Official GOW thread (for those playing it - no spam)

[-GD-X★ 7,729]

5 minutes ago, madmaltese said:

I think you guys are being highly highly critical. Game has some issues but is overall incredible. The realms and level design are light years better than the first, the combat whether you are a fan or not is a marked improvement over the first, this overall cast is better than the first (Odin, Thor, etc are so damn good), the side content much better than the first and so on. Also I don't really understand the dialogue gate tbh, sure there is an overabundance of it especially when travelling the world and some little jokes but to call it Marvel-esque is a bit ridiculous imo. Forspoken trailers are Marvel-esque dialgoue, there isn't a single thing to that level in this game and everything main story related is excellent dialogue. Kratos and all the Asgard stuff especially.

i definitely agree that the game improved nearly every issue with the first. however, it has introduced its own problems. NPCs giving away the puzzles (or any obstacle for that matter) is a major buzz kill. the campaign could be a bit shorter (i prefer the first's length, in retrospect). i stopped doing favors because some of the main acts get exhausting (too much combat in parts or repetitive, automated platforming/puzzles). but in terms of writing and acting, it's a spectacular game. a lot of the humor feels organic. there will be a joke here and there that feels jarring. however, the story and characters are keeping me going. odin is one of the most memorable characters i've encountered in a while.

[madmaltese★ 2,549]

2 minutes ago, -GD-X said:

i definitely agree that the game improved nearly every issue with the first. however, it has introduced its own problems. NPCs giving away the puzzles (or any obstacle for that matter) is a major buzz kill. the campaign could be a bit shorter (i prefer the first's length, in retrospect). i stopped doing favors because some of the main acts get exhausting (too much combat in parts or repetitive, automated platforming/puzzles). but in terms of writing and acting, it's a spectacular game. a lot of the humor feels organic. there will be a joke here and there that feels jarring. however, the story and characters are keeping me going. odin is one of the most memorable characters i've encountered in a while.

The NPCs giving every puzzle away is a major issue and one that Sony is having across multiple games, I won't be surprised if this is patched out in the future with a setting.

The game is definitely massive and I also prefer much shorter games but I guess that is a preference thing. For eg I can't do AC games anymore cause they are just too much for me but I know many people prefer them that way. It could've definitely been a much tighter experience if it was shorter. Would let the story beats be better paced also. 

One issue I'm having is all the hidden loading segments due to this being a PS4 game. Don't think I've ever played a game with more crawling through tight spots, slow climbing, etc. Game defs shows it's age there. UI is also bang average imo. 

Regarding story, characters, writing, setting, etc all those things are absolute top tier. I'd nearly go as far to say that this is prob the best representation of Odin I have seen in any medium and all the Asgard stuff is excellent! The evolution of the Kratos and Atreus stuff is great too. 

I will say though that while I love this game it is making me appreciate TLOU2 a great deal. This game does what many ppl wanted TLOU2 to do. A safer more continuation of the story and characters we love and while I'm enjoying this greatly I don't feel as engaged or surprised as I was by the original while in TLOU2 they truly did take all the risks over again and subverted everything in the sequel also. Big balls ND. 

[-GD-X★ 7,729]

Just now, madmaltese said:

The NPCs giving every puzzle away is a major issue and one that Sony is having across multiple games, I won't be surprised if this is patched out in the future with a setting.

The game is definitely massive and I also prefer much shorter games but I guess that is a preference thing. For eg I can't do AC games anymore cause they are just too much for me but I know many people prefer them that way. It could've definitely been a much tighter experience if it was shorter. Would let the story beats be better paced also. 

One issue I'm having is all the hidden loading segments due to this being a PS4 game. Don't think I've ever played a game with more crawling through tight spots, slow climbing, etc. Game defs shows it's age there. UI is also bang average imo. 

Regarding story, characters, writing, setting, etc all those things are absolute top tier. I'd nearly go as far to say that this is prob the best representation of Odin I have seen in any medium and all the Asgard stuff is excellent! The evolution of the Kratos and Atreus stuff is great too. 

