Everything We Know About God of War Ragnarök

We finally have an official release date for God of War Ragnarök. It has been a long time coming, and there were a few concerns online that it would be pushed back to 2023. Which, thankfully, it has not. God of War Ragnarök is now confirmed to release on November 9th this year.

God of War Ragnarök is a game for which I cannot wait. And I am sure many others feel the same way. God of War (2018) was an absolute masterpiece and it going to be amazing to see where they go from here. In this blog, we are going to look at everything we know about God of War Ragnarök so far. Also, spoiler warning, some plot points from God of War 2018 are discussed here.

Story 

We are going to jump in with what we know the story will involve. We got our first good look into this with the PlayStation Showcase in 2021. God of War Ragnarök will take place after the events of God of War (2018). Duh. More specifically during Fimbulwinter, the harsh winter that occurs before Ragnarök begins in Norse mythology. God of War Ragnarök will follow Kratos and Atreus once more, but this time on a quest to prevent Ragnarök and save the lives of the people across all nine realms.

What is new with our favourite father and son duo? Atreus has grown up and is looking to understand more about himself and who he could be as Loki, and Kratos still seeks to protect his son from the problems that arise when facing gods. Not only we will see the return of many characters like Mimir, Brok and Sindri. But we will make a few new allies, including the Norse God of War: Tyr and the mother of monsters: Angrboda.

And with a new quest, comes new enemies. Kratos and Atreus will go head-to-head with Freya and Thor. Freya is out for vengeance after the death of her son Baldur in God of War (2018). And Thor’s wrath has now been targeted at our favourite duo after the death of his two sons and half-brother.

God of War Ragnarök will also conclude the Norse storyline started in God of War (2018). Cory Barlog, the creative director of Santa Monica studios, confirmed in an interview that they decided to cap the Norse storyline at two games to prevent the story from being dragged out too long over time.

This does not mean this is the last we will see of Kratos or Atreus though. As we saw on the stolen Jotnar Shrine in Tyr’s vault in God of War (2018), we know that an Egyptian land (Egyptian symbol of Ra, God of Sun), Scottish land (Celtic Triskelion symbol/Triple Spiral symbol) and a Japanese land (Hidari Gomo, Mitsudome symbol) all exist in the God of War universe. So, it is possible we could see these locations and different legends in the future.

Gameplay

With every game, we can expect new and varying abilities for our characters. And that is going to be the case with God of War Ragnarök. You can be certain that we will see new runic summons, the return of the iconic God of War weapons and some other cool stuff that we will not see until launch. The shield is set to see some changes too. Shields will now offer more variety when it comes to combat, with different shields having different defensive options and abilities.

Not only that we are sure to see some new enemies too. The Draugr are bound to return, and we have already seen them in the trailers. It looks like Light Elves will return too. If you have played God of War (2018), you will remember the quest to Alfheim and the liberation of that realm from the Dark Elves. But it appears in God of War Ragnarök we will be facing their light counterparts. I am sure some of you may remember the fight with the Dark Elf King. It looks like we may finally get to understand what he meant when he told us we were making a grave mistake.

The next enemy type is human berserkers. We did not see much of human civilisation in God of War 2018, but what we have seen of God of War Ragnarök so far suggests we will see a lot more. And not all on the good side. Human berserkers made an appearance in the first gameplay trailer, warriors who enter a blind rage on the battlefield.

The next enemy type is one that surprisingly is not part of Norse mythology. But inspired by Greek mythology by the looks of it. And this is the stalker. These appear to be centaur-like enemies (half human half horse if you do not know what a centaur is).

And the final enemy type that we know of is the Dreki. This is a lizard-like creature that is sure to bring a fight. Though Dreki means Dragon in Old Norse, these do not look like the kind of dragons we have seen in God of War previously. But more like a crocodile.

God of War Ragnarök will also see the last of the nine realms open to us. In God of War 2018, Vanaheim, Svartalfheim and Asgard were all unavailable to us. But in GoW Ragnarök, we will be able to jump into all nine realms.

Vanaheim is a realm we have heard truly little about in God of War so far, but from Norse mythology, we know it is the ruined home of the Vanir gods.

Svartalfheim, we know a bit about thanks to the trailers we have seen so far. Svartalfheim is the home of the Dwarves and Svartalfar. And it looks very pleasant from the trailers.

As for Asgard, we know this is the home to the Nordic gods. From God of War 2018, we know that Odin had prevented all travel to that realm. So, it will be interesting to see how we end up going there.

Seeing that GoW Ragnarök will take place during Fimbulwinter, we are bound to see a far colder version of Midgard and altered versions of the realms we have already visited. Not only that, but we will be able to visit and explore many areas that were previously locked off to us.

Accessibility

With God of War Ragnarök, it has already been confirmed that there will be a massive number of new accessibility options and settings being added. To be exact, the number is over sixty. And includes a high contrast colour mode, customisable subtitle options, sound effect captions and a new and responsive user interface. It is worth reading the PlayStation blog about the new accessibility options if you want to learn a little more about them.

Pre Orders

Though the release date for God of War Ragnarök has now been announced, we will have to wait until July 15th to be able to pre-order. And there are a few editions that you may want to know of.

• God of War Ragnarök Launch Edition – full game (PS4 or PS5) and Risen Snow armour and tunic for Kratos and Atreus (pre-order bonuses)
• God of War Ragnarök Digital Deluxe Edition – Full game (PS4 and PS5), Dark Horse Digital Mini Artbook, Kratos Darkdale Armour, Atreus Darkdale Attire, Darkdale Blades handles and Darkdale axe grip, avatar set, PS4 theme and God of War Ragnarök digital soundtrack
• God of War Ragnarök Collector’s Edition – everything included in digital deluxe edition along with a steel book display case, 2 2-inch Vanir twins carvings, a dwarven dice set, a knowledge keeper’s shrine and a 16-inch Mjolnir replica.
• God of War Ragnarök Jotnar Edition – everything included in the digital deluxe edition, a 7-inch vinyl record (music by Bear McCreary), a falcon, bear, and wolf pin set, steel book display case, 2-inch Vanir twins carvings. Legendary draupnir ring, Brok’s dice set, Yggdrasil cloth map, knowledge keeper’s shrine and 16-inch Mjolnir replica.

To fully clarify, God of War Ragnarök will be available for both PS4 and PS5. Will God of War Ragnarök come to PC? It is not confirmed yet but considering God of War (2018) now has a PC port, we may see the game reach PC eventually. Just not on launch.

There are bound to be more updates about God of War Ragnarök over the coming months, and we will do our best to keep you constantly up to date. But for now, this is everything we know for sure about God of War Ragnarök. Have we missed something? Why not let us know in the comments below…