God of War Ragnarok

[CrichStand]

5 minutes ago, Thor said:

They had to patch that in.

I didn’t know that but, i read on here that the game had improved a fair bit since launch. Makes me wonder if the same will apply here. There are little niggles that take the AAA sheen off a bit.

[thesnwmn]

3 hours ago, JoeK said:

I tell you what - as someone who's taken the decision to watch a run-through of the game in the absence of being able to play it - the story in both of these games is really absorbing. Helped in no small part by the acting of course, but the characters are all pretty fucking great. 

 

I'd happily watch something similar to this on TV. It's great stuff.

 

I've been background watching someone play and not been paying any attention to the story side.

 

Cconsuming it this way I think it all looks terribly boring. I'll admit it's not really my sort of game (hence watching a bit rather than playing).

 

Mostly it's that traversing the world is so quick-timey. Run up to ladder/chain/wide gap/slope/small gap and press action button to have man climb/jump/swing/slide/squeeze his way over/under/through it. It seems to lack any playfulness. The idea of making it mechanically fun to get to places.

 

 

Even graphically I think it is a little underwhelming after hearing people talk about it. Obviously streaming makes it look a little worse but it's the animation more than anything. So much detail in characters which all goes a bit uncanny valley when they move during gameplay. Animations interrupted to change action or be hit. Swings not aligning with the thing being hit. It's a game. This is always true. But when it looks so good in many ways I find it a bit of a comedy amateur dramatics spectacle.

 

Of course all of the above is completely unfair to it. I'm sure when playing it must look and feel stunning. But viewed passively it feels very different to that to me.

[CrichStand]

All of that is fair comment. From what I’ve played so far, it looks nice but, it is graphically underwhelming when compared to the other big PS5 games. It kind of looks and feels very much like it’s primarily a PS4 game and that has always been the lead platform and driven the design decisions. There are bits that are clearly supposed to be jaw dropping and you marvel at the scale etc, which would have been the case a few years ago, but now, well, not so much.

 

I’m wondering whether I should shelve it for a bit. The hint stuff is really bugging me. Plus I’ve just hit a section and the framerate is ropey, even though I’m playing on performance mode. I’m occasionally seeing pop up and texture draw in too (although I’m on a big screen so it’s more obvious) along with enemies just standing on the spot and not attacking. 
 

I don’t know, it’s good but at the same time something about it feels a bit flat so far.

[amc]

I've only put an hour into this. I love it but whilst waiting I had a dabble with Horizon FW and that's grabbed my attention. Not in any way comparing quality, just how scattergun I can be with my games. They can sit for months then all of a sudden it's all in and away we go.

 

Hopefully have HFW wrapped up over the weekend then I will get stuck in. GoW isn't a game I'll let sit for months. Not when I've had a taste and been impressed.

 

Playstation has some riches for me atm. Loving it.

[Hexx]

The coloured rings  to indicate attacks don't line up with parry windows right?

I'm 99% sure they're are not supposed to - but they're just close enough that my brain can't separate the two

[stir fry]

1 hour ago, thesnwmn said:

Mostly it's that traversing the world is so quick-timey. Run up to ladder/chain/wide gap/slope/small gap and press action button to have man climb/jump/swing/slide/squeeze his way over/under/through it. It seems to lack any playfulness. The idea of making it mechanically fun to get to places.

 

This loop is part of the reason I've not enjoyed it. I really liked 2018 cause it felt like an original take on AAA metroidvania and they paced the slow boring bits really well with some chatter about the ancient myths. But that trick is just not as effective the second time, I think, and I find myself spending more time thinking about how formulaic and similar a lot of these puzzles are. All of them are about climbing things to get a better vantage at something to throw a thingy at.

 

The combat is starting to become a bit more interesting and dynamic though, and there's some interactions between the axe and blades which is sort of neat cause that was completely absent in the first one. The blades just felt like fan service in that and weren't that mechanically interesting. Here they have more interesting properties and aren't just a subweapon

[Thor]

Well I'm really enjoying it. The section involving Angrboda was fantastic. 

[CrichStand]

Yeah, i agree with that to a certain extent. Its like there's no surprise to the vast majority of it so far . Like you walk into an area knowing exactly what's going to happen - "ambushed by 4 enemies..........yep"! Intersperse with spinny things throwing, chest opening, more throwy stuff, walking corridor section whilst listening to dialogue. Yet it seems like the developers think you're going to be totally startled and surprised, sat on the edge of your seat with each encounter?!?!?

 

All of the good bits so far are when it breaks away from that formula and stirs up some real feeling and emotion. The early cinematics,

Spoiler

the shield bit, the horned horsey bit

have all been highlights. 

