God of War Ragnarök — The Best Action Game of the Decade?

God of War Ragnarök released back in November 2022 as the emotional conclusion to the Norse saga that began with 2018’s God of War, and years later, with a free epilogue DLC and a proper PC port now in the mix, it’s still one of the games people point to when they want an example of the genre done right. With the whole package finally complete, this felt like the right time to look back at why it earned that reputation.

The Story So Far

Ragnarök picks up after the events of 2018’s God of War, with Fimbulwinter already underway and the prophecy of Ragnarök looming over Kratos and Atreus. Without spoiling specifics, the story leans hard into themes of fate versus free will, and it finally lets Kratos reckon with the violent Greek mythology he spent the first game trying to outrun. Where the 2018 game kept the world tightly focused, Ragnarök opens things up — every one of the Nine Realms is explorable this time, and the story uses that scale well instead of just padding it out.

Combat: Familiar Yet Evolved

The core combat loop is still built on the Leviathan Axe and Blades of Chaos combo from 2018, but Ragnarök adds enough on top of it to feel like a genuine evolution rather than a retread. Skill trees are deeper, elemental combos hit harder, and the new Draupnir Spear gives Kratos a third weapon option with its own rhythm. Boss encounters in particular are a highlight — bigger, more mechanically varied, and staged with the kind of scale that makes a controller feel heavy in your hands.

A World Worth Exploring

Getting full access to all Nine Realms — Alfheim, Svartalfheim, Helheim, Muspelheim, Niflheim, Jotunheim, Asgard, Midgard, and Vanaheim — is one of the biggest upgrades over the first game. Side content is dramatically expanded too, from favors to collectibles to environmental puzzles hidden in optional chambers. Traversal still leans on the axe-throw-and-recall trick for verticality, and it remains satisfying every single time, even dozens of hours in.

Boy Becomes Wolf — Atreus’s Journey

For the first time in the rebooted series, players get extended sections playing directly as Atreus, exploring his own path separate from his father. It’s a smart structural choice — it gives Atreus’s arc room to breathe on its own terms instead of only existing in Kratos’s shadow, and it pays off well by the time the two storylines converge again.

The Valhalla DLC

Released free in December 2023, over a year after the base game, Valhalla is a roguelike epilogue mode playable as Kratos, set after the story’s ending. Each run remixes familiar locations with randomized enemy encounters, and progress unlocks cosmetics and lore rather than resetting to zero every time. It’s a genuinely well-built piece of post-launch content, and the fact that it’s free makes it an easy addition for anyone who already owns the base game.

On PC: How’s the Port?

The PC version arrived on September 19, 2024, nearly two years after the console release, and it was worth the wait. Valhalla is included free at launch on PC — no need to track down the original console add-on — alongside an uncapped framerate, ultrawide monitor support, and support for NVIDIA DLSS, AMD FSR, and Intel XeSS. New Game+ is also included from day one. It’s a well-optimized, complete port rather than a rushed cash-in.

JoystickVerse Verdict