God of War Ragnarok has just received a major update on PS5 and PS4, introducing the long-awaited New Game Plus mode. The update is available to download and install right now.
New Game Plus is a mode that allows you to carry over certain progress and items from a completed playthrough into a new one. To compensate for your high-level character, armour, and weapons, New Game Plus usually ups the difficulty, or introduces new challenges not present in the regular game.
After completing Ragnarok's story at least once, NG+ mode will be available. It introduces new equipment, Enchantments, and an increased level cap, allowing you to power up Kratos more than ever. Carrying over all your skills, weapons, and equipment, you'll be able to blast through a New Game Plus playthrough — although areas requiring Sonic and Hex arrows or the Draupnir Spear won't be available until after their usual introductions in the story.
The update adds some awesome new gear for Kratos, too; the Black Bear armour lets you finally outfit the Ghost of Sparta in his fetching fur cloak, while the Spartan armour is a purposefully stripped back outfit to make the game more challenging. The Ares and Zeus armour sets from the previous game also return, and a brand new Shield is also introduced — this one with a much tighter parry window (and a bigger reward for pulling them off).
Furthermore, some boss fights have been tweaked to give you a fresh experience in New Game Plus, and the developer has even thrown in a Black & White filter so you can play the whole game in monochrome, if you fancy.
So, to recap, this update adds:
- New Game Plus mode — bring all your unlocked gear and skills into a new playthrough
- Brand new armour sets
- New colour schemes for existing armour sets
- A new Shield
- New ways to customise mods, Enchantments, and stats
- Adjusted endgame boss encounters
- Expanded Niflheim combat arena
- Black and white filter
It's a very robust update, then. There's more information on the PS Blog, and the full patch notes are through here if you're interested. Will you be taking God of War Ragnarok for another spin in New Game Plus? Go again in the comments section below.
[source blog.playstation.com]
Comments 43
Awesome news! I’ve been waiting for this update before jumping in for a second playthrough. This is my favourite PS5 game so far.
Sounds like they've really went above and beyond with this update. Amazing effort as always from Santa Monica Studio.
He'll yeah. Their timing couldn't have been better on this.
I was waiting for this. Excellent!!!
Sounds like an awesome update for sure.
For me with this game specifically there's just something about it that does not really entice me to want to play it again. I don't know if it's just the pacing issues with the game and some of those sequences that are so long and drawn out. I don't know, it's different when it's like cutscenes that you can skip but when it's hour-long sessions of just walking and talking, narrative delivery, or climbing it just doesn't hit right and doesn't necessarily make me want to jump back in.
Maybe a little more time will spark interest. Because one thing that a game like God of War and God of War Ragnarok have that a game like Uncharted or The Last of Us or even something like ghost of tsushima do not have, is combat that holds up over extended periods of time. Once you've played the stories it would be crazy to me personally to want to go back to these games simply because of the long drawn out narrative nonsense I already talked about which is great when you first experience it but it's also very tedious because the combat is just so one-dimensional. Especially in Naughty Dog Games same combat they just copy and paste into both franchises and it's just weak. I remember playing uncharted for the first time, after playing the last of us ironically enough, and was baffled that no one seems to mention that in terms of systems and gameplay mechanics they are basically just tonal and narrative redskins of the same thing, aside from the on rails climbing.
God of War on the other hand is it's just fun it's very like putting you into the hole God complex it's fun and visceral. My only big complaint is that like a lot of games nowadays like harder difficulty just means you take more damage and deal less I wish it wasn't like that I wish it was that the enemies AI was smarter and they were more tactical and you had to get better for that and not just turn it into like ridiculous you get one shotted and they take a hundred shots nonsense.
Ironically just talking about the game and thinking about the combat build variety is already making me want to fire it up,.. dammit.... damn you Sony Santa Monica!
I take back all I said 🙄
Really tempted to go back, but so many games to play.
Got a platinum for this like 3 days ago. I am so ready!
One of the greatest games of all time somehow gets even better! Awesome!
No NG+ trophies or anything eh?
Well they shadowdropped the hell out of this didn't they the cheeky sneakies lol sound like an awesome set of additions
Was going to go back for the plat, that's awesome!
@Hundred_Hand_Slap I'm wondering the same thing. Would love similar ng+ trophies as Forbidden West has.
