I absolutely love when the troll boss makes it’s first appearance in that cutscene and Kratos instantly chops it’s head off. That’s the Santa Monica team basically looking right into the camera and saying “we heard you”
@MrWhygodwhy Marvel's style of humor and action was fine for what it was. What bothers me about it is how much it feels like Marvel's style has been injected into other film franchises, much like how The Last of Us was great but now game developers are trying to copy that. Same with how games like Breath of the Wild have everybody trying to be open world, or PUBG and Fortnite making everyone turn into battle royales.
@John Leonard More like Lord of the Rings and Quentin Tarantino. Quippy modern dialogue does not belong to Marvel and I'd argue that Ragnarok pulls it off as a style. You can also see a lot of direct influence from Tarantino in many of the scenes; the opening with Thor and Odin for instance might as well be a remake of the opening from Inglorious Basterds (fine by be fwiw, that's one of the best scenes in cinema history and Ragnarok emulates what made it work quite well). I think people are painting too broad of a brush comparing this to Marvel. It comes off as trying to trash the game by association rather than by any merits of the game.
@Someone's TRvid Username drekis were nowhere NEAR the same level of prevalence as trolls. They were pretty much exclusive to vanaheim, fit the setting, and i dont even think any of them were required. Also they all had different elements, and some fights were duos or theg used different tactics, like jumping in and out of water and forcing a fighting style switch up
God of War:Ragnarok being God of War 2 and 3 is the best way to describe it. Going into it completely blind gave me an absolutely magical experience. One of the best video games I've ever gotten the joy to experience. So thankful to simply be alive for this era of gaming, there's so much beauty being released and discovered as of late.
@PixelRebel Actually it is irate people like you that are becoming more common. You only offer criticism and cynicism but you rarely offer real feedback. Good criticism is not just being a pessimistic downer about literally everything. Complaining that people thought a moment was cool because similar have been done before? What an easy and useless thing to say. Everything has been done before, you are a wet blanket and you are NOT a good critic.
@PixelRebel you know what else isn’t fantastic? Writing a snarky reply to a comment that has nothing to do with you. Your reply doesn’t even make any sense, tf are you trying to say?
@Nova Damn you guys are everywhere now. Don't you have jobs or something? It's not fantastic. Why do people try and disrespect what they enjoy by blatantly praising them blindly for nothing when there is so much? Is it just anti criticism or something? I'm genuinely curious as this happens more and more.
I've watched Dunkey's video multiple times. Twice before I got the game, one after I got this game as a gift, another after completing the story. What a masterpiece.
@doobie david pacing was good for most of the game but I feel the ending was rushed. SPOILERS AHEAD FOR PEOPLE WHO HAVE NOT YET FINISHED GOD OF WAR RAGNAROK SO DO NOT READ AHEAD IF YOU HAVE NOT FINISHED THIS GAME. THANK YOU. Felt too easy and quick to take down Odin. I think Odin should've gotten away from the fight after disintegrating the noose that Freya had over him. Then after he escapes his ravens are now dead so he can't travel fast and can easily be tracked down but he has one last trick and you have to fight some insane creature from the rift. The rift was super underused as well. Also Asgard was underused by a lot in my opinion. Atreus barely got to explore it
The thing that is the most impressive to me is the sheer amount of fucking dialogue in this game. There’s so many little lines they added to keep you immersed and make the characters seem real. Like whenever mimir is telling a story but you get out of the boat before he finishes, he has a specific line for this specific story about the specific part of the story you left off at. They could’ve easily just had some plain line like “oh what were we talking about again?” But they put so much work into this so that you’re never annoyed by lines repeated until infinity. Except for when Atreus asks if Bifrosted is a word
I have completed the game and I’ve never heard the Atreus “Is bifrosted a word line.” I also didn’t have a problem with them solving puzzles before I could process what was happening. A part from the one time I needed help and they kept saying “Hey look over there.” Without even as much as a point and I’m just like “WHERE IS THERE?”
@Sourus Yeah, they should've recorded a whole bunch of status effect reminders. Unlees I was really unlucky I counted just one for every status, with the ones Atreus says having Freya ones too. For a game that so clearly had so much work and time put into it, you'd think they'd have an array of gameplay lines as well.
Atreus' hints and status reminders are my biggest peeve with the game. I remember fighting through Ragnarok at the end with super serious, intense dialogue and music, Atreus is yelling, I'm yelling, everyone is, then he pops in with a light "Father, you're bifrosted! Is.. bifrosted a word?"
