• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

God of War 2018 and Ragnarok are way overrated

Status
Not open for further replies.

SeraphJan

Member
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.
IMO Doom 2016 and Doom Eternal are text book of how game developer cared for their core audience, instead of try to please wider audience, (the audience that might not even give a fuck about your game in the end anyways) the latter might grab some cash temporarily, but might lose in the long run (although this probably might not happen to Sony, since first party exclusive are almost always the exception to the rule, but most third party game typically end badly in this regard)
 
Last edited:
I liked the 2018 game it was an amazing adventure that felt like you were playing a Ray Harryhausen game

I found Ragnarok rather dull nothing new and a sequel by the numbers

 

Hot5pur

Member
First of all very nice writing, I rather enjoyed that.

I agree on most accounts. I think the new GoW are good but flawed and not as good or in the spirit of the old games. I haven't played the second but I understand it's similar.

With 2018 I felt the over the shoulder camera and lack of free movement really hurt it. Also no aerial combat. It's like they restricted the game just so it can be more cinematic. The reality is the original games found a good balance between spectacle and gameplay, without too much compromise. This was done with QTEs and special sequences when the camera would zoom in.

Some people love cinematic stuff, and that's why Sony is popular. Some people just want their games to be more like movies. Most Sony games have become somewhat long cinematic slogs with ok gameplay but high production values otherwise. I still enjoy them but it's a specific kind of game.

Horizon, Last of Us, GoW 2018 are all examples of nice games overall, but with priority on cinema, with gameplay that is quite average.
 

Drizzlehell

Banned
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.
Nice try but if you're really interested in stories like that then you can do so, so much better than this.

Therefore, when I'm in the mood for thoughtful stories about fatherhood or grief, then I'm gonna go for something that's actually worth my time. But when I pick up a game in the series that's known for being a violent power fantasy, the last thing I wanna see is some old scrote moping about the past or grunting at his whiny kid. Next thing I know he's gonna start passing Werther's Original around.
 
Last edited:

Fabieter

Member
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

This looks like something Isshin would say

I think its interesting. I love both gow and dont think it's overrated but I wouldn't replay them either. Therfore it's interesting for me when alot of people can do it. I dont grasp it tho.
 

phil_t98

#SonyToo
they are both great games, loads of story to them and very entertaining. the only complaint I could have is the PS5 version isn't a big upgrade on the previous God of war but the ps4 God of war was one of the best looking games of last generation and looked practically next gen when it launched.


gameplay wise its a God of war game what do you expect? there is plenty to do when the game is finished with loads of secrets.
 

Calverz

Member
I didn’t like the original god of war games. When I first saw the unveiling of 2018 I was interested. It looked good. I then eventually picked it up and played it on ps4 pro. I never finished it though. I found it pretty boring after a couple of hours. Ragnarok just looked like more of the same to me. I don’t understand why they don’t add any multiplayer modes to these games. 😴

Edit: I should add that I did give it another go when I got my ps5. (got it free in the collection). But no. Not for me.
 
Last edited:

Darak

Member
You can say "objectively" that the Souls games have really poor combat. The move set is as simplistic as it gets, everything is ultra slow, enemies are trivially easy to read, there are almost no cancels, etc. Your options at a given point are extremely limited compared to, say, Devil May Cry or Ninja Gaiden. However, those things have a purpose, because games are more than their combat mechanics as they look on paper. In the Souls games, forcing you to commit to a move with no way back, the slow tempo, and moving your choices of moves to the meta, are integral to the experience because the game wants to play more like a real time strategy puzzle with high stakes rather than a twitch skill challenge. It's similar to how survival horror games gimp their shooter mechanics. I wouldn't say that one approach is necessarily worse than the other.

The modern GoW have a lot of this. They had different goals with the game experience, so the combat is different. The narrative and characters are now more important, so you have a third person camera and that comes with a set of compromises, especially regarding movement and enemy AI. It also comes with advantages, such as enabling more immersion, meaningful exploration, and puzzles.

I personally prefer the originals, because I enjoy that kind of game more than the new one. But again, I don't think the new approach is necessarily worse, it's my preference, and judging by their success, it was probably a good move.
 

