Ok here's the thing. Making somewhat negative reviews for games that r critically acclaimed is not a very enjoyable process. Sometimes its better to just skip the game altogether. I have second video script ready, that is not about complaining but actually suggesting how to improve it. But I also dont want to linger too long on Ragnarök. If people really disagree hard, then there is no real point in me making that video and I can move on to the next thing. I'll keep an eye on the like/dislike bar.

14:17 the worst part of this particular example is if you go do the sidequests in the area after that scene, you find out he actually survives his "heroic sacrifice" but apparently even his friends dont care enough about him to go looking for him, and the game hardly even acknowledges it at all.

The hardest part of this video for ranton was finding so many game scores that weren't 7/10 to use as examples.

The moment I realised Cory isn't directing the sequel was enough disappointment.

Gotta say, I thought I was crazy as I saw everyone giving this game basically perfect scores. I like the game, really, but especially the story and certain boss/combat design really left a lot to be desired for me. Really appreciate you being this honest.

I got about 60% through the game and realized i was just bored. I played the first game 3 times to 100% completion and didnt even finish this one.

Ranton, you are by far and away my favorite KZfaq video game reviewer. I really want you to continue making these videos so it bums me out a little to see you taking hits in views as you transition these reviews to your second channel. KZfaq didn't even recommend this review to me even though I'm subbed. I think it might be a good idea to walk back the idea of keeping reviews on the second channel, man. I and many others have been checking your main channel for reviews and seeing nothing not knowing you've been posting them over here. And don't even think for a second that these more relaxed reviews with slightly less edits aren't worth the main channel. They absolutely are and clearly take more effort than most other reviewers.

I have to say I mostly agree, I found myself taking oddly long breaks between play sessions, and when I saw I was close to the end I just wanted to finish it; very different from the first game.

I do agree with you in terms of the story a bit. 2018 was fantastic because it was relatively small scale with a rock solid theme. Ragnarok while I very much enjoyed it felt a lot more spread thin by the nature of such a complex narrative regarding literally almost everything in Norse lore stuff or at least in concept.

You exactly articulated what I felt was lacking from this game. The 2018 game was limited, but all it could give. It was an honest friend. This one is that same friend trying to become a cooler but depthless version of themselves.

Holy shit I finally found someone that has the same view as me.... thank God I thought I was the only one who felt some disappointment

What I enjoy about your videos is the nuance. You praise the good, and explain why the bad is bad and how to improve it. You mention little things I didn't even notice. Great review

The part that annoyed me the most is how they did not use characters enough. Especially jormangundr, it was annoying that we only basically saw him twice the whole game. He was just there to be sent back in time by thor.

Cant agree more about Thor's hammer. You cant give that shit away in a collectors edition and then not expect people to be pissed. This is God of War ffs. In the very first game I got to use Medusa's head, Poseidon's Rage, Zeus' lightning bolt, Hades' Army of the dead, the Blades of Chaos and the sword of Artemis. And yet somehow it was expecting too much to think we'd get to use Thor's hammer? What a joke

2018 is better. You feel that there wasnt cory barlog

SPOILERS: I just finished Ragnarok recently, gameplay wise the game is near perfect and better than the first. But story wise, I was really disappointed by how rushed the final act was. You could tell the Ragnarok sequence itself was meant to be a lot longer - recruiting the realms, Thor's story, the mask. I felt like they crammed an entire third game into the final half of this. And so many plot holes just left unexplained! The character arcs were done so so well, and I really wish we see more of these characters again. Also Thor was amazing, he deserved more!

Could see the 7 from a mile away but I can also appreciate it and understand why, your videos definitely help me see things I may not have during my initial playthrough

First time I entirely agree with a video game opinion of yours, the story was basically Atreus: we must go to war! Kratos: I will not go to war! Last 5 hours of the game Kratos: ok i'll go to war The end.

I was livid when they removed the fist moveset, I ADORED punching shit.

bro, i appreciate your take on this game, there was a tone of fair points concerning plot, fighting and sht, and you kind of unintentionally answered question that i’ve been asking myself: why is it wasn’t as fun as it was in the first one? thnks

To be honest, at first I loved the game but as I kept playing... I started hating the story. Don't get me wrong I still really enjoyed the game, the gameplay is pretty fun, exploring the realms is also fun, but the ending is rushed, the pacing is very inconsistent and the overall story is just so directionless, I felt like I was wasting my time playing this game for the most part. I have to admit, there are some really beautiful moments, and I liked how both Kratos and Atreus develop throughout the story, but ultimately. it's a big mess. 7/10 from me, it's a great game, but a disappointing sequel, I agree with your review 100%.

Honestly if anything that this game did really well and paled in compared to other games is their environments. Really enjoyed the amount of work that went into that.

GoW R storywise was underwhelming

Blessed with this video!! Love your take.

