PLEASE NOTE: This article contains MINOR Spoilers for God of War Ragnarok. Proceed at your own risk.God of War Ragnarok takes players to all nine realms in Norse mythology, which is a feature teased in the 2018 God of War but never fulfilled. Some realms are more comprehensive than others due to what brings God of War Ragnarok’s characters there, but it is clear to see which realms have been improved upon from the 2018 game.
Midgard, Alfheim, Helheim, Muspelheim, Niflheim, and Jotunheim all appear in the previous God of War, though their iterations in God of War Ragnarok are astonishing. God of War Ragnarok could have simply reused the maps established for these realms and claimed that they were the same areas, but instead chose to extensively improve on many of them. One of the biggest improvements is assessed in God of War Ragnarok’s iteration of Alfheim.
God of War Ragnarok’s Alfheim Improves Upon the Last Game’s Platforming Puzzles
God of War’s Alfheim is fairly notorious for its dark elf enemies, who earned their place as one of the game’s most bothersome enemies to fight. Dark elves are almost always suspended in midair, capable of darting in-and-out of the player’s range and dropping blinding mini-bombs at their feet.
This pattern of enemy attacks could soon become tedious, but what made Alfheim fun in God of War 2018 was instead its breadth of environmental puzzles. Using a series of blue light crystals, players could create bridges made of light to traverse otherwise unnavigable passageways. This often required players to find a respective crystal themselves and carry it to one of few sockets, where it would create a bridge leading to a particular area. Some hidden goodies are found in optional light crystal paths, making the player’s effort of carrying the crystal around worthwhile. Further, God of War’s Alfheim introduced self-regenerating pustules that would appear in a series.
Players would have to find the correct angle to line them all up, then hurl the Leviathan Axe through them all at once in order to thwart them from regenerating. This would open new passages for players, and sometimes allow for them to cross other light bridges. Therefore, the combination of these mechanics made Alfheim’s exploration a short but sweet experience. However, God of War Ragnarok reprises blue light crystals, but they are used in a much different way. God of War Ragnarok’s environmental puzzles shine with purple, reflective Twilight Stones that players can ricochet the axe against. This temporarily imbues that light to the axe, activating the crystal it hits. Twilight Stones can also be used to strike enemies repeatedly, and are fun to use in succession with regenerative pustules in particular angles.
God of War Ragnarok’s Alfheim Has Two Open Areas to Explore
God of War Ragnarok’s Alfheim begins with a similar formula to that of 2018 God of War before it opens up into something drastically different. Two open areas are available for players to explore in God of War Ragnarok’s Alfheim between the Barrens and the Forbidden Sands. These areas are windswept in individual storms that can be cleared by freeing a pair of Hafgufa.
Until then and afterward still, players freely traverse these open sands on-and-off a sled pulled by two Vanaheim Gulons. Both of these desert plains are completely optional for players who desire completion or supplementary rewards, including fantastic side stories to share and some unique boss fights.
This makes God of War Ragnarok’s Alfheim much more expansive with more content than its predecessor’s, and its Twilight Stone puzzles are even more engaging than the 2018 game’s blue light crystal puzzles. Again, God of War Ragnarok could have reused the map for Alfheim that it had, but instead chose to iterate upon it greatly with a huge improvement to gameplay throughout.
God of War Ragnarok is available now for PS4 and PS5.
