Less than six months following its launch, God of War Ragnarok brings a gauntlet of additional features and improvements via its New Game Plus update.
Though not strictly a PS5 exclusive game (it’s also on PS4 ) God of War Raganarok was an absolute masterclass in AAA game design, showcasing what a team as talented as Santa Monica Studio can achieve when channelling near enough the full power of Sony’s current-gen console. The game already offered multiple reasons to keep playing after credits rolled via side missions, collectibles and new areas. Now the newly released New Game Plus update is set to pull you back in all over again.
As revealed in a post on the PlayStation Blog, the New Game Plus God of War Ragnarok update is available for players on both PS4 and PS5 to download now. Far from merely adding a new mode, however, the update also introduces myriad sizeable changes designed to keep returning gamers playing for longer. “New equipment, an increased level cap, new enchantments,” are now awaiting those who complete God of War Ragnarok’s main story.
This is all in addition to being able to start afresh with access to all their existing weapons and gear. You’ll need all the help you can get too, as New Game Plus introduces a fresh level cap not just for Kratos, but almost every enemy type also. Layers’ Level 9 equipment can now be converted into new Plus versions that offer methods of upgrading that weren’t there previously.
New progression paths and enchantments give players additional ways to tweak difficulty and the level of challenge they want to experience. Santa Monica Studio has been smart to cater to more casual players as well, evidenced by the handful of new armour sets Kratos can now wear and 13 fresh colourways now available for God of War Ragnarok’s existing armour sets.
New Game Plus God of War Ragnarok: Armour Sets
Here’s a list of all the new armour sets available to Kratos in the New Game Plus God of War Ragnarok update and how to unlock them:
- Armour of the Black Bear – acquired by beginning a New Game Plus run
- Zeus Armour – acquired by defeating Gná the Valkyrie Queen and completing Remnants of Asgard
- Spartan Armour – purchased using hacksilver at Huldra Brothers’ Shop
- Ares Armour – purchased using hacksilver at Huldra Brothers’ Shop
- Spartan Aspis (shield) – purchased using hacksilver at Huldra Brothers’ Shop
As already mentioned, all the above additions are available for free to God of War Ragnarok players on PS4 and PS5. Just bear in mind that you’ll have to have beaten the main story at least once before gaining access to most of what the New Game Plus update brings.
Ragnarok and roll
I don’t think I’m alone in thinking that this New Game Plus God of War Raganarok update is far more substantial than what players were expecting. Because while it would have been easy for Santa Monica Studio to simply add a new mode where your weapons and armour carry over and then be done with it, this is an update clearly geared towards accentuating the areas that players are already interested in, such as tougher challenges, additional ways to customise Kratos and new end game content.
Following this, I would go so far as to say that it raises expectations for what New Game Plus modes in future can be – especially with regards to PlayStation exclusives going forward. Later this month will see Horizon Forbidden West receive its first paid-for DLC expansion in Burning Shores, giving players another reason to visit that robot-ravaged version of Earth. But an additional mode similar to the one God of War Ragnarok introduced could have tided players over before the arrival of proper DLC.
There are other examples of PlayStation exclusives doing this somewhat, with Marvel’s Spider-Man offering countless free updates, mainly via costumes from classic comic storylines and previous movies. The New Game Plus update for God of War Ragnarok, however, almost sets a new standard for what we should expect from other AAA developers who want to give players a reason to keep playing their primarily narrative-focused games. It’s almost like treating single-player titles as if they were live-service games, just without the endless need to pay up to stay competitive with others.
