Followers have been anticipating God of Battle: Ragnarok because the launch of the final recreation of the franchise, God of War, landed on consoles in 2018. There’s good cause for this: It’s enjoyable as hell, and everybody desires to go to grumpy Kratos and his band of mates once more.
With out query, I’m a type of followers. There’s only one downside: I by no means completed God of Battle.
For lots of people, this may not be a difficulty. For those who’re screaming “Simply dive in and expertise the brand new one!” at your display screen proper now, I get it. However the God of Battle collection is nuanced. There are various ins and outs relating to its characters, world, and lore. Enjoying with out figuring out all of them can result in critical FOMO when a joyful character reunion or aspect plot level doesn’t hit the best way it ought to.
Sure, I may choose up the place I left off (in spite of everything, I actually was having fun with the sport). Nevertheless it’s fairly tough, and filled with difficult controls I don’t keep in mind. (There’s an Straightforward Mode, however even that’s difficult.) And the explanation I stepped away from it within the first place? There was a boss I couldn’t beat and wouldn’t be capable to with out some critical tools upgrades—enhancements I couldn’t get with out profitable the battle. It was a vicious cycle that I didn’t see any approach out of. Principally, I received caught, and I did not have plenty of curiosity in going again.
My answer: dishonest. OK not dishonest precisely. This isn’t a full-throated protection of cheat codes or hacks. Somewhat I’m simply going to fireplace up some God of Battle YouTube playthroughs and never really feel responsible about it.
After I first realized that I may simply watch a 15-minute YouTube video as a substitute of sitting by way of a recreation I wasn’t having fun with, it was a revelation. And it’s particularly useful for a state of affairs like this, the place I’m invested within the characters and world however am at a standstill relating to truly enjoying it. I all the time strive for 2 YouTube movies—one for story and one for gameplay. Though the studio will seemingly tweak the controls in Ragnarok, a refresh on how the primary one labored will all the time be useful.
This kind of story rationalization is very helpful for an enormous franchise like God of Battle. The 2018 recreation was kind of a refresh of the franchise, an entry level for players like me, nevertheless it wasn’t a reboot. It was technically the fourth recreation within the collection, so there was already plenty of story I’d missed. Going choose-your-own-adventure on some YouTube movies concerning the franchise makes filling within the blanks fairly simple.
For those who requested most “critical players,” they’d inform you these strategies are incorrect, that in an effort to perceive the total story it’s a must to play the sport and earn that information. And OK, that could be true. I’m positive with that. Oh, additionally: I don’t care.
Video video games are one thing I do for enjoyable, to alleviate stress. I don’t have to earn my leisure. I work laborious to earn a living to pay for leisure—that’s sufficient. Now, if you happen to’ll excuse me, my Ragnarok countdown clock says I’ve 21 days till launch, and I’ve plenty of movies to binge.
