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God of War 2018 and Ragnarok are way overrated

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Rea

Member
Kinda agree. I miss the old GOW. The music the gameplay, the gore the boobs. It's so Fucking epic and true M18 experience. The new GOW? Fucking feels like PG13. The only thing i like about new GOW is that the story and gameplay is abit better.

The same feeling i have when playing Elden Ring. I really miss the Old dark soul. Really hated the open world aspect of the game.

In the nutshell, both GOW and Elden Ring are Overrated.
 

CGNoire

Member
chris-farley-middle-finger.gif
I had that arm in the 90s and thats the only gesture we did.
 
I enjoyed the early games and still loved 2018. I don't think they need to play exactly the same. Why can't games evolve and change? I feel the same about Yakuza. I loved 0 through 4 (haven't played 5 or 6 yet), and I also loved Like a Dragon, which had completely different combat. I was able to enjoy each one for what it was.

I still don't have a PS5 so I haven't played Ragnarok, but if it's similar to 2018 then I'll probably love it as well.
 
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SlimySnake

Flashless at the Golden Globes
They've definitely lost that wow factor. Which is odd because the Stranger fight started off the 2018 game with a bang. But looking back, its basically the best setpiece/boss fight in the new series. Nothing else even comes close and yes, that includes the Thor fight which was basically a repeat of the first stranger fight.

They had giants, gods, thor, giant serpents and wolves and they screwed themselves by staying with a no-cut moronic artistic choice. Even if they tried to do those big setpieces they couldnt do it because of that dumb and overused technique.

I appreciate the focus on a more intimate story. I loved Kratos' character development in the first game especially since i hated his arc in the first three games. However, I have no fucking idea what they were thinking making him a soy boy millennial dad letting himself getting jerked around by Loki in the sequel. It hurts the story but it wouldve all been ok had they ended the game with a bang. They limped to the finish line which is a shame because they have clearly forgotten their own roots.

I dont mind the perspective change. I dont mind the bigger hub worlds and more character driven storylines, but if it comes at the expense of what made me a fan of the series then fuck em.
 
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A lot of people like them. Great. I couldn't get through the first one despite trying several times. The spectacle was great, epic even, but it just didn't do anything for me, personally. No need for me to bother trying Ragnarök.
 
GoW 2018 was ok. It has one of my favorite scenes ever.
I hated GoW R.
I don't like the combat and I don't like the exploration.
 

James Sawyer Ford

Gold Member
They've definitely lost that wow factor. Which is odd because the Stranger fight started off the 2018 game with a bang. But looking back, its basically the best setpiece/boss fight in the new series. Nothing else even comes close and yes, that includes the Thor fight which was basically a repeat of the first stranger fight.

They had giants, gods, thor, giant serpents and wolves and they screwed themselves by staying with a no-cut moronic artistic choice. Even if they tried to do those big setpieces they couldnt do it because of that dumb and overused technique.

I appreciate the focus on a more intimate story. I loved Kratos' character development in the first game especially since i hated his arc in the first three games. However, I have no fucking idea what they were thinking making him a soy boy millennial dad letting himself getting jerked around by Loki in the sequel. It hurts the story but it wouldve all been ok had they ended the game with a bang. They limped to the finish line which is a shame because they have clearly forgotten their own roots.

I dont mind the perspective change. I dont mind the bigger hub worlds and more character driven storylines, but if it comes at the expense of what made me a fan of the series then fuck em.

The game literally has more action/combat than any single one of the legacy series
 
I realize that it's a spicy thread premise but I hope that at least it grabbed your attention.

Now, before I move on, let me be clear - those are perfectly fine games. I don't really have any major complaints about them beyond the fact that I'm just not into them. If you're into the sort of experience that they're offering, then I'm sure you're gonna have a great time.

My main problem with these games is that they're way too focused on everything except what used to make this series great.

They're long, they take forever to get anywhere, the combat is a slog, the story is pretentious, and watching the behind-the-scenes footage makes the creators of the game seem way too preoccupied with the notion that they're creating some form of high-brow art. But personally, the story being told in this game resonated with me about as much as a loud fart resonates inside of my toilet bowl.

You know what I used to love about God of War? The fact that as soon as I put the disc into my console, it greeted me with a title screen that immediately got my blood pumping:



It's the fact that as soon as you pressed the Start button, a really pissed off Kratos made sure to let you know that you're in for a mean ride, and you don't wanna be there once he starts passing tickets around. Those classic games didn't fuck around. They told great, heroic tales too, but they never spent more time dishing out the plot than it was necessary and you spent most of the time curb stomping monsters and wearing their entrails like a necklace. It was a pure, unapologetic, testosterone-fueled power fantasy, and its main concern was to make sure that you have a raging power-boner the entire time while playing.