This was a great review on a technical level. The editing was just crazy work man. All very entertaining and fun to watch.

im glad im not the only one that felt like the ending was too marvel-y

The story felt like it was written by somebody who grew up in the suburbs.

The story part criticism is spot on. I thought exactly the same.

Litteraly Just finished the game i cant dispute a single thing you stated its all true,kratos characterisation,the lack of cohesion in the storey,pointless side characters with no depth,a boring and lackluster finale and last but not least dumb fucking villains that arent anything like what they were hyped up to be in the previous game.I seriously hope the writers take care and time with the next instalment puting more care into crafting a narative with emotion because this was a 6 out of 10 for me

I would legit pay money to hear Ranton’s full review of the game, spoilers and all

How can a guy this nonsensical speak soo much pure sense?

My biggest dissapoinment in the Game was that they were so scared to lose a few guys of our side, Ragnarok, the death of all gods and giants, and a few gods die, Surt and thats it, it felt so vanilla.

Awesome review, these are always so fun and entertaining. I’d love to hear what you think could’ve been done better about this game. I like talking about what things could have been like, so I’d love to hear your thoughts. I think my biggest complaint regarding the story was it felt kinda lack luster by the end, and I feel like Odin, and Thor were so disjointed and separate from Kratos that they were severely underwhelming. Especially Thor. He just wasn’t there much, and when he was it was just meh. I think all the relationship moments are good because it just feels like they picked up we’re the last game left off. I feel like Kratos expresses his feelings a little too much but I enjoy him trusting characters who’ve earned his trust like Brok. I really loved the game, like tons, but it’s definitely a less focused and enjoyable experience than the last game was.

I totally agree with u on the UX/UI side, i was always closing unintentionally the whole menu, or pushing the wrong R buttons, dont know how they could make it worse, but they did.

Ragnarok was something big and hyped up in the previous game too. How can you just not care about it in this one?

The no clear writing direction is very apparent. There are parts of the game's writing that feel vastly different from one another, and it didn't surprise me one bit when the credits rolled and there are seven different writers credited. Which is a shame because one of nu-God of War (2018)'s biggest strengths was how tight and consistent the writing and tone felt.

You and Yatzee are the only one with the balls to point out the big flaws in this game, which i felt too.I mean its really a very polished game but a masterpiece it aint.

The story annoyed me at points and the dialogue felt too modern. But then the cherry on top was that there were only like 3 build in the game and no Zeus armor.

Atreus definitely feels like how Nero was introduced as a much much worse and limited character than Dante in DMC 4 but in case with ragnarok, the game wasn't designed around him first

Really agree about the shield combat. I used unarmed combat regularly in 2018, but now almost never.

0:16 Damn that dog grew up fast

Literally the best reviewer out there. Not even because i share his opinion, but because you can tell its HIS opinion and hes not just repeating what everybody says. Absolutely love you man

I absolutely agree with everything you said, the UI specially. It is so overwhelming, I dont even have that good feeling about getting new items. It is so annoying to go through all the numbers and messy sorting system it just takes it away from you.

Hey Ran, I just recently discovered your channel and I have to say, you're one of the most batshit crazy dudes I've seen and I absolutely love it. You represent what is inside of every typical heavy internet user, random, memes bursting left and right it's quite enjoyable to watch! Keep it up fella I wish you much success! As for GoW Ragnarok, it's more of a 50 hour movie than an actual game, I hate cinematic driven games personally, the reason I love games and I play games because you are in control of your character, I don't play them to be FORCED through unskippable movie scenes. 2/10

Toooooo be fair Ranton has always been super critical on most games lol. He shits on a lot nowadays. He makes good points though. Butttt a 7? Come on dawg......COME ON DAWG

The best thing about Anton isn’t the schizophrenic editing but his honesty.

I agree with most things especially the story part it really is a big mess! One thing most reviewers keep forgetting to mention is the lack of spectacle that you expect from a game like God Of War, its a sad game

I'm actually glad we didn't use Thor's Hammer. Would've been too cheap and predictable.

I think one of the devs told in an interview that Kratos didn't get (that weapon), because the axe is the counterpart and it would have been predictable, therefore they didn't gave Kratos that

I'm with you on GOWR I enjoyed it too but God if angrybrodder's part made me wanna see the giant granny whisper their souls away.

It really feels like they condensed the story of 2 games into 1. Freya and Thor were supposed to be the main antagonist of the second game I think. The vision in GOW 2018 and Freya's burst of anger at the end suggested that.But since Thor wasn't the antagonist anymore, they *had* to have the scene of Thor coming to the home but then awkwardly made Odin come later. For Freya they resolved it too quickly, with key dialogue being put during gameplay, and it felt like Atreus' mission to go see her was forced because they needed a transition from Freya wanting to kill Atreus and Kratos to "temporarily" joining them. Atreus acted like an idiot and was only saved by the plot. And what about Jormungandr and Fenrir's plotline? They got delegated to Angrboda. Even though the story the felt rushed, at the same time it feels like the team didn't have enough creative juice to make two more games in the same setting.

