Is God of War Ragnarok Suitable for Children?

Deciding whether God of War: Ragnarok is suitable for your children is completely up to you. But there are some aspects of the game that you might consider a red light. Our goal here is to highlight the areas of the game that might not be too beneficial to help you make a decision.

Graphic Content

God of War Ragnarok is a third-person RPG played on PlayStation 3 or 4. This version has noticeably less graphic content than previous versions of God of War. In the previous version, fights often involved large amounts of blood spraying everywhere, swords being thrust through enemies, and in certain scenes, there was nudity. 

In Ragnarok, there are still vivid fight scenes with weapons thrust into opponents and explicit death scenes. However, the scenes are not as vivid. For example, when Kratos hits an enemy, there is still blood splatter, but they have made its color darker, making it less noticeable. 

Kratos is also often covered in the blood of his enemies, and his wounds can be clearly seen when he fights. A big difference between earlier God of War versions is that there are no sex scenes or scenes with nudity in God of War Ragnarok. Kratos is shirtless and there are some sexual references but other than that there isn’t much.

Game Play

As mentioned, God of War Ragnarok is an adventure game where you play the fallen God of War, Kratos, from Greek mythology. In previous versions of the game, Kratos was fixated on killing all the gods of Olympus, and he succeeded. 

In God of War, Ragnarok, Kratos is now old and not as bloodthirsty. He is less likely to choose violence but does so when necessary. Melee weapons such as swords, axes, and knives are commonly used, as well as bows and arrows and magic.

The storyline revolves around the northern mythological war known as Ragnarok. It is also largely the story of Kratos and his son Atreus. Ragnarok describes the fall of Asgard and is the main trajectory of the game.

Thor and Atreus split for most of the game, causing Kratos to often search for him to protect him. Kratos has also been trying to teach Atreus restraint, when to kill and when not to. As the story progresses, Kratos and Atreus ask Surtur to help bring down Asgard. 

When Surtur agrees to fight, the war is officially on. Toward the end of the storyline, Kratos fights and defeats Thor but spares his life and encourages Thor to change his ways as He has for the sake of their children. Odin then kills Thor.

Following his father’s example, Atreus tries to convince Odin to change his ways, but Odin refuses. Atreus then kills Odin by magically stealing his life force. This is the end of the storyline.

Violence

In God of War, Ragnarok Kratos seems to have more of a reluctance to violence than in other versions. That said, however, when he needs to fight, he is the same. 

Most of the graphic scenes play out in cinematic stories throughout the game. For example, when Kratos fights Heimdall in Asgard, he defeats him by pinning him to a wall with a spear through his right arm. 

Kratos then completely cuts off his arm. The scene is quite explicit. You see where Heimdall’s arm was severed with blood pouring out. The severity of this scene is lessened by Heimdall magically giving himself a new arm.

They conclude the fight with Kratos beating Heimdall with his bare hands and strangling him. This example is the standard of violence you can expect through the game. A similar scene is when Kratos fights Thor; just this time, he shows a sense of morality and restraint.

In the last scene, Kratos thrusts his axe into Thor’s stomach. This leaves a noticeable gash in Thor and produces a large amount of blood. As Thor is on the ground, wounded Kratos stabs him in the hand. 

It is here that Kratos shows restraint for the sake of his son, Thor’s daughter, and the father he is trying to be. Kratos spares Thor’s life and encourages him to develop the qualities of a good father and not just a destroyer.

In previous versions of the game, there were scenes where Kratos would completely decapitate enemies, split them in half with his blades of chaos, or rip them in half with his bare hands. We still see violent scenes similar to this, but not as bad.

Language

God of War Ragnarok does use bad language. Words such as “f****” and “sh**” are used frequently throughout the game as common language. You also come across a dwarf with dirty humor who makes comments that have a sexual connotation to them. 

Wrapping up

God of War Ragnarok doesn’t seem to be as hectic as previous versions of the series but it still has enough for you to consider whether your kids should be playing it or not. The game has explicit violent scenes and consistent swearing. Hopefully, this breakdown of the game helps you make an informed decision on whether you should let your child play this or not.