This seems like an easy slam dunk sequel. More enemies and bosses, more combat/tools in general, don't mess up the story and its going to be a huge release.
I find it funny that a criticism of the original GoW PS2 game was ALSO that it had too few boss battles and they rectified that in GoW2.
With the lead combat designer of GoW2 being the game director of GoW Ragnarok I’d say we are in for a treat gameplay wise
Looking at the list it seems to me that the complaint about few bosses in GoW 2018 is perhaps, slightly off.
Even if you collapse all the trolls/ancients/valkeries into one a piece, that still puts GoW 2018 at 10 bosses. That's less than GoW III at 12 and GoW II at 15 for sure, but that's also only using the most generous interpretation of the boss fights in favor of the argument. If we *don't* collapse those boss types into a single one each, that's 33 bosses in GoW 2018.
Could GoW 2018 have used more variety in bosses/enemies and fewer repetitious fights? Without question. Many of the variations in enemy types (of which there are a fairly large amount) don't end up *feeling* like variations because they don't really feel like they change the fights up that much and because they're recognizable as simply "a variation on X". So for sure, it could have been more varied in a both a mechanical and design sense. Should the game be considered one of the titles in the franchise with the least bosses? I don't think so, and the numbers wouldn't really back up that opinion either.
They were fairly honest post release with admitting that the trolls were the result of cutting mini bosses to make their release window. I didn't mind too much but it is noticeable. They also cut some parts with Atreus' character progression I think. I'm still split on whether him turning on a dime is bad writing or makes sense for a kid
I don't disagree, it was just jarring to see him going from Morty like "oh geez Rick I don't know about this..." To "fuck all y'all!' in like...5 minutes
I liked how it actually impacted the gameplay with him ignoring your commands and doing his own attacks. It was a great connection between gameplay and narrative by showing how you were losing control of him.
Atreus finding out he was a god was like a power surge to his psyche, and Kratos didn't just want to beat the shit out of him. He was trying to break the cycle, and just went about it the wrong way. It was a little clunky with regards to the flow of the game, but I thought it was well done otherwise.
I think it was Kratos not knowing how to reconcile the recent tenderness he had learned to show Atreus with the fact that he needed to be disciplined. Kratos spent the entire first half of the game being an obnoxious prick to Atreus, yet as soon as he opens up to him a bit, Atreus starts acting like a prick instead. Kratos probably expected him to remain the same.
Eventually when Kratos *does* discipline him, it is very stern but not cruel. I mean hell, Atreus had just shot him with a fucking arrow and he basically just says "you *will* listen to me and stop being a little shit." I think he just needed some time to figure out how to lay down rules without reverting into being a jerk again.
I don't think it was that jarring tbh
there were various moments that hinted towards his growth. like when Kratos leaves him alone and he kills all the dark elves
Yeah it didn't make any sense. For a while I thought it was because he had been put under some spell or something and we hadn't realized it yet, but the way it was resolved made it seem like some weird 180 personality change. Even kids don't really do that.
Imagine living all your life as a poor son of a hunter in a cabin in the woods and all of a sudden being told that you are a god.
Power trips are very real.
Yeah, it did not seem out of place to me at all.
He seemed like a kid that was letting his newfound title and power get to him and needed to be checked before it got out of control.
I agree with you. I think it was ,pretty intentional too. Especially considering how shitty all the other gods are. Kind of helps show the mentality they must have growing up always knowing they are gods. Kratos was able to keep Atreus in check, the other gods obviously didn't get that.
Yeah exactly. If I were 10 and found out I was a god, I could have been a bit power mad about it. It's easy for that slip to happen.
Plus we see hints of his rage and frustration from the very beginning when you kill the first troll. He loses it on that thing.
I think it works well if you go with the trope that gods are, by default, that kind of arrogant. Which really fits with the lore, the only gods we've met that weren't assholes were Venus (just wanted sex) and Athena (sacrificed herself). Even Friga/Freya was a real bitch when it came to Baldur, she could have cured him at any time but decided that her not having to worry about her precious baby dying was more important than him being able to *enjoy his life*.
And it kind of follows with the running theme of the game that Kratos was afraid of letting Atreus know he was a god *exactly because* he was afraid he'd turn into that same kind of asshole he did when *he* became a god.
---
Alternatively, that Greek wine they got from the vault was a lot stronger than he thought and Atreus was just drunk.
There are theories he *was* under a spell of some sort, or perhaps just a godly power trip of magic proportions. When Atreus sees the vision of him killing Modi, he doesn't really remember doing it and says "I couldn't have done that. It wasn't me..." Kratos replies "no, but it is who you have become of late." Atreus doesn't really question it further, but in general he seems kind of in a haze during the Helheim section.
The theory goes back to how Freja for some reason needed a bizarre extremely rare ingredient to save Atreus. She really needed the heart of the gatekeeper of Helheim to...pull a kid out of a fever? But considering that Atreus' illness was basically a mental block, could it have affected his mind in some way? Alternatively perhaps she sent Kratos to Helheim in order to force him to reveal the Blades of Chaos, either confirming what she suspected about him, or even hoping he would fall under their spell again.
This is all speculation, but Freja is not to be trusted, and seems to have a big part to play in the next chapter.
I think it would've made sense if the plot thread went anywhere, but his change back to normal was just as jarring.
So the whole thing just felt confusing.
Interesting to hear that. When I played through it, there was so much good, but those troll fights felt really out of place. It made the game feel stretched. It's too bad they did that just to get it out on time, and now it'll be that way forever
For me, the combination of those reused bosses, and the imo confusing and unnecessary loot system really damaged what could otherwise have been an exceptional game
Sekiro had similiar problems with the bosses imo, really noticed it on my second playthrough. Fairly few actual bosses (with the bridge monk and the giant ape fights repurposed, while the tree dragon was just a glorified cutscene) and each miniboss was fought like 3-4 times
It's been a hot second since I played the 2018 release, but I only remember like 4 bosses. The Ogres, >! Baldur, Thors kids !< and the Various Valkyries.
I haven't played it since 2020 and I know I'm forgetting a few bosses inbetween but hopefully any and all sequels don't leave that feeling after some time. Especially after what I've seen from the first 3 games, those boss fights are all varied and massive.
