor. Freya was once Kratos’ friend, but after Kratos killed her son, Baldur, Freya seeks vengeance.

“We wanted to remind players that Freya isn’t just a terrifyingly powerful user of Vanir magic, but also that she’s a formidable warrior in her own right. Enraged by Kratos’ evasion of justice by her hand, Freya will turn every weapon at her disposal towards her son’s killer,” Sony said.

Thor is mad at Kratos because his sons and half-brother are dead. “Thor’s legendary bloodlust and wrath will be aimed at Kratos and Atreus,” Sony said. “Referred to disparagingly by Mimir as the ‘Biggest Butchering Bastard in the Nine Realms,’ Thor earned his title as one of the most powerful Aesir gods by wiping out nearly all the Giants at Odin’s command.”

Combat

2018’s God of War was praised for its combat mechanics and systems, and Ragnarok appears to carry forward that spirit and tradition.

“As a team we’ve worked hard to take our learnings from God of War (2018) and improve upon combat to feel fresh, yet familiar. With God of War Ragnarok, one of our main goals was to push player choice in combat. Whether it’s through hard hitting combos, a mastery of elements, or clever defensive tactics–you will find plenty of opportunity to fight alongside our duo in a way that feels uniquely expressive,” Sony said.

Kratos takes on a new enemy

The enemies in Ragnarok will be “harsher” and more varied, with Kratos and Atreus set to take on a “host of new creatures” from across Norse mythology. Some of the new enemies revealed so far include the Stalker and the Dreki.

“With an expanded cast of adversaries, we aim to keep each combat encounter memorable from the smallest brawls to the big show-stopper bosses!” Sony said.

To Asgard

Whereas 2018’s God of War allowed players to visit six of the Nine Realms, Ragnarok goes further and takes you to all nine. This includes Vanaheim, Svartalfheim, and Asgard, which were not in the first game. New areas from previous locations have been added to Ragnarok as well. “Exploring the realms will take you everywhere from verdant, otherworldly jungles to intricate subterranean mining networks,” Sony said. “This next installment in the series will bring you a more diverse, beautiful, and mysterious variety of locations than in any other God of War game.”

Trailers

The announcement trailer for Ragnarok did not give much away, but the September video from the PlayStation Showcase was packed with lots more interesting details, gameplay, and insight into what to expect from the sequel. You can watch both trailers below.

Voice Cast

Christopher Judge and Sunny Suljic return to voice Kratos and Atreus, respectively, while Ryan Hurst–who played Opie in Sons of Anarchy–has joined the cast as Thor. Laya DeLeon Hayes plays Angrboða, while Ben Prendergast portrays Tyr. Richard Schiff, meanwhile, plays Odin.

The Music

Returning from the 2018 game is Bear McCreary to once again compose the music. The new trailer from the PlayStation Showcase includes a tease of the new music, including a “significant new character theme,” McCreary said on Twitter. Outside of games, McCreary composed the music for the movie Godzilla: King of the Monsters.

A New Director

Cory Barlog directed 2018’s God of War, but he’s not returning for the sequel. Stepping in is Eric Williams, a veteran of the series, to direct Ragnarok. “It’s always been a tradition here at Santa Monica to change the directors across the games. We’ve had really good success with that. Cory is the only repeat director and rightfully so: he’s damn good at what he does,” Williams said (via VGC).

Barlog added, “The important thing for us is to be able to get a fresh perspective each time, but also a fresh pair of legs in the sense that you’re really exhausted at the end of finishing one of these things. So you’ve got to con somebody else into doing it.”

DLC Plans

As of right now, DLC plans haven’t been revealed for the game. Looking back at the God of War reboot, it received a set of updates that added in additional content, including new armor, game rebalances, and the option to roll into a new game while keeping your gear and skills. It did not have any paid expansions. It remains to be seen if the next God of War will have any post-launch plans, but we’ll be sure to keep you updated on what’s to come.

How To Pre Order

God of War: Ragnarok has not gone on sale just yet. Once it does, we will update this post with links on how you can secure physical or digital versions of the game.

Source: Gamespot

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