software.wikisort.org - Video_game

God of War Ragnarök is an upcoming action-adventure video game developed by Santa Monica Studio and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It is scheduled to be released worldwide on November 9, 2022, for the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5. It will be the ninth installment in the God of War series, the ninth chronologically, and the sequel to 2018's God of War. Loosely based on Norse mythology, the game will be set in ancient Scandinavia and feature series protagonist Kratos and his teenage son Atreus. Serving as the finale to the Norse era of the series, the game will cover Ragnarök, a series of events that bring about the end of days, and depicts the deaths of some of the Norse gods, which was foretold to happen in the previous game after Kratos killed the Æsir god Baldur.

God of War Ragnarök
Developer(s)	Santa Monica Studio[lower-alpha 1]
Publisher(s)	Sony Interactive Entertainment
Director(s)	Eric Williams
Producer(s)	Cory Barlog
Writer(s)	Matt Sophos
Composer(s)	Bear McCreary
Series	God of War
Platform(s)	PlayStation 4 PlayStation 5
Release	November 9, 2022
Genre(s)	Action-adventure, hack and slash
Mode(s)	Single-player

In the months following the game's announcement in September 2020, many gaming journalists and websites regarded the sequel as one of their most anticipated games; it won awards for Most Wanted Game and Most Anticipated Game from the 2020 Golden Joystick Awards and PlayStation.Blog awards, respectively. Originally slated for a 2021 release, the game was delayed in part due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on development, and also because of Kratos voice actor Christopher Judge's health problems in August 2019.

Premise

Taking place three years following the events of the previous game, Fimbulwinter, a great winter that spans three summers, is drawing to a close which will begin the prophesied Ragnarök. Kratos and his teenage son Atreus begin to traverse the nine realms to seek out a means to prevent Ragnarök while attempting to uncover answers behind Atreus' identity as Loki. Their journey will lead them to Týr, the Norse God of War who was previously believed to be dead. Their conflict will lie with Thor, the Norse God of Thunder who seeks revenge following the deaths of his half-brother Baldur and two sons Modi and Magni; Odin, Thor's father and King of the Norse Gods; and ally-turned-enemy Freya who seeks revenge following the death of her son Baldur.[2]

Development

A sequel to 2018's God of War was teased at the end of that game; it ended with Ragnarök looming, as well as a secret ending that showed a vision of the Æsir god Thor confronting Kratos and Atreus at the end of Fimbulwinter.[3] Although he did not officially announce a new game at the time, that game's director, Cory Barlog, confirmed that the 2018 installment would not be Kratos' last game,[4] and it was later revealed that future games would continue to be set in the Norse environment and include Atreus.[5] In April 2019, a teaser came in the form of a PlayStation 4 (PS4) dynamic background theme; the side of Kratos and Atreus' boat had runes that translated to "Ragnarök is coming".[6] At the same time, in order to celebrate the first anniversary of the previous game's release, Barlog posted a thread of tweets on Twitter with pictures and a statement concerning the development process;[7] some fans noticed that the first letter of each tweet spelled out "Ragnarök is coming".[8] During the 2020 PlayStation 5 (PS5) Showcase event on September 16, a new God of War was officially announced for a 2021 release on the newer console.[9][10] The short trailer, which had a voice over by Kratos actor Christopher Judge, did not officially reveal the name of the sequel, but just like the previous teasers, the trailer stated that "Ragnarök is coming". This led some sources to believe the title of the game to be God of War: Ragnarök, but at the time, this was not confirmed by Sony. The tagline implied that this would be the start of Ragnarök in the God of War universe, which in Norse mythology is a series of events that bring about the end of days and the deaths of the Norse gods.[11][12]

When the game was first announced in September 2020, it was only announced as a PS5 title. However, after Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) revealed their plans to support their previous console until at least 2022, speculation began on whether the new God of War would see a cross-gen release on the PS4, as some other titles that were originally thought to be PS5 exclusives were also announced to release on PS4 (e.g., Horizon Forbidden West).[13][14][15] In June 2021, it was confirmed that the game would release on both the PS4 and PS5.[16]

