God Of War Ragnarök – good but how good? (pic: Sony)
The Friday letters page debates the merits of God Of War Ragnarök and its reviews, as one reader is frustrated at the game being cross-gen.
To join in with the discussions yourself email [email protected]
Please disagree
Such a refreshingly forthcoming article about God Of War Ragnarök’s reviews, GC. And I have to say I regret questioning the veracity and professional integrity of your Ghostwire: Tokyo review earlier this year. I liked it, you guys didn’t, no issue in that. The more divergent and contentious the critical consensus on video games the healthier and more stimulating the debates surrounding the games, in my opinion. I do wonder why that 6/10 score for Ragnarök from IGN Korea wasn’t feed to the score aggregate monster known as Metacritic though…
For me, the critically polarising likes of Deadly Premonition, Star Fox Zero, Binary Domain, The Wonderful 101, NieR, God Hand, or indeed the aforementioned Ghostwire: Tokyo, piqued my interest almost as much as the games that were unanimously praised. There’s just something about a game getting scores ranging from 4s to 9s that really ignites the burning curiosity to ascertain my personal truth!
I kind of find it disheartening whenever gamers dismiss a game because it didn’t receive 9s and 10s across the board. They’re truly missing out on so many interesting and original games with that myopic game purchasing philosophy.
I’m currently engrossed in Sonic Frontiers and I always strongly suspected it would get wildly varying scores, but my opinion aligns with that of your own after five hours of play time. Can’t believe one reviewer awarded it a 2/10!? Ludicrous. I mean, I commend the author for having the testicular fortitude to publish that scathing review!
Galvanized Gamer
Perfect score
I have a love/hate relationship with review scores. I rate most films that I watch on IMDb and am regularly shocked at how high some of the films have scored. I know there’s a lot of paid-for scoring these days, and that’s a topic for another day, but after some consideration I’ve come to the realisation that my scoring methodology is very much not the norm.
For instance, my 10/10 is reserved for a fantastic film that I have watched several times and am always captivated by. Having watched thousands of films the only few to achieve a 10 are: Blade Runner, Stand By Me, and Jurassic Park. Now, I accept there are issues with all three of these films, such as the infamous cliff from nowhere T-rex scene, but to me they’re truly fantastic.
If I jump over to IMDb and look through the user scores of recent releases it seems to be mostly 10s and 1s; and then it hit me. My scoring methodology, where 10 is reserved for the very best, is used far more casually by the general population. In the same way, I have never scored a film 1/10; I suppose I wouldn’t sit through a 1/10 to even feel I was in a position to score it but jump to the IMDb reviews and you’ll find a plethora of 1s, sporting comments such as, ‘This film was boring’.
My scoring methodology applies to games as well, though I don’t rate them officially. 10 is the best of the best, the games that had a lasting impact on me. If I rated a game as 6/10, I would be saying it was bang average, it’s enjoyable in places but also frustrating, it does some things well and other things not so well. But again, I think to most gamers a 6/10 is equal to writing the game off entirely.
Basically, it’s subjective. I suppose part of the reason I’ve been a long-term reader here is because I feel GC score similarly to how I do: 10/10 is reserved for some of the best games of all time. Regarding the latest God Of War, it sounds like a very good game – I haven’t played it – and GC’s score of 8, to me, suggests a player will have a thoroughly enjoyable playthrough, but that overall, it isn’t as great as its predecessor.
If you read the contents of the review, GC are very clear as to why it falls short of true video game greatness. Of course, there is nothing wrong with you playing it and feeling that it’s the best game you have ever played. In fact, I implore anyone who feels this way to write about it in a Reader’s Feature, and this goes for any game.
I’ve waffled a fair bit here, so I’ll attempt to summarise what I’ve been trying to say: it’s all subjective.
Matt
Personal opinion
Really enjoyed your article on God IO War: Ragnarök on Thursday, GC. Very like your old Wednesday articles. (Midweek Topic? What were they called?) It was always nice to get a look at some aspect of the recent gaming news through a more personal lens.
Do you have any plans to bring them back, or was this just a one-off?
Sparky The Yak
GC: We haven’t decided exactly what form they’ll take but we do intend to do more opinion pieces; the Thursday one was an experiment to see how that might work.
E-mail your comments to: [email protected]
Indie Direct
It was nice to get some game announcements this week, in the form of Nintendo’s Indie World Direct.
