‘God of War’ New Game+ adds a steeper challenge to the game in a free update

By Cody Perez Published August 8, 2018

Sony Santa Monica announced the God of War New Game+ release date. Players will be able to embark on Kratos and Atreus’ journey once again later this month when the new post-game mode arrives on August 20. The mode will be available to owners of the game as a free update for the title.

The God of War New Game+ release date was revealed in a PlayStation Blog post on Wednesday, August 8, by Sony Santa Monica Community Strategist Aaron Kaufman. Kaufman notes that August 20 not only marks the release of this highly requested mode, but it is also the four-month anniversary since the game’s launch in April.

God of War New Game+ allows players who have completed the story to start it all over again with a ton of new additions and changes that aren’t available in the initial playthrough. Like similar modes, players will begin with all of their previous items intact. This includes armor, enchantments, talismans, resources, and abilities.

Enemies will be an even higher level than before with new techniques, offering players a steeper challenge than before. New Game+ also has some exclusive features. There will be a unique new rarity level of equipment that isn’t found in the first playthrough. In order to upgrade to the best tier in the game, players will need to collect the new resource, Skap Slag.

In addition, the God of War New Game+ will include entirely new armor sets and enchantments to acquire. The new armor included with the update is noted in the blog as “extremely powerful” so you can expect it to be a huge help in taking on the high-level enemies. These will also allow for more customization options for Kratos and his son, Atreus.

The God of War New Game+ update will add the ability to skip cutscenes once you have completed a full playthrough of the story once. This is a great asset that will make speedrunning more simple and allow players to just enjoy the pure action. According to Kaufman, this update will be the largest one for God of War yet when it arrives on August 20.

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Cody is that stereotypical nerdy otaku guy. He loves everything Japanese from niche visual novels like 999 and Kara no Shoujo…

Gaming

Every action game should take notes from God of War Ragnarok’s skill tree

Kratos looks at the Leviathan Axe.

Not every piece of God of War Ragnarok is a step up from its 2018 predecessor, but there's one area where it's an undeniable improvement: action. Like his last adventure, Kratos uses his heavy Leviathan Axe to chop up enemies and his Blades of Chaos to rain hellfire down. Both tools feel the same in the sequel but have been altered with the addition of elemental abilities that bring an extra set of moves and decisions to combat.

What stands out to me most about the game's evolved combat though is something a little less flashy. God of War Ragnarok features a handful of skill trees that let players unlock more combos. That's a bit run of the mill, as it's become a staple of Sony's first-party exclusives in recent years. However, Ragnarok's skill tree goes one step further than most games with a new customization system that encourages players to actually use those skills once they've been unlocked. The feature is so effective that I hope every character-based action game takes notes from it from here on out.
Use your skills
The skill trees in God of War Ragnarok function about the same as any game that includes them. Kratos earns experience points when he slays monsters and those points can be spent to unlock new skills. Both the Leviathan Axe and the Blades of Chaos have their own three-pronged skill tree, as does Atreus. Every time Kratos levels up a weapon using resources, more skills become available to purchase. By the end of the game, players have access to a fairly wide range of moves that'll have them holding down buttons, comboing moves together, and more.

Gaming

God of War Ragnorok: best skills in the game

Thor in God of War Ragnarok.

Even barehanded, Kartos is a force to be reckoned with. Starting off in God of War Ragnarok, he is far from unarmed, however. Picking up where the last game left off, Kratos retains his trusty Leviathan Axe, as well as his old Blades of Chaos, to hack, slash, and smash any gods or monsters that threaten him or his son. For whatever reason, though, he has lost all the skills with those weapons he picked up in his first Norse adventure.

Starting essentially from scratch, the skill trees in God of War Ragnarok will look familiar to players of the first game or really any similar RPG. Skills are broken up based on weapon or character and then into further divisions based on what type of skill they are. XP comes slow, especially in the early game, so knowing what skills will be the most useful is vital. Before you go picking a fight with Thor or Odin, check out the best skills to unlock in God of War Ragnarok.

Gaming

These God of War Ragnarok settings made my playthrough much better

Kratos and Atreus sail on water in God of War Ragnarok.

There are a lot of reasons to be excited about God of War Ragnarok, which launches on PS4 and PS5 today. The action-adventure sequel is another high-quality first-party game for PlayStation owners, following up 2018’s hit God of War reboot with a bigger (though relatively equal) experience. Some fans may be eager to see Kratos' story continue, while others just might be itching to swing the ever-so-satisfying Leviathan Ax again.

What was I most excited to see and do when I booted it up? Open the settings menu.