@Jackson Mighta heard a rumor saying that gow 2018 was originally going to be set in Egypt, so maybe kratos is gonna go there which is gonna be badass, Imma predict that they gon add some random ass purple pyramid in the sky as a place to go lol
If I knew how much I was going to like it before I bought it I would have happily forked over 140 dollars for it. The previous game is one of my all time favorites and I figured I would love this one but it beat every single one of my expectations. I'm still going back for side quests and exploring after it's done, then I'll replay the first. Then go through Ragnarok again. And then impatiently wait for the next game which I hope to fuck is in Egypt
I accidentally sent Skoll and Hati twice in a row and Freya went “what are you doing? We need the sunlight to get though. And kratos goes, “I…. Wanted to see the wolves again…”
4:53 - 5:45 Absolutely incredible. When a reviewer's sheer joy over a work of art spills over into his editing, it proves that there was something special there. That emotional payoff of 5 minutes of build-up makes this REIVEW high art. GOTDAMN!
Combat was super fun, Characters were all amazing. But the story was kinda all over the place though… The ending felt very anticlimactic and very unsatisfying. It almost seems like they forced Odin to become one of those crap tier villains who’s motives make absolutely no sense. And the few character deaths that happened didn’t make any sense either… Especially when Odin killed you know who during Ragnarok… That made no sense at all. Feels like they had him do that to seem more evil and killable.
You know, I don't really play video games much at all. I have a busted old ass PC that I play "the game that shall not be named here" from time to time and Fortnite with my son but this content is excellent. I am.nevet closer to upgrading my PC or buying a console than when I hear a good review from Dunkey. I watch every video when it comes out and love it. Keep going man. Can wait to see what your brand brings to the market.
Dunkey really does a better job promoting games than actual game promoters. His excitement when explaining the game he likes really is contagious 6.5/10 "Not enough Knack"
@Adam Sterdam It's a review. Of course it's biased. That's why reviews exist, to see what someone's unique opinion is. I sometimes buy games Dunkey hates after seeing his reviews too, because I know his tastes and I know my own. In this case, I've seen other reviews as well and while I think I will get this game, I know in advance I'm not going to like the auto-solving puzzle sections.
Really shows the level of detail in the game. In most reviews Dunkey uses that to potentially show some laziness of the game in some form or another, but clearly they took the time to manicure details like that.
Without spoilers, there's a bit where you're told to leave while 2 other characters talk. There's am interact button to eavesdrop and if you keep doing it, it's hilarious because they know youre eavesdropping. At one point they're like "did you know that they'd be so weird?" And "this is getting awkward"
I did the exact same same thing, haha! Unfortunately the prompt button goes away after a certain amount of times, was hoping for some interesting action
It's the same thing every time with dunkey's videos. I enjoy the video and then I think, "Where the fuck did this man learn to write AND deliver this caliber of content?"
@anselmo pat As someone who actually only recently started watching any Marvel movies, correct. The writing in Ragnarok isn't even in the same ballpark. It's closer to the writing of something like Lord of the Rings with a splash of Quentin Tarantino for good measure, which Marvel certainly borrows from both but they don't own those styles nor are they closest to Ragnarok. Marvel also tends to feel 'fake' which Ragnarok does not. I can fully believe these words coming out of each of these character's mouths. I agree with some that the writing might feel too modern, but honestly it is easy enough to imagine it as a translation from Norse for a modern audience and it IS at least consistent about it. Basically, since everyone talks that way, it is just how this world is. Since it isn't meant to be a direct translation of Norse myths, I give that a pass. But I would understand if someone else didn't.
@Ivan Anyaegbu Seems to be carryover for whatever hate train is on Sony properties these days...well, based on the general internet reaction to TLOU2, still hearing criticisms about Abby being 'trans', and seeing at least two contrarian reviewers attempt to call this game 'woke', I think we already know where the weird hatemob is coming from. You can tell because the criticisms are often not even based on anything actually in the game, or outright opposite to what is verifiably in the game, kinda like they didn't play it and maybe watched someone tell them this is the next 'woke' thing to trash. For the record, if Ragnarok is too woke for you please kindly remove yourself from the internet, thanks.
@Astral Chaosit’s like many of those people didn’t play the damn game thor fight Garm fight fighting two Valkyries In literal SPACE next to the place where the cosmos itself was born !!!! ? And people saying it has “marvel” writing cannot be real
Dad of War. Dadnarok. Glad i got to play this years dad simulator. 2019s was good and 2022s wraps up the story on being a less shitty dad. I'm glad in the end Boy proves to all his bullies that his dad can beat all the other dads.