For me, the standout was the imminent release of Sports Story next month. Golf Story is one of my favourite games so I’m very much looking forward to its sequel and just hope they can recapture the magic across all the different sports on offer.
The surprise release of Rogue Legacy 2 caught my attention, as I think I remember GC highly rated this when it was released on Xbox. It doesn’t look like a game that necessarily has much of a story so would I need to play the first one before this?
Knowing that Have A Nice Death will release on Switch next year was also welcomed news, as it’s a visually stunning game that I’ve had my eye on but haven’t been able to play, as I don’t have a PC.
Finally, Pepper Grinder looked like a lot of fun and could scratch the SteamWorld Dig itch.
Now that God of War Ragnarök is out, let’s hope Sony follows suit and give us some announcements for what’s to come on PlayStation 5 next year, outside of the VR space.
Hubert
GC: There’s barely any story in Rogue Legacy, you’re fine to start with the second one.
AMACentral
I really enjoyed today’s article regarding why you believe God Of War Ragnarök is not a game of the year contender.
While GC is very informative in publishing gaming news, usually your opinions are limited to game reviews and the odd comments in readers’ letters. It’s nice to have a whole opinion piece article published that not only gives your opinion but explains it as well.
I’ve not played the game, so have no opinion other than my experience playing its predecessor, but it’s great to read your elaborated thoughts outside of a review, which likely has to follow a prescribed format and meet a specific deadline and make fair comparisons.
How about for an end of year hot topic we could have an ‘Ask Game Central’ and readers could request your opinions, views of the industry, behind the scenes questions, etc.?
Huw
GC: Your free to ask us questions at any time via the Inbox.
The full scale
Interesting article from GC on their God Of War Ragnarök review. It’s not often we see GC come out and explain their position.
I’ll be honest, I’ve never found Metacritic to be particularly helpful. As GC stated, the 1-10 scale isn’t being fully utilised by many reviewers. From those 126 reviews for Ragnarök, 46 were perfect 10/10 scores. It just makes a mockery of the overall scoring system.
GC referred to being the outlier, but this is where people are only focusing upon a flawed scoring system. However, if you read a selection of reviews, chances are you’ll come across similar positives and negatives; it’s the emphasis given to the latter which differs so greatly.
I noted in the comments Mr Jenkins was heavily criticised for the review not reading like an 8, suggesting it came across as a lower score. Whilst that criticism may be fair for some, I’m not looking at the overall impression of the review, I’m more concerned with the detail. A stronger emphasis upon the good or bad is of no consequence: to truly critique there has to be scrutiny.
I’ve always tended to stick with a selection of preferred reviewers. I won’t always agree, but I’d be more concerned if I did.
Anon
Don’t check the box
What a fantastic article covering the reasons why God Of War won’t be your game of the year. I’d love more thoughtful opinion articles of this nature, which generate debate and add context to GC’s approach to reviews.
Your reviews have been praised in the Inbox recently, and I would absolutely add my voice to that particular chorus (can two letters be described as a chorus?).
With the God Of War review, I particularly loved how the first seven paragraphs of the article do not mention the gameplay at all. You cover the concepts the story is trying to portray, and the characterisation of the protagonists, and its success (or otherwise) in those regards. In my opinion those aspects were the most important thing in the game.
I know some may think that’s weird in a game review, but in this context – an iterative sequel, where in the preview you’ve already covered its similarity to its predecessor, most people have already played the 2018 game (and should if they haven’t!), most people know roughly what to expect from the gameplay.
Of course the action will be fantastic and the set pieces bombastic, I imagine if it didn’t deliver in this regard, it would have been an incredible surprise and maybe the first seven paragraphs would then have been how the gameplay was a significant let down.
There were some comments, repeated all over the internet too really, about how game reviews should have a homogenised criteria upon which games might be scored, I imagine it’s thought of as some sort of checkbox exercise where individual opinion is set to one side. That is the complete opposite of what I would want in my reviews personally though, as it tells you so little about the really interesting parts of a game like God Of War or The Last Of Us, for example, where the story and how the game wants its players to feel, is such an important part of the experience.