And what do we have in those new games? A 45-hour journey following an elderly man and his soy boy son as they endlessly walk through forgettable forests and mountains and engage in small-scale battles with a limited number of monster types.

Now, to be fair, there are some epic moments here and there. However, the overall emphasis on emotional storytelling over balls-to-the-wall action and gory combat felt severely underwhelming for me. While the story may be engaging for those who appreciate it, there isn't much replay value after completing it once. I struggled to finish a second playthrough of the 2018 game in preparation for Ragnarok, and by the time I got to Ragnarok, I was utterly exhausted with the gameplay style and simply pushed through it to reach the end. I doubt I will ever revisit this game when I could instead replay God of War 2, which remains a high point in the series for me.

So yeah, happy for everyone involved in the making of that game, glad that Chris Judge had his moment on stage, but I don't really care about those games.

Mud, mountains, forest, rivers, rocks, caves, Kratos's back and shoulders, annoying little shit scampering around while hassling me... That's pretty much all I remember from the first four or five hours of GoW2018. I stopped playing because it started feeling like more of a chore than a game and I could not convince myself to care about the story (I have no plans to play Ragnarok).

Like you said, there were some cool moments, though: the throwbacks to the original games, getting the blades of chaos... I'm sure there would've been a few more had I continued. But man, it's such a departure from the original games that it just felt like drudgery.

But I get it. After the critics brushed off Ascension as "more of the same" and "anticlimactic," Sony had to find a drastically new re-imagining for 2018 or they would've been raked over the coals for any redundancy. It paid off and everyone loves it and they made a ton of money. Good for them.

I don't hate 2018. Pretty graphics, quality production.... just not for me though. Norse mythology is a snooze-fest anyway.

Wake me up if Sony ever decides to remaster the PSP GoW titles and or Ascension for PS5 (as long as they're NOT "updated" for "modern audiences")

A lot of people have shit opinions, yours is one of them.

The Big Lebowski Dude GIF
 
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I haven't played Ragnarok yet, but I played through 2018 last year on my PS5. It is at least in the top 2 most overrated games of all time, in my opinion.

The "puzzles" are child's play, the story is incredibly inconsistent, and the choice to keep the camera so close to Kratos while enemies can attack from all directions is simply annoying, rather than challenging. Not too mention how absolutely boring traversal is in the game. It feels like it was made for idiots, by way of a Marvel Studios executive.

Which explains why it's so popular; people are idiots.

If you think 2018 was made for idiots, get ready for Ragnarok being made for 3 year old idiots. They at least let you try the puzzles yourself in 2018. Ragnarok tells you the answer to each puzzle. I've never seen anything like it.
 
Mud, mountains, forest, rivers, rocks, caves, Kratos's back and shoulders, annoying little shit scampering around while hassling me... That's pretty much all I remember from the first four or five hours of GoW2018. I stopped playing because it started feeling like more of a chore than a game and I could not convince myself to care about the story (I have no plans to play Ragnarok).

Like you said, there were some cool moments, though: the throwbacks to the original games, getting the blades of chaos... I'm sure there would've been a few more had I continued. But man, it's such a departure from the original games that it just felt like drudgery.

But I get it. After the critics brushed off Ascension as "more of the same" and "anticlimactic," Sony had to find a drastically new re-imagining for 2018 or they would've been raked over the coals for any redundancy. It paid off and everyone loves it and they made a ton of money. Good for them.

I don't hate 2018. Pretty graphics, quality production.... just not for me though. Norse mythology is a snooze-fest anyway.

Wake me up if Sony ever decides to remaster the PSP GoW titles and or Ascension for PS5 (as long as they're NOT "updated" for "modern audiences")



The Big Lebowski Dude GIF

I would love for Ascension to be remastered. Btw I just realized, is the next Zelda cribbing some mechanics from Ascension? ..the whole rewind time thing? Anywat It's a shame that the critics and public seem to think old gow = bad now. Reminds me of what we're seeing with Re4 remake where critics seem to think whatevers "modern" is necessarily better than what came before.
 

