God Of War: Ragnarok – All Nine Realms Ranked

We couldn’t have asked for much more from 2018’s “God Of War” reboot. It had everything – tight combat, an amazing story with fleshed-out characters, an expansive journey through the realms … well, not all the realms.

One of my biggest dreams for the sequel, “Ragnarok”, was to be able to explore all nine realms – and my wish was granted. Every realm is so different, so I wanted to rank them all based on their content and their general vibe / aesthetic.

By the way, be wary of SPOILERS if you haven’t played the game yet. Some regions are a spoiler to begin with, while others will need me to explain their side and story content in order to justify their placement.

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9 – Jotunheim

Jotunheim was the biggest disappointment of “Ragnarok” – both in terms of gameplay and story. We hardly caught a glimpse of the giants’ realm in “God Of War (2018)” so I wanted to explore a bit more. Which we did, in fairness … but it was easily one of the most mundane portions of the game.

It has the cool boss fight against Angrboda’s grandmother, but otherwise you slooooowly coast around on an animal collecting fruits as Atreus. To make matters worse, there’s nothing to explore in the post-game outside of Angrboda’s tiny hub area.

8 – Asgard

Story-wise, Asgard is really cool. It’s the setting of the final battle against Odin and his armies, and the green fields and viking houses work well as backdrops to legendary battles.

… But there’s nothing to explore. No side content and no ability to return with Kratos once the story is over. It would’ve been great to experience the city a bit more, or to do some side quests outside of the city walls, but I guess the developers focused all their attention to the other eight realms.

7 – Niflheim

Niflheim has three distinct areas, each varying in quality. The long stretch of snow that Atreus goes through is forgettable. The Asgard prison is alright but very short.

The main attraction is the Raven Tree, where you can get various armour pieces and upgrades for destroying Odin’s Ravens. It all culminates in a neat boss against the Raven Keeper, too.

This is a very filler realm, all things considered, but I can forgive the developers. There are tons of things to do in the other “major” realms, after all.

6 – Helheim

Like Asgard, Helheim exists as the backdrop to a major story battle and not much else. But unlike Asgard, you can actually explore it a bit and collect some loot.

The Garm fight is a highlight of the game for sure, and it’s good to catch up with my favourite giant bird Hraesvelgr. Otherwise, there’s not much worth talking about.

5 – Muspelheim

You visit Muspelheim a couple of times in the main story, once with Thor and Atreus and later to see Surtr and create Ragnarok, but that’s not what Muspelheim is known for.

This realm is all about the Surtr Trials (called the “Crucible Challenges” in this sequel) – a series of tough optional battles to test your combat mettle. Having to replay some trials to unlock later ones got annoying, but otherwise this was a fun optional gauntlet.

4 – Midgard

Now we get onto the more “major” realms, filled to the brim with side content and story relevance. Midgard is my least favourite of the four – which I don’t mind, considering how long we spent there in the 2018 game.

Other than a few story-related stretches, its main feature is the “Lake of Nine” – an open space with lots to do. I always liked when the game would throw a large open-world area at me like this, but this was definitely my least favourite of the bunch. There’s only so many Raider camps to clear and armour pieces to find before things get repetitive.

I think the icy, snowy colour palette also meant that a lot of the areas ended up looking a little same-y.

3 – Alfheim

Alfheim doesn’t just offer one open-world area, but two. They’re very similar, which marks the realm down slightly, but I really enjoyed sledding across the sands and solving all of the various puzzles.

The story content was really solid too – you take Tyr to an Elven Temple, and the Light vs. Dark Elves war means there’s lots of combat encounters to enjoy.

2 – Svartalfheim

Svartalfheim is the first realm you visit outside of Midgard, and it makes an immediate first impression. Gone are the fields of white, and in their place is now a huge lake of content to explore.

This realm had some of my favourite side content, like freeing the beast or exploring the mines, and the Dwarven, mechanical aesthetic was really quite beautiful.

1 – Vanaheim

Vanaheim was probably going to be number one based on the initial area alone. I love Freya’s story quest, I love the jungle aesthetic, and there are lots of little things that surprise you – like being able to change between day and night at the dedicated altars.

But then the Crater and its neighboring Jungle came along, and no other realm could ever compete. It’s the best and biggest side area in the game, filled to the brim with completely optional delights, and I spent hours revelling in the exploration and the huge boss fights.

I don’t know if we’ll return to the Norse realms again in a “God of War” sequel, but if we do, the developers are gonna have to pull out all the stops to top Vanaheim.

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