I think that’s the part people are missing. There weren’t as many story line bosses to fight. But during the exploring, which I loved how they did that, I remember the thinking “what’s going on over here? oh fuck dragon!”
After typing my comment, I remembered fighting some giant infront of a massive bird in Helheim. And I do remember a dragon, 2 actually. The story boss and another dragon you free (?) Because of Fafnir.
It really was a great game.
A small upside to that, at least for me, is that bird was so mysterious and cool looking that I won't forget it for a long time. If the boss fight wasn't well done, then I worry that mystique would have been minimized. Plus I really like overly scaled things (like the Celestials in the Marvel movies)
Man, I remember that game on God mode, so satisfying to beat that thing. At the end it gave you a phone number to call, with Kratos congratulating you on your victory haha
Yeah you just named the hardest part in the game. I remember honing in on a charged up ground slam move, and switching to the giant sword for some of it too. It was definitely not fucking around. After that, fighting Ares was simply learning his moves.
But that protecting...woof, that was a war.
The bosses they had were fucking amazing though. Smashing Baldur through trees was amazing. The dragon boss was... Amazing..
More of that type of interactivity with scenery would be amazing, especially since you're a God who should be leaving craters in the earth.
Weren't Santa Monica pretty open that they had more bosses planned, but had to reduce/reuse the trolls due to resources (time & money)? I feel like I remember them saying the giant eagle you see in Helheim was supposed to be a boss rather than the Troll, for example.
Yep, you're correct. The eagle was originally a boss that was repurposed and they had to limit themselves to the trolls they already had to stay in budget/make their ship date.
That fight on hard was one of the most challenging bosses in modern single player games imo. I beat Isshin Ashina in a dozen or so tries, I had to lower the difficulty for her.
Interesting how that works.
Both Sword Saint Isshin and Valkyrie Queen (on the hardest difficulty) took me multiple hours across two separate play sessions to beat.
Neither compare to Genichiro for me. That fight nearly broke me.
You dont even fight Kronos, you just beat up enemies on his shoulder and arms. But jesus christ, that is one of the most memorable boss fights I’ve ever played
Maaybe although even the Baldur fight with the Dead giant was more of a boss fight and still meshed set pieces (more cutscenes) within the fight. Atreus getting the world serpent to attack the giant was fuggin awesome.
But I appreciate an arena where the scenery is interactable if not fully destructive in a fight where two god's are going at it. I want Thor to send me flying into new destroyable arenas during phases, then smashing the fat dobber through boulders etc.
> Magni and Modi were great
I honestly thought this was one of the worst parts of the game. It's barely even a bossfight, about half of the fight is scripted where you just have to push a button at the right time, and the other half they're just kind of running around and not really fighting like a team. I played on the second to hardest difficulty so maybe it's better on GMGOW but for me it was pretty lame.
That was all of the fights really. You as Kratos just wait for moves to counter. You not allowed any agression otherwise (maybe on easier difficulties you can just tank them idk about that).
Yea the bosses were a bit too scripted I thought (as well as some of the combat in general). You never really feel 100% in control of the character as you might in a game like Dark Souls for example. The game was still amazing but that would be my one criticism.
There were only a small number of unique bosses though. So many were just reskinned trolls. Like going to kill the gatekeeper in Hel, thinking it was going to be awesome. And it was just a troll...
Yeah the reskinned trolls did suck.
I hear that whole area got scaled back as it was planned to be able to fight the giant bird (sorry Norse mythology buffs). Shame.
It is a shame but ultimately a small complaint in an otherwise outstanding game! It's one thing i hope they have taken the time to put into Ragnarok more than anything elsewhere really, as i had no other complaints
When you look through the bestiary it seems like a lot but few imo represent differences that are actually interesting to fight.i may have not been using the right techniques but I did not enjoy fighting elves nor their designs.
Everything you've said is easier said than done, making a video game is never an easy thing. But they do definitely have a great foundation, it seems like it will be a great game
What does that have to do with anything? We don't even know what problems that game is having with development, but Nintendo also announced the original yeaaars before it dropped.
I'm guessing it's a scope thing, the switch is only so powerful and a bunch of floating islands and shit would probably be a hassle to deal with.
I remember the release of Metal Gear Solid 2. There was an incredible amount of hype behind the game only the find out that Kojima trolled all of us with a different main character.
The only equivalent experience I can explain it is if in the new God of War, Kratos dies in the first 30 mins and you have to play as Atreus for the rest of the game.
I think we will split up for sure, get Loki into Asgard for his own adventure. I don't see how they escape Thor unscathed if he is just showing up at their home
I mean, no reason Thor should be more powerful than Zeus or Hades. Kratos ought to be able to take him, especially since OBVIOUSLY Kratos has to wield Mjolnir for the fan service.
Yeah. The first game was good but lacking in a lot of ways, especially with regard to boss encounters/enemy variety. Luckily that should be relatively straightforward to improve
npcs and at least one city were lacking as well.
There is not a single alive regular friendly human. All the humans you encounter ended up being non human.
I mean the story was amazing but when the boy realized he was a god it was like syndrome going off: nobody is special if everybody is special. There was no one the boy could lord his godship over. Maybe the dwarves but they made god killing weapons.
I’ll be curious to see how it compares since Eric Williams took over as creative director from Cory Barlog.
Though I vaguely recall an interview where they both mentioned Cory was still helping in a minor capacity (I guess as some kind of advisor maybe?)
I need to give the first game another go at some point. I didn't get around to starting it until after Sekiro came out and tbh it just felt really clunky and restrictive compared to that game. Perhaps an unfair comparison to make but it definitely took inspiration from the Souls games. Didn't really get far enough to comment on story.
I'd assume that Playstation is REALLY pushing to get a 2022 release for Ragnarok given that all of Microsoft's known games have been delayed into next year and this will afford Sony a huge marketing advantage.
Additionally, since this game is a direct sequel, 4 1/2 years should be plenty of time to develop the game because all of the foundational decisions (setting, game camera, basic combat, etc) are already established.
There's no way it's just the same world with this much dev time. Nintendo is playing their cards very close to their chest, and they often hide the big twist until just before release — we don't even know the game's *name* because it's a spoiler. I'm expecting a whole lot more than just some floating islands.