 

Also think the pacing is mental. Feels like i've spent 80% of the game walking down a corridor, reading lore, listening to dialogue (despite nothing of any real interest happening) and about 20% playing actual gameplay that's fun.

[MansizeRooster]

20 minutes ago, CrichStand said:

All of the good bits so far are when it breaks away from that formula and stirs up some real feeling and emotion. The early cinematics, <redacted>

 

 

Dude, spoilers!

[CrichStand]

3 hours ago, MansizeRooster said:

 

Dude, spoilers!

 

Sorry man, didn't think those descriptions gave anything away but have sorted them just in case.

 

Played on a bit more and when you get into a decent lengthy battle it's fucking quality. They feel really spaced out and few and far between atm though.

 

Also, wish the companions would just shut the fuck up for at least 5mins. Reminds me of when TR decided to introduce some goofy prick talking to Lara on a walkie talkie constantly.

 

Edit - So it appears the first 3-4hrs of the game are basically a tutorial. Things have suddenly widened out, there's now more open exploration, had some proper epic battles where i've needed to switch between weapons, different elements, evade well, use strings of parries, stun enemies, all on the fly. Died loads on one mini boss, before finally scraping through with no health left at all and it felt immense. Quality! 

 

Threatened Atreus with some slipper and straight to bed without supper and he's finally shut up now. 

 

Edit edit - How big is this game exactly? I've started a side mission and it's been going for over 3hrs and i'm still not finished. The exploration and environmental puzzles seem way better than the first game, and thankfully Atreus has remained quiet throughout. Spotted loads of stuff I need to come back for later. Absolutely loving it now! 

 

Fucking hell! The side mission has just opened up even more. And how good is.......

 

Spoiler

The Geyser and what's lurking in the bay. Proper Shadow of the Collosus vibes! ❤ 

 

[Triple A]

Spent some more time on this last night am partway thru the second area, where the visual quality of the environment has picked up nicely.  It no longer feels quite like GOW: Disc 2, and more like a PS5 game, though there is still all the legacy character model and animation stuff in there of course.

[Kevvy Metal]

11 hours ago, Hexx said:

The coloured rings  to indicate attacks don't line up with parry windows right?

I'm 99% sure they're are not supposed to - but they're just close enough that my brain can't separate the two

 

It literally tells you what the rings do. 

Yellow will break your guard but you can parry. It's risky

Red is unblockable and unparryable, so get out of the way. 
Attacks with no rings you can block and / or parry. 

 

...also no, they don't line up with the parry window, they're a forwarning before the attack starts. 

[Bingox]

It tells you *once* about the rings when they first appear in the middle of a fight, blink and you miss it. Irritatingly I couldn't find any info in the codex.

[Alan Stock]

Pretty sure it's in the Lessons bit of the Codex.

 

I put in about 5 more hours last night in the first big area. Having fun, even though its very familiar territory. Pootling around in the boat, lovely environments, chitchat and clearing out secrets. As I enjoy finding the collectibles in this, I'm making sure to explore every inch, which is time consuming (you can check collectible progress by selecting the flag icons on the map). This time around I'm on the case with Odin's ravens, which were a nightmare to go back and collect in the first game.

 

The combat is still tough, the Hard mode lives up to its name and I can easily die on normal enemy encounters. Some bosses will see me with tons of deaths but I'll get there in the end. I'm slowly becoming more survivable with armour and health upgrades. Like the first game, I find it very hard to remember all the moves available to me. I've never been very good at fighting games, so I try and mentally ingrain a new attack at a time into my arsenal.

 

There's a lot to process when you have more than a few enemies to deal with. Each has their own specific block reqirements, you have ranged attacks to dodge, and your own large moveset to consider. People who are better at fighting games than me will get more out of it - but despite me dying a lot, it's satisfying when I eventually pull off a big combat room using all the tools at my disposal. It also makes the collecting/exploring aspect meaningful, because I need those extra goodies to become stronger. And don't forget to keep upgrading your weapon skills, the game doesn't prompt you to do it so you can be sitting on thousands of XP that you forget to spend!   

 

Already had some amazing vistas to behold, and I definitely agree it feels more next-gen as you go on, even if the core gameplay is the same. Very beautiful at times and the details are amazing. The characters are as entertaining as ever. So, its been a comfort play at the moment, it's fun being back in this world, and I honestly don't mind the slow pace I'm going at. Hopefully it will add some new wrinkles in as we go on.

 

PS I have found the dialogue a little hard to make out at times, maybe due to other audio cluttering the mix, or the variety of accents. I turned off subtitles because I hate them, but tempted to turn them on again. Anyone else finding this?

[Number 28]

I'm 13.5 hours into this game and I still don't have (the mildest, non-plot related spoiler)

Spoiler

a heavy runic attack, wtf. This game is long.

