God of War: Ragnarok is the latest PlayStation port to bring a game once defined by incredible polish to PC, and it excels in nearly every aspect. Developed by Santa Monica Studio, and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment, the port was released on Steam and Epic Games. God of War: Ragnarok (PC) offers a finely tuned experience that uses modern gaming hardware.

Continuing from its 2018 predecessor, Kratos and Atreus’ journey delves deeper into Norse mythology as they confront their fate with Ragnarok looming. The father-son dynamic is richly developed, with emotionally charged scenes that touch on themes of destiny, sacrifice, and legacy. Characters like Freya, Thor, and Odin are given complex arcs, making them pivotal to the game’s powerful storytelling. You can find out more about the story on our PS5 review here: https://www.mkaugaming.com/all-review-list/god-of-war-ragnarok-playstation-5-review/

The core gameplay stays true to its satisfying combination of brutal combat and environmental puzzle-solving. Kratos’ Leviathan Axe and Blades of Chaos return with new combat options, while Atreus’ abilities play a larger role in battles and exploration. The PC port refinements only enhance the tight and responsive combat, offering smoother experiences on high-end systems.

The launch also includes the Valhalla DLC, which adds significant replayability by introducing procedurally generated combat encounters and permadeath mechanics. This brings a roguelike element to God of War‘s core gameplay, offering a thrilling new challenge for players who have mastered the base game and seek a more difficult, unpredictable experience.

God of War: Ragnarok (PC) offers extensive control customization, supporting DUALSHOCK4 and DUALSENSE wireless controllers with haptic feedback and adaptive trigger functionality. This adds a layer of immersion during combat, making every axe swing and block feel tactile. The game also includes fully customizable mouse and keyboard bindings, giving PC players the flexibility to tweak every action to suit their playstyle, but playing with a DUALSENSE controller gives the full experience.

However, the game requires a PlayStation Network account, making it the first PlayStation title on PC with this requirement. While this decision is somewhat perplexing given that God of War: Ragnarok (PC) is a single-player game, it can also limit accessibility for players in regions where PSN services are restricted. Mods have been released by the Nexus community to remove this requirement, but it’s still something that should be addressed in a future update so as not to alienate certain demographics.

The PC version truly shines with its expansive support for high-end visuals. Upscaling technologies such as NVIDIA DLSS 3.7, AMD FSR 3.1, and Intel XeSS 1.2 allow players to maximize graphical settings while maintaining fluid performance. Combined with NVIDIA Reflex support, which reduces latency for faster reactions, combat feels more responsive, allowing for more satisfying combos.

Super UltraWide support (32:9) and 21:9 widescreen options let you experience the Nine Realms in cinematic panoramic views. Whether it’s the snowy expanses of Midgard or the fiery depths of Muspelheim, the environments come to life in unprecedented detail.

The PC version features unlocked framerates, native 4K resolution, and advanced graphical settings, providing enhanced geometric detail, improved lighting, and better reflections than the PlayStation version. Players can customize these settings to fit their hardware, aided by a VRAM indicator that helps monitor graphical performance. While earlier versions experienced VRAM leak issues, recent updates have been working to resolve these, although some players continue to report gradual framerate drops.

With Spatial 3D Audio, players can enjoy an immersive auditory experience, where enemies’ movements are highly accurate and directional. Whether they’re creeping up from behind or attacking from above, you can hear them before you see them, adding another layer of strategic depth to combat encounters.

God of War: Ragnarok on PC is a stunningly optimized experience, enhanced by technical improvements like NVIDIA DLSS, FSR, XeSS, and UltraWide support. Integrating NVIDIA Reflex and immersive features like haptic feedback, adaptive triggers, and 3D spatial audio makes the PC version stand out. Including the Valhalla DLC at launch, offers added replayability with its roguelike mechanics, ensuring newcomers and series veterans have fresh challenges to tackle. However, with minor issues with framerate stability and the PSN account requirement, the game’s expansive graphical and control options more than make up for this.

God of War: Ragnarok remains a genre-defining game that has now reached its full potential on PC. Whether you’re a longtime fan or a newcomer, it’s an unforgettable journey through Norse mythology worth experiencing.

Written by: Emily France