Neolombax

Member
I just love the series in general. I love the old games because it was just raw violence and spectacle and it was relevant at the time I was playing it. I love the new games because of how it emphasized more on character but it still had that visceral action gameplay. Again, its all a matter of perspective of when the game was released. My only complaint with GoW Ragnarok is that they should've ended it with a much bigger spectacle. The Odin fight was quite honestly a letdown, the fight with Garm or Nidhogg was more exciting and cinematic.
 
kratos going from 'rage-consumed killer' to 'dad'? i know it's all just a fantasy, but i mean c'mon, now...

also, i have no interest in acclimating to the over-the-shoulder melee combat, which, imo, is, & always will be, just pointlessly clunky...
 

SlimySnake

Flashless at the Golden Globes
The game literally has more action/combat than any single one of the legacy series
So does cod but no one gives a shit about cod campaigns.

I’m talking about setpieces that you don’t find anywhere else. That’s what seperated gow from the likes of ninja gaiden and dmc.
 
BEHIND YOU KRATOS!

They really fucked up Ragnarök's combat and they should have pulled the camera back.

Also a roadblock every single time the game got fun.

The writing would be rejected by Soap Operas and even Marvel movies.
Exactly this is what ruined the great parts of the games. Especially the sequel.
 

Comandr

Member
I could not be further on the other end of the spectrum here.

GOW 2018 and GOWR are a perfect sunset to the long and tired tale of Kratos.

After all the fighting, after all the killing and loss at the end he’s just a lonely old man that misses his wife and wants to live in peace, while protecting what little legacy he has left.

It’s a wonderfully refreshing story of how the endeavors of our youth can shape and even haunt us later in life.

If you can’t appreciate the beautiful narrative of… what was it? A testosterone filled power fantasy whose only concern is to make sure you had a raging power boner for the entire trip… to a journey with a man who just wants to enjoy being with his son with what little time they have left together? That’s on you. It’s a powerful overarching story.

If you only liked Kratos when he was balls to the wall and press X to rip and tear… I feel like that challenges the player right? Are you afraid of this character growing old and changing? Are you projecting your own fears of getting old and slowing down? Maybe you just don’t have the attention span for thoughtful storytelling.

TL;DR: Opinions are like assholes. Some of them are just wrong. And if you thought the combat was bad you clearly never fought any of the valkyries or berserkers.
 

CGNoire

Member
Mud, mountains, forest, rivers, rocks, caves, Kratos's back and shoulders, annoying little shit scampering around while hassling me... That's pretty much all I remember from the first four or five hours of GoW2018. I stopped playing because it started feeling like more of a chore than a game and I could not convince myself to care about the story (I have no plans to play Ragnarok).

Like you said, there were some cool moments, though: the throwbacks to the original games, getting the blades of chaos... I'm sure there would've been a few more had I continued. But man, it's such a departure from the original games that it just felt like drudgery.

But I get it. After the critics brushed off Ascension as "more of the same" and "anticlimactic," Sony had to find a drastically new re-imagining for 2018 or they would've been raked over the coals for any redundancy. It paid off and everyone loves it and they made a ton of money. Good for them.

I don't hate 2018. Pretty graphics, quality production.... just not for me though. Norse mythology is a snooze-fest anyway.

Wake me up if Sony ever decides to remaster the PSP GoW titles and or Ascension for PS5 (as long as they're NOT "updated" for "modern audiences")



The Big Lebowski Dude GIF
This.

Norse Mythology is God Damm SnoozeFest.
 

kingyala

Banned
I realize that it's a spicy thread premise but I hope that at least it grabbed your attention.

Now, before I move on, let me be clear - those are perfectly fine games. I don't really have any major complaints about them beyond the fact that I'm just not into them. If you're into the sort of experience that they're offering, then I'm sure you're gonna have a great time.

My main problem with these games is that they're way too focused on everything except what used to make this series great.

They're long, they take forever to get anywhere, the combat is a slog, the story is pretentious, and watching the behind-the-scenes footage makes the creators of the game seem way too preoccupied with the notion that they're creating some form of high-brow art. But personally, the story being told in this game resonated with me about as much as a loud fart resonates inside of my toilet bowl.

You know what I used to love about God of War? The fact that as soon as I put the disc into my console, it greeted me with a title screen that immediately got my blood pumping:



It's the fact that as soon as you pressed the Start button, a really pissed off Kratos made sure to let you know that you're in for a mean ride, and you don't wanna be there once he starts passing tickets around. Those classic games didn't fuck around. They told great, heroic tales too, but they never spent more time dishing out the plot than it was necessary and you spent most of the time curb stomping monsters and wearing their entrails like a necklace. It was a pure, unapologetic, testosterone-fueled power fantasy, and its main concern was to make sure that you have a raging power-boner the entire time while playing.