I also love review scores, I think they are a lot of fun and generate some good debate (on GC anyway, I can’t comment on Twitter and wider social media as I stay away, but I imagine it’s not quite as healthy) so I do hope your good selves, and other major review sites don’t follow the route of Eurogamer, Kotaku, and the like. I do really miss them from those sites, and you have already noted the potentially negative impact it has on a game’s Metascore, which remains the go-to place for most gamers to get an idea of a game’s critical reception.
Anyway, I started God Of War Ragnarök myself last night and am looking forward to getting stuck in to it over the next few weeks. The 2018 game is one of my very favourites ever, I’m still amazed GC did not give it a 10 originally… but that’s the beauty of opinions I suppose.
All the best and keep up the good work.
Henshin Agogo
Have your say
Just thought I would forward this email to you guys as a Hot Topic suggestion regarding your scoring system, after one of your game reviews.
How do your other readers feel about it and if they wanted to change it up completely or just a bit how would they go about doing it? Is there any other better way of scoring a review and if so what? Or is your scoring system just best off left alone?
Neil Down
GC: We could do something on reviews next week, yes. We’re afraid this week’s hasn’t generated enough for a Hot Topic, though, unless there’s a sudden influx today.
The contenders
So there’s been a lot of discussion and thoughts, over which game deserves to stand tall and win the coveted game of the year. It’s not difficult to see that the competition is between Elden Ring and God Of War Ragnarök. They’re the two contenders, but if I’m being honest, after reading the latest article, I have to agree with GC. Ragnarök isn’t winning this year. I’ve not played it, as of yet, but something just feels off. I don’t see this as the masterpiece that is being bestowed with universal praise.
Let me start with that it feels, like a frantic race to the finish line. There’s a lot of story, but too little hours to cover it all. It’s a 20 hour game but you’re being introduced to so many characters, such as Faye and Heimdall who comes off as an arrogant and whiny teenager; not at all how he was portrayed in the MCU. Graphics are not much of an improvement, over the original title and the predictability is apparent.
The PlayStation 4 continues to hold back mainstream titles and it’s almost its 10 year anniversary. This needs to end, it never worked for Cyberpunk 2077 and it never will work. If I’m being honest, despite the issues and the niche audience, I definitely see Elden Ring winning this year.
It’s a masterstroke from Miyazaki and it’s true that it’s not everyone’s cup of tea. I can attest to that personally but the game did so much right. The accessibility (removing weapon durability), the writing, and the gameplay supersedes Ragnarök, because it’s laden with something to see around each corner.
Ragnarök is a great game, but it’s just not the best this year. I also have to criticise the worst aspect of the title, the story is disappointing. As a final note, it is massively predictable. You can see the final swansong to the Norse setting from a while away and it never feels as if the stakes are massively dangerous. I definitely see another title, taking place in a different era – maybe Egypt, since Kratos’s story can continue and there’s possible opportunity to weave further tales between him and Freya.
She is my favourite character in this franchise, a brilliant and strong female representation. To end this essay, on a final note I can’t say that 2022 has been amazing for gaming but I’m hopeful for 2023. It looks to be a fantastic time for gamers everywhere. I’m personally excited for Spider-Man 2, Alan Wake 2, and Starfield.
Shahzaib Sadiq
Inbox also-rans
RE: Winters’ Expansion code. Sam, you’re very welcome, hope you enjoy it!
LastYearsModel
Ugh, why do I get the feeling that The Last Of Us multiplayer game is going to be a milestone for Sony? And not in a good way. The thought of playing The Last Of Us with battle passes and stupid cosmetics just sounds horrible. How long till there’s a Messi skin in that as well?
Toctale
This week’s Hot Topic
With Sonic Frontiers out this week the subject for this weekend’s Inbox asks what’s your favourite platform game?
Platformers are one of the oldest genres in gaming, but which do you like best and why? Do you have a favourite 2D and 3D game and which style do you generally prefer? How much difference does the main character make and which is your favourite?
What do you think of the general state of platformers at the moment and what new ones are you looking forward to? What direction could developers take them in the future and what do you hope new technology will allow?
E-mail your comments to: [email protected]
The small print
New Inbox updates appear every weekday morning, with special Hot Topic Inboxes at the weekend. Readers’ letters are used on merit and may be edited for length and content.
You can also submit your own 500 to 600-word Reader’s Feature at any time via email or our Submit Stuff page, which if used will be shown in the next available weekend slot.
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The Friday letters page debates the merits of God Of War Ragnarök and its reviews, as one reader is frustrated at the game being cross-gen.