I loved GoW 2018. I could not get into Ragnarok and after 17 hours abandoned it. The story felt listless with no real drive, the different zones felt very small, even the more open ones felt very restrictive by design. I don't know it just simply wasn't for me and I love big spectacle cinematic games. This? Just felt bored.
Can cutscenes be skipped on ng+? If not then i wont even bother playing this again
Any new trophies or is it just for free time fun? 🤔
Yeah I do think the game as a whole is very well put together and obviously the characters and gameplay are great as is expected from SSM. That said, I have a greater fondness for the first game for some reason that I can’t quite put my finger on where I’m more likely to play through that one for the third time over giving GOWR another go
@Americansamurai1 yeah I don't have the time, finishing my current game off then starting up resident evil 4 remake next week
@TBubs311 I love both GOW 2018 and Ragnarok but I know what you mean. Ragnarok is better in almost every way logically speaking, but I am not sure if it is my favourite of the two.
@huyi yeah crazy year for games. I finished re4 remake last week and now started playing ghostwire Tokyo trying to finish that before the horizon dlc
Sony Santa Monica and Insomniac have pulled ahead of Naughty Dog imo. And I'm splitting hairs don't get me wrong lol. Suckered Punch also. Several of the industries top 10 devs come from Sony right now imp. Will be diving in once I wrap Hogwartz
@TBubs311 I agree. Ragnarok improved on many things gameplay wise. But the anticipation of the reboot, the sheer quality of it and the story gice 2018 the edge imo
I really don't understand ng+ for games that have linear story with one beginning and one end. I platinumed 2018 GoW. I loved it to bits. And I never played it again. I'll play the new one when it lands on Sony's subscription service.
@Americansamurai1 it's like trying to keep up with a marathon speed run hahaha 😂😂
@Nyne11Tyme these devs are all top tier devs but , how I see it, they are, pretty much, all making one and the same game type of a game. Narratives are ok and somewhat engaging but in terms of what you do and how you interact with the game... it's been stale waters for that gang.
@huyi yeah it's making up for 2021 lol can't wait to see what's coming in the second half of the year that we don't know about
@KundaliniRising333 I agree with almost all of that but I'd also put GoW's combat on a bad level. Like the critic Joseph Anderson said about ND games, the GoW games set out to do something that looks interesting but isn't really interesting mechanically. I haven't played Ragnarok but the last game's combat and level design was so boring that I intentionally just stopped playing - very rare for me. It was basically "baddie go orange, parry. Baddie go red, dodge." It was like Simon Says with only two colours.
It looks like so much more is going on than actually is; I slogged through Alfheim and just gave up at that point. I played on Hard and it was actually fun at first, trying to defeat these two high level enemies on a small island. But then everything just settled into a holding pattern, I lost all interest in the story, and I've had several lifetime's worth of "walk slowly down corridor while MCU witty banter plays out between two characters" from all the other Sony games I've played. Usually accompanied by the classics "push block into place to climb up" or "I'll give you a boost so you can kick down the ladder".
N.i.c.e. good to hear.god of war ragnarok is easily the best games ever made.and kratos is the g.o.a.t. 🐐 👑.word up son
@The_Pixel_King it's not a PS5 game, it's a PS4 game.
It's a PS4 game with PS5 enhancements, just like Ghost of Tsushima, Death Stranding, Uncharted 4/Lost Legacy etc.
Heck even Skyrim has a PS5 version, Skyrim is a PS3 game!
I will for sure give this a run, as i have nothing else in the way until Diablo 4 comes out, well i want to try RedFall, otherwise i will be giving this a go and see if it’s fun. I am missing a lot of trophies for it, but i mainly did the main missions and not much side questing, i suppose that cost me a few. Maybe i can track them down on the replay.
@Dloki agreed especially on the loot system. It felt tacked on and Ubisoft or destiny like. And if you're going to put in an entire gear system don't just change the colors and use the same armor set over and over and over again I mean that's exactly what Ubisoft does I was shocked even in the first game (2018) to see that they did that.
Stick with skills trees at most, and remake the old in this perspective for sure.
@Matroska agreed. It's interesting to like take a step back just as a gamer and think about it and like if you're playing a game and it feels tedious to play no matter how much hype or fomo or review padding goes into it like it's not a good game to you. And that might be just your opinion or my opinion but I actually went through the same thing with the first God of War 2018. I actually had to come back and finish it later it was just like watching a movie which is great cheesy you know marvel type movie but it just felt tedious after about 2/3 of the way through and I doubt anyone on who took pure truth serum could sit and say that God of War Ragnarok did not feel very tedious at times. because it was even more poorly paced than the first one.
