The 2018 God of War is as flawless as games get, so God of War Ragnarok has some serious expectations coming with it. We know one thing that the sequel absolutely has to improve, though.
God of War is essentially like Beyoncé: Flawless. The game is a legit masterpiece, and the sequel comes with some serious expectations: To be the best PS5 game. No pressure. Especially with Microsoft having bought half the gaming world, Sony will depend on its first-party titles more than ever. With that in mind, God of War Ragnarok really needs to improve on one thing, if it wants to best the last God of War.
God of War Ragnarok Needs to Improve the Animations
Yes, I know I called it flawless, but I was bluffing. Nobody's perfect. Not even Beyoncé. The 2018 God of War actually did have flaws, and one is more glaring than the others: The game's animations. From the first combat onwards, the fighting animations are recycled throughout the game. Kratos' fists only move a certain amount of ways, and so does the Leviathan axe. The game depends on combat, and yet it gets tedious rather quickly to have to watch the same axe and fist patterns over, and over again: The axe swings side-to-side and downwards, while the fists go from a right hook combo to a shield bash.
Yes, the animations are good and feel weighty, but they do get old, and if God of War Ragnarok is to be even more polished, this is something that the game needs to improve on. Are we nit-picking? Maybe, but that's the way it is when a game is as polished as the 2018 God of War was, and a sequel has as much riding on it, as Ragnarok does.
Given Santa Monica Studios' and Sony's track record, we have no doubt that Ragnarok will come with the needed improvements. In fact, a more recent Sony title already shows the difference animations can make: Miles Morales knocks it out the park with its smooth and varied moves, and, in this case, Kratos could learn from Spiderman.