God of War Ragnarök is one of 2022’s most highly-anticipated games. Fans have been waiting four years for a sequel to the 2018 reboot, which was one of the PlayStation 4’s greatest games. Fans were a little surprised when there were no updates on the game during Summer Game Fest, but director Cory Balrog promised excited fans that the team is hard at work, and more information will finally be revealed soon.
Although God of War Ragnarök will almost certainly be a fantastic success, its predecessor may have set the bar too high for anything to top it. 2018’s God of War was such a powerful hit in large part due to how it reshaped Kratos from an angry and violent monster into an emotionally complex and conflicted father. It told a surprisingly moving story that was a complete shift from the franchise’s previous entries, and, regardless of how good its story may be, Ragnarök will likely struggle to have the same impact as its predecessor.
Fans of the franchise are hugely excited to see how Kratos and Atreus’ relationship will develop. The game’s trailer hints at a complex relationship between the two, as Atreus yearns to uncover the truth about himself. However, no matter how well this story is told, it will struggle to reach the heights of the 2018 game. Now, fans have come to expect this level of storytelling, whereas before it was unprecedented for the franchise.
Ragnarök‘s new characters and storyline, which seemingly revolve around preventing the epynomous Norse legend of the end of the world, are sure to be exciting still. However, the game will need to provide some unexpected twists if it’s to be held in the same regard as its predecessor. Of course, if Santa Monica Studio can emulate the storytelling, glorious world and smooth combat of the previous game, Ragnarök will still be a solid contender for Game of the Year. Regardless, making a game of equal quality will not be enough for Ragnarök to live up to its hype, as fans’ expectations are so much higher after the changes made in the 2018 game.
The fact that Ragnarök is also being released on both current and last-generation consoles could further hold it back. The technological shortcomings of the PlayStation 4 in comparison to the PlayStation 5, especially in terms of loading times and graphical capabilities, are glaring. Ragnarök needing to run on the older console could limit its potential, meaning it might not make the gameplay or graphical steps forward that fans would have liked or even expected.
Overall, God of War (2018)‘s diversion from the previous titles to include a more moving and powerful story elevated the game to be widely-regarded as one of the greatest of all time. As a result, expectations for God of War Ragnarök are through the roof, which make it hard for anything to meet. Whereas fans were blown away by 2018‘s new story direction and character development, such things are expected of Ragnarök, meaning it won’t have that same feeling of revelation. In this sense, the 2018 game set the bar so high that any sequel, regardless of how good it may be, will struggle to reach it.