A number of gaming outlets have earned the privilege of testing out God of War Ragnarök early, and one thing they’ve learned about Santa Monica Studio’s sequel is that it will feature a handful of graphics options. Players will be able to choose between four options in total, including a special “Favor Performance” mode that targets 120 FPS for those who wish to experience the game at a high frame rate at the expense of resolution on PS5. God of War Ragnarök releases for the PS4 and PS5 on November 9, and it will be complemented by various editions, a console bundle, and a limited-edition DualSense controller with graphics inspired by the game.
- Favor Resolution: 4K/30 FPS locked
- Favor Performance: 60 FPS locked
- Favor Resolution (High Frame Rate): 4K/40 FPS locked
- Favor Performance (High Frame Rate): Targeting 120 FPS
From a Press Start report:
After spending the first few hours with God of War Ragnarok, I’m really happy to report on the fact that there are four different graphic modes, which I know people will be even happier to hear after certain discoveries in other games this week.
Now, obviously, you’ll need a HDMI 2.1 TV to take advantage of the high frame rate modes which takes advantage of the full 120hz display to bring 40FPS and 120FPS into play, and so far, I’ve been playing on Favour Resolution with high frame rate turned on which looks absolutely stunning, and feels like a really fluid experience at 40FPS especially with VRR turned on, but even dropping to the performance mode, there wasn’t that huge noticeable drop in visual fidelity like we saw with titles such as Horizon Forbidden West at launch, so if you do want 60 or 120 FPS, that’s totally viable without feeling like you’re losing any of the visual spark.
PlayStation has also shared a hands-on gameplay report of the game, including a teaser of what players should expect when they take on Thor, the Norse god of thunder, as Kratos:
If you loved the bombastic Baldur encounter at the start of God of War (2018), look forward to clashing axe and hammer with Thor in a similarly spectacular battle. Thor unleashes a combo of grabs, lightning-infused Mjölnir blasts, area-of-effect volleys, and more. The two gods grapple and fly through the air as the battle rages across multiple frozen landscapes. Thor’s assault is nonstop, peppering in cutting insults against Kratos’ parenting skills when he’s not outright attacking. It’s a memorable encounter that left me eager for a rematch against the God of Thunder.