One of God of War Ragnarok's most annoying features was a total oversight

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Ragnarok's writers never realized puzzle spoilers were an issue until after launch

God of War Ragnarok PS5
(Image credit: Sony)

God of War Ragnarok developers have revealed why companions are so quick to reveal puzzle solutions to the player.

Earlier this week, MinnMax interviewed God of War Ragnarok narrative director Matt Sophos and story lead Richard Gaubert, seen just below. When asked why Kratos and Atreus's companions sometimes "spoil" puzzles very quickly, something that the sequel was criticized for by players after launch, the duo revealed that this was never picked up on during Ragnarok's development.

Sophos reveals the developers didn't get feedback about the character's talking too much until after Ragnarok shipped. The two writers agree that this was a bit of an oversight, but there wasn't really anything they could do about it, and Sophos isn't even sure if Sony Santa Monica can adjust the frequency of the puzzle solutions in a post-launch patch.

Gaubert adds that he never played God of War Ragnarok in full until he got his hands on a retail copy after launch. When he did play the sequel though, even the story lead admits to feeling a little irked at Ragnarok's companions spoiling puzzle solutions a little too quickly.

If a player gets stuck in a particular place for example, Sophos says, the "cheapest" solution for the developer is to chuck in a few voice lines from a character to help them on their way. This is probably how we ended up with so many puzzle solutions coming from companions in Ragnarok, then.

So God of War Ragnarok's companions spoiling puzzles was as much of a surprise to Sony Santa Monica's development team as it was to players. From the sounds of things though, it doesn't seem like we'll be getting a patch to adjust the frequency of the puzzle solution lines. However, Ragnarok did launch with a setting that tweaks the time until companions reveal puzzle solutions, a halfway solution to the problem.

Check out our God of War Ragnarok Mystical Heirloom and Troll locations if you're still trying to see and do everything on offer in the sequel.

Hirun Cryer
Hirun Cryer

Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.