God of War Ragnarok: Do You Need to Play Old God of Wars?

Do you need to play old God of War games before you play God of War Ragnarok? The God of War series is one continuous journey that follows the bloody path of Kratos, a god with a violent past. While each game is largely self-contained, there is some connective tissue that might make you wonder if you should play the previous games before jumping into the new one. As part of our God of War Ragnarok guide, we're going to tell you whether you should play old God of Wars before getting started.

God of War Ragnarok: Do You Need to Play Old God of Wars?

It's a slightly tricky question to answer, as it depends on how much you're willing to invest in God of War's overarching narrative. In our opinion, you don't need to play previous God of War games to enjoy God of War Ragnarok, but you probably should if you want to get the most from it — God of War 2018 in particular.

Ragnarok is a direct sequel, picking up a few years after what transpires in the previous game. It doesn't waste any time in building on the plot lines from the last adventure, introducing more characters and upping the stakes in the opening hours. While you can absolutely play Ragnarok on its own, it's definitely "part two"; the pair of games share a lot of the same DNA and tell one epic story. If you have the time, we'd encourage you to play God of War 2018 before you play Ragnarok so you don't get lost.

If you'd rather get stuck in, you have a couple of other options. Firstly, when you start up Ragnarok, the main menu has a recap of the events from the previous game for you to watch. It's pretty brief, though, and doesn't really get into the nitty gritty details. Your second option is to check out our much more detailed God of War story recap, which not only goes over the main events of the 2018 game, but also briefly covers the Greek era games, giving you the full picture.

Did you feel the need to play old God of Wars before playing God of War Ragnarok? Tell us in the comments section below, and read our God of War Ragnarok guide for lots more.