[Stanley]

The thing that really makes it feel like a PS4 game when playing on PS5 are the warp gates between realms, it would be lovely just stepping into one and then out into the new realm, and maybe even being able to view the new realm through the portal. Obviously on PS4 this wouldn’t be possible but PS5 should be able to do it, and it has been used previously in Ratchet & Clank to demonstrate the technology. 
 

I think I’d even prefer a loading screen to that walking and talking between the realms level used to load in the new area. 

[pledge]

I've given up on quality mode. It was ok for the world traversal but combat is so much better in performance mode. I can barely notice much difference in the graphics unless stopping.

[MattyP]

1 hour ago, Stanley said:

The thing that really makes it feel like a PS4 game when playing on PS5 are the warp gates between realms, it would be lovely just stepping into one and then out into the new realm, and maybe even being able to view the new realm through the portal. Obviously on PS4 this wouldn’t be possible but PS5 should be able to do it, and it has been used previously in Ratchet & Clank to demonstrate the technology. 
 

I think I’d even prefer a loading screen to that walking and talking between the realms level used to load in the new area. 

Lets face it - it's target is the PS4 so it will have the inherent restrictions of that hardware. Sure things will load quicker on PS5 but its not using the PS5's features to make games that need it to enhance the gameplay somehow - Remember Cerney's presentation on how the fast drive etc would make for new experiences not possible on older hardware?

 

I think this one element that kind of wound me up a bit about the approach to NG console gaming at the moment charging a premium for essentially scaling some assets and increasing the frame rate (both of which are free on say the PC - just usually a config setting on a menu). I guess you get haptics on the PS5 added but essentially it's the same game.

 

I really think Sony should have honoured the free upgrade on all PS4 games - which is essentially what this is until they got games out that are specific to PS5. Or even better just had the same base price for the game? You are getting the same game anyway. But well I guess they'll chance it as most people will just buy the PS5 version anyway. Makes sense if you have a PS5 however if I have a PS5 and the game is in a PS5 box then  I want a game that can only be played for it  and is designed from the ground up to use the hardware. This is where I kind of like MS's approach to it... Xbox - same box just runs the version specific to your hardware. Sony could have done the same a Playstation branded box with the consoles it runs on beneath.

 

But I guess this is how it will be with this gen for a bit. And to a degree it was the same with the gen before too.

 

GoW R looks to be a great game though whatever you get to play it on!  Can't wait for it to get a PC port... might have a new PC at that point too!  

[Stanley]

Oh yeah I wasn’t expecting the PS5 version to do that with the realm gates owing to it basically being the PS4 version, exactly, just with better graphics. Would be ace though in the next game. 
 

Also agree about charging extra for the PS5 versions, it should be free. 

[pledge]

Some of them have conversations there too, so they cant cut them down to much as it was designed around them being needed. Something to look forward to once we get true PS5 only games then.

[MattyP]

7 minutes ago, Stanley said:

Oh yeah I wasn’t expecting the PS5 version to do that with the realm gates owing to it basically being the PS4 version, exactly, just with better graphics. Would be ace though in the next game. 

Indeed I think the next batch of games after they finally kill off the legacy hardware is going to be impressive. I really want to see what these new machines can do and the ideas the developers come up with to fully use the new hardware. I'm waiting Sony.  

[MattyP]

11 minutes ago, Stanley said:

Also agree about charging extra for the PS5 versions, it should be free. 

Or just have one price. Say £59.

[scoobysi]

26 minutes ago, MattyP said:

I really think Sony should have honoured the free upgrade on all PS4 games - which is essentially what this is until they got games out that are specific to PS5. But well I guess they'll chance it as most people will just buy the PS5 version anyway.

Yep, although the increased price of games has pretty much stopped me buying Sony games on release, especially if they’re just PS4+ games. It’s greed before anything, which is in stark contrast to Microsoft and not what I’d expected from a company that developed and included Astro’s Playroom with the PS5.
 

I’ve only just started GOW 2018 though so I’m a bit behind the curve on this anyway.

[Thor]

2 hours ago, Bingox said:

It tells you *once* about the rings when they first appear in the middle of a fight, blink and you miss it. Irritatingly I couldn't find any info in the codex.

 

1 hour ago, Alan Stock said:

Pretty sure it's in the Lessons bit of the Codex.

 

Yep. 

 

[CrichStand]

The whole cross gen thing is pretty weird. I mean, Horizon FW is cross gen but it feels PS5 through and through. Not really seeing how these kind of games can advance past what we already have, outside of their graphics, audio, use of controller features etc. Look at BOTW........it’s running on Switch. It’s just going to be slight evolution rather than a massive revolution. 
 

