God of War: Ragnarök Gameplay Reveals Dwarven Realm Svartalfheim, Environmental Puzzles

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God of War: Ragnarök got some new gameplay footage, courtesy of GameInformer. The snippet video offers a glimpse at the new region of Svartalfheim, as Kratos explores the Dwarven realm and uses his weapons to solve puzzles. Unlike past marketing campaigns, Sony seems to be saving the main reveal for a date closer to the launch, by feeding gameplay information in titbits, or only talking about the deluxe editions, to avoid disclosing any spoilers. God of War Ragnarök releases on November 9, exclusively on the PS4 and PS5.

This new bit of gameplay focuses on the traversal and discovery aspect, which like the previous entry, will be mostly based on foot or the canoe. As reported before, God of War: Ragnarök will let you explore the nine realms, as you team up with Atreus and journey into the open, in search of methods to prevent the apocalypse. In 2018's God of War, Odin barred access to the realms beyond Midgard. These realms included Asgard, Vanaheim, and the aforementioned burrow of the Dwarves, Svartalfheim — all of which are now explorable, as per game director Eric Williams.

Svartalfheim is a region that “exemplifies” Dwarven ingenuity, with ancient technical marvels such as mine pits, artificial water channels, and sprawling cities, all culminating in complex environmental puzzles. In order to navigate the new realm, players must rely on Kratos' toolset and partner with his son, Atreus, to come up with solutions. While the Leviathan Axe allows for quick-freezing scalding hot geysers, the iconic Blades of Chaos lets you dismantle pots, akin to the Batclaw from the Batman: Arkham games. Of course, you can also command the “boy” to climb out-of-reach areas to turn valves and such.

The reveal trailer showed Kratos and