Surviving Fimbulvetr is the intro/tutorial of God of War Ragnarok, with many reminders of God of War 2018 and already 3 bosses in just two short hours of play. It is a portion of Midgard without important objects for your progress to unearth via exploration, however by going off the beaten path you will come across your first red chests containing various resources for improving equipment.
Freya Attack
Don't have time to fool around, it's barely 2 minutes since you started your game that Freya is already jumping on your muzzle . Attention for those who play in high difficulty modes, the different QTE sequences of this scripted fight can cost you a lot of health, it would still be a shame to die before the tutorial is even launched. Once the queen of the valkyries is gone, a long narrative sequence will start, until you have to find Atreus in the forest.
Fauvebois Upper Zone
As you advance through the woods, you will come across several marauders who are perfect targets to get you back into the swing of things and remind you of the basics of the gameplay. Fimbulvetr is rough and unfortunately all of Kratos' skills have disappeared over time, so you'll have to do with the basic moveset, exactly the same as in God of War 2018, except for the elemental charge when you keep leaning on triangle . Nothing special to say about this section of the introduction, just walk along the path while destroying your first basic chests: the wooden ones give money, the red ones give crafting components.
Boss: Fight against Björn
A big badly licked teddy bear will cut you off in your search, with a smooth first boss encounter. We do not forget the basic principles of the different attacks of this new formula, with yellow circles which correspond to the attacks that you can parry with your shield (L1 at the right time) and the red circles that you must dodge.
Back home
Now that you've found Atreus, head home with new waves of marauders to smash. This time it's a little reminder to succeed in involving the son by pressing square. All the arrows have a cooldown that you can observe at the bottom right of your screen : the young man has his own experience point counter and several trees to complete and which will grow as your adventure progresses. Once back, two gods will quickly knock on your door and after a long discussion, Thor decides to take up arms.
Boss: Fight against Thor
An encounter that is reminiscent of the first battle against Baldur in the first game. Get ready for a rather long duel and over several phases that will take you to the four corners of Midgard. At first, he will be careful not to use his hammer, before getting angry during the second phase.
Fauvebois Lower Zone
After a tutorial explaining how the equipment and skills work, you will head towards the lower area of Fauvebois , for a section that should bring back some memories of 4 years ago. Now that you have the Blades of Chaos at your disposal, you will be able to burn the blue-colored herbs and use the many red sockets to free up many passages. Use the few marauders on the way to remember the blows of these flaming daggers. To load them, you will need to tap triangle several times. In the higher difficulty modes you will come across enemies with blue armor, which will force you to use the blades to melt that extra life bar.
Boss: Fight against The Huntress
Last boss fight of this chapter, the huntress will try to riddle you with arrows with quick movements and some AOE attacks that will force you to keep a certain distance. Its weak point will soon be revealed by Atreus: you will have to swing your ax into its horns when they shine. You can find the complete guide for this boss with a video in God of War difficulty just below. Once the boss is defeated, you'll pick up your very first fast runic attack for the Leviathan Axe.
Continue to advance in the temple, to reach your destination you will have to solve a small enigma which will ask you to use the ax, then the blades in turn . Start by taking your ax and breaking the trunk (picture 1). Then, grab the large block of stones with the blades to swing it to the right and clear the path (picture2). After the cutscene, follow the path that will take you home to close this first chapter.
