Tag: God of War Ragnarok

The best PlayStation Store Black Friday deals

We’ve rounded up the best PlayStation Store Black Friday deals, including Final Fantasy, God of War, Yakuza, and more

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The PlayStation Store Black Friday deals are live, with discounts on some of the best PS5 games old and new. There’s something for pretty much everyone, whether you want to catch up on some modern classics like Final Fantasy 7 Remake or Spider-Man before diving into new sequels or you’re looking for deals on recent hits. Most of the deals we’ve rounded up are for PS5 only, though we’ve noted where games have lower prices on PS4 or work for both systems.

The PlayStation Store Black Friday sales end on Nov. 27, 2023.

The best October Prime Day PS5 game deals

The October Prime Day PlayStation deals discount a range of the best PS5 games, from God of War to The Last of Us, and some smaller hits too

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The October Prime Day PlayStation deals discount a wide range of the best PS5 games, from God of War to The Last of Us, and plenty of smaller hits as well. If you’re in the market for a cat game, some Final Fantasy, maybe a classic RPG or two, and some Spider-Man, you’re in luck. If you’re after some PS4 games, you’re in even more luck. Some of these games have even steeper discounts on the PS4 versions, and you can potentially upgrade to the PS5 edition for free.

These Prime Day PlayStation deals last until Oct. 11, 2023.

God of War Ragnarok New Game+ update overhauls the game

The God of War Ragnarok New Game+ update is available now on PS5 and PS4, and it adds quite a bit to your second journey

The God of War Ragnarok New Game+ update is available now on PS5 and PS4, and it adds quite a bit to your second journey. When you start New Game+, you can keep leveling up thanks to the increased level cap, and you start with almost all of your skills and gear, including the Draupnir Spear, intact.

The exceptions are the Sonic and Hex arrows, which Sony Santa Monica said remain locked behind story progress, along with the areas they help you reach.

Kratos can sport some new looks as well. New Game+ adds the Black Bear Armor alongside a range of sets inspired by Greek mythology – and Kratos’ previous conquests – including Ares and Zeus, and you can pick up some color variations for existing armor sets. Then there’s the Spartan Armor, which has no perks or stats and is locked at power level one

You can spend Gilded Coins to upgrade any level nine gear to its “Plus” version and get new benefits from it. That’s handy, since Sony Santa Monica bumped up enemy levels to scale with your new level cap and added a handful of pattern changes and new attacks to certain mini-bosses and regular bosses, including Berserker Souls and the Valkyrie Queen.

If that’s still not enough challenge, you can use the new Burdens system to equip negative perks on certain pieces of equipment.

Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF

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God of War Ragnarök initially had a different fate for Kratos

There was an early battle that would dramatically change how this story went.

Like virtually every other video game, God of War Ragnarök was quite different in initial drafts – especially with regards to the fate of Kratos.

Before we continue, keep in mind that there’ll be spoilers for God of War (2018) and God of War Ragnarök. Nothing major, but still!

During an interview with MinnMax, narrative director Matt Sophos revealed that God of War Ragnarök was initially much bleaker (thanks, VGC).

“There was the earliest, earliest draft of an outline that we had come up with, that we took to [director Eric Williams],” Sophos said. “Kratos died in the Thor fight at the very beginning of the game.”

Afterward, Kratos would when up in the underworld for a while – where Atreus would eventually save him. Once Kratos was among the living again, he’d realize that 20 years had passed since his death – yup, there was going to be a good old-fashioned time skip! Ultimately, the development team decided against this route.

“Eric was like, ‘I don’t want to do that, Kratos has died and come back from it too many times, and it’ll feel a little bit too ‘oh, you said he was gonna die and oh, you just killed him but he came right back’,” Sophos continues. “The hook, the emotion, wasn’t really going to be there, and he was absolutely right, and so that’s why it didn’t last very long.”

The decision to go in a different direction seems to have paid off, as God of War Ragnarök took home truckloads of awards.

Written by Kyle Campbell on behalf of GLHF.

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God of War actor joins cast of Dreamcast classic Slave Zero reboot

Mara Junot from God of War Ragnarok and Arcane joins the Slave Zero X cast as Ziggurat hopes to bring the Dreamcast classic back to life

God of War Ragnarok voice actor Mara Junot is joining the cast of Slave Zero X, a reboot of the Sega Dreamcast classic Slave Zero set to launch in 2023 for Steam. Junot, whose past roles also include Ikora Rey in Destiny 2, Shoola in Arcane, and Lisa in Genshin Impact, will bring the villain Enyo to life in Slave Zero X.

Enyo is one of the Five Calamities, powerful foes who serve the Sovereign Khan, Slave Zero X’s main antagonist who will stop at nothing to bring the dystopian urban world under their control. Enyo is a killer for hire and a lover of all things firearms, which puts her at odds with the Khan, who prefers biotechnology over old-fashioned mechanical engineering.

Slave Zero X is a side-scrolling hack-n-slash adventure from some of the minds behind the Devil Engine used for Devil May Cry, and RWBY creator Miles Luna. You put on a high-powered biosuit and rip through the Khan’s biopunk hordes with strings of flashy combos set to a soundtrack that responds to your actions, amping up as the fights get more intense.

The original Slave Zero released in 1999 on Sega Dreamcast and is still available on Steam, where the action game received mostly positive reviews.

Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF

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The best games of 2022 in no particular order

With the year drawing to a close and a packed 2023 on the horizon, it’s time to look back at the best games of 2022

With The Game Awards at an end, the year is drawing to a close, and while there’s plenty to look forward to in 2023 – including Starfield and Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom – for now, it’s time to take a look back at the best games of 2022. Despite a seemingly endless stream of delays, 2022 was packed with games, from big-budget spectacles like God of War: Ragnarok and Elden Ring, to surprise indie hits such as the adorable hero’s adventure Tunic and the retro-horror hit Signalis.

Choosing between so many games is no easy task, but we’ve done it anyway and listed our top picks below.

God of War Ragnarok’s photo mode is available now

Kratos is ready for his close-up.

Several weeks after the launch of God of War Ragnarok, developer Santa Monica Studio has finally released the photo mode.

According to the PlayStation Blog, the photo mode will let fans tweak several in-game elements in God of War Ragnarok. This includes standard options like adjusting the field of view, focal length, and focus distance. There’s more in-depth stuff too, such as being able to remove characters from a scene entirely or change their facial expressions – though that last part only works on Kratos, Atreus, Freya, Brok, Sindri, Tyr, Angrboda, Thor, and Thrúd.

Check out an example of the slick shots you can take now below.

“Since the release of photo mode in God of War (2018), we’ve been continuously amazed by the amount of talent and passion in the Video Game Photographer community that has gathered to the game,” Grace Orlady, Lead Community Manager at Santa Monica Studio, said. “From quiet moments with Kratos and Atreus to the elegant and brutal combat shots with ice and fire flying – the range of the photographers who take shots in God of War has been a constant source of inspiration for our team.”

For those still running through God of War Ragnarok, GLHF has several guides covering critical puzzles and questlines.

Written by Kyle Campbell on behalf of GLHF.

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This fan-made God of War Ragnarok demake trailer is incredible

This fan created a God of War Ragnarok trailer of a different kind, taking Sony’s latest PS5 game back to the PSX with impressive results

God of War Ragnarok may be Sony’s latest showcase for the PS5, but that didn’t stop one fan from almost immediately making a God of War Ragnarok trailer showcasing what the hit action game would’ve looked like as a retro game on the original PlayStation (first spotted by Eurogamer). YouTuber Jackarte created and posted the minute-long trailer on Ragnarok’s launch day, transforming some of the official trailer’s more iconic sequences into pixelated nostalgia – and a few smushed faces.

After the PSX logo disappears, the trailer shows Atreus and Kratos sledding along an ice sheet toward an imposing fortress before switching to a shot of Freya transforming from a raven to a woman and attacking Kratos.

The whole thing is an impressive achievement, though naturally, some aspects don’t transfer quite so smoothly. Atreus’ scene where he shoots an arrow toward the sky, a spectacle in the launch trailer, consists of him just shooting a vast, blank orange expanse, and the model fidelity doesn’t quite survive intact, as you’d expect. 

Jackarte is no stranger to this kind of artistry either. Their more recent uploads include a Silent Hill: Townfall demake, The Witcher 3 in PS1 style – which looks surprisingly inviting, despite CD Projekt RED’s next-gen update on the way – and even a Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom trailer in the style of a Nintendo64 game.

Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF

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Elden Ring and God of War lead The Game Awards 2022 nominations

Despite launching only this month, God of War Ragnarok leads The Game Awards 2022 with nearly a dozen nominations

The Game Awards 2022 nominations are in, and unsurprisingly, God of War Ragnarok and Elden Ring lead the pack along with Horizon: Forbidden West with the most nominations spread out across nearly every category. God of War Ragnarok has 10 nominations, while Elden Ring and Horizon have seven each. Stray and A Plague Tale: Requiem follow close behind, with six and five, respectively.

2022’s Game of the Year nominees are:

  • Elden Ring
  • Xenoblade Chronicles 3
  • God of War Ragnarok
  • Horizon Forbidden West
  • A Plague Tale: Requiem
  • Stray

Elden Ring and Xenoblade Chronicles 3 are also competing for best score and best RPG. Meanwhile, Elden Ring faces off against God of War and Horizon in the game direction category.

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Ashly Burch (Aloy, Horizon Forbidden West), Christopher Judge (Kratos, God of War: Ragnarok), and Manon Gage (Immortality) lead the nominees for best vocal performance.

Meanwhile, the games for impact category includes I Was a Teenage Exocolonist and As Dusk Falls headline the Games for Impact category, with Tunic, Stray, and Cult of the Lamb among the nominations for best indie game.

Genshin Impact and Final Fantasy XIV are among the nominees for best ongoing game as usual, while The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Starfield, and Resident Evil 4 remake round out the most anticipated game of 2023 category.

The full list of categories and nominees is over at The Game Awards’ official site.

The Game Awards 2023 will air live on Dec. 8, 2022, at 7:30 p.m. ET/4:30 p.m. PT.

Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF

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God of War Ragnarök: All Nornir chest locations

Nornir chests are how you increase your health and rage bars in God of War Ragnarök, so it’s important you solve their puzzles.

Nornir chests are vital to becoming powerful in God of War Ragnarök. Get enough of their unique loot and you’ll be able to upgrade either your maximum health or your rage meter, both of which are vital to staying alive in combat. While the chests themselves usually aren’t too hard to find, they need to be opened by smashing/striking three rune stones/bells, which are often difficult to find.

We’ll walk you through the game, telling you where to find each chest, and where the runes are in order to open them.

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