God Of War Ragnarök Could Struggle To Outdo The Original GOW 2’s Scope

God of War: Ragnarok faces an uphill battle in surpassing God of War 2. Though it concerns the end of the world, it may not outdo GOW2’s brutal epic.

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The 2018 God of War game dropped the series’ prior numbering to make a fresh start, leading some newer fans to think of the upcoming God of War: Ragnarök as God of War 2. Though it will likely deliver more quality gameplay and strong storytelling, Ragnarok will need to push itself to match the epic scope of the original God of War 2, first released on the PlayStation 2 and later remastered for PS3. The second God of War game did not reinvent the wheel from the first, in terms of gameplay and presentation, but instead ramped up the audacity of its story, stakes, and imagery, with Kratos challenging the king of the gods, Zeus, and defying The Fates themselves to accomplish his goals. Modern God of War games make Kratos’ inner struggles as important as his external conflicts, but God of War 2 kept the focus on the challenges themselves, leading to a series of impressive set-piece battles that Ragnarok may not be able to exceed.

The upcoming game will no doubt provide impressive stakes of its own, as God of War: Ragnarok concerns the apocalypse of Norse mythology, but it is hard to imagine it outdoing the more bombastic, over-the-top moments of God of War 2, like Kratos staring colossal Titans in the eye, or outwitting the king of the gods and defeating him in hand-to-hand combat. There are several games that have captured the simple pleasure of genre fiction taken to its extreme, but Kratos as he appears in the original God of War 2 was perhaps the most ridiculously over-the-top example of a ruthless hero who takes no prisoners and lets nothing stand in the way of his goals. Kratos bullied and bashed his way through the games, murdering innocents to overcome obstacles and defying the gods at every turn, as a living embodiment of hubris that somehow, in the end, managed to win.

God of War’s 2018 game received near-universal acclaim and transformed Kratos from an archetype into a dynamic character, capable of growth and change. It featured a more mature, world-weary Kratos dealing with the much more relatable struggles of loss and fatherhood, among other things. This provided a far more nuanced and immersive story, but the entire experience is different from the pure, visceral spectacle of the original God of War 2. God of War 2018’s story was weightier, as was the gameplay and movement of the principal character. The PS2-era Kratos was a relatively speedy, indomitable engine of destruction. The one thing deadlier and more relentless in popular fiction than any god or demon is a classic videogame action hero, mowing down waves of enemies without remorse and single-mindedly pushing towards the end goal without pause for self-reflection.

God Of War 2 Started (& Ended) With Epic Stakes Ragnarok May Struggle To Chase

Several reviewers at the time of its release considered God of War 2 a fitting swansong for PS2 action games, and one that ended the generation on a high note. It could also be considered a swansong for the traditional, one-dimensional archetype video game hero. Later generation gaming series, like Gears of War, would capture the same boundless, muscular machismo as early God of War games, but the shift towards more human protagonists and nuanced storylines in game storytelling was already beginning. With a singular focus on providing an action-packed spectacle of epic proportions, God of War 2 delivered, and every single major story beat could have been envisioned as a heavy metal album cover. The narrative may have been that same beat covered repeatedly – Kratos will let nothing stop him from revenge – but that rhythm propelled the title through one epic set piece after another.

God of War 2 began with Kratos battling a massive, magically animated statute, in the middle of a war-torn city covered in the bodies of fallen soldiers, and its scope and scale only increased from there. In the original God of War, Kratos set out to slay Ares and claim the title of “god of war,” and in its sequel, he murdered his way through much of the rest of the Greek pantheon. Kratos freed Prometheus and the Titans, slew Icarus and claimed his wings, tamed Pegasus, and ultimately claimed mastery over the Fates to defeat Zeus himself. While God of War: Ragnarök’s story will no doubt surpass God of War 2 in its depth and potency, it will be an uphill battle (or perhaps a Sisyphean challenge) to outdo the sheer, epic spectacle of Kratos’ second game.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/god-war-ragnarok-original-gow-2-scope-scale/