I will say though that while I love this game it is making me appreciate TLOU2 a great deal. This game does what many ppl wanted TLOU2 to do. A safer more continuation of the story and characters we love and while I'm enjoying this greatly I don't feel as engaged or surprised as I was by the original while in TLOU2 they truly did take all the risks over again and subverted everything in the sequel also. Big balls ND. 

all great points.

[Twinblade★ 3,891]

30 minutes ago, madmaltese said:

I think you guys are being highly highly critical. Game has some issues but is overall incredible. The realms and level design are light years better than the first, the combat whether you are a fan or not is a marked improvement over the first, this overall cast is better than the first (Odin, Thor, etc are so damn good), the side content much better than the first and so on. Also I don't really understand the dialogue gate tbh, sure there is an overabundance of it especially when travelling the world and some little jokes but to call it Marvel-esque is a bit ridiculous imo. Forspoken trailers are Marvel-esque dialgoue, there isn't a single thing to that level in this game and everything main story related is excellent dialogue. Kratos and all the Asgard stuff especially.

 

The combat on paper might be better than in the original one but there's so much of it that I just had way less fun with it here than I did in the first game. The game just feels overdesigned and bloated to a fault, I think just cutting out a bunch of the combat encounters (or just limiting each encounter to a single 'wave' instead of multiple ones like I mentioned before) and shortening the levels would have made it a better paced and more enjoyable game overall. 

 

If someone told me they completed the main quest and most of the side content (which probably takes 45-50 hours minimum) and also said they enjoyed the combat for that entire duration, I would be convinced that they were lying.

 

 

[madmaltese★ 2,549]

4 minutes ago, Twinblade said:

 

The combat on paper might be better than in the original one but there's so much of it that I just had way less fun with it here than I did in the first game. The game just feels overdesigned and bloated to a fault, I think just cutting out a bunch of the combat encounters (or just limiting each encounter to a single 'wave' instead of multiple ones like I mentioned before) and shortening the levels would have made it a better paced and more enjoyable game overall. 

 

If someone told me they completed the main quest and most of the side content (which probably takes 45-50 hours minimum) and also said they enjoyed the combat for that entire duration, I would be convinced that they were lying.

 

 

I think so far the only time in the game that I felt a proper drag was Ironwood. That section was way too long and slow. Other than that though I personally haven't had any problems yet, combat maybe a little too much sometimes but it hasn't annoyed me yet. Last night I again just spent another session doing only Favours and I feel I'm fairly deep into the main stuff too but they still manage to drag me away with the side stuff so I guess that says enough about how much I'm enjoying it. 

[Twinblade★ 3,891]

5 minutes ago, madmaltese said:

I think so far the only time in the game that I felt a proper drag was Ironwood. That section was way too long and slow. Other than that though I personally haven't had any problems yet, combat maybe a little too much sometimes but it hasn't annoyed me yet. Last night I again just spent another session doing only Favours and I feel I'm fairly deep into the main stuff too but they still manage to drag me away with the side stuff so I guess that says enough about how much I'm enjoying it. 

 

I didn't mention it but I think part of the problem is that the enemies have way too much health, and it feels like you're spending so much time just chipping away at their health bars. But even the weaker enemies still feel like they can soak up so much damage too.

[madmaltese★ 2,549]

1 minute ago, Twinblade said:

 

I didn't mention it but I think part of the problem is that the enemies have way too much health, and it feels like you're spending so much time just chipping away at their health bars. But even the weaker enemies still feel like they can soak up so much damage.

There are definitely some enemies that can take a lot of damage but I also feel like you have so many runic abilities that you can melt them fairly fast if you really want. Can switch between all the weapons and use 2 runic abilities on each, have the rage, etc. 