I think what's so alluring is that there's just such a spectacle to it, but take that away and base it just on gameplay and overall fun Factor you know... like it definitely felt like a slog even with the second one.
I felt the same way with Horizon forbidden West and part of that is my problem because I have a huge tendency to explore everything and and do everything on a map I just wish it wasn't full icons that world is so beautiful and they literally ruin it by turning it into a Ubisoft style icon chasing gimmick.
If they just trusted their own world building and art design in a game like Horizon and just made you explore and opened up the climbing a ton more like that game would be so much more of an experience whereas the way they have it now it's just go from one Waypoint on your head or icon on your map and as much as people say you can turn that stuff off in it alleviates it it doesn't because the game is like designed based on that icon chasing system and at some point you're going to have to turn it back on I tried playing I think the first half of it without it it's fine but some point you're going to have to because they limit your traversal so much.
Overall I think Sony and their Studios need to take a step back and diversify. And I say that because most of their titles focus on this narrative driven big budget Blockbuster, but it's starting to feel iterative in a bad way. there's not a whole lot you can do if you just focus on that formula you're spending hundreds of millions of dollars on production values like a big budget movie and yet it's game plays pretty mediocre. You see it even in you know reviews even mainstream reviews for these games like when Horizon came out even God of War Ragnarok. there was a ton of marketing push and hype and it was cute but at the end of the day it's like Yeah The Game's good but it's just more the same...
And I think the trade off is getting a little less worth it when you have these gigantic budget games being produced by all of the really talented Studios taking you know anywhere from 4 to 8 years to produce. iwhat if they all just made a bunch of like super fun to play games that only take 2 years to produce that's why we're here in this situation where this generation really has not started because they were still working on their iterative sequel Blockbusters from the PS4 generation.
I miss the PS two days when there were just such a Litany of diverse types of games and all the developers weren't big enough yet to not try and you know put their hands into every type of genre.
That story. SMH
More like God of Therapy. Most god awful therapy talk in a game yet. Can't believe people praised it.
If memory serves, been a few months, I only recall like two fights with anyone/anything barely bigger than Kratos.
I guess I was spoiled by GoW3 especially, but I miss the massive bosses and creatures.
Still, despite some major mistakes in making bad guys more basic, in my eyes, the game still has fantastic graphics, the gameplay there is smooth and fun for what it is and when I turned off the dialogue and played my Spotify music instead on a second playthough, I was able to enjoy it much more.
The story and characters leave me feeling like a bunch of sheltered college kids with daddy issues wrote it.
Still, credit to the studio for going above and beyond with the update.
Solid gameplay underneath that horrible not-God-of-War soap opera story.
You know what it feels like? I picture a bunch of betas sat around and had a discussion on Kratos toxic masculinity and ways to make Kratos more woke friendly.
Nothing wrong with feelings, but it's a delicate balance between adding depth in a story and simply coming off condescending and whiny. (Heck, some might think that I'm the one being condescending and whining! 😄)
I'll still likely try out plus anyway. Dialogue staying off.
That's a pretty great update and the perfect time to jump into the game for the first time. I'll be picking it up Friday for sure!
GOW R is a masterpiece.
SPOILER
Hope the next Saga will be about a war between different mythologies while Atreus trys to find other Giants.
Really enjoyed the game and I fully completed it, but I don't think I'm motivated enough for another playthrough and I've got my hands full with other games. Super solid update for the bigger fans, though.
Coming from GOW 3 to this silly looking game is pure bullocks. Thank you, but I'd rather not play dress up in my game of war.
Loved everything about this game and would love to play NG+ when I do. Currently finishing up Atomic Heart and Hogwarts Legacy. Will be starting RE4 Remake after and more games releasing after that.
Hard to believe it takes 6 months to make a new game plus.
Rather they just work on a new game if that's how long it takes
@huyi @Thenewguy @Hundred_Hand_Slap No new trophies at all, it's just extra fun for the heck of it.
@KidRyan Wait. You guys are having fun? /jk
@KidRyan enjoy your time with it i guess?
@huyi I won't be playing the New Game+, but I did enjoy beating the game and achieving the Platinum.
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