By February 2021, neither Sony nor the game's developer, Santa Monica Studio, had given any updates regarding the game's release, prompting Barlog to tweet that the game would be out "when it's done".[17] In June 2021, head of PlayStation Studios, Hermen Hulst, stated that Sony had decided to delay the game until 2022 to ensure that Santa Monica could deliver on their desired gaming experience for players.[16] Development was partly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic,[18] as Hulst stated that there were issues getting access to performance capture and talent.[16] Santa Monica Studio issued a statement, saying that while they were focused on delivering a top-quality game, they also wanted to maintain the safety of those involved with the development.[19] The game's music composer, Bear McCreary, who also composed the music for the previous game, responded to the news of the delay, saying that it would be worth the wait.[20] In a series of tweets posted by Judge in late September, he said that he was the reason that the game was delayed due to surgery he needed in August 2019. Judge said that Santa Monica allowed him time to recover and waited for him to rehabilitate before continuing production. He also revealed that he had briefly quit the game after finding out that Eric Williams would be directing the sequel. Judge was uncertain about Williams; however, Barlog, who served as producer for the sequel, was able to convince Judge that Williams was fully capable of directing the game, which Judge affirmed after working with him.[21]

During Sony's May 2021 investment filing, they included a title treatment for the game which stated the title as God of War: Ragnarök,[22] although the investment filing was later changed to state only "God of War". A report found that the logo used in the filing was unofficial and fan-made.[23] Following this, various media outlets were uncertain of the legitimacy of the title of the game.[23][24][25] In a statement to IGN, a representative from Sony stated that the game's logo and title were not yet finalized or official, and that the inclusion of the false logo in the investment filing was an error.[23] However, the game's title was in fact confirmed to be God of War Ragnarök (without a colon) during the 2021 PlayStation Showcase event on September 9.[26]

During the 2021 PlayStation Showcase event, the game's first gameplay trailer was shown, featuring gameplay similar to the previous installment, while also showing that Kratos and Atreus would use a dog sled pulled by wolves to traverse snowy terrain. It was also confirmed that all nine realms of Norse mythology could be explored; the previous game only allowed players access to six realms, with Asgard, Vanaheim, and Svartalfheim inaccessible.[27]

It was also during this event that Eric Williams, who worked on every previous installment, was confirmed as the game's director, continuing the previous era's tradition of having a different director for each game. Williams revealed that Richard Schiff would voice Odin, the king of the Norse gods. Other voice casting announcements included Ryan Hurst as Thor, the Norse God of Thunder; Ben Prendergast as Týr, the Norse God of War; Laya De Leon Hayes as Angrboða; and Usman Ally as Durlin. In addition to Christopher Judge returning as Kratos, it was confirmed that Sunny Suljic, Danielle Bisutti, and Alastair Duncan would be reprising their roles as Atreus, Freya, and Mímir, respectively, and Robert Craighead and Adam J. Harrington would reprise their respective roles as the Huldra Brothers, Brok and Sindri.[28] Unlike the popular portrayal of Thor by Chris Hemsworth in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the Thor in Ragnarök looks closer to his depiction in Norse mythological literature, having a hefty build with long red hair and beard.[29] After the premiere of the trailer, Alanah Pearce confirmed that she was part of the development team.[30] SungWon Cho announced that he would be providing the voice and motion capture for Ratatoskr, and worked directly with the writers to write his scenes.[31]

Also during the 2021 PlayStation Showcase event, it was confirmed that Ragnarök would be the finale of the Norse era of the series.[27] One of the reasons Santa Monica decided to end the Norse era with Ragnarök was due to the game's size and scale. The 2018 installment and Ragnarök each respectively took five years to develop, and they did not want to take another five years, totaling 15 years, to tell one story. Barlog also compared it to watching the extended editions of The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, stating that being able to condense the story to two games was similar to the feeling of watching that trilogy of films, as the consumer would feel they were told a complete story with a definitive beginning and end.[32]

On May 18, 2022, Santa Monica revealed that Ragnarök would have over 60 accessibility options. The developer's stated that they had redesigned the game's user interface (UI) system "to allow for more flexibility and readability", and they also added more customization options for combat and interaction systems. All accessibility features from the 2018 installment were retained but also expanded upon to allow players to adjust the gameplay to suit their own play style and needs.[33]