And what do we have in those new games? A 45-hour journey following an elderly man and his soy boy son as they endlessly walk through forgettable forests and mountains and engage in small-scale battles with a limited number of monster types.

Now, to be fair, there are some epic moments here and there. However, the overall emphasis on emotional storytelling over balls-to-the-wall action and gory combat felt severely underwhelming for me. While the story may be engaging for those who appreciate it, there isn't much replay value after completing it once. I struggled to finish a second playthrough of the 2018 game in preparation for Ragnarok, and by the time I got to Ragnarok, I was utterly exhausted with the gameplay style and simply pushed through it to reach the end. I doubt I will ever revisit this game when I could instead replay God of War 2, which remains a high point in the series for me.

So yeah, happy for everyone involved in the making of that game, glad that Chris Judge had his moment on stage, but I don't really care about those games.

your simply explaining everything wrong with modern media, nowadays fun isnt cool and politics are important, basically they make boring stuff... back in the days you just switch on your console slap a disk or a catridge and start having fun and nowadays you start learning politics and everything about how your a bad person... in other news there are more than 2 genders, what is a woman cant be answered, the earth is flat, gmo is good for all of us, and god of war 2018 is good and you dont like it because your a bigot..:messenger_tears_of_joy::messenger_tears_of_joy::messenger_tears_of_joy:
 

James Sawyer Ford

Gold Member
I’m talking about setpieces that you don’t find anywhere else. That’s what seperated gow from the likes of ninja gaiden and dmc.

There’s a ton of set pieces in GoWR

There’s like 1 or 2 titan fights in gow3? And they are the lamest fights in the game

GoW3 is the worst in the series if we don’t include ascension
 
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Whitecrow

Banned
Ragnarok at least have some decent story telling, and i must say I enjoyed Ragnarok a lot.
Never got the praise for 2018 honestly.

And I must say that as much as I love the originals, I personally miss some character development on those.
It would be awesome to have a GoW with the sense of fantasy en epicity of the originals, with the storytelling efforts of the modern ones.
 

Chukhopops

Member
Didn’t play Ragnarok since I only want it second hand for cheap.

When I played 2018 I enjoyed the parts where I was fighting enemies… but the other 70% of the game was a bit of a dredge.
 

Edge Lord

Member
I get the same feeling OP.Now it's just a bunch of art snobs trying to make a video game.Pretty much throughout the whole game there is less combat encounters and huge boatload of walking section, pacing problem,camera so close to your ass in a Melee action game.
 

Neff

Member
Yes, they are. But they're still very good.

And I don't care about the old God of War games at all.
 

SeraphJan

Member
One thing I absolutely agree, the original trilogy or even the the PSP ones, I have the incentives to replay them over and over while naturally accomplish the highest difficulty

The new God of Wars I only play them once and never touch them. Not to say they are bad, the first experience is great, but I just don't have the incentive to play it again

If the original trilogy (especially GoW2) deserves a solid 10, I would say the news ones are 8-9 ish, by no means its bad game, its production value and attention to detail speaks for itself.

But the original trilogy had absolutely perfect pacing, no matter how many time you've played it before, the moment you pick up the controller you just can't let go. The new ones however suffer heavily in this department. Some say its the storytelling segment, but I think the pacing is totally ruined by its open exploration nature, where the side content totally destroy the pace (while these very side content themselves aren't really adding much to the experience anyways), especially when some high level mob could one shot you makes all the boss encounter felt less impactful (the main bosses are just super easy compare to those side content).

IMO the new games should never try to implement Soul's game play style, it kills the identity of the franchise.
 
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Fabieter

Member
So its mostly that you dont like to replay them because gameplay is exhausting. Tell me a modern game where that's not the case.
 
The further we stray from the arcade mentality in AAA games the further games go up their own ass. Tbh movies and TV shows have also gotten quite far up their own ass. Everything has to be an Emotional Journey now.
 
God of War deserves all the praise for the reboot of the franchise however judging the games by itself, I think Ghost of Tsushima and Days Gone are better.
 