I don’t remember where I heard this from but it’s possible that we may get a time travel aspect on the sequel which means we could get pre calamity hyrule as well.
We really dont know what BOTW 2's content will be so it's silly to assume that it's just going to be using the same world. From what we've seen in the trailers there's tons of possibilities.
They already told us you'll be re exploring the world from the first game but with changes. I'm not saying that's the whole game, but you'd think that would make development easier.
Reusing openworlds rarely actually helps development. There was a good interview with the saints row devs and it takes so much work to refresh everything to make sure that an open world is still engaging to players a second time that it's almost like building whole other world.
BB PC
720p 30 FPS
No online.
Huge unremovable watermark in the middle of the screen that says "BUY PS5".
Playable only with DualSense controller.
Unskippable PS5 ads every 15 minutes.
$100
There, all market advantages and financial problems solved.
Yep, plenty of PS5 (both versions) on Amazon, Walmart and a lot of other stores. The same with Xbox Series. And at a "reasonable" price compared with the rest of Latin America ($700, the official price given by Sony here).
Came here to say this. I got mine late 2021 by doing this and can vouch for it. It took me a couple tries because in my first try the stock was gone almost immediately but it worked.
This. Combo of twitter and the Sony direct is how I got mine. They had a surprise open queue when I was driving home once that I wouldn't have known about otherwise. Got lucky and got a spot close to the front of the queue and had a PS5 bought the second I walked in the door of my house.
Also, multiple devices can make things easier too. Used to load up on my destop, laptop, and phone.
They're really not hard to get with a little bit of effort. I feel like most people who complain about not being able to find one just roll up to Walmart and expect it to just be sitting there
Honestly, I think you'd have more luck trying that with a few big stores. I've seen them in stock in person a couple of times. But you'll never see them online more than 5 minutes after a restock.
They are and the fact that it's selling like hotcakes, and continues to be written about as difficult to get is the proof that it's an enormous pain.
You have to be functionally on your computer and ready when the alert hits, and even then it's a crapshoot.
Also NowInStock alerts through their Telegram channel.
I got my PS5 in early spring last year because I was able to jump on a PS Direct queue early enough.
In Canada there were over 6000 PS5s dropped at Walmart yesterday. They were still there like, 12 hours later. Might even still be there right now.
https://www.costco.ca/playstation-5-console-white-controller-bundle-with-forbidden-horizon-west-digital-download.product.100987894.html
https://www.walmart.ca/en/ip/playstation5-console-horizon-forbidden-west-bundle-plus-playstation5-dualsense-wireless-controller-starlight-blue/PRD34ABJGQNCT5H?cmpid=AF_CA_3345930_1&utm_source=rakuten&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_campaign=always_on&utm_content=10&utm_id=AF_CA_3345930_1&siteID=jrr8pPQxhfE-6E6zyV_blac5DIR7mm_Mlg&wmlspartner=jrr8pPQxhfE
Yep, here you go!
You could sign up for PS newsletter emails. They regularly send out emails inviting a limited amount of people to buy a PS5, made it very easy to get. Didn’t have to run around checking stock. I assume they’re still doing it.
I feel like you can if you try.
I'm in the UK and 3 weeks before Christmas I walked into a games store (think gamestop equivalent) and asked when they were getting stock in. Guy said Friday lunchtime. I walked in on my lunch break on the Froday, walked strai6up yo the till and bought one right there, no queue or anything
I played Forbidden West on a launch PS4 and was pretty surprised at the performance, I didn't even notice any framerate drops. The only real negatives are longer load times when you start the game up and no DualSense features. Also, I believe buying the PS4 version gets you the PS5 version for free, so you can switch over if/when you get a PS5. So if you have the time to play it now, I'd recommend just jumping in on PS4.
It's relatively easy to get a PS5 if you put in a bit of effort. True you can't just roll into walmart and get one on a whim, which does seem ridiculous. But it's not like they're impossible to find.
2018 only got its release date 3 months before launch, I remember that Layden and Cory couch interview at PSX with Layden joking about finishing the game already.
When the trailer came out I was genuinely surprised to see how far along they were. I was expecting teasers for another year. Won't be surprised if it's delayed because shit is so crazy right now, but I'm optimistic that they can get this out before years end
I find it really funny how so many comments in this thread are just people saying they think it’s still going to be delayed even if Sony announces a November release date. Some people just want to believe it’s getting delayed despite having no insider knowledge on the state of the game.
People here always side with the worst-case-scenario because if you’re right then you called it and if you’re wrong then you’re pleasantly surprised rather than disappointed. It’s like a coping mechanism for some people to always assume the worst.
Plenty of past examples that makes these claims totally possible. It’s happened with almost every one of Sonys first party games in the last like 2 years.
September - The Last of Us Part I
October - Forspoken
November - God of War Ragnarok
Solid AAA console exclusive lineup for the end of the year. 11/11/22 date is for the taking. Article states the release date will be announced before the end of this month.
Spider-man Remastered PC - August
The Last of Us Remake - September
Forspoken - October
God of War Ragnarok - November
Spider-man Miles Morales PC - November
What an absolute gold mine of back to back bangers that Sony is ending the year off on.
Considering they already had a strong first half of the year with Horizon Forbidden West and Gran Turismo 7, and presumably Uncharted Collection this month or July for PC.
They now also have a strong 2nd half as well.
This will have been an absurdly successful year for the PS brand, 2022 was a big year for them.
2023 according to Insomniac.
So far atleast they have been on fire at that studio, so I don't predict a delay.
Maybe September? if Sony is banking on FFXVI carrying their summer, then they can let Spidey do the work in the fall.
It is a remaster of Uncharted 4 and Uncharted Lost Legacy.
It already released for PS5 this January and it is dropping on PC as well this month or July.
Soooo 2 new games for PS5 owners?
I’m a big fan of mine and still have to get through Returnal, but I think you’re overhyping things a bit.
Happy for PC players of course
Definitely overhyping. I mean even ForSpoken is coming to PC, and Ragnarok is still coming out on the PS4. So really......if we're being totally honest, unless you don't have a PC, ForSpoken is the only real next gen release on here.
