God of War: Ragnarok is an astounding achievement, and Return to Monkey Island is a delight. Plus, Xbox FanFest Trivia is coming soon.

Facing the end of the world in God of War: Ragnarok

Kratos has always had a difficult time managing his rage, but in the new God of War game he’s got a pre-teen son as a constant companion. Is it any wonder that he loses his temper every now and then?

Ragnarok picks up not long after the 2018 game that refreshed the franchise for Playstation, and this sequel delivers against every expectation. The story, riffing off Norse mythology, is inventive and interesting, the expansive environments evocative. You feel cold at times when playing this game.

Ragnarok follows the same overall structure as its predecessor. Kratos and Atreus navigate through the world, often by canoe, with Atreus asking questions and Kratos and the disemobdied head, Mimir, filling in the details of mythology both Norse and Greek.

These slow, composed moments are punctuated by areas where you’ll be solving environmental puzzles and dealing with all manner of beasts and enemies.

Kratos has both axe and twin blades at his disposal again, and you can upgrade them and your armour as you progress through the game. Atreus is also a willing warrior again, fighting competently on his own but available for you to direct his attacks, too.

The combat took me a bit to get used to, but once I remembered the rhythm of attack, sidestep, parry, it became more fun. But it’s not easy. I was caught swearing at the game more than once as the swarms overtook me.

It was my 12-year-old who chastised me for my language, and he’s the reason that Ragnarok left such an impression on me. I have that same pre-teen in my house, and while he’s not the spawn of a god like Atreus, he’s every bit as important and irritating. He’s every bit as magnificent and cocksure.

Kratos is such an interesting father. Cory Barlog was the director who reimagined Kratos as a father for the 2018 game. Barlog, a new father himself at the time, clearly levereged his feelings about that role. The developers at Santa Monica Studio have made him believable in sometimes achingly painful ways. The way he talks about his son, the way he struggles to hold Atreus close, even as he knows he needs to let go.

Christopher Judge brings that full emotion to the role of Kratos, and Sunny Suljic’s Atreus is a pitch-perfect adolescent, right down to the changing voice. Richard Schiff as Odin and Ryan Hurst as Thor are only two of the supporting actors who bring life to this game.

There are aspects of the game that harken back to the PS4 generation, most obvious in the pauses in the game where Kratos and Atreus have to climb a wall or slip through a gap in a cave. These are moments where less powerful consoles are loading the code required for the next section of the game and they are only noticeable to those of us priviliged enough to have been playing almost everything on next-gen consoles and playing things developed for next-gen consoles.

Ragnorok had to be built for the PS4, too. That’s okay.

I can hear Kratos telling us all that, “It pays to be patient.”

God of War: Regnarok is available exclusively on PS4 and PS5. Rated mature.

You’ll love every minute of your Return to Monkey Island

Guybrush Threepwood is also a father, and Return to Monkey Island is kinda extemporaneous, the story being revealed as he tells his son, Boybrush, about his adventures on Monkey Island.

It picks up directly after the first two games in the series, The Secret of Monkey Island (1990) and Monkey Island 2: LeChuck’s Revenge (1991).

These are point-and-click adventure games, renowned for the clever puzzles and witty dialogue. Original creators Ron Gilbert and Dave Grossman returned to create Return, and brought on Rex Crowle as art director, and his paper, pop-up style is perfect for this refresh of the franchise.

Return to Monkey Island is available for Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. Rated teen.

Get ready for the next round of Xbox FanFest Trivia

If you’ve got some free time on Saturday afternoon/evening, and you’re interested in a chance at winning some Xbox gear, get yourself ready for FanFest Trivia.

It takes place starting at 3:30 p.m. PT (that’s 4:30 p.m. MT and 6:30 p.m. ET), and it’s all online, of course.

You can watch the whole thing on Twitch, and if you want to participate you’ll also need to be logged in to your Xbox FanFest account.

Prizes for knowing lots about Xbox include a grand prize of an Xbox Series S console, Elite wireless controller, a year of Xbox Game Pass, a personalized jersey, two PowerA controllers, and a bunch of gift cards and Microsoft Rewards points.

Another 860 prize packs will also be awarded that include a mix of those same prizes.

The 90-minute show is hosted by Kelly Lombardi and Malik Prince.