God of War Ragnarök — out November 9 on PS4 and PS5 — has a mighty task on its hands. How do you follow up a critically-acclaimed and universally-loved soft reboot that reinvigorated the franchise? With 2018's God of War, Santa Monica Studio not only transported its Greek demigod Kratos to Norse mythology, but reimagined some fundamental aspects of the series along the way. Its director Cory Barlog faced pushback from both Sony and within the team. But it delivered, in spades. That success means a lot is riding on Ragnarök, which has the additional task of wrapping up God of War's Nordic era. (That's appropriate. After all, Ragnarök leads to the end of days. Next time you see Kratos, he might pop up in Mayan or Egyptian mythology, as has previously been hinted.)