I’d say the main things here that are making the game feel more “PS4” are the graphics, haptics, framerate, little touches that are missing and the world building itself etc. At times the graphics are absolutely stunning, especially the lighting and use of HDR, at others the backdrops look quite PS4, or certain textures look a bit naff, or animation is a bit stiff. All things that are more likely to do with budget and the scope and scale of the game. The framerate drops slightly in certain areas (that don’t seem like they’d be taxing the PS5) when panning the camera around, which is the first bit of slowdown I’ve encountered so far on PS5. The haptics feel really undercooked so far which is weird. The world itself feels sort of empty, like there’s crazy detail when you stop and check it out but it’s mostly just window dressing.......but then what else are they ever going to do with a game of this scale and scope?

 

13 minutes ago, scoobysi said:

Yep, although the increased price of games has pretty much stopped me buying Sony games on release, especially if they’re just PS4+ games. It’s greed before anything, which is in stark contrast to Microsoft and not what I’d expected from a company that developed and included Astro’s Playroom with the PS5.
 

I’ve only just started GOW 2018 though so I’m a bit behind the curve on this anyway.

Microsoft are apparently haemorrhaging money left, right and center with Xbox, to the point they’re going to have to increase all their prices on stuff, including Gamepass next year. Sony are already making a profit with PS5. Personally I feel Gamepass is currently giving a false impression of what games are worth. Ultimately, game prices have to increase to cover their spiralling costs, especially big budget AAA Hollywood style games like this. As a consumer it’s shit, but looking at the playtime of these big games, I’m easily getting my money’s worth. Pay £50-£60, get well over 100hrs of entertainment.

[Stanley]

1 hour ago, MattyP said:

Indeed I think the next batch of games after they finally kill of the legacy hardware is going to be impressive. I really want to see what these new machines can do and the ideas the developers come up with to fully use the new hardware. 

It’s a bit frustrating when we’ve had a taste of it with the likes of Returnal and Demon’s Souls, and Ratchet. 

[MattyP]

53 minutes ago, CrichStand said:

Microsoft are apparently haemorrhaging money left, right and center with Xbox, to the point they’re going to have to increase all their prices on stuff, including Gamepass next year. Sony are already making a profit with PS5. Personally I feel Gamepass is currently giving a false impression of what games are worth. Ultimately, game prices have to increase to cover their spiralling costs, especially big budget AAA Hollywood style games like this. As a consumer it’s shit, but looking at the playtime of these big games, I’m easily getting my money’s worth. Pay £50-£60, get well over 100hrs of entertainment.

Perhaps but games are only worth what you are willing to pay I guess and how much value they give you. Also they seem to appear in sales discounted after release too. Sweet spot for me is around £40. Also it seems this is what the second hand market also thinks given PS5 games regularly come up at this price a 2-3 weeks after release and people have rinsed them.

 

Anyhow not wanting to derail the thread... Looking forward to playing this at some point down the line! 

[MattyP]

6 minutes ago, Stanley said:

It’s a bit frustrating when we’ve had a taste of it with the likes of Returnal and Demon’s Souls, and Ratchet. 

Absolutely. Happy to wait here on the sidelines until the collection builds up a bit more then dive back in....Think I've been bitten a few times being an early adopter so happy to sit it out now.

[CrichStand]

13 minutes ago, MattyP said:

Perhaps but games are only worth what you are willing to pay I guess and how much value they give you. Also they seem to appear in sales discounted after release too. Sweet spot for me is around £40. Also it seems this is what the second hand market also thinks given PS5 games regularly come up at this price a 2-3 weeks after release and people have rinsed them.

 

Anyhow not wanting to derail the thread... Looking forward to playing this at some point down the line! 

Well, as an example - I’ve finished over 20 games on gamepass and played many others in around 9-10 months. Based on the price of a Gamepass sub it works out I’ve paid around 50p per game and by the end of the year it will work out even cheaper. That’s clearly ridiculous and it’s easy to let that skew your perception of how much games should cost. I even got God of War for free using Microsoft Rewards earnt playing on Xbox.
 

Apparently Microsoft are losing £100 on every Series X sold and up to £200 on every Series S sold. Like I say, PS5 is already making profit. I think that’s partly because Sony are pricing things accordingly and at what they’re worth, whilst Microsoft are desperately trying to gain ground by massively undercutting prices. It’s not sustainable. Since getting Gamepass it’s made me not want to shell out for any games at all and getting this with Microsoft Rewards just reenforces that feeling. 

 

I’m 8hrs in on this now and really enjoying it. Must be close to 4hrs just spent doing a side mission, so seems like it could be considerably bigger than the first game. Seems like it could be a bit of a task to 100% it.

[Bingox]

2 hours ago, Thor said:

 

 

Yep. 

 

 

For some reason that is not showing in my Codex. Thanks for the screenshot.