God of War Ragnarok PC Review

In 2022, Santa Monica Studio and PlayStation launched God of War Ragnarok for PS4 and PS5. A monumental achievement, God of War Ragnarok blew players away with its gripping story, jaw-dropping visuals, and visceral combat that successfully built on the groundbreaking 2018 God of War game. Two years later, PC gamers have the chance to see what all the fuss is about with God of War Ragnarok, and I'm happy to report that the PC port lives up to expectations.

There have been a couple of misfires, but for the most part, PlayStation's PC ports have successfully brought the company's best games to the platform. God of War Ragnarok is another of PlayStation's high-quality PC ports, and as long as one has a powerful-enough rig, they can get an experience on par or even better than what was achieved on PS5. The game is polished to a sheen, with near-perfect performance and the same incredible graphics as its PlayStation counterpart. Of course, the best graphics in the world don't mean much if the gameplay doesn't back it up, but God of War Ragnarok delivers in that arena as well.

God of War Ragnarok features similar hard-hitting action as the 2018 game, with an over-the-shoulder camera and up-close-and-personal hack and slash action. Ragnarok expands Kratos' arsenal as the game goes on, with the titular God of War eventually able to wield an infinitely-respawning spear that shakes things up considerably. Kratos primarily uses his weapons to dispatch the many different enemies he encounters on his journey, but they are also used for puzzle-solving purposes, like when players have to freeze something using the Leviathan Axe, for example.

God of War Ragnarok's PC port introduces an awesome quality-of-life feature when it comes to puzzle-solving. Whereas the original PlayStation version of the game had Atreus and other characters quickly chiming in with puzzle solutions before players could really even take a crack at them, Ragnarok gives players the option of turning off their help, which is a nice touch that really lets players tailor the experience to suit their own tastes.

God of War Ragnarok is Best Played With a DualSense Controller

Otherwise, God of War Ragnarok on PC is basically the same experience as the PlayStation version. God of War Ragnarok has some PC-exclusive features, of course, like ultrawide support and the option of playing with a mouse and keyboard, but nothing that would necessarily make it worth double-dipping for those that already own the game on console. For that matter, I highly recommend PC gamers forget the idea of playing with a mouse and keyboard, and instead get their hands on a PS5 DualSense controller. While God of War Ragnarok is certainly playable with a mouse and keyboard set-up as well as a variety of other PC-compatible controllers (I mainly tested the game on PC using an Xbox controller), nothing beats playing the game with a DualSense. Haptic feedback and adaptive triggers add an extra layer of immersion to the game's fights, and it's simply the best way to play God of War Ragnarok.

Those that have never played God of War Ragnarok are in for an incredible ride with the PC version. Ragnarok sees Kratos and Atreus at odds with Norse gods Odin and Thor after the events of the 2018 game. What follows is a heart-pounding adventure that sees Kratos, Atreus, and their companions explore the Nine Realms in an effort to stop the prophesized apocalypse. Ragnarok's story is truly engrossing and easily one of the best that the series has delivered to date. It's full of brilliant character interactions and shocking twists that will ensure players are completely enthralled from start to finish, minus some pacing issues here and there.

I think God of War Ragnarok is a near-perfect game until a certain Atreus section. I don't want to get into spoilers for those that haven't played Ragnarok before, but just know that the game loses a lot of momentum at a certain point where Atreus becomes the main playable character. This section of the game is dull and can make the runtime feel a little bloated, though I will say it concludes with one of the most memorable boss fights in the entire God of War series. It also introduces an interesting new character, so it's a shame that the gameplay for this section is rather boring compared to the rest of the game.

I tested God of War Ragnarok using a PC powered by Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080, 3.70 GHz AMD Ryzen 9 5900X 12-Core Processor, and 32.0 GB RAM.

That aside, it's hard to find fault with God of War Ragnarok. It's an amazing, lengthy journey full of wonderful sights to see, memorable fights to partake in, and plenty of secrets to find. The puzzles are great and are even better in the PC version without Kratos' companions ruining the solutions, the worlds are fun to explore, and the story is one of the best in gaming history. However, there is one flaw with the PC version of God of War Ragnarok that fans should be aware of.

God of War Ragnarok's PSN Requirement is Disappointing

Unfortunately, God of War Ragnarok requires a PlayStation Network account on PC. God of War Ragnarok is a strictly single-player game, and so it's unclear why it's necessary for Steam users to have a PSN account. It's true that it doesn't take too long to make an account or link an existing one, but it's still an inconvenience that seems like it could have been easily avoided, considering the previous PlayStation games that landed on Steam without such a requirement. One benefit to it is that it lets gamers play with a PlayStation overlay that unlocks trophies at the same time as Steam achievements, though.

PC gamers that can look past God of War Ragnarok's PSN account requirement will have a tremendous time with the game. But there's even more to play once the main story is done. God of War Ragnarok's PC port includes the Valhalla mode at launch, meaning PC gamers can get the full experience out of the gate. Valhalla, for the uninitiated, is a special game mode that blends God of War Ragnarok combat with roguelike elements to tell a unique story set after the events of the base game. Valhalla was a free update for the PlayStation version of the game, so it's not like it adds extra monetary value to Ragnarok's PC port, but it's still nice to get the entire package at once.

God of War Ragnarok will give PC gamers their money's worth and then some. It's a lengthy adventure and one of Kratos' greatest outings to date. Still, there are some pacing issues and the PSN account requirement is a disappointment. It's unlikely that Sony is going to let-up on the latter, so PC gamers that want to enjoy the company's games without buying a PS5 should keep that in mind.

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