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, stunning graphics 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 God of War Ragnarokand I'm happy to report that the PC port lives up to expectations.
There were a few misses, but for the most part, PlayStation's PC ports succeeded in bringing the company's best games to the platform. God of War Ragnarok is another high-quality PC port from PlayStation, and as long as you have a powerful enough rig, you can get an experience that is on par with or even better than that on the PS5. The game is polished to a high shine, 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 support them, but God of War Ragnarok also delivers good results in this area.
God of War Ragnarok offers similarly hard-hitting action as the 2018 game, with an over-the-shoulder camera and up-close hack-and-slash action. Ragnarok expands Kratos' arsenal as the game progresses, with the titular God of War eventually being able to wield an infinitely respawning spear that shakes up the game considerably. Kratos primarily uses his weapons to take down the many different enemies he encounters on his journey, but they are also used to solve puzzles, such as when players need to freeze something with the Leviathan Axe.
God of War RagnarokThe PC version of introduces a great quality of life feature when it comes to solving puzzles. While in the original PlayStation version of the game, Atreus and other characters had to quickly jump in with puzzle solutions before players could even attempt Ragnarok gives players the option to turn off help, which is a nice touch that really allows players to customize the experience to their own preferences.
God of War Ragnarok is best played with a DualSense controller
Otherwise, God of War Ragnarok On PC, the experience is basically the same as the PlayStation version. God of War Ragnarok has some PC-exclusive features, of course, like ultrawide support and the ability to play with a mouse and keyboard, but nothing that would necessarily make it worth a double purchase for those who already own the game on console. For this reason, I strongly recommend PC gamers forget the idea of playing with a mouse and keyboard and get a PS5 DualSense controller instead. While God of War Ragnarok is certainly playable with a mouse and keyboard setup, as well as a variety of other PC-compatible controllers (I primarily tested the game on PC with an Xbox controller), but nothing beats playing the game with a DualSense. Haptic feedback and adaptive triggers add an extra layer of immersion to the game's combat, and it's simply the best way to play God of War Ragnarok.
Those who have never played God of War Ragnarok You are in for an incredible journey with the PC version. Ragnarok Kratos and Atreus come into conflict with the Norse gods Odin and Thor after the events of the 2018 game. What follows is a heart-wrenching adventure in which Kratos, Atreus and their companions explore the Nine Realms to prevent the prophesied apocalypse. RagnarokThe story of is truly engaging and undoubtedly one of the best the series has produced to date. It is full of brilliant character interactions and shocking twists that ensure players are completely hooked from start to finish, aside from a few pacing issues here and there.
I find God of War Ragnarok is a nearly perfect game until a certain Atreus section. I don't want to give too much away for those who haven't played it yet. Ragnarok beforehand, but just know that the game loses a lot of momentum at a certain point when Atreus becomes the main game character. This section of the game is boring and can make the runtime feel a bit bloated, although I will say it ends with one of the most memorable boss fights in the entire game God of War series. It also introduces an interesting new character, so it's a shame that the gameplay in this section is rather boring compared to the rest of the game.
I tested God of War Ragnarok on a PC with Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080, 3.70GHz AMD Ryzen 9 5900X 12-core processor, and 32.0GB RAM.
Apart from that, it is difficult to find fault with God of War Ragnarok. It's an amazing, long journey filled with wonderful sights, memorable battles, and plenty of secrets to discover. The puzzles are great, and even better in the PC version without Kratos' companions spoiling the solutions, the worlds are fun to explore, and the story is one of the best in gaming history. There is one flaw, however, with the PC version of God of War Ragnarok the fans should know.
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 purely single-player game, and as such it's unclear why Steam users need a PSN account. While it's true that it doesn't take too long to create an account or link an existing one, it's still an inconvenience that could have easily been avoided considering what previous PlayStation games have appeared on Steam without such a requirement. One benefit, however, is that players can play with a PlayStation overlay that unlocks trophies and Steam achievements simultaneously.
PC gamers who have God of War Ragnaroks PSN account requirement will have a lot of fun with the game. But there's more to play once the main story is complete. God of War RagnarokThe PC port of includes Valhalla mode at launch, so PC gamers can enjoy the full experience right from the start. Valhalla, for the uninitiated, is a special game mode that 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 to the PlayStation version of the game, so it's not like it adds any additional monetary value Ragnarok's PC port, but it's still nice to get the whole package at once.
God of War Ragnarok will be worth PC gamers' money and then some. It's a long adventure and one of Kratos' best outings to date. Still, there are some pacing issues and the PSN account requirement is a disappointment. It's unlikely Sony will let up on the latter, so PC gamers looking to enjoy the company's games without buying a PS5 should keep that in mind.
God of War Ragnarok is available now on PC, PS4, and PS5. Game Rant was provided with a PC code for this review.
