God of War Ragnarok is set to release on November 9 on the PS5 and PS4. Arguably one of the most-awaited games this year, Ragnarok takes the story of Kratos and Atreus forward the surprisingly heart-rendering saga of the critically acclaimed 2018 prequel, God of War. Reviews for God of War Ragnarok have finally started pouring in, and by the looks of it, developer Santa Monica Studio may have yet another Game of the Year contender under its belt, just like the 2018 release. It remains to be seen whether the new God of War sweeps the awards this year, or if it finds a worthy challenger in Elden Ring. 


Before you get to fire up God of War Ragnarok on your PlayStation, take a quick look at what leading critics and gaming publications are saying about the game:


At the time of writing, God of War Ragnarok (PS5) had a Metacritic score of 94, based on 117 critic reviews.


IGN — 10/10 


“God of War Ragnarok is an almighty achievement and creates a new high that makes many of its peers look mortal by comparison,” writes Simon Cady. 


GameSpot — 9/10


“The last game's thoughtful approach to exploring fatherhood was unexpected, Ragnarok somehow manages to feel like an even more personal tale about the complicated nature of families and the people that make them up. For every moment of brutality, there is one of genuine and relatable emotion,” writes Tamoor Hussain.


GamesRadar — 4.5/5


“A beautiful world filled with things to discover, and a fitting close for Kratos' viking adventure that only misses full marks thanks to a light touch opening half that takes a while to hit its stride,” writes Leon Hurley.


The Guardian — 4/5


“This sequel is a game about whether you can escape your fate, and also whether it’s possible for teenaged boys not to make decisions so incredibly poor and self-serving that you have no choice but to put your head in your hands and watch through parted fingers. It is also a game about putting an axe through the heads of as many breathtaking mythological beasts as you can fit into a 30-hour-plus runtime,” writes Keza MacDonald.


Game Informer — 9.5/10


“God of War Ragnarök feels a lot like God of War (2018), which is a compliment considering how fantastic that game is. Sony Santa Monica was right to not break what wasn’t broken and it has expertly continued the story threads that were left hanging from the previous game. Any complaints about the overall experience (familiar combat, collecting and leveling up equipment isn’t particularly interesting) are quickly forgotten in the face of the compelling narrative, believable character relationships, and incredible visuals and animation,” writes Kyle Hilliard.


The Verge


“There were so many great moments, large and small, that left me breathless, like I had experienced the very best of what video games can be in both narrative and gameplay,” writes Ash Parrish.


CNET


“God of War: Ragnarok doesn't have the scale of Elden Ring, but this is still a large video game. I did a moderate amount of side quests, and ended up beating the last boss in 40 hours. From what I can tell, there's a big chunk of post-game content, including combat trials, a few superbosses and an epilogue quest or two. I suspect I'll get another 10 hours out of the game, and completionists will lose 60 to 70 hours playing Ragnarok,” writes Daniel Van Boom.


Polygon


“Like its predecessor(s), Ragnarök is the distillation of an everyman power fantasy, in which you enact powerful and badass acts of redemptive vengeance upon your enemies while retaining the moral high ground; you are, after all, playing a struggling parent with a whole lot of hang-ups. And while the writing does a much better job at building out the characters and their respective places in this world, the end result is a passably good but unevenly paced experience that, more often than not, feels like something I could binge on Disney Plus in any given week,” writes Alexis Ong.