9/10
I admit that the first game established such a solid foundation that, gameplay-wise, all the sequel really needed to do was continue building upon those fundamentals. But managing to make it feel fresh in the process is an achievement in itself, and that deserves recognition.
Sequels can take different approaches: modernizing the formula after a long gap, or experimenting with a new loop; while more frequent releases rely on smaller shifts in dynamics to keep things fresh. Ragnarok may have arrived after what is, by today’s standards, a fairly normal gap, yet still long enough to raise expectations—and despite that, it managed to preserve its core loop while expanding on it in a satisfying way. On top of that, it improved where its predecessor was weakest: the boss fights, which I personally found much more engaging this time.
I think it’s clear how much I enjoyed the game, so I don’t feel bad admitting that, for me, the first entry still had a special kind of grandeur. In my view, the sequel’s “one-shot” narrative framing wasn’t as strong, and its story was neither as epic as the original nor as personal as its predecessor.