With games like Horizon Forbidden West and Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart already on the PlayStation 5, the upcoming God of War Ragnarok has a lot to live up to when it joins the growing list of well-received PlayStation 5 sequels later this year. The pressure has also been piled on the yet-to-be-released follow-up to 2018’s God of War with accolades like Most Anticipated Game awarded at the 2020 Golden Joystick Awards. God of War Ragnarok not only has to battle fan expectations, but also the competition of sequels that have been released on PlayStation 5 and set the standard for titles on the current-gen console.
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PlayStation 5’s Group Of Great Sequels
Whenever a new console generation launches, it offers opportunities for developers to really push platforms to their limits. With the chance to create both better-looking and better-performing games, new consoles usually mean more impressive titles. There is the inevitable wave of remasters and games utilizing backwards compatibility to make themselves accessible to owners of the new console, as well as games that help bridge the gap between old gen and new with versions on both. Sequels often serve this function, providing players with something new while at the same time having ties to the familiar, much like Insomniac Games’ Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart.
The third-person shooter platform game was the sixteenth installment in the hugely popular Ratchet & Clank series, and gave players the chance to blast their way through the galaxy and jump through dimensional rifts as they navigated the rambunctious adventure. As well as being a well-designed, reliably humorous, and surprisingly emotional game, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart was a worthy sequel and helped to show off the best of what the PlayStation 5 has to offer. With impressively detailed visuals and the ability to instantly shift from one dimension to another with minimal loading, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart blew a lot of recent titles out of the water.
Another sequel that has been released on PlayStation 5 to critical acclaim is Guerilla Games’ post-apocalyptic action RPG Horizon Forbidden West. When Horizon Zero Dawn was released in 2017, the brand-new IP impressed players with its original setting and story, as well as its inventive approach to combat. The sequel was highly anticipated by fans, as hunter Aloy returned to explore a new hostile frontier known in-game as the “Forbidden West.” The game’s open-world and new underwater sections effectively showed off the power of the PlayStation 5, as well as Horizon Forbidden West’s Decima engine.
The recently released Dying Light 2: Stay Human is another game that made use of the PlayStation 5’s power to showcase its dense and expansive setting. While Dying Light 2: Stay Human’s voice acting and writing may have faced some criticism, the impressively-realized setting and enjoyably dynamic parkour helped to elevate the game. This added Dying Light 2: Stay Human to the list of sequels on PlayStation 5 that have been instrumental in highlighting the potential of next-gen, as well as creating a growing group of great games available on the popular console.
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The Pressure On God Of War Ragnarok
God of War, the eighth installment in the franchise, signaled a departure for the series and a shift away from Greek mythology to Norse. Along with the change in focus and aesthetic, 2018’s God of War introduced new elements to the overarching story, gameplay mechanics, and characterization of series protagonist Kratos. All of these updates were definitely for the better, and the game was universally praised as a memorable new addition to the franchise. God of War’s follow-up, therefore, has already faced a good deal of scrutiny despite not yet being released.
First announced in 2020, fans have been eagerly awaiting the launch of God of War Ragnarok and the continuation of the touching and nuanced story between Kratos and his son Atreus. Undoubtedly one of this year’s most anticipated games, God of War Ragnarok has a lot to live up to: Not just the incredible precedent set by the previous installment, but also the slew of amazing titles — a lot of them sequels themselves — already released on the PlayStation 5. Fans are expecting a gorgeous-looking game at the very least, and titles like Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart and Horizon Forbidden West have already shown what’s possible on current-gen consoles.
The emotive expressions and incredible facial animations in Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart in particular would help to convey the weight of God of War Ragnarok’s story if the upcoming game can emulate its complexity. With God of War Ragnarok exploring Atreus’ true identity and his struggles over his heritage and purpose, realistic facial animations would be an important feather in the game’s cap and would work well in conjunction with the same level of excellent writing as seen in the previous game.
Traversing the nine realms that are just emerging from the grips of the long Fimbulwinter gives God of War Ragnarok the chance to show off some of its incredible regions through the power of the PlayStation 5. It has the chance to match Horizon Forbidden West’s gorgeously diverse locations and give players a world full of mythological beasts, ancient beings, and environmental challenges that could top anything from the previous game. While expectations may be incredibly high, previously released sequels on the PlayStation 5 have shown that God of War Ragnarok has a good chance of delivering on everything that fans might want, and hopefully the game will be the best yet in the series to date.
God of War Ragnarok is scheduled to release in 2022 on PS4 and PS5.
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