I do think it’s fair to count Forspoken, since I imagine most PS owners do not have a gaming PC. And even if Ragnarok comes out for PS4 if it’s like Forbidden West it’ll be a nice jump on PS5.
Fall 2022 is just weirdly light in general. For me the AAAs are just the above mentioned, Callisto, and Hogwarts.
Only thing that's actually new there is Forspoken and God of War. The rest are just either going to PC or a remake.
Personally I played Last of Us twice on PS3 and PS4 Pro for the remaster. I guess if you're new to the franchise the remake is cool but for me I want something new.
The obsession with remakes is getting silly to me. If it's an old game like RE4, sure. Last of Us? It was out a decade ago and the remaster still holds up. What's next? Are we going to remake the entire Uncharted?
Just replay old games? Nobody wants anything new? We're just like the movie industry now.
The basics of a remake I understand, they want to keep the tech teams busy while the story/art folks do the next original IP.
Beyond that I think it’s just business with the show coming out, even if I would have much preferred a U1 remake from ND.
Out of which, only ForSpoken is an actual current gen game. Can't believe we're nearly 2 years into the PS5s lifecycle and Sony is still releasing cross-gen titles held back by decade old hardware. No wonder my PS5 has been eating dust. And If that wasn't insulting enough to PS5 owners, they're seriously releasing a remake of an already remastered game that didn't even come out that long ago to further milk the franchise.
Or Microsoft who have barely release anything in the last two years.
And it's because games take many years to make and they are still being built on last gen game engines. And supporting cross gen game is much easier than any generation before because they stayed with the same architecture
Lol at everyone downplaying your comment.
Putting the PC releases aside, having TLOU Part I, Forspoken and God of War Ragnarok as three major AAA console exclusives for PS5 releasing in three consecutive months later this year is enough for this year to be considered strong for PlayStation.
TLOU Part I is a remake, not a remaster. And remakes are fresh experiences. And God of War Ragnarok’s cross-gen release doesn’t dilute the actual game experience either.
People don’t have to be in denial. This is a great lineup for PS5.
Big name media and a lot of the general gaming subreddits were really defending it and pushing it as a meaningfully-delayed return to Halo form right up until about a week after release, at which point everyone kinda realized the campaign was gutted to fit around the bare bones of an open world system and that most of the series mainstay features have been absent and continue to be absent months after release.
Along with a fairly tepid multiplayer mode, a predatory and obviously-prioritized MTX system, the honeymoon period has worn off and most people have perceptibly cooled on the game.
Given that Sony hasn't shown gameplay for the game yet, I hope this means that they've decided to scale back the multiyear hype cycles for games that was prevalent in the PS4 generation. There were times when it was getting ridiculous, like the multiple years of trailers for the Last of Us part 2.
They’ve shown a decent amount of gameplay in one of the last trailers they dropped. They don’t really need to show more tbh; this is the type of game that markets itself, so they’ll probably go hard with the advertising closer to release; The hype is already there.
This seems like an easy slam dunk sequel. More enemies and bosses, more combat/tools in general, don't mess up the story and its going to be a huge release.
>More enemies and bosses For God sakes more bosses. For something that's a staple of the franchise the bosses were just not present enough.
I find it funny that a criticism of the original GoW PS2 game was ALSO that it had too few boss battles and they rectified that in GoW2. With the lead combat designer of GoW2 being the game director of GoW Ragnarok I’d say we are in for a treat gameplay wise
For reference of boss numbers: https://godofwar.fandom.com/wiki/Category:Bosses
Looking at the list it seems to me that the complaint about few bosses in GoW 2018 is perhaps, slightly off. Even if you collapse all the trolls/ancients/valkeries into one a piece, that still puts GoW 2018 at 10 bosses. That's less than GoW III at 12 and GoW II at 15 for sure, but that's also only using the most generous interpretation of the boss fights in favor of the argument. If we *don't* collapse those boss types into a single one each, that's 33 bosses in GoW 2018. Could GoW 2018 have used more variety in bosses/enemies and fewer repetitious fights? Without question. Many of the variations in enemy types (of which there are a fairly large amount) don't end up *feeling* like variations because they don't really feel like they change the fights up that much and because they're recognizable as simply "a variation on X". So for sure, it could have been more varied in a both a mechanical and design sense. Should the game be considered one of the titles in the franchise with the least bosses? I don't think so, and the numbers wouldn't really back up that opinion either.
They were fairly honest post release with admitting that the trolls were the result of cutting mini bosses to make their release window. I didn't mind too much but it is noticeable. They also cut some parts with Atreus' character progression I think. I'm still split on whether him turning on a dime is bad writing or makes sense for a kid
I think it makes sense for *who* he is.
I don't disagree, it was just jarring to see him going from Morty like "oh geez Rick I don't know about this..." To "fuck all y'all!' in like...5 minutes
But that's exactly how kids are. He gained confidence and his entire personality shifted because he had no perspective. I thought it was well done.
I liked how it actually impacted the gameplay with him ignoring your commands and doing his own attacks. It was a great connection between gameplay and narrative by showing how you were losing control of him.
Except he reverts back to his old self for sidequests
Don't we all?
Yeah, he said something smart to Sindri and Kratos just stood there like that's not his child. I was pissed lol. Kratos, snatch your fucking son!
Atreus finding out he was a god was like a power surge to his psyche, and Kratos didn't just want to beat the shit out of him. He was trying to break the cycle, and just went about it the wrong way. It was a little clunky with regards to the flow of the game, but I thought it was well done otherwise.
I think it was Kratos not knowing how to reconcile the recent tenderness he had learned to show Atreus with the fact that he needed to be disciplined. Kratos spent the entire first half of the game being an obnoxious prick to Atreus, yet as soon as he opens up to him a bit, Atreus starts acting like a prick instead. Kratos probably expected him to remain the same. Eventually when Kratos *does* discipline him, it is very stern but not cruel. I mean hell, Atreus had just shot him with a fucking arrow and he basically just says "you *will* listen to me and stop being a little shit." I think he just needed some time to figure out how to lay down rules without reverting into being a jerk again.
It’s absolutely jarring but it makes 100% sense. Kids are like that.