The best part of the constantly-shifting companions is getting to hear different actors spell out in explicit detail the solution to every puzzle before you're forced to actually form a coherent thought
Had so much fun with this game, the side quests were great and the themes of families and Kratos' growth really well executed, but I have to say I felt the ending was pretty rushed -- I was expecting multiple stages of the last two boss fights, like we had with Baldur in GOW 2018, and they ended kinda abruptly and unsatisfyingly imo. So much build up to Ragnarok, just to fight a few Einherjer and then the aforementioned short fights? Where was the drama?!
Pretty much how I Feel, Great game but the final Battle was rushed imo and it was not as good as the other final bosses in the GOW series. But even with that, still one of the two best games along with Elden Ring.
To clear up some confusion, Troy Baker voices Bitter Squirrel (the squirrel aspect that we knew of from GoW 2018). ProZD voices the main squirrel Ratatoskr and all the other squirrel aspects (Anxious Squirrel, Perfectionist Squirrel, Arrogant Squirrel, etc), but Troy Baker reprises Bitter Squirrel in GoW Ragnarok.
The nidhog boss fight is probably the most visually stimulating and brilliantly crafted giant monster type boss fight to ever exist. This game is beautiful, brutal, emotional and just fucking wonderful.
@Bloodchief I have, I mean I’ve played tri and world but that’s about it really. Fatty is an amazing fight. Alatreon, fatty, furious rajang and thunder puppy are my favorites. At this point I think I’ve killed like 500 or so fatalis lmao. But after 1600 hours I got bored. Have yet to be bored of any dmc game that isn’t the demake, 2 or 4. Honestly just wish dmc 4 had more bosses(that weren’t gimmick bullshit).
If we're talking about older games then in terms of big bosses, Bayonetta did it way better than the old gow games, but thats just my opinion and is in no way objective. Also imma have to say then that most well designed bosses would have to go to the devil may cry series. Like only in dmc can you fight 3 whole bosses at the same time on dmd and still be like, that was so fun I wanna do it again, until your again becomes like the 200th time lol. Nelo angelo and vergil mission 20 are still some of the fondest memories from gaming that i have. Hideki Kamiya and Hideaki Itsuno are actual legends.
As goofy as it is, that interaction with the squirrel guy and the chimes is a great way to handle repeating events in a game. Instead of saying nothing or repeating the same phrase, he adds onto what he said previously. It may seem like a small detail but a lot of games miss out on the small things like that and it's just nice to see the extra thought they put into their game
nowadays I'd be really disappointed if a triple A studio didnt handle these scenarios like this. How ever it is impressive especially if you know the sound design process, just that little addition is very time consuming.
In svartalfheim I threw my axe at a light beam in the elf palace, and mimir said something like "are you angry at the light brother" this game is so seamlessly funny. I got a few good chuckles in throughout my experience.
Apart from the already obvious and many times mentioned things great about this game, the extra dialogues (as you've shown with Ratataskr here) and the attention to detail is what makes it truly a triple A game. You can feel their passion, and that in turns create a fun game. Also, it actually surprised me, seeing a damn huge game without a single game breaking bug. Also, the reason why I wanted for there to be 2 GOTY awards given out this year.
There is unfortunately an audio bug plaguing a lot of people. (Imagine your in an area with rushing water/waterfalls but you hear no water falling. Applies to footsteps and health/ragestones being destroyed) not game breaking totally, but it did make the entire of svartleheim feel dead (i was lucky that the glitch was contained to that one realm for me)
I’ve played many games. But it’s been so long since I’ve felt such emotional weight emanating from the story, the characters, and the music. There are a few life lessons that I will take, being a father now and wanting to be a better man. Can’t believe I’m saying this, but Ragnaok has now become one of my top 3 games of all time. I hope more people will play this game and find things they can take away from this journey. God damn!
I absolutely loved the game, but i have to be completely honest. The whole Ragnarok chapter at the end, felt very short and unsatisfyingly underwhelming after going through so much hypefull concern and preparation for it. Not to mention how many questions were left unanswered. Even more so for those who know a bit of Norse mythology.
One of my favorite parts of the game is how much effort they put into the dialogue for when characters are just wandering around and exploring. Mimir telling stories and bantering with Atreus and Kratos makes exploring feel somehow more real than in other games where you are following objectives and quest markers.