PillsOff

Banned
I can’t wait for the same people who hate the latest GOW games to tell us how amazing Hellblade 2 is.
Hellblade 2 has 40 people dev team
They confirmed that they do not changing the "small scale development approach"
It is quite unfair to compare it to AAA monsters.

And, also.
While i am not a fan of it's shitty in your face overacting galore, first game(15 person dev team game) was way better then GoW as far as narrative direction goes
 
Last edited:

Markio128

Gold Member
Hellblade 2 has 40 people dev team
They confirmed that they do not changing the "small scale development approach"
It is quite unfair to compare it to AAA monsters.

And, also.
While i am not a fan of it's shitty in your face overacting galore, first game(15 person dev team game) was way better then GoW as far as narrative direction goes
I’m not dissing Hellblade - I enjoyed the first game and it had an interesting premise. However, I don’t think the dev team size has any bearing on the point I was trying to make.
 

PillsOff

Banned
I’m not dissing Hellblade - I enjoyed the first game and it had an interesting premise. However, I don’t think the dev team size has any bearing on the point I was trying to make.
But it somewhat does i think...
It makes em cutting corners more forgivable.
There is no universe where this placeholder of a gameplay first Hellblade had would've been forgiven if it was 500 people team working for 5 years behind it.
 
Last edited:

Markio128

Gold Member
But it somewhat does i think...
It makes em cutting corners more forgivable.
There is no universe where this placeholder of a gameplay first Hellblade had would've been forgiven if it was 500 people team working for 5 years behind it.
The point I’m trying to make is that if the Hellblade team wanted to make something similar to GOW 2005, then they could with the team that they have.

However, whilst a minority of gamers may be happy with mechanics and gameplay from 2005 (such as the OP), I’d say the vast majority prefer the direction taken currently.
 
I really liked God of War 4.

Ragnarok though is very overrated. It's like they set out to make the safest story possible where they wouldn't piss anyone off.

It's was a decent game to me nothing more. I put it on the level of GOT. Well made games but just didn't have that something special for me.
 

TheAssist

Member
I find the terms over- and underrated in regards to videogames pretty unusable. People who say either simply have an opinion that differs from the median. And opinions are hardly objective, no matter how much arguments you bring to the table. As this thread shows there are people on either side of the fence, again with the median leaning towards that they are good games and are hardly overrated, but rated according to what most people find enjoyable. Doesnt mean the games are for everyone taste, but also doesnt mean their rating is skewed into any "wrong" direction.

In short: You dont like a thing. Go figure.
 

Hobbygaming

has been asked to post in 'Grounded' mode.
Ragnarok is not at the same quality of the 2018. 2018 was made with love, Ragnarok was made with a little rush and lack of pasion, could be better.
sign language bullshit GIF
 

Just_one

Member
GoW 2018 is a great game , Ragnarok is more of the same in every single way , hell if it wasnt such a gigantic game i would call it a DLC , doesnt make it a bad game but its not really that much different from the first one if at all.
 

PillsOff

Banned
The point I’m trying to make is that if the Hellblade team wanted to make something similar to GOW 2005, then they could with the team that they have.

However, whilst a minority of gamers may be happy with mechanics and gameplay from 2005 (such as the OP), I’d say the vast majority prefer the direction taken currently.
It is bout execution rather then direction.
Lot's of half measures, cut corners.

N just outright rapper banding n automating the shit outa combat in a moments when your underline systems are failing is inexcusable
And Atreus is a cunt while Kratos turned into a different, worse kind of carbon cutout character rather then having some newly found depth to him with the story that goes absolutely NOWHERE while entire game basically build around the purpose of telling that said story

It is clearly does not matter as people entertained by this big budget jerk off of a game. So...
 
Last edited:

CGNoire

Member
What adventure elements did it have? Was entirely too linear. It worked for the time but the current games are more like a contemporary of Zelda than DMC
When you say Adventure it seems you have a specific flavor or Genre in mind.

The Adventure was the Quest to Retrieve Pandoras Box and Use its "Secret" to defeat Aries and get Vengenance for his hand in "nudging" your familys Murder.
 

