God of War Ragnarok, the analysis of the trailer of the State of Play

It was talked about without much conviction, and instead in the end the rumors turned out to be true: God of War Ragnarok was shown again during the last State of Play with a trailer dedicated to the history of the game, its characters and its fascinating settings .

A further look at the awaited action adventure developed by Santa Monica Studio, so far presented to the public in a surprisingly siphoned way, especially considering that the release on PS5 and PS4 is now around the corner: there are a few weeks left until November 9, when we can put hands on Kratos and Atreus’ new mission.

So what exactly did we see? Here is ours analysis of the God of War Ragnarok State of Play trailer.

The trailer

“We all have secrets,” Atreus says at the beginning of the video. “Sometimes it’s the only way to protect those we love,” he continues, as his father Kratos is seen literally laying down his weapons: first the iconic Blades of Chaos, then the Leviathan’s ax. In the next scene, the former god of war cuts the rope he imprisons Tyr, his counterpart in Norse mythology, who will help him complete a new mission. Which one, exactly?

There is obviously some distrust: “I know who you are, killer of the gods,” says Tyr. “What do you want from me? Is a god of war what you seek?” The following sequences show Kratos fighting an enemy and Tyr dragging his corpse: there will be interactions between the characters and the new travel companion will prove essential to find the right path. Towards where? Even this question, for the moment, has no answer.

“You don’t really want war, do you, Kratos?” We hear Mimir say. “All that blood on your hands and your boyfriend’s?” At this point the images linger on relationship with Atreus, which after the God of War ending has obviously become more complex: the boy does not know what his true nature is and what he is really destined for. He hides something from his father, but tells him he must trust him.

The bond of the two protagonists has changed again, it seems, and if on the one hand Kratos expresses his fears about the safety of his son in no uncertain terms, the latter is somehow convinced that he knows how to move and that he can in this way protect his father. But does the Phantom of Sparta really need someone to protect him?

Perhaps yes, judging by the subsequent combat sequences, in which Kratos is thrown violently into the air by the Valkyries before facing numerous others. enemies: a gigantic quadrupedal monster, soldiers of various kinds, a knight armed with a long sword, a monstrous alligator (with the help of Atreus) and finally a creature composed solely of incandescent magma.

During these fights, Odin’s voice is heard saying, “What can you know about divinity? Has anyone ever worshiped you? Or ever addressed his prayers? Can you at least imagine that kind of love? No! You don’t care about anyone other than yourself. Except the monster that kills for no reason. ”

In short, in God of War Ragnarok there will be room forintrospection of the protagonistwhile the video continues and shows a daring escape, a frantic ride aboard a sled on the snow, Kratos and Atreus in the grip of ocean currents and finally the calm of a sequence in which the boy shoots an arrow towards the sun, commanding a one wolf (Skoll?) to open a “gash” in the day to bring down the night, while the other wolf (Hati?) remains at his side.

At this point we see a roundup of the wonderful scenarios of the game, which culminates in the most anticipated clash: Kratos and Thor throwing themselves against their respective magical weapons. “Fate binds you if you allow it. Do what is necessary, not because it is written: we will create our own destiny.” And the God of War Ragnarok trailer closes in the best way possible.

Analyses

The formula of the new chapter of the Santa Monica Studio series takes up what was seen in 2018, with an exciting mix of cinematic storytelling, exploratory phases and combat which will be enriched with new characters of great depth, both as regards the possible allies of Kratos and Atreus, and as regards their opponents.

The trailer’s job was to give us a glimpse of the history of Ragnarok, and the developers who prepared it definitely knew their stuff. After the conclusion of God of War, this was exactly the scenario we expected, with the relationship between father and son taking a further step in the direction of maturity and awareness.

The dubbing in Italian contributes in an important way to the involvement and the atmosphere, as well as the undoubtedly improved graphics as regards characters and settings; after which it is clear that a structural and mechanical verification will be needed in order to understand how much and if the gaming experience has changed compared to four years ago. Let’s imagine that the authors started from that ending for further enrich the gameplaysee also the simultaneous presence of the Leviathan and the Blades of Chaos, but the most relevant news have not yet been revealed.

In reality, given the extraordinary quality of the product, even a simple “more of the same” would be just fine. However we are confident that Santa Monica Studio will not be satisfied with the proverbial homework and indeed it will try to amaze us again and again, putting on the plate new elements capable of giving this new chapter its own precise personality. And we can’t wait to discover it.