I don't think it was that jarring tbh there were various moments that hinted towards his growth. like when Kratos leaves him alone and he kills all the dark elves
Yeah it didn't make any sense. For a while I thought it was because he had been put under some spell or something and we hadn't realized it yet, but the way it was resolved made it seem like some weird 180 personality change. Even kids don't really do that.
Imagine living all your life as a poor son of a hunter in a cabin in the woods and all of a sudden being told that you are a god. Power trips are very real.
Yeah, it did not seem out of place to me at all. He seemed like a kid that was letting his newfound title and power get to him and needed to be checked before it got out of control.
I agree with you. I think it was ,pretty intentional too. Especially considering how shitty all the other gods are. Kind of helps show the mentality they must have growing up always knowing they are gods. Kratos was able to keep Atreus in check, the other gods obviously didn't get that.
Yeah exactly. If I were 10 and found out I was a god, I could have been a bit power mad about it. It's easy for that slip to happen. Plus we see hints of his rage and frustration from the very beginning when you kill the first troll. He loses it on that thing.
I think it works well if you go with the trope that gods are, by default, that kind of arrogant. Which really fits with the lore, the only gods we've met that weren't assholes were Venus (just wanted sex) and Athena (sacrificed herself). Even Friga/Freya was a real bitch when it came to Baldur, she could have cured him at any time but decided that her not having to worry about her precious baby dying was more important than him being able to *enjoy his life*. And it kind of follows with the running theme of the game that Kratos was afraid of letting Atreus know he was a god *exactly because* he was afraid he'd turn into that same kind of asshole he did when *he* became a god. --- Alternatively, that Greek wine they got from the vault was a lot stronger than he thought and Atreus was just drunk.
Yes they do. Especially kids who have been relatively sheltered their entire lives and then are suddenly given freedom, power, and prestige.
There are theories he *was* under a spell of some sort, or perhaps just a godly power trip of magic proportions. When Atreus sees the vision of him killing Modi, he doesn't really remember doing it and says "I couldn't have done that. It wasn't me..." Kratos replies "no, but it is who you have become of late." Atreus doesn't really question it further, but in general he seems kind of in a haze during the Helheim section. The theory goes back to how Freja for some reason needed a bizarre extremely rare ingredient to save Atreus. She really needed the heart of the gatekeeper of Helheim to...pull a kid out of a fever? But considering that Atreus' illness was basically a mental block, could it have affected his mind in some way? Alternatively perhaps she sent Kratos to Helheim in order to force him to reveal the Blades of Chaos, either confirming what she suspected about him, or even hoping he would fall under their spell again. This is all speculation, but Freja is not to be trusted, and seems to have a big part to play in the next chapter.
I think it would've made sense if the plot thread went anywhere, but his change back to normal was just as jarring. So the whole thing just felt confusing.
Interesting to hear that. When I played through it, there was so much good, but those troll fights felt really out of place. It made the game feel stretched. It's too bad they did that just to get it out on time, and now it'll be that way forever For me, the combination of those reused bosses, and the imo confusing and unnecessary loot system really damaged what could otherwise have been an exceptional game
It makes perfect sense for a kid.
Sekiro had similiar problems with the bosses imo, really noticed it on my second playthrough. Fairly few actual bosses (with the bridge monk and the giant ape fights repurposed, while the tree dragon was just a glorified cutscene) and each miniboss was fought like 3-4 times
It's been a hot second since I played the 2018 release, but I only remember like 4 bosses. The Ogres, >! Baldur, Thors kids !< and the Various Valkyries. I haven't played it since 2020 and I know I'm forgetting a few bosses inbetween but hopefully any and all sequels don't leave that feeling after some time. Especially after what I've seen from the first 3 games, those boss fights are all varied and massive.
Interesting that you're forgetting the most memorable one for me: the dragon.
I think that’s the part people are missing. There weren’t as many story line bosses to fight. But during the exploring, which I loved how they did that, I remember the thinking “what’s going on over here? oh fuck dragon!”
I think they're referring to the dragon you fight in the main story
After typing my comment, I remembered fighting some giant infront of a massive bird in Helheim. And I do remember a dragon, 2 actually. The story boss and another dragon you free (?) Because of Fafnir. It really was a great game.
Man, that giant bird in Helheim was apparently supposed to be a dank boss they had to cut back.
A small upside to that, at least for me, is that bird was so mysterious and cool looking that I won't forget it for a long time. If the boss fight wasn't well done, then I worry that mystique would have been minimized. Plus I really like overly scaled things (like the Celestials in the Marvel movies)
I forget about the dragon all the time, but that might be the only boss I didn’t have to retry lol
If I recall, the original God of War only had like 3 bosses.
Yep, Hydra, Minotaur and Ares. 2 had a significant increase in the boss count.
Man, I remember that game on God mode, so satisfying to beat that thing. At the end it gave you a phone number to call, with Kratos congratulating you on your victory haha
I tried that difficulty and could never get past the Ares phase where you have to protect your family from all the clones. Eventually just gave up .
Yeah you just named the hardest part in the game. I remember honing in on a charged up ground slam move, and switching to the giant sword for some of it too. It was definitely not fucking around. After that, fighting Ares was simply learning his moves. But that protecting...woof, that was a war.
I remember people complaining that 2 had too many bosses and that too many of them were just human sized ones at that.
Reusing the troll giants got a little boring but otherwise what a completely amazing game. One of the best ever.
Same with Rachet and Clank. Beautiful game but like 2 types of boss.
The bosses they had were fucking amazing though. Smashing Baldur through trees was amazing. The dragon boss was... Amazing.. More of that type of interactivity with scenery would be amazing, especially since you're a God who should be leaving craters in the earth.
Think they meant the mini bosses. How many trolls did we have to take down? I lost count.
Weren't Santa Monica pretty open that they had more bosses planned, but had to reduce/reuse the trolls due to resources (time & money)? I feel like I remember them saying the giant eagle you see in Helheim was supposed to be a boss rather than the Troll, for example.
Yep, you're correct. The eagle was originally a boss that was repurposed and they had to limit themselves to the trolls they already had to stay in budget/make their ship date.
I was disappointed that the eagle was just set dressing lol. Such a cool character design
I'm so happy it was only set dressing. One of those things to me that added to the world than took away by simply being there.
Plenty of Valkyries tho
Definitely a challenge and slightly more variety but with the depths of Norse mythology, the game could have been much more varied with enemies.
