'God Of War Ragnarök' is releasing next week, with the game serving as a direct sequel to 2018's 'God Of War'.
In our five-star review of the game, we hailed the game as a technical marvel and a contender for Game Of The Year, but 4 years is a long time between games.
If you're going into 'Ragnarök' cold or simply want a refresher ahead of your journey to a freezing Scandinavia, here's a recap of everything that went down in 2018's 'God Of War'.
'Ragnarök' is a ginormous game with the game coming in at over 100GB on PlayStation 4 and 84GB on PlayStation 5, so you're going to want a speedy internet connection to get you into the action as soon as possible.
The folks at Virgin Media offer lightning-fast speeds, so you'll be enjoying Kratos mayhem in the time it takes to boil a kettle.
'God Of War' begins with Kratos, having eliminated all of the Greek gods, living a simple life, away from his days as the most dangerous force in Greek mythology.
As the game begins, Kratos' wife Faye has passed away, leaving him in care of their son Atreus.
Kratos has mellowed out in his old age, and instead of his usual method of hitting everything he sees, he has become more contemplative, and after becoming a recent widow, opts to spend more time raising his son.
The shift from Kratos the god-botherer to Kratos the dad is handled exceptionally well, and the quiet beauty of 'God Of War' is seeing Kratos balance his life as a dad while also comforting his past as the most dangerous man to ever pick up a weapon.
Just like 'The Godfather' films, Kratos is pulled back into the life he tried to leave behind, and Atreus getting involved in the family business becomes a major part of the story.
The relationship between Kratos and Atreus informs much of the plot of 'Ragnarök', but for the full experience, we recommend playing 'God Of War' first so you know the beats of their relationship.
After having his quiet life disrupted and any chance of a normal upbringing for his son ruined, Kratos opts to bring Atreus along with him while he works, resulting in the most violent "bring your child to work day" in history.
'Ragnarök' jump ahead a few years after the events of the 2018 game with a grown Artreus a major part of the game's narrative.
Mimir, a literal talking head and the source of all knowledge in the universe, and a ticked-off Freya will return for the sequel.
The logline from Sony reads "Fimbulwinter is well underway. Kratos and Atreus must journey to each of the Nine Realms in search of answers as Asgardian forces prepare for a prophesied battle that will end the world."
"Along the way they will explore stunning, mythical landscapes, and face fearsome enemies in the form of Norse gods and monsters. The threat of Ragnarök grows ever closer. Kratos and Atreus must choose between their own safety and the safety of the realms."
'Ragnarök' refers to "the doom of the gods," and preventing the apocalypse is high on Kratos' to-do list along with raising his son.
In a lot of ways, the plot of 'Ragnarök' is like the plot of the classic 1987 film 'Three Men And A Baby', except Ted Danson is swapped out for a vengeful bald lad called Kratos and the stakes are dramatically higher.
The nine realms are a key part of Norse mythology, and players will visit them over the course of 'Ragnarök'.
For those who slept through the classics module in college, the nine realms are Niflheim, Muspelheim, Asgard, Midgard, Jotunheim, Vanaheim, Alfheim, Svartalfheim, and Helheim.
These realms have already been visited in 2018's 'God Of War', but considering the potential world-ending stakes in 'Ragnarök', Kratos must head back to the realms he has already conquered in order to restore balance.
'Ragnarök' is one of the best-reviewed games of 2022 and is likely to be the game that sends the PlayStation 5 into the stratosphere, and will release on Wednesday, November 9th for both PlayStation 4 and 5.
