Players can finally stop Kratos’ son from disrupting puzzles. The long-awaited PC port of God of War: Ragnarok has been released nearly two years after its successful launch on PS4 and PS5.[1] This is significant in itself, but the port also includes a feature that wasn't available in the original console version: players can now tell Kratos' son, Atreus, to be quiet, as first reported by Kotaku.

Figure 1. God of War: Ragnarok

In the original release, Atreus was reminiscent of Ocarina of Time's Navi on Adderall—extremely talkative. Even more frustratingly, he often provided unsolicited hints that could spoil puzzle solutions, leading many players to complain about his commentary, especially during moments when they weren't even trying to solve a puzzle. Figure 1 shows God of War: Ragnarok.

In any case, the settings tab now features an option to reduce puzzle hints, which applies not only to the chatter from Atreus but also to other companions in the game. I'm no game designer, but adding a mute button for certain characters doesn’t seem like a complex fix. So, here's hoping Sony brings this option to the console versions. After all, digital children should be seen and not heard!.

The PC port also introduces several additional features, including audio descriptions for the game’s cinematics and a collection of streamer GIFs for use on Twitch or YouTube.[2] It supports both NVIDIA and AMD’s upscaling tools and offers compatibility with ultrawide monitors. Let's celebrate playing games as nature intended, complete with an outrageous 32:9 aspect ratio!.

The port requires a substantial amount of hard drive space, ranging from 175GB to 190GB, so it's best to start the installation early if you plan on playing in the afternoon. It's currently available on Steam and the Epic Games Store. Unfortunately, the PC specs needed to run the game are quite demanding, which means performance on the Steam Deck may be disappointing. Users on Reddit report that while it does run, it's only playable at 30 FPS on the lowest settings.

References:

1. https://sensi-sl.org/ragnaroks-pc-port-is-out-and-it-fixes-one-of-the-games-most-annoying-quirks/
2. https://www.engadget.com/gaming/pc/god-of-war-ragnaroks-pc-port-is-out-and-it-fixes-one-of-the-games-most-annoying-quirks-185925455.html?_fsig=ZGkeXJsBOK3FIHx5lBRVTA--%7EA

Cite this article:

Janani R (2024), The PC Port of God of War: Ragnarok Has Been Released, Addressing One of The Game's Most Frustrating Issues, AnaTechMaz, pp. 69