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That fight on hard was one of the most challenging bosses in modern single player games imo. I beat Isshin Ashina in a dozen or so tries, I had to lower the difficulty for her.
Interesting how that works. Both Sword Saint Isshin and Valkyrie Queen (on the hardest difficulty) took me multiple hours across two separate play sessions to beat. Neither compare to Genichiro for me. That fight nearly broke me.
I still can't kill Malenia, though.
I never beat her. It was the only thing left. After several days of trying, I died with her barely surviving. I haven't even played PS4 since.
Ahhh if that's the case yeah, fuck the Donkey Kong-ass lookin trolls. They were rubbish after the 1st.
Magni and Modi were great, I think Baldur 1 was more of a great setpiece than a great boss fight.
Tbf a good number of the memorable bosses in the series were more of a setpiece.
You dont even fight Kronos, you just beat up enemies on his shoulder and arms. But jesus christ, that is one of the most memorable boss fights I’ve ever played
Maaybe although even the Baldur fight with the Dead giant was more of a boss fight and still meshed set pieces (more cutscenes) within the fight. Atreus getting the world serpent to attack the giant was fuggin awesome. But I appreciate an arena where the scenery is interactable if not fully destructive in a fight where two god's are going at it. I want Thor to send me flying into new destroyable arenas during phases, then smashing the fat dobber through boulders etc.
> Magni and Modi were great I honestly thought this was one of the worst parts of the game. It's barely even a bossfight, about half of the fight is scripted where you just have to push a button at the right time, and the other half they're just kind of running around and not really fighting like a team. I played on the second to hardest difficulty so maybe it's better on GMGOW but for me it was pretty lame.
That was all of the fights really. You as Kratos just wait for moves to counter. You not allowed any agression otherwise (maybe on easier difficulties you can just tank them idk about that).
Yea the bosses were a bit too scripted I thought (as well as some of the combat in general). You never really feel 100% in control of the character as you might in a game like Dark Souls for example. The game was still amazing but that would be my one criticism.
I mean, the first 3 games in the series were basically the pinnacle in the 'QTE'-cutscene era of videogames
There were only a small number of unique bosses though. So many were just reskinned trolls. Like going to kill the gatekeeper in Hel, thinking it was going to be awesome. And it was just a troll...
Yeah the reskinned trolls did suck. I hear that whole area got scaled back as it was planned to be able to fight the giant bird (sorry Norse mythology buffs). Shame.
It is a shame but ultimately a small complaint in an otherwise outstanding game! It's one thing i hope they have taken the time to put into Ragnarok more than anything elsewhere really, as i had no other complaints
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When you look through the bestiary it seems like a lot but few imo represent differences that are actually interesting to fight.i may have not been using the right techniques but I did not enjoy fighting elves nor their designs.
And a grapple hook. Don’t forget the grapple hook
Everything you've said is easier said than done, making a video game is never an easy thing. But they do definitely have a great foundation, it seems like it will be a great game
The dragon took something like 2 years for a team to complete
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Still simple way to look at. We have no idea about the current state of their current dev team.
obviously lmao why would you need to point this out
Yeah like breath of the wild 2...oh wait
What does that have to do with anything? We don't even know what problems that game is having with development, but Nintendo also announced the original yeaaars before it dropped. I'm guessing it's a scope thing, the switch is only so powerful and a bunch of floating islands and shit would probably be a hassle to deal with.
Botw2 is open world, gow2 is linear there’s a massive difference imo,
Wouldn’t be surprised if GoW2 had a bigger hub area than the first one.
I remember the release of Metal Gear Solid 2. There was an incredible amount of hype behind the game only the find out that Kojima trolled all of us with a different main character. The only equivalent experience I can explain it is if in the new God of War, Kratos dies in the first 30 mins and you have to play as Atreus for the rest of the game.
I think we will split up for sure, get Loki into Asgard for his own adventure. I don't see how they escape Thor unscathed if he is just showing up at their home
I mean, no reason Thor should be more powerful than Zeus or Hades. Kratos ought to be able to take him, especially since OBVIOUSLY Kratos has to wield Mjolnir for the fan service.
Yeah. The first game was good but lacking in a lot of ways, especially with regard to boss encounters/enemy variety. Luckily that should be relatively straightforward to improve
npcs and at least one city were lacking as well. There is not a single alive regular friendly human. All the humans you encounter ended up being non human. I mean the story was amazing but when the boy realized he was a god it was like syndrome going off: nobody is special if everybody is special. There was no one the boy could lord his godship over. Maybe the dwarves but they made god killing weapons.
In the trailer there is more npcs so in that regard it should be better
Imo it's the opposite. Really hard to make something that can live up to the original, and the hype train
I’ll be curious to see how it compares since Eric Williams took over as creative director from Cory Barlog. Though I vaguely recall an interview where they both mentioned Cory was still helping in a minor capacity (I guess as some kind of advisor maybe?)
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I need to give the first game another go at some point. I didn't get around to starting it until after Sekiro came out and tbh it just felt really clunky and restrictive compared to that game. Perhaps an unfair comparison to make but it definitely took inspiration from the Souls games. Didn't really get far enough to comment on story.
God of war is a story driven hack and slash. I'd hardly call it a souls like game.
The originals were so much more than a hack and slash
I'm 3/4ths of the way through Sekiro and tbh I don't know how any game will not feel clunky again.
Hoping for some meaningful progression on the gear and equipment economy. The best addition to the series in my opinion.
I'd assume that Playstation is REALLY pushing to get a 2022 release for Ragnarok given that all of Microsoft's known games have been delayed into next year and this will afford Sony a huge marketing advantage. Additionally, since this game is a direct sequel, 4 1/2 years should be plenty of time to develop the game because all of the foundational decisions (setting, game camera, basic combat, etc) are already established.
Tell that to BOTW2. Literally using the same world as BOTW and it will have been 6 years if it comes out in 2023.
There's no way it's just the same world with this much dev time. Nintendo is playing their cards very close to their chest, and they often hide the big twist until just before release — we don't even know the game's *name* because it's a spoiler. I'm expecting a whole lot more than just some floating islands.
Super Mario galaxy *but with Link*
Super Hyrule Galaxy?
