Over the weekend I played the free DLC for God of War Ragnarok which is the Valhalla mode. Finally, I went in with no expectations other than it's just more God of War for free with a roguelike mode (that I was curious how that would work with the gameplay). Still, I left with a fantastic conclusion to Kratos' journey and growth as a character.
Valhalla isn't very narrative-heavy in terms of plot. The overall story is just Kratos coming to terms with who he was as a person back in Greece compared to who he is now and each "run" he does in Valhalla is Kratos facing different aspects of his past and how he views his past self isn't as black and white as he thinks it is.
Valhalla being a roguelike works wonderfully for the introspective journey Kratos takes in Valhalla. Gameplay-wise, while Kratos is in Valhalla, he can unlock temporary perks, weapon enchantments, stats, HP and rage recovery, etc to make a "run" easier. Upon death, Kratos is sent back to the shore and must restart the run until he completes a run after battling randomized enemies and bosses across all the areas seen in the base game.
A huge emphasis on Valhalla is that Kratos is always making progress towards "mastery" regardless of whether the run is successful or not. Since at the shore, you can make permanent stat and Valhalla upgrades Kratos can have those at the start of every run thanks to mastery seals and later on spirit seals he gets to keep to use on those upgrades.
However, what really impressed me was the self-reflection Kratos was doing. As someone that been into the God of War series for over a decade now and played every game in the series, it's rather very satisfying to see Kratos' evolution from an angry vengeful violent person to someone who only wants to fight to protect who he cares for and to freed others from tyrant gods.
There are a lot of references from past God of War games that just make Valhalla more satisfying to play if you have been following Kratos over the years. And not only Kratos reflects on the major events that happen in the first three mainline games. But also he takes a look back on his actions in the lesser-known God of War games such as Chains of Olympus, Ghost of Sparta, and Ascension.
Overall, as one of the biggest unexpected surprises that have appeared towards the end of the year, God of War Valhalla stands tall as one of the finest pieces of gaming this year. By serving as an extended complimentary epilogue to the already masterful Ragnarok and finally giving the closure Kratos deserves as a character. Considering Valhalla is completely free of charge, if you have completed Ragnarok, then I can't recommend it enough to play the DLC ASAP.
Valhalla isn't very narrative-heavy in terms of plot. The overall story is just Kratos coming to terms with who he was as a person back in Greece compared to who he is now and each "run" he does in Valhalla is Kratos facing different aspects of his past and how he views his past self isn't as black and white as he thinks it is.
Valhalla being a roguelike works wonderfully for the introspective journey Kratos takes in Valhalla. Gameplay-wise, while Kratos is in Valhalla, he can unlock temporary perks, weapon enchantments, stats, HP and rage recovery, etc to make a "run" easier. Upon death, Kratos is sent back to the shore and must restart the run until he completes a run after battling randomized enemies and bosses across all the areas seen in the base game.
A huge emphasis on Valhalla is that Kratos is always making progress towards "mastery" regardless of whether the run is successful or not. Since at the shore, you can make permanent stat and Valhalla upgrades Kratos can have those at the start of every run thanks to mastery seals and later on spirit seals he gets to keep to use on those upgrades.
However, what really impressed me was the self-reflection Kratos was doing. As someone that been into the God of War series for over a decade now and played every game in the series, it's rather very satisfying to see Kratos' evolution from an angry vengeful violent person to someone who only wants to fight to protect who he cares for and to freed others from tyrant gods.
There are a lot of references from past God of War games that just make Valhalla more satisfying to play if you have been following Kratos over the years. And not only Kratos reflects on the major events that happen in the first three mainline games. But also he takes a look back on his actions in the lesser-known God of War games such as Chains of Olympus, Ghost of Sparta, and Ascension.
Overall, as one of the biggest unexpected surprises that have appeared towards the end of the year, God of War Valhalla stands tall as one of the finest pieces of gaming this year. By serving as an extended complimentary epilogue to the already masterful Ragnarok and finally giving the closure Kratos deserves as a character. Considering Valhalla is completely free of charge, if you have completed Ragnarok, then I can't recommend it enough to play the DLC ASAP.