The BAFTA Games Awards began back in 2004, but it’s recently been confirmed that the 2023 edition will set a new record for the number of nominations earned by a single game. This is thanks to the 14 nominations for God of War Ragnarök, so what has made this game so successful?
Why Was This Game a Success?
Based on Norse mythology, this game by the Santa Monica Studio team is the eighth in the God of War franchise, which is ranked by some gamers as one of the best series of all time. After the initial Greek/Spartan theme, 2018’s God of War moved the main character, Kratos, into the Norse era. Ragnarök was launched at the end of 2022 and concludes the Norse section of this series.
Reviews confirm that the gameplay and combat haven’t changed greatly from the 2018 game, although weapons such as the battle axe and double-chained blades have been added. The addition of extra mini-bosses and enemies has also helped to add to the appeal. Above all, the storytelling aspect, the visuals, and the sound are among the key areas that have captivated players.
By the start of February 2023, over 11 million copies of this God of War game had been sold. Best Game, Game Design, and Narrative are among the BAFTA categories that it’s been nominated in. The next most-nominated game this year is Stray, which is featured in eight categories.
The Norse Theme Keeps on Earning Fans
The decision to move the God of Wars franchise into the Norse theme was a huge part of the success of this latest game, as it’s one of the most in-demand genres just now. This can be seen in the way that games like Assassin’s Creed Valhalla and Valheim have gained a lot of fans in the last few years. The movie industry is another area where the Norse mythology theme has been a hit, with Viking and The Northman among those leading the way.
Online casinos have also successfully introduced Norse action and characters into their slots ranges. When we enter BonusFinder to view their full list of real money casinos, we see names like Wildz and Lucky Days to explore. As well as welcome offers that include free spins or bonus funds, players can play themed slots including Thunder of Thor and Asgardian Stones on these sites.
2023 is also going to be a year where we can watch a lot of Nordic action on our TV screens. For example, Vikings: Valhalla was recently released on Netflix and while much of it is set in the UK, it follows the fortunes of Viking descendants settling there and includes the Battle of Stamford Bridge in 1066, in which the invaders were defeated.
The commercial success of God of War Ragnarök is likely to be heightened by the positive publicity surrounding the game’s record-breaking number of BAFTA nominations. As for the Norse mythology theme, this is something that doesn’t look like running out of steam anytime soon.
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