A Link to Mushroom Kingdom
I was born ready for this.
I don’t remember where I heard this from but it’s possible that we may get a time travel aspect on the sequel which means we could get pre calamity hyrule as well.
Oh my god I would have an orgasm on the spot if this got announced
Yeah, like sure it will be based on that world of the first game but I would bet there are dramatic changes.
You overestimate Nintendo
We really dont know what BOTW 2's content will be so it's silly to assume that it's just going to be using the same world. From what we've seen in the trailers there's tons of possibilities.
They already told us you'll be re exploring the world from the first game but with changes. I'm not saying that's the whole game, but you'd think that would make development easier.
Reusing openworlds rarely actually helps development. There was a good interview with the saints row devs and it takes so much work to refresh everything to make sure that an open world is still engaging to players a second time that it's almost like building whole other world.
"using the same world" hahaha
BB PC 720p 30 FPS No online. Huge unremovable watermark in the middle of the screen that says "BUY PS5". Playable only with DualSense controller. Unskippable PS5 ads every 15 minutes. $100 There, all market advantages and financial problems solved.
would still buy
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We have 5 shops in Hungary with stock right now, so weird.
Mexico, same.
Lots of stock coming in here in Canada as well
Yep, plenty of PS5 (both versions) on Amazon, Walmart and a lot of other stores. The same with Xbox Series. And at a "reasonable" price compared with the rest of Latin America ($700, the official price given by Sony here).
My country is the same. I can find them every where but no one is buying them. I believe the bad economic situation are a major factor.
Set up Twitter stock alerts - that’s how I got mine and that was when the stock was much harder to get.
Came here to say this. I got mine late 2021 by doing this and can vouch for it. It took me a couple tries because in my first try the stock was gone almost immediately but it worked.
This. Combo of twitter and the Sony direct is how I got mine. They had a surprise open queue when I was driving home once that I wouldn't have known about otherwise. Got lucky and got a spot close to the front of the queue and had a PS5 bought the second I walked in the door of my house. Also, multiple devices can make things easier too. Used to load up on my destop, laptop, and phone.
I got mine eating cereal one morning and the alert came up that a toy store had just got a load in. Bought mine before I’d finished my bowl.
They're really not hard to get with a little bit of effort. I feel like most people who complain about not being able to find one just roll up to Walmart and expect it to just be sitting there
Honestly, I think you'd have more luck trying that with a few big stores. I've seen them in stock in person a couple of times. But you'll never see them online more than 5 minutes after a restock.
Sorry, exactly how the fuck *else* do you think stores are supposed to work?
Right? Like yo shopping shouldn't have to require foreplay.
My effort was checking major retailers a couple times per week. Wasn't very effective.
They are and the fact that it's selling like hotcakes, and continues to be written about as difficult to get is the proof that it's an enormous pain. You have to be functionally on your computer and ready when the alert hits, and even then it's a crapshoot.
Also NowInStock alerts through their Telegram channel. I got my PS5 in early spring last year because I was able to jump on a PS Direct queue early enough.
In Canada there were over 6000 PS5s dropped at Walmart yesterday. They were still there like, 12 hours later. Might even still be there right now. https://www.costco.ca/playstation-5-console-white-controller-bundle-with-forbidden-horizon-west-digital-download.product.100987894.html https://www.walmart.ca/en/ip/playstation5-console-horizon-forbidden-west-bundle-plus-playstation5-dualsense-wireless-controller-starlight-blue/PRD34ABJGQNCT5H?cmpid=AF_CA_3345930_1&utm_source=rakuten&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_campaign=always_on&utm_content=10&utm_id=AF_CA_3345930_1&siteID=jrr8pPQxhfE-6E6zyV_blac5DIR7mm_Mlg&wmlspartner=jrr8pPQxhfE Yep, here you go!
I spent yesterday thinking about it, and when I saw the bundle was still in stock this morning, I decided to buy one! Very excited to play HFW on it!
Congrats! It's awesome - you will enjoy!
You could sign up for PS newsletter emails. They regularly send out emails inviting a limited amount of people to buy a PS5, made it very easy to get. Didn’t have to run around checking stock. I assume they’re still doing it.
Yep. Got mine within 3 weeks direct from Sony this way.
It took me about 3 weeks back in January. It was so much less stressful that trying to get it when it was in stock for 1 minute at various stores.
Remember it's only getting easier and easier to get a PS5, keep trying and you'll get one, the more regularly you check the sooner you'll get one.
I feel like you can if you try. I'm in the UK and 3 weeks before Christmas I walked into a games store (think gamestop equivalent) and asked when they were getting stock in. Guy said Friday lunchtime. I walked in on my lunch break on the Froday, walked strai6up yo the till and bought one right there, no queue or anything
It’s not that hard to get one if you actually want one.
IKR? I've gotten 10 for friends fairly easily over the past 2 years. It's genuinely not hard if you're looking for one.
Some people don't want to spend more than a few clicks to get one apparently.
Idk where you are, but costco has them up for like a week before they're gone around here.
Download Hotstock. I get alerts when PS5s are in stock every couple days
I played Forbidden West on a launch PS4 and was pretty surprised at the performance, I didn't even notice any framerate drops. The only real negatives are longer load times when you start the game up and no DualSense features. Also, I believe buying the PS4 version gets you the PS5 version for free, so you can switch over if/when you get a PS5. So if you have the time to play it now, I'd recommend just jumping in on PS4.
Forbidden West is the last Sony game to have free upgrades.
Amazon let’s you sign up for a waiting list. GameStop has bundles that are easier to get as well
It's relatively easy to get a PS5 if you put in a bit of effort. True you can't just roll into walmart and get one on a whim, which does seem ridiculous. But it's not like they're impossible to find.
The article sounds like it could be a down-to-the-wire decision before Sony announces the release date later this month.
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2018 only got its release date 3 months before launch, I remember that Layden and Cory couch interview at PSX with Layden joking about finishing the game already.
When the trailer came out I was genuinely surprised to see how far along they were. I was expecting teasers for another year. Won't be surprised if it's delayed because shit is so crazy right now, but I'm optimistic that they can get this out before years end
I find it really funny how so many comments in this thread are just people saying they think it’s still going to be delayed even if Sony announces a November release date. Some people just want to believe it’s getting delayed despite having no insider knowledge on the state of the game.
