I've played God of War 4 and Ragnarok, I love them both but there can only be one!
2025/8/27
Written by: Jay Kay
First of all, I am not going to pretend this is the opinion of some half baked twenty something, who just returned home early in the morning, having just returned after a McDonalds breakfast with his pals, after a night out at a club scoring zero points with the ladies (again!). No, I speak to you as a veteran of the two games: God of War 4 and God of War Ragnarok.
See for yourself the amount of hours I’ve clocked up on both games. I have even completed God of War 4 in both hard, and the Give me god of war modes, back to back, the two times I played it through.
Though truth be told, I am still continuing the journey in God of War Ragnarok, but you can see that I’ve played long enough to know how the game makes me feel, especially compared to its older sibling!
What no chit chat? No “hows the wife”, no “hows work going”??, ok then! Here are the 5 reasons why God of War 4 is more EPIC than God of War Ragnarok:
From the moment you first enter the God of War 4 game, you are greeted with the Santa monica Studios splash screen, but it’s accompanied with Kratos’ soft theme, before finally showing the start menu.
When I first experienced this, I knew this was more than a game, it was a story of holywood proportions. A story that was going to be EPIC in every human sense, one where I knew that you were going to be connected to the universe of the game, as if it were a true story. Every time I first load God of War Ragnarok, and don’t hear that soft theme on the splash, always makes me think “why didn’t they do that again?”
We live in a world where first impressions really do count. Though the Lord Jesus taught us, to forgive our brothers and sisters, even if you do, you’ve already had the first impression of that person. This is the reason, once you are in the friend zone of a girl, you are never leaving that place! First impressions are paramount to how a relationship moves forward, and to me, that theme during the splash screen will always have a place in my heart, and it was a great first impression.
Both God of War 4 and God of War Ragnarok waste no time in forcing Kratos’ hand. I have to admit here that in God of War Ragnarok, they DID get the first encounter between Kratos, Thor and Odin right. The arrival of the God of Thunder I found especially pleasing: the flashing of weapons, the grunting, the mead, the sit down meeting and dialogue, and finally the battle; yes I was satisfied with this, but so far in my journey of God of War Ragnarok, its only happened this one time!
I’ve since defeated Heimdall, but that was so sub par, it was almost like running across an Ogre which pops out of the ground and just grabs Kratos by his chest and throws him across the map; Where is the shock arrival of the God (OK he rams Kratos with his stead, but it didn’t feel as epic as when Baldur or Thor arrived on the scene). Where is the drama of mountains splitting on the clash of two mighty powers? Where was the build up!? Why the heck did the fight take place in a random part of Vanaheim, while you’re en-route to save Freya’s brother?
Back in God of War 4, you had far more “nukes drawn”, emotional encounters with Baldur. The first battle sees that he arrives on his stead - a mighty, beautiful dragon (though we don’t know it at this point), and we have a battle which truly feels like the clash of two titans. Bare in mind, that as good as this fight was, the next fight on the back of his dragon is just absolute perfection; The music, the voice acting, the character animation, the emotions of the situation. EPIC!
The three main characters of the game had a far more interesting and entertaining relationship in God of War 4, than they do in God of War Ragnarok. Kratos refering to Mimir as “head” was both amusing and satisfying, as it showed that no matter how humble Kratos was trying to be, he was still a God at heart, and all Gods - be them Greek or Norse - are arrogant at best. There were several funny outburst during combat too, where Mimir would speak “wittingly”, only to be sharply rebuked by Kratos with “QUIET HEAD!!”.
In God of War 4, Atreus is a roller coaster of a character, starting off as fiery, vulnerable, but somewhat obedient while he thinks he is human, but then becoming an arrogant little brat (causing the trio to end up in the deepest depths of Hell through his disobedient, arrogant outburst with Baldur) after learning of his God hood. Who can forget the scene of him murdering Modi, or the scene of him hurting Sindri’s feelings with his “little people with little problems” outburst.