The best review on youtube! The only onest. to me it was a 6 out of 10, such a bad story and such a repetitive gameplay, too long and boring. I want the old GOW back.

i thought i was crazy for thinking the exact same thing, this game is great but idk why GOW 2018 just feels tighter and more cohesive of an experience.

Didn't expect that from you, you did raise a lot of good points that I didn't notice at first, and I kind of agree on most of'em now.

I hated how they threw away all the teasing/vibes of 2018

Amazing review, as always. Mad respect for you staying true to you.

Kratos troughout the entire game: I DO NOT WANT WAR!!!! Odin comes to him "eyy bro peace?" Kratos: NOOOO!!!!!

Corey didn't want to do the second game and this sequel was supposed to be a middle part in a trilogy and it shows. The last 4th of the game feels unbelievably rushed. The final epic battle for asgard lasts all of 15 mins.

We love your reviews. A point of a review is to be honest, otherwise it has no value. Without critical thinking and constructive critisism, games would not evolve and we would hinder ourselfs. I and many others stand behind your Reviews and hope to see more :)

Understandable, storywise it's an inconsistent mess which ramps up only near the very end, combat wise it's excellent but wish the camera was a bit more pulled back at times

They didnt go with a marvel-esque ending. You did say you dont care about norse myth, so I'll just tell you that the entirety of it, is about prophecy and how no matter what you do, you end up where fate had you put. The war is imminent, every single race participates, and they did that beautifully. I love the game, but 1- I the UI is the worst. The first one was so good to look at, it was clean, shiny, and enough. This one is so clumped and dark and ugly af. 2- some plots were amazing, but they eventually end abruptly out of nowhere and make no sense. (E.g: The way the fight with Thor ends, The way Thor's fight with Jormungandr ends so fast... the way Sif just forgets her hatred for you in the end?. The way Odin just lets Atreus take his soul??. The way Heimdall suddenly becomes vulnerable?????) Especially the Heimdall one, it's awful. I understand how he'd get fooled by the spear, but why can you hit him with anything ever afterwards? And he doesn't seem bothered at all? I think a better way would've been to have kratos blind him, then after the first time he's hurt, he runs away in shock, and you catch up to him, and he starts making blatant mistakes out of fear and shock. Instead he's so chill and keep making the same moves but you can now hit him just cause... The game is still a Masterpiece, but it does have hella flaws with the story more than with gameplay

You made very good points.Great video and editing as always :)

Thanks for the video glhf. Appreciate the lack of spoilers since I don't have a console so I get an idea of the game and can enjoy it on my own if I want.

Awesome review, I was mixed on the game, I don’t think it’s bad but it’s not great. The story sucks, I love the gameplay and some of the minor changes but it’s narrative is so inoffensive and bland, even people who loathe the game can’t really be mad at it because nothing really noteworthy happens, and the arcs that the main characters go through in the previous games are just repeated. I wasn’t a fan of Odin either, he’s a sleazy Saul Goodman type when it would’ve been cooler if he had a more threatening presence and physique, would’ve made more sense why Thor punks out every time he’s with him. The rehashed and generic “heroes must band together with some friends to fight the big bad guy” is a trope I’m sick of. 2018 had a familiar formula it stuck to as well, but it benefited from being a more intimate journey rather than just trying to be God of War Endgame. I’m gonna steal this quote but it sums the game up, “bigger isn’t always better.”

I also feel like people don’t really understand character development anymore. They saw a KZfaq video which basically boils down to “character development happens when character changes as the story moves on”. Which is technically right I guess, but come on man. Make the journey of the character more believable man. I don’t give a shit about the end point if there is literally no transition

2018 spent the entire time hyping up Odin to be some inhumane demon, and Ragnarok spent half the game hyping up Ragnarok just for Odin to be a somewhat chill guy and for Ragnarok to last for a total of probably like 15-20mins inverse lol

This is what happens when you have different directors. This is what happens when you have no clear vision for full stories with no idea where to move it. People are given everything they need and only need something simple ark for the characters. I still can't wait to play it on pc, but that is depressing to see this story ends in a bad way. I don't understand why people gave this 10 out 10. With games being so shit other than Elden Ring lately. I understand why people give any game a 10 without thought if it just works. I enjoy dying light 2 I recommend that one this year. Sifu, Kena bridge of spirits, Gotham Knights on sale with a friends, and Ghostwire Tokyo.