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SeraphJan

Member
So its mostly that you dont like to replay them because gameplay is exhausting. Tell me a modern game where that's not the case.
Sekiro, Nioh and Nier Automata I could replay them forever

Edit: And Resident Evil 2-4 Remake

They are all modern games
God of War deserves all the praise for the reboot of the franchise however judging the games by itself, I think Ghost of Tsushima and Days Gone are better.
I agree, I enjoy the story of GoT more than the new GoW
The further we stray from the arcade mentality in AAA games the further games go up their own ass. Tbh movies and TV shows have also gotten quite far up their own ass. Everything has to be an Emotional Journey now.
Some people criticize the arcady nature of the original trilogy, but thats the exact reason I love them, arcady almost always meant good pacing, the design philosophy was suppose to be like that anyways, if you need to get people engaged within few minutes (in arcade environment) while having the incentives to keep dumping quarters you absolutely need to have good pace.

That being said, the new GoW's objective quality do speak for itself, its by no mean bad game, its just not the game that's true to its original identity
 
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Fabieter

Member
Sekiro, Nioh and Nier Automata I could replay them forever

Edit: And Resident Evil 2-4 Remake

They are all modern games

I agree, I enjoy the story of GoT more than the new GoW, but like I said, GoW's objective quality do speak for itself its by no mean bad game

Some people criticize the arcady nature of the original trilogy, but thats the exact reason I love them, arcady almost always meant good pacing, the design philosophy was suppose to be like that anyways, you need to get people engaged within few minutes (in arcade environment) you absolutely need to have that

Well personally I mostly replay games in ng+ or with a rerelease. But as someone who absolutely loved nioh, sekiro and nier. How do you dont get tired of them. I get the re games rho.
 
Ill agree with Ragnarok. Half the game is teenage dumb shit and walking sim. At least the first was unique at its time and had better pacing. The second feels like an expansion more than a sequel.
 

SeraphJan

Member
But as someone who absolutely loved nioh, sekiro and nier. How do you dont get tired of them.
Great pacing, fluidity, and for Nioh its deep mechanic. That's the short version

Its really hard to describe that feeling in words, the closest wording I would use is probably Mushin, Sekiro especially captures that mental state for me. Come to think of it, it might probably be the design philosophy of the game
There is an absence of discursive thought and judgment, so the person is totally free to act and react towards an opponent without hesitation and without disturbance from such thoughts.
This looks like something Isshin would say
 
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Mr Branding

Member
SeraphJan SeraphJan brings up an important point imo, replayability.

Both 2018 and Ragnarok have great first play-throughs but I barely replayed 2018 in preparation for Ragnarok, last year.
I know some folks find it easier to replay them but I feel it's a chore and the news that Ragna got it's NG+ didn't hype me up at all because I've had my fill when completing the game. And I didn't even platinum it or play it on harder difficulties.

Just one go on normal was enough. I dunno what it is, but the games feel bloated and not as fun as the previous ones, where I couldn't get enough.

Ascension is even more fun after getting all blade abilities on NG+, a pure joy to play.

 
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Drizzlehell

Banned
I enjoyed the early games and still loved 2018. I don't think they need to play exactly the same. Why can't games evolve and change? I feel the same about Yakuza. I loved 0 through 4 (haven't played 5 or 6 yet), and I also loved Like a Dragon, which had completely different combat. I was able to enjoy each one for what it was.

I still don't have a PS5 so I haven't played Ragnarok, but if it's similar to 2018 then I'll probably love it as well.
Doom 2016 is an example of how to evolve your series the right way. It breathed new life into the series and made it feel fresh again but it did it while staying true to the spirit of the original games and the feeling they gave you when you first played them over 20 years prior. God of War reboots pretty much did the opposite by abandoning the core of what used to make the series fun to play. I wouldn't mind a revamped combat system or different camera perspective as long as the game itself would feel like a GoW game.
 

Fess

Member
GOW2018 > Ragnarök without a doubt, Ragnarök felt like playing a gory kids game at times with all the hand-holding, I thought it would just be the tutorial but they kept it going til the end.

But I still liked both of them for the story telling and action set pieces. Absolute masterpieces on this.

I only ever did one playthrough though, once the story has been told they feel too linear and drawn out to get me to stay through it all again.
 

[Sigma]

Member
I said it years back after playing GOW 2018. I didn't go around calling it overrated I think but I gave the game a 7/10. Listed reasons why so I didn't totally kill it. I just never wanted to revisit that game once I beat it one time. That it just felt like a slog at too many points and I wasn't digging some of the changes that contributed it feeling that way. It's the main reason why I haven't played Ragnarok. I feel like I have to force myself to be in the mood to play it and I just haven't worked up the motivation to do so at this point.
 
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