 

Also the reason I'm defending the combat so much is because specifically when you do verse a boss or mini boss (basically anything with the big health bar) I truly do think the combat is awesome. This was the same with the Valkyries in the first one but I feel there is a lot more quality combat like that in this one. The parrying, shield breaks, combo abilities with partner, the variety of your own weapons with a huge array of runic abilities plus adding specific modifiers to specific attacks. There is a lot there is you really want to do deeper.

[-GD-X★ 7,729]

Ok, 

Spoiler

Garm 

Was a badass fight! Holy fuck! I wish there were more fights, of that scale, in this game. 

[Remij 4,670]

18 minutes ago, -GD-X said:

Ok, 

  Hide contents

Garm 

Was a badass fight! Holy fuck! I wish there were more fights, of that scale, in this game. 

My favorite of the entire game.  In fact that whole level probably was.

[-GD-X★ 7,729]

18 minutes ago, Remij said:

My favorite of the entire game.  In fact that whole level probably was.

Yeah, that’s what I was waiting for! 

[Casual 726]

15 hours ago, Twinblade said:

 

The combat on paper might be better than in the original one but there's so much of it that I just had way less fun with it here than I did in the first game. The game just feels overdesigned and bloated to a fault, I think just cutting out a bunch of the combat encounters (or just limiting each encounter to a single 'wave' instead of multiple ones like I mentioned before) and shortening the levels would have made it a better paced and more enjoyable game overall. 

 

If someone told me they completed the main quest and most of the side content (which probably takes 45-50 hours minimum) and also said they enjoyed the combat for that entire duration, I would be convinced that they were lying.

 

 

 

I think overdesigned kinda nails it for me when looking at the game as a whole. Like I definitely appreciate the level of polish and attention to detail - especially in an industry where AAA gaming has been riddled with poor launches and buggy games that never get fixed. Sony really is leading the charge here (alongside Nintendo, but obviously their games aren't to the same scale).

 

I just didn't find myself enjoying the moment to moment gameplay loop. The combat is just okay imo and there's too much of it, it's a bit too slow and relies too much on arrows coming from all directions telling you what to do. I feel like I enjoyed the combat more in the first, but tbh I don't remember it enough to know if there was a huge difference - i think I remember it being a bit more focused and tight but I could be wrong. I've never been a fan of the Arkham style combat in general.

 

There's far too many systems imo, it feels like they're trying to make a really guided cinematic experience but then justifying the "game" part by layering on all these upgrade paths (skills, gear, loot,companions, etc) that just start to feel bloated.

 

I think the only part of the game I was really enjoying was taking in the environments which were stunning and generally really cool settings. Some of the characters are cool too.

[-GD-X★ 7,729]

Creatures of the prophecy was another excellent chapter. I hope the rest of the game can sustain its current momentum. 

[Hot Sauce 2,727]

Riding around on some dumb yak bored out of my mind.

[Hot Sauce 2,727]

Oh my fucking god, back on the god damn yak. This game fucking blows.

[Remij 4,670]

7 minutes ago, Hot Sauce said:

Oh my fucking god, back on the god damn yak. This game fucking blows.

10/10 GOTY

[-GD-X★ 7,729]

6 hours ago, Hot Sauce said:

Oh my fucking god, back on the god damn yak. This game fucking blows.

 yeah, that was easily the worst chapter.

[54212 432]

Edit: Didn't pay attention to the title. Deleted my trash talk about Poochy of War. 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 24, 2022 by Saucer

[Twinblade★ 3,891]

9 hours ago, Hot Sauce said:

Oh my fucking god, back on the god damn yak. This game fucking blows.

 

Well at least you get to enjoy Atreus' engaging bow combat when you're not on the Yak

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Remij 4,670]

12 minutes ago, Twinblade said:

 

Well at least you get to enjoy Atreus' engaging bow combat when you're not on the Yak

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Omfg

 

[Remij 4,670]

Edge gave Ragnarok a 6/10

 

 

Good for them for speaking up about it.  All those 10/10's are fucking bullshit