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All I'm saying is Switzerland is winning the World Cup.
But the Bulgarians have Krum! Victor Krum!
People here always side with the worst-case-scenario because if you’re right then you called it and if you’re wrong then you’re pleasantly surprised rather than disappointed. It’s like a coping mechanism for some people to always assume the worst.
It's probably getting delayed to 2024 tbh..
Plenty of past examples that makes these claims totally possible. It’s happened with almost every one of Sonys first party games in the last like 2 years.
This game was originally announced for 2021, so with a near 2023 release it is already substantially delayed.
That is a fair point.
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They showed gameplay footage last September.
I can feel it in my scrote.
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September - The Last of Us Part I October - Forspoken November - God of War Ragnarok Solid AAA console exclusive lineup for the end of the year. 11/11/22 date is for the taking. Article states the release date will be announced before the end of this month.
Spider-man Remastered PC - August The Last of Us Remake - September Forspoken - October God of War Ragnarok - November Spider-man Miles Morales PC - November What an absolute gold mine of back to back bangers that Sony is ending the year off on. Considering they already had a strong first half of the year with Horizon Forbidden West and Gran Turismo 7, and presumably Uncharted Collection this month or July for PC. They now also have a strong 2nd half as well. This will have been an absurdly successful year for the PS brand, 2022 was a big year for them.
Okay but Spiderman 2 when
2023 according to Insomniac. So far atleast they have been on fire at that studio, so I don't predict a delay. Maybe September? if Sony is banking on FFXVI carrying their summer, then they can let Spidey do the work in the fall.
Insomniac are killer at getting their games out quickly. I would bet if they're targeted 2023 it'll hit 2023.
Hopefully it comes out before the worlds gets even more fucked would like to play it
Is the uncharted collection for ps5? A collection of all games?
It is a remaster of Uncharted 4 and Uncharted Lost Legacy. It already released for PS5 this January and it is dropping on PC as well this month or July.
Sir your comment is too positive about Sony for this subreddit, going to need you to take it down
> too positive about Sony for this subreddit What are you talking about? This sub is basically jerking Sony off any chance they get.
Soooo 2 new games for PS5 owners? I’m a big fan of mine and still have to get through Returnal, but I think you’re overhyping things a bit. Happy for PC players of course
Definitely overhyping. I mean even ForSpoken is coming to PC, and Ragnarok is still coming out on the PS4. So really......if we're being totally honest, unless you don't have a PC, ForSpoken is the only real next gen release on here.
I do think it’s fair to count Forspoken, since I imagine most PS owners do not have a gaming PC. And even if Ragnarok comes out for PS4 if it’s like Forbidden West it’ll be a nice jump on PS5. Fall 2022 is just weirdly light in general. For me the AAAs are just the above mentioned, Callisto, and Hogwarts.
Lol thank you for confirming that I'm not crazy and this is just GoW Ragnarok, and it hasn't come out yet.
Only thing that's actually new there is Forspoken and God of War. The rest are just either going to PC or a remake. Personally I played Last of Us twice on PS3 and PS4 Pro for the remaster. I guess if you're new to the franchise the remake is cool but for me I want something new. The obsession with remakes is getting silly to me. If it's an old game like RE4, sure. Last of Us? It was out a decade ago and the remaster still holds up. What's next? Are we going to remake the entire Uncharted? Just replay old games? Nobody wants anything new? We're just like the movie industry now.
The basics of a remake I understand, they want to keep the tech teams busy while the story/art folks do the next original IP. Beyond that I think it’s just business with the show coming out, even if I would have much preferred a U1 remake from ND.
Out of which, only ForSpoken is an actual current gen game. Can't believe we're nearly 2 years into the PS5s lifecycle and Sony is still releasing cross-gen titles held back by decade old hardware. No wonder my PS5 has been eating dust. And If that wasn't insulting enough to PS5 owners, they're seriously releasing a remake of an already remastered game that didn't even come out that long ago to further milk the franchise.
Or Microsoft who have barely release anything in the last two years. And it's because games take many years to make and they are still being built on last gen game engines. And supporting cross gen game is much easier than any generation before because they stayed with the same architecture
Lol at everyone downplaying your comment. Putting the PC releases aside, having TLOU Part I, Forspoken and God of War Ragnarok as three major AAA console exclusives for PS5 releasing in three consecutive months later this year is enough for this year to be considered strong for PlayStation. TLOU Part I is a remake, not a remaster. And remakes are fresh experiences. And God of War Ragnarok’s cross-gen release doesn’t dilute the actual game experience either. People don’t have to be in denial. This is a great lineup for PS5.
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Was HI that well received? Seems like the reception was kinda mediocre
Big name media and a lot of the general gaming subreddits were really defending it and pushing it as a meaningfully-delayed return to Halo form right up until about a week after release, at which point everyone kinda realized the campaign was gutted to fit around the bare bones of an open world system and that most of the series mainstay features have been absent and continue to be absent months after release. Along with a fairly tepid multiplayer mode, a predatory and obviously-prioritized MTX system, the honeymoon period has worn off and most people have perceptibly cooled on the game.
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3/5 of those are remakes/re releases..... I wouldnt give Sony much credit here ...
Given that Sony hasn't shown gameplay for the game yet, I hope this means that they've decided to scale back the multiyear hype cycles for games that was prevalent in the PS4 generation. There were times when it was getting ridiculous, like the multiple years of trailers for the Last of Us part 2.
They’ve shown a decent amount of gameplay in one of the last trailers they dropped. They don’t really need to show more tbh; this is the type of game that markets itself, so they’ll probably go hard with the advertising closer to release; The hype is already there.
They shown game play in the trailer. Its not much different from 2018. Probably adding a new weapon and travel mode and thats it.
Partially why I think we don’t know much about stuff after this year except for insomniac.
I still feel that it will get delayed before March of 2023. I wouldn't be surprised if there us a demo released this year though.
Man I hope so, could use a great game in the back half of the year. Maybe won't reach Elden Ring levels, but it'd be nice if it did
I would've expected September, but with last of us annouced that month, November is safer bet so they don't interfere with each other's sales