On November 9, the highly anticipated God of War: Ragnarök will finally be released for the PS5 and PS4. This is likely the last major exclusive title for the PlayStation 4. However, you will learn in this article why the console can retire not just because of that.
On November 9, it’s finally time: God of War: Ragnarök will be released as the sequel to the 2018 released God of War for the PS4. The latter is considered one of the best PlayStation 4 games of all time and has an outstanding rating of 94 points on the comparison site Metacritic (via Metacritic).
Since the PS5 has unfortunately been rather scarce so far, many gamers will probably play the sequel on the PlayStation 4. For this reason, it is interesting to take a look at the performance of God of War: Ragnarök on the last-gen console.
The launch edition with extra bonuses if you preorder the game by November 8 is now available at MediaMarkt for €69.99 for the PS5 and €64.99 for the PS4 (including PS5 upgrade).
God of War: Ragnarök on the PS4
One thing is clear: the PS5 is certainly the better platform for God of War: Ragnarök. This is mainly because of the better graphics and faster loading times, but also because you can play the game at smooth 60 FPS.
How is the game’s graphics on the PS4? In short: the game still looks incredibly good on the older hardware of the PS4. If the predecessor from 2018 was already a true visual delight, the developers have really upped their game for Ragnarök.
The game runs at a maximum of Full HD (1080p), but it is clear to see how Santa Monica Studios made sure that everything is sharp, readable, and easily recognizable, even on the last-gen console.
How many FPS does GoW: Ragnarök have on the PlayStation 4? The PS4 only achieves 30 FPS, but usually quite consistently. Only in larger battles with many characters and effects do you occasionally experience brief frame rate drops. Motion blur contributes to the overall smoothness of the game.
How does the game run on the PS4 Pro? On the Pro version of the PS4, you benefit from the console’s better technology. In calm moments and when wandering through the landscape, you can enjoy stable 60 FPS in Full HD with the PS4 Pro. However, it is important to activate the performance mode on the PS4 Pro.
However, once you are involved in action-packed battles, the frame rate noticeably decreases: then the console only achieves 40 to 50 FPS – significantly less than on the PS5. The draw distance is also lower on the PS4 Pro.
In this video from IGN, you can watch a performance comparison of the two versions for PS5 and PS4:
Are there drawbacks to playing God of War: Ragnarök on your PS4?
As good as the game may present itself visually on the old hardware of the PS4, unfortunately, it still shows that God of War: Ragnarök pushes the last generation to its limits.
This is mainly due to the fact that you will most likely never have heard your PS4 as loud as it currently is. The console literally works its “heart out” to deliver performance on the screen and thus sounds almost like a roaring engine.
The only thing you can do about it is to occasionally clean the console.
Tips and tricks on how to quiet and clean your PS4 can be found here:
God of War: Ragnarök is the farewell that the PS4 deserves
It is clear that God of War: Ragnarök will probably be the absolute peak of what the PS4 can deliver.
This is perfectly fine, as the universally acclaimed game (via Metacritic) is a truly worthy title to gradually lay the last-gen console to rest.
Since Sony has also announced that they want to significantly increase the production of the PS5 and the first effects of this are already noticeable here, you can safely say goodbye to your PS4 after the nearly 20 hours of gameplay of the last part of the God epic.
Still haven’t gotten a PS5? If you haven’t been able to get a PS5 yet, check out our ticker. Here we keep you up to date daily and explain how you can best get your PS5 and show you drops around the coveted console.
Currently, many bundles with God of War: Ragnarök are also being offered.