Comparing God of War Ragnarok, his character development so far has gone from manipulation - constantly gently reminding Kratos of all the evil Odin has done, to justify a war with him - to being somewhat humbled after causing a near collapse of the 9 realms with the release of Garm. Though I suspect his Godly nature will kick in, and his arrogance and hunger for glory will allow him to lead Kratos to his demise, as per the prophecy.
In God of war Ragnarok, the bond between Mimir and Kratos literally is that of two brothers, where in the beginning of the game, Kratos trusts Mimir far more than Atreus, often questioning the worlds smartest head (to paraphrase Odin) about whether he trust Atreus himself. Though there is nothing wrong with this, I just miss the amusing relationship of the past.
Finally, in God of War 4, there seemed to be a lot more dialogue too, where Mimir would tell random, fascinating stories of past Giants and their encounters with the Aesir (mostly Thor), during exploration where in God of War Ragnarok, there seems to be a lot more quiet moments.
The music in God of War 4 is far more enthralling. Baldur’s theme, which for some reason Bear McCreary titles “Deliverance” is just absolute perfection, particularly taken into context of the second battle involving his dragon. Emotions truly run high not only because of the excellent acting and animations, but the musical score underpins the situation - a very complex ever evolving one - with laser guided precision. Obviously this man is a genius!
Thats just one example of where the music hits hard. The actual battles involving the valkyries also involves epic musical scores, then there are the trials of Muspelheim, where the music has chance to express itself during long drawn out trials. The music literally makes your heart beat, as if you were fighting for your life! EPIC is how I describe the sound track, and I often find myself on Youtube listening to the score.
I’ve not had any experience like this with the God of War Ragnarok sound track. Don’t get me wrong, there are some great tracks in there at given situations, but none make my spine shiver. I dont even recall the theme of Thors battle for example, and havent felt the need to get to know it, where as with Baldur I went and got the name of the track.
I think we can all agree that Kratos has had a pretty bad lot in life, right from his birth he was raised to be nowt but a killing machine. Though I never played God of wars 1 through 3, I do know the gist of them, a young warrior rising the ranks, ascending to God hood through shady deals and broken promises, eventually wiping out his very own home land, followed by his suicide, leading to his eventual arrival into Midgard.
In God of War 4, Kratos comes across as being a humble, mourning man who is in the worse situation imaginable for a single parent - lacking the wisdom on what to do next. Very human indeed!
He is in mourning, but is not broken. Yet after learning of his fate at the end of God of War 4, through the hands of his own beloved son, he comes across as a broken man in God of War Ragnarok. It’s like because he knows the outcome, he feels like he is becoming irrelevant, like Atreus is beginning to ascend beyond him. Everyone around Kratos seems unaware of this of course, until later in God of War Ragnarok when Kratos admits to his son, that he knows the truth of the prophecy.
Interestingly, there is a scene in God of War Ragnarok which shows Kratos dreaming of his Wife Faye - holding baby Atreus in her arms - and she asks Kratos why does he fear Atreus. It is interesting, because at this point in history, Faye of course knows the truth - though probably 100% rejects it - that their baby Atreus will grow up, and be the demise of Kratos. The scene implies that Kratos instinctively knew deep down that, given the ways of his past, given his god hood, that something might ruin this small family.
Of course it comes down to that four letter word: FATE. No matter the mythology, greek or norse, the Gods always try to outwit and rewrite their own destinies, and time and time again fate gets them in the end. Perhaps Kratos has finally accepted that fate cannot be stopped; ragnarok cannot be stopped, Atreus will fulfil the prophecies at the cost of his life. Though clearly he is not at peace with this.
In God of War 4 he speaks with more authority, and he leads and takes command as a God should, but here in God of War Ragnarok, Atreus is the one leading, and he is followed by a clearly down beat father. Though this is probably the only way the story could go, it just makes God of War 4 more epic to me.
No, far from it! God of War Ragnarok is a great game, and in conclusion I can safely say that I am enjoying God of War Ragnarok immensely, but God of War 4 seemed more like a Hollywood block buster, that had action, as well as emotion involving a God and his son. God of War Ragnarok seems more like a computer game, and I feel a bit less connected to the universe it portrays. Both games are worth owning, but if i could take only one game with me to a desert island of the two, it would be God of War 4.