Markio128

Gold Member
It is bout execution rather then direction.
Lot's of half measures, cut corners.

N just outright rapper banding n automating the shit outa combat in a moments when your underline systems are failing is inexcusable
And Atreus is a cunt while Kratos turned into a different, worse kind of carbon cutout character rather then having some newly found depth to him with the story that goes absolutely NOWHERE while entire game basically build around the purpose of telling that said story
I think you may have jumped out of my circle here and into the land of wtf.
 

Dutchy

Member
I bought a PS4 Pro for GoW 2018 alone. Never regretted it. Game is a master piece. Even if it's a relatively cinematic one.

Ragnarok has been a slight disappointment though.
 

yurinka

Member
I realize that it's a spicy thread premise but I hope that at least it grabbed your attention.
Go home, you're drunk. I don't know what happens with the clickbaity thread titles but please stop making them.

The games are masterpieces, specially the first one because it doesn't include 'diversity' filler portions. But it's ok if you don't ike some things.
 
Last edited:

DenchDeckard

Moderated wildly
I enjoyed 2018 for what it was. Ragnarok is a bloated mess overall...with some great points, but they are too far and few between. I never want to play as another character in a GOW game and Loki was absolutely shite to play as.

Note to SSM, move on to somewhere cool and focus on kratos. Someone kill loki or something and have him go nuts again. he was a limp croaky mess in ragnarok and made me hate Chris Judges performance.
 

Mayar

Member
We are all different and we all have different tastes, so a game that everyone would like in principle does not exist. And that's actually okay. I am a fan of the God of War series from the very first game, and I calmly play the new parts and do not think that there is something wrong with them. If we are talking about games within the same series, the game needs to change and provide something new to the player, otherwise we will play the same thing for years.

P.S - I consider Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild the most overrated game of all time and to be honest it almost killed the Zelda series for me, although I have been a fan of it since childhood. My favorite part is Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, which in my personal opinion is better than Breath of the Wild in every way.
 

SmokedMeat

Gamer™
You could see the reactions in the New Game Plus announcement for Ragnarok. For a game that’s supposedly so incredible, a lot of people didn’t want to touch it again.

Modern God of War puts the focus on story, which is still good - but it’s not the same God of War many of us came to love years ago.
 

kyussman

Member
I haven't played Ragnarok but I enjoyed GOW for what it was....a modern video game.The adventure/combat/puzzle ratio of the old games was perfect,the new one I played didn't nail it the same.Just think of some of the parts from the very first GOW and how they would never be included in a modern game......way to hard,lol.The only difficult parts of the new GOW I played were optional content.
Not saying the new games have to be hard to be good,just that the tone of the older games combined with more challenging gameplay worked better for me given what the games were about.During my current time away from playing games I've kind of gone off the concept of cinematic games and I've played all the major Sony ones over the years(enjoyed them too).I want more inventive gameplay in my gaming future not more life like cut scenes with great voice acting.This is just how I feel right now......I'd much rather play the older GOW games at this moment than the new ones.
 

Marvel14

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.

Bbc Pbs GIF by Sherlock
 
This is another opinion I don’t understand. I mean, how many other sequels veer greatly from the original?
Other sequels usually mix things up with a change of location or do something else to make it feel different enough.
Also, GoW 2018 was already super long so the demand for bigger changes in the sequel is just natural.

The old RE and DMC or whatever do not really compare because those were all 8-10 hours games, so no problem if you get another ones just like it. GoW 2018 was like 30-40 hours already. Those games just need to do more in sequels fi you ask me.
 

Yoboman

Member
When you say Adventure it seems you have a specific flavor or Genre in mind.

The Adventure was the Quest to Retrieve Pandoras Box and Use its "Secret" to defeat Aries and get Vengenance for his hand in "nudging" your familys Murder.
That's the narrative, I am talking about the gameplay elements
 

RAIDEN1

Member
So I am making my way through the 2018 reboot slowly but surely...doesn't quite have the hook for me as say Mass Effect did..and this is the first time ever I am getting into the series as I largely ignored it for the past 10-15 years its been around..it is okish so far....but still "on the fence" about it...
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top Bottom