Violence, very few things speak to a human as it does. But causing it is frowned upon by most people and the law for a good reason. So, when people looked at video games and wondered what if we could do morally dubious things in a fictional world. This article will be talking about the game franchise that had Sony parading a dead goat around its office at one of its launch parties. It’s the extremely gore-y and brutal God of War franchise.

God of War was released on March 22, 2005, as a fixed-camera arena hack-and-slash adventure through the world of Greek mythology. Its focus was the gameplay that was enjoyed by most and the spectacle of the boss fights and set pieces were visually impressive at the time. However, the thing it was most famous for was the excessive violence that the game featured. It followed this formula and built upon it more and more until the release of God of War 3 in march 2010.

This release would’ve been considered the end of the God of War series for many due to the main character, Kratos, killing all the gods and then proceeding to kill himself – or so it seemed at the time. The franchise was held in this limbo for 8 long years, during which many had no idea what a sequel would hold. God of War (2018) was the revealed that gave fans their answer in which Kratos is alive with a whole new take on the God of War formula and the character.

All of this has led to the release of  God of war: Ragnarok on November 9, 2022, the sequel to God of War (2018) which it follows in the footsteps on multiple levels. The game continues in some areas but is now an over-the-shoulder melee-based open world. It sold better than Call of Duty, Elden Ring, and even Pokemon as of current statistics. The game is now more about exploration and a focus on the stories it wishes to tell as in the main storyline and side quests. It still maintains gorgeous visuals in its various backgrounds, as well as its many well-crafted boss fights and main storyline cutscenes, giving off that same gore-y spectacle the old God of war was famous for.

Of course, reviewers were completely raving over it with statements such as  “Every new quest in the game enriches these characters or the world they inhabit, sometimes both.” from Justin Clark of Slant magazine, or “epic and stunning settings and a huge world to explore, with a guarantee of dozens of hours of gameplay and a set of characters of curious characterization” from Anibal Goncalves of IGN.

Most of that may not mean much to some people which I understand from some of their interactions with certain parts of the gaming community. So I asked a friend of mine from the internet who pre-ordered it as he is a fan of both the God of War(2018) and the older titles of the franchise. “ God of War’s appeal has changed after the 2018 release, I was hoping for God of War: Ragnarok to be more like the original. But that was simply not the case they doubled down on their decision, Although it was fun to play in its own right, the only real thing it has in common with the originals is the main character.”- user MaleMindflayer.

What’s to be taken away from this? The new God of War: Ragnarok is a very competently made game that follows in its predecessor’s footsteps which was controversial with the older fans. I think it’s definitely worth your time and you should check it out even if you’re unfamiliar with the franchise.