I think unearned catharsis is extremely accurate for the story. It’s still good and I definitely still felt what the writers wanted us to feel to an extent but a lot of the time I felt like they were rushing plot points to get to the next. Like the mimir line about fate breaking us ringed a little hollow considering how long ago it was we learned about something fate related

You can really tell there were two great games here smashed into one good game. I know Santa Monica wanted to hurry up and get to Egypt... but the game really suffered narratively for it.

Great review and you really sold me on the negative point's after explaining.

Totally agree with you on the story. It's a jumbled mess that drags for way too long without a clear purpose. Can't believe how every reviewer praises its story and writing when it is clearly just surface level capeshit

I'm very disappointed that we didn't get to use Mjölnir, the game director said that it would've been "too obvious" but who cares it would've been awesome

This was a game written by a Disney director.

I'm late to this but anyone that played this game in the hardest difficulty shot themselves in the foot. The developers didn't do a good job with that difficulty. I played it on give me no mercy and had an incredible time

They softened and cringed it out, the typical things happened. Spent half the time rolling my eyes like ffs, Kratos just being emotional for 30hours

Couldn't agree more! I was so hyped for this game, and I just struggled to maintain interest after a while, finding it was more of the same but somehow less than something that came out 4 years ago. Reminded me a little of going from borderlands 2 to 3, but not as bad a difference.

i agree with literally everything you said, as someone who has finished the first god of war game 4 times i adore ragnarok but i feel like the first game plays better.

I actually appreciate you giving new light to this game, I didn’t even noticed some of the things you mentioned in this video.

Ist das etwa der Hash Hash Beat im Hintergrund? Fantastisches video! Lieb deine spzielle Art....

"Butter scraped over too much bread" is the best way I can think of to describe GoW Ragnarok Its still an excellent game overall, but it feels less focused then 2018 and the finale isn't as batsh!t insane as many people were hoping for after the buildup of the previous game.

sad that gow ragnarok and zelda totk were both disappointing. cant get hyped for a game unless its a souls game

Man, i just love that with death stranding review it shows number 7 as 9/10. It made me re-watch some of those reviews on main channel.

bomba banger video but whats up with the square quadrat aspect ratio lmao

Yeah, I agree with a lot of your points, especially now that my honeymoon phase for the game is over.

The game IS disappointing exactly for all the reasons you mentioned, although I think you under stated how absurdly boring some segments are (and long, very long). What’s even more disappointing is all the big reviewers who must have played a different game because to them this is a flawless masterpiece.

Your vid’s are just a thing of art man! Oder auf deutsch deine Videos sind halt einfach nur durchschnittlich weiter so rantoni pepperoni 🤌

You are exactly right about the story. It feels like every section of the game was written by a different person. So messy. Also, I thought Odin was by far the most interesting character, but you're supposed to hate him... just cuz...

This game is like when your childhood friends gets rich and becomes an asshole

i feel like the story of Odin and Thor was a bit rushed, because there could so much more about them, Thor has his own family, that we could see a progress in relationship of, as well, but Odin is still a bish lol.

I can always appreciate Rantons view on games

I do agree that for me, ragnaroks' story was far inferior than the 1st one. The 1st one sucked me in and had me constantly wanting to know what happens, all the way to the end. The 2nd? Not even close

While you and I agree about many things, my friend, I truly enjoyed the combat system and playing as Atreus. However, I greatly missed the Shield Combat. They need to patch that in later updates. The UI is truly terrible. Apparently it's disorganised nature was to spell it out "more easily for new players?" Also, the fact that we can't select our post-story companion pains me. Ragnarok was an underwhelming skirmish. You were right about the writers. Double the staff then the first game.

The most calm shaolin monk

I agree with you on everything with Ragnorok except on complexity of the combat. Great video!

Someone said it at last. THANK YOU. And people are saying god of war should be game of the year instead of elden ring.

Definitely agree on what you said about the UI and the combat. The UI is a massive eyesore and very cluttered and the combat felt off for so many reasons, especially the triangle charge mechanic breaking the flow. Story-wise I'm always forgiving probably because I was an anime fan and there are somethings you have to just let go and enjoy as is without thinking too much.

your review is on point

I appreciate you as a reviewer cause everytime you review a game you're consistent as hell. Keep on keeping on ranton

most action pack set pieces from Valkyries, Berzerkers, and mostly boss fights doesn't utilize Ragnarock newly implemented verticality, they always in flat set locations. compare to how you stroll along as you progress fighting mobs had vast combo movesets for every interaction as enemies were set in different locations for an action adventure, its predecessors (mostly over the top GOW3), and other titles akin to the genre that were engaging and even has platforming.

I think you were spot on in many things. I felt a type of way about the game but I didn't know how to express it, you helped me find the words/ideas for it. I think Ragnarok is carried by the scale of its events and character performance... it's a shame since GOW 2018 is my favorite game of all time, a much much simpler story but delivered in a genius way. I think the absence of Cory Balrog prevented this game from being the masterpiece it deserved to be.