Not only did they nail the characterization of the gods themselves, but they tied everything into the actual mythos very well. Everything from the subtle details on the walls to the plot points that originally seem to be one-off parts of the story. As someone who has played God of War since the first game, I was blown away by not only the attention to detail and respect for Kratos' past but how they also made this character with nothing but blind rage into an interesting, wise, moral, and realistic human being. Mastapeece. The climbing does really suck, though
Loki being impregnated makes perfect sense because he let all the other gods gamble away the sun and the moon to this guy who said he could build them a huge wall in one month, and with the help of his superhorse swathlfari who dragged an astonishing amount of stones he almost completed it in time, so loki transformed into a sexy lady horse and led the guys horse away into the forest to hump
I'm late, but how did you like the finale? Personally, from running through the portal to the end of Odins fight is when the game low-key felt the weakest. I guess I was just expecting way more of a spectacle for Ragnarok
@ツV01D completely agree, I think the World Serpant stuff probably went over 90% of player's heads, but also I think it's a fine line between spending too much time on parts certain players might enjoy where others would find it annoying or boring. Most games don't walk that line as well as this game has. The story may not be much better than a good marvel movie, but to see a story even of just marvel movie caliber paired with such engaging gameplay and not have either suffer very badly is such a feat that it gives me hope for even better things to come in gaming in the future. I think looking back that this game could be as influential to gaming as Skyrim
@Dylan Loew but there are some things that you can and should explain and things you dont need to explain. i mean who blew the horn back in the first game when atreus was sick? and there is nothing wrong with keeping it short and sweet but with jorms birth, jorms time jump, thors death, the sisters of fate etc... and i feel we spent too much time in valheim for my liking.
spoilers: Honestly, I got the vibe that the devs were worried about overstaying their welcome and overexplaining, but certain things like Brok's death and Jormungander ended up feeling a little rushed. I do think overall it was the right idea to keep things short, though. Imagine if they spent a ton of time on, say, Freya's boar friend or all of Freyrs group
Probably one of the weaker segments of the game but, thankfully (or unfortunately), I wasn't expecting a ton. The reason being that games whose climax is a large-scale battle often do not actually represent those feelings of said large-scale encounter very well at all, presumably due to some tech limitations or something. I still really enjoyed it, though.
Repeatedly throwing the axe at the chime was one of my favorite things I've done in a video game. Definitely got a respect point and a laugh out of me.
They also made a character so detestable that killing him was one of the most satisfying things I’ve done. I’m sure everyone knows who I’m talking about
Modern movies could learn a lot from these 2 games, comedy, tragedy, drama, action, and wonder can all coexist beautifully in a video based piece of art
@JackisJack in that case a tv show could learn. there are so many shows that end up losing what makes them good halfway through unlike this game which stays consistent with a clear goal in mind (in terms of the writers)
My one complaint was I felt the writers were too afraid to let the story reach its full potential by letting bad things happen. The good guys came out completely unscathed (except for that one extremely, EXTREMELY foreshadowed death), even by hard choices. Kratos even gets saved from killing That One Guy you know he has to kill even if you don't want him to. Really could have hit you hard if they wanted to, but they pulled so many punches. All the constant talk about the cost of war and Kratos not wanting war to sully Atreus' soul could have been driven home by something as minor as killing Skjoldr during Ragnarok. Sadly no character was too minor to save.
They tried to do this with Brok, but I felt like his death wasn't impactful enough for me to forgive Ragnarok's rushed pacing. Like with every bad movie, the main problem is that there's too many characters I'm supposed to care about (which is impossible for me), and Brok is one of them. In 90% of 2018 and 80% of Ragnarok, Brok and Sindri were simple gag characters, and after they explored Brok's tragic backstory, we didn't see enough conflict between Brok and Sindri to really make me feel like something significant was lost.
Every one of your reviews manages to introduce and elaborate on each of your ideas so cohesively in such a small amount of time while still having comedy throughout. You've been the best in your field for years never stop.
@Stephen Jeffreys he does tend to sound a bit immature due to how casual he is at letting his guard down. but whenever i pick apart his reviews, they manage to make sense and paint exactly the type of perspectives dunkey comes from.
I absolutely love the fact that you can have Atreus shoot at the little spiders and other creatures on the wall and actually KILL THEM. I've played so many video games where there are things on a wall and you can't interact with them at all. They added so many little things like that to the game and it's incredible!
There’s even lil creature guys that wave at you that the game prevents you from throwing your axe at to kill. I mean I Wouldn’t wanna cuz they’re just lil guys but it’s a nice detail
I had so much fun with a lot of the side quests in this game, and it seems as though side quests are never fun. Plus they felt really rewarding and had pretty substantial payoff.
When I heard they were finishing up the story of this God of War series with 2 games I was skeptical. The first was so good but I didn't see how they'd tie up all the story threads and still make a satisfactory ending but here we are. They did it with ease.
I love when you finish an area in this game, and then a wall falls over and you see a new section of the area that's twice as big, with all new gameplay mechanics and art assets, and then the game tells you, "That's all optional content. Now have fun." Twice.