I have to preface this with the fact that I have been playing games for more than 25 years at this point. I became an avid little gamer all the way back when I could walk upright under the kitchen table.
By this point, I have played well over 1500 different games in all obscure genres imaginable. I've seen pretty much everything this medium of entertainment has to offer.
A number of months ago I managed to get enough free time to play through the entirety of God Of War (2018) getting all achievements and completing it at 100%. I have to say, it is no coincidence it managed to take the title of game of the year 2018 from none other than Red Dead Redemption 2, which is in my top 3 games of all time.
GoW 2018 was simply phenomenal. A powerful journey through grief, fatherhood, adventure and mysteries. A journey I thought nothing else can top. And then its successor released on PC - God of War: Ragnarök.
Having completed that as well, a few days ago, I have to say, in all of those 25 years of gaming, I have never played something as incredible. Throughout the whole game you feel the passion and love that has been put in by the 400+ people at Santa Monica Studio. It oozes creativity, attention to detail, impactful and meaningful story progression, and some of the most seriously badass, epic fights I have ever gone through.
I'm purposefully putting this in the Art subforum, because I consider this pure, untamed art. I've always said the most valuable thing about games is the emotions they evoke and the memories they leave behind. As a fervent fan of Norse mythology, this game hit all the checkmarks. It's beautiful beyond belief. It sounds incredible. It feels even more incredible. And the whole story ties together so well, in such a moving, powerful way.
Even if you are not a gamer but occasionally dabble, if I ever could recommend only 1 game to you, let this serve as that recommendation. Though you might want to play the 2018 prequel first to have a more complete picture of the world and characters.
Not to mention it has the absolute most dope soundtrack in all of gaming, and I will die on that hill.
In all these years, I've had only a handful of times where I've been so emotionally moved by a game that I felt the urge to write up something, somewhere, singing its praises. In this case, however, Ragnarök and its 2018 prequel are so good that they undoubtedly take #1 and #2 in my top 3 games of all time, and that's saying something considering the honestly shameful number of games I've played.
So yeah, if you like Norse mythology, utterly epic battles, a moving story, or any combination of these, the modern renditions of God of War are for you.
Take care