On July 6, 2022, a new cinematic trailer was unveiled, which confirmed a worldwide release date of November 9, 2022.[34] During Sony's 2022 State of Play event on September 13, a new story trailer was shown, featuring both gameplay and cinematics. Brief glimpses of Odin and a battle with Thor were shown, as well as the giant wolves Sköll and Hati, among other returning characters. Just like the 2018 installment, Ragnarök was done in one shot.[35]

On October 7, 2022, Santa Monica announced that the game had gone gold. Additionally, it was revealed that eight other studios contributed to the development of Ragnarök, including PlayStation Studios Creative Arts, Valkyrie Entertainment, Bluepoint Games, Red Hot, Super Alloy, Jetpack Interactive, Super Genius, and Original Force. The exact contribution from each studio was not detailed, except Super Alloy, which worked on motion capture.[1] Super Alloy specifically assisted with combat choreography, and the studio provided stunt coordination and stunt work for the game and key characters. Eric Jacobus also revealed that he again did the combat motion capture for Kratos, just as he did in the 2018 installment, as well as for some other characters.[36]

Release

God of War Ragnarök is scheduled to be released worldwide on November 9, 2022, for the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5.[34] Players who purchase the PS4 version can upgrade to the PS5 version for US$10. In addition to the standard physical and digital versions of the game, there will be two physical collector's editions: the "Jötnar Edition" and the "Collector's Edition". There will also be a "Digital Deluxe Edition" with various downloadable content (DLC) as well as a "Launch Edition" for players who purchase the game before launch and it includes the Risen Snow Armor and Tunic skins for Kratos and Atreus, respectively. Pre-orders for all versions opened on July 15, 2022.[37]

The items in both the Jötnar Edition and the Collector's Edition are housed within a box called the Knowledge Keeper's Shrine (a shrine featured in the game). Both editions include a SteelBook game case; however, they do not include a physical copy of the game, only digital versions for both platforms. The center piece of both editions is a 16-inch replica of Thor's hammer Mjölnir, and both also include 2-inch carvings of Vanir twins. Physical items exclusive to the Jötnar Edition include a 7-inch vinyl record of music by Bear McCreary, a pin set of a Falcon, Bear, and Wolf (which represent Kratos' deceased wife Faye, Kratos himself, and Atreus, respectively), a replica Draupnir ring, Brok’s dice set, and a Yggdrasil cloth map which shows each of the nine realms. Instead of Brok's dice set, the Collector's Edition has a Dwarven dice set. The Digital Deluxe Edition includes the Darkdale armor and weapon skins for Kratos and Atreus, the official God of War Ragnarök soundtrack, a mini artbook by Dark Horse Comics, a PlayStation Network avatar set, and a PS4 background theme; all of these digital items are included with both physical collector's editions.[37]

Available separately will be a limited edition Ragnarök themed DualSense controller for the PS5.[38] There will also be a PS5 bundle that includes the console (disc version), a regular DualSense controller, and the standard version of the game.[39]

Accolades

At the 2020 Golden Joystick Awards, the game received the award for Most Wanted Game.[40][41] That same year, it also received the award for PlayStation.Blog's Most Anticipated Game.[42] It was also a nominee for Most Anticipated Game at The Game Awards in both 2020[43][44] and 2021.[45] Various media outlets also included the sequel on their respective lists for most anticipated games of 2021, prior to the game's delay to the following year.[46][47][48][49][50]

References

Notes

External links

• Official website

На других языках

---

- [en] God of War Ragnarök

---

[ru] God of War: Ragnarök

God of War: Ragnarök (В России официально издаётся под названием «God of War: Рагнарёк»[2]) — предстоящая компьютерная игра в жанре action-adventure с элементами hack and slash, разрабатываемая компанией Santa Monica Studio и издаваемая Sony Interactive Entertainment. Является девятой игрой в серии God of War и прямым сюжетным продолжением игры God of War, вышедшей в 2018 году. Выход игры запланирован 9 ноября 2022 года для PlayStation 4 и PlayStation 5[3].

---

---