God of War Ragnarok: Valhalla is the best kind of DLC since it improves an already fantastic game. This is an epilogue to the main tale that provides you a very excellent incentive to jump back into the action and is available for free to those who purchase God of War Ragnarok. Valhalla not only contains some significant narrative beats to savour, but it also does so while putting a roguelike spin on the superb combat, effectively offering you unlimited tasks to conquer.
Following the events of the main game, Kratos is welcomed to a mysterious secret gate to Valhalla anonymously. Curios about what it could imply, he and Mimir seek out this lonely area and, with the help of the Valkyries, enter this strange realm to make sense of it all. Valhalla, it turns out, is reflecting Kratos’ memories back to him, which means that each area he explores – presented in random order — takes place in areas he’s familiar with. When you begin a run, you will meet random encounters and get random rewards, and you will repeat the process when you reach the end or perish on the route.To be honest, Valhalla is more of a roguelite; instead of starting over every time you visit Valhalla, you can acquire numerous permanent enhancements. This involves upgrading Kratos’ base stats, increasing the rewards found throughout a run, and making room for more perks. The DLC gradually introduces new layers with each attempt, gradually easing you into things. Furthermore, the first few times you enter Valhalla are more directed by the tale, so you don’t really need to worry about optimising your build in the beginning.You can use any of Kratos’ weapons, but each run starts with a weapon-specific perk that encourages you to stick with one for the remainder of that try. Each run begins with you entering combat chambers (with a prize once all foes are defeated), followed by quiet Sanctuaries where you can spend currency on per-run enhancements. The roguelite components have been very nicely integrated into Ragnarok’s combat system; perks and other awards boost your stats, grant Runic attacks, add various passive buffs, and much more. The game’s terminology for all of its systems can be confusing, but all of those abilities and skills flow into a roguelite structure. It’s done quite well.
After defeating select opponents known as Valhalla’s Chosen, you win the privilege to advance to the latter section of a run, where the difficulty increases slightly. After the first few attempts, this becomes a gauntlet that becomes increasingly difficult the longer you take to complete. This section of Valhalla is an interesting approach to alter up the structure, but it’s all on one enormous area that’s a bit maze-like. With a timer ticking towards increasingly difficult foes, getting lost in the corridors between enemy encounters can be stressful.
After that, there’s only one more boss standing between you and a successful run – and it’s a new fight designed only for Valhalla. It’s a fun combat that’s slightly different each time, and it’s a nice way to end each trip into the realm.
To be honest, we’re startled by how much of a story there is here and where it leads. We don’t want to give anything away if you haven’t yet played Valhalla, but it’s mainly about Kratos coming to grips with his history and discovering who he is as a person — and a god. This DLC contains some fantastic moments that fans of the God of War series will enjoy. This free expansion has more to it than the somewhat low-key reveal trailer suggests.
While the plot will be the main hook for most, Valhalla also serves as a reminder that God of War Ragnarok offers amazing combat. It took us a bit to shake off the rust, but once you’re back in the zone, the punchy, intense battles are just as rewarding as they always have been.Overall, it should take about five or six hours to get to the credits and witness the most of the tale. Once you’ve passed this point, Valhalla transforms into an infinitely replayable rogue-lite mode, albeit with a few additional narrative tidbits to discover. While runs become simpler as more permanent upgrades are unlocked, you may easily increase (or decrease) the difficulty using five settings, with harsher ones yielding larger rewards. Valhalla is wonderful if you want more methods to interact with Ragnarok’s combat, and it comes with a fantastic epilogue as an extra bonus.
Conclusion
God of War Ragnarok: Valhalla is a fantastic addition to an already fantastic game. It not only remixes the primary title’s gameplay in a thrilling, highly replayable roguelite mode, but it does so in Santa Monica’s trademark cinematic flair, weaving in meaningful plot that’ll keep you fascinated for the duration. Fans of the series should not miss out on this — and there’s no reason to because it’s completely free.
