Ragnarök’s debut on PC isn’t just another lazy port. Several welcome additions make Kratos’ journey look and feel better than it ever did on the PS5. Sony Santa Monica enlisted the help of Jetpack Interactive to incorporate a host of PC-centric bells and whistles; and just like their previous work on the 2022 version of the reboot, Ragnarök is going to harness your PC’s full potential in some pretty neat ways.
The PC port of Ragnarök will support unlimited framerate, 4K resolution, and a suite of upscale technology (Nvidia DLSS 3.7, AMD FSR 3.1, Intel XESS 1.3). And if you have a particularly large monitor, you can finally put it to good use with 21:9 ultra-widescreen and 32:9 super ultra-widescreen support for Ragnarök.
What’s curious is the Steam page for Ragnarök lists ‘increased geometric detail’ and enhanced lighting and shadows as PC-exclusive additions. Did Santa Monica and Jetpack clean up the textures on the back end and add even more detail? Or, is this just marketing lingo to say that the crisp resolution helps you see things better? Regardless, it’s not entirely misplaced to call Ragnarök PC a full-blown remaster if you have the high-end PC capabilities needed to harness its true potential. For those who’ve played the game, you can imagine how epic certain boss fights are going to be on a PC running on all cylinders. And it’ll need to run on all cylinders as Ragnarök takes a whopping 190 GB of storage on PC.
And lest we forget, you can bring Ragnarök with you on the go via Steam Deck. Yes, that’s right, Ragnarök has full Steam Deck compatibility. It’s a rather ideal Steam Deck game too, considering how much more expansive the zones are than the first game. As a personal anecdote, when the Dwarf homeland of Svartalfheim opened its seas to my boat and me to explore freely, I pined for the ability to do the numerous side activities on the go. You have Odin’s Ravens to locate, lore artifacts to collect, Kvisir’s Poems to find, numerous chests housing important gear, and Yggdrasil’s Dew scattered across the waters. Collecting the copious amounts of stuff in Ragnarök will be made easier when you can play it anywhere on your Steam Deck.
It’s not total freedom for Steam users, though, since Ragnarök PC requires an external PlayStation Network login to play. This is an unfortunate trend that has followed other PlayStation-exclusive ports like Ghost of Tsushima. At least fans of the Ghost of Tsushima PC port can look forward to the nifty PlayStation overlay and trophy compatibility that will inevitably function with Ragnarök. While the PlayStation overlay isn’t confirmed for Ragnarök yet, it’s highly likely based on previous PS-exclusive ports.
As expected, the PC port of Ragnarök includes the free Valhalla DLC. This is the perfect opportunity to try this DLC out if you haven’t yet. Sure, it isn’t heavy on plot or character development like the main story, but the new Greek enemies and equipment reference Kratos’ other games in fun ways. Oh, and fans of roguelikes will enjoy the randomly generated levels and newly integrated reset system in that Valhalla introduces too.
If you haven’t played Ragnarök at all yet, well, you’re in for a treat and couldn’t have asked for a better jumping-on-point. The thing that I always admire about the 2018 reboot and Ragnarök in particular is its one-shot cinematic camera which omits loading and cutscenes. It’s a seamless journey from beginning to end with no cuts or jumps in perspective. I can only count the games that do this kind of no-cut camera on one hand, with Half-Life 2 being the next best example outside the two recent titles. There’s an immersive quality to this fixed perspective that draws one into the world with greater intimacy and attachment.
Intimacy is just one of the many ways the reboot, as well as Ragnarök, differentiate themselves from the older titles. And Ragnarök goes above and beyond the reboot in several ways. As noted earlier, there’s a ton of content with side quests and collectibles oozing out of every corner of the world. The world itself features all nine realms, rather than the limited six from the prequel. And these areas are BIG, almost getting the open-world treatment. Ragnarök gives you multiple modes of transit, from bobsleds hoisted by Midgardian wolves of legend, to the boats of Svartalfheim. Equally as impressive as the size and variety of areas is the detail ingrained in every ledge and building. The game uses authentic Norse script engravings across runes and sculpted monuments throughout the game. It’ll be a treat to see the finer details that a powerful PC running 4K visuals can show.
A far cry from Kratos’ Greek days, Ragnarök sees him settled down with his son Atreus as they hide away in a hut to survive through the frigid Fimbulwinter. The story is much more down to earth and intimate than the Greek titles, with Atreus and the snarky talking head companion Mimir helping to balance Kratos’ dominant personality. You’re constantly hearing new lines of dialogue between these three companions as you journey through the nine realms in the quest to stop the apocalyptic Ragnarok.
Among the many highlights of Ragnarök are the big climactic boss confrontations. You’d think Kratos was the one initiating the fights, but they come to him; and trust me, they pack quite a punch, forcing you to use your full arsenal of abilities and skill to overcome. It’s hard to imagine that the prequel didn’t show Thor at all throughout the entire game; you’re mostly focused on fending off the usual enemies as well as Freya in the prequel. Thor’s omission from the first game works in Ragnarök’s favor, especially since the main characters are so well-developed and creatively presented here.
Ragnarök serves as a great send-off for the series. The plot follows the climactic apocalyptic events of Ragnarök and sees Atreus and Kratos’ maturation. If you haven’t experienced Ragnarök yet, the PC port has a great chance of being your game of the year. If you already beat it on PlayStation, well, the upscaled resolution and uncapped framerate offer up a good enough excuse to go through it again. And if you don’t have a high-end PC, some portable Ragnarök sessions on Steam Deck sound like a blast.
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