God of War Ragnarok: Valhalla is the best kind of DLC — it makes an already fantastic game even better. Available for free to all who own God of War Ragnarok itself, this is an epilogue to the main story that gives you a very good excuse to dive back into the action. Not only does Valhalla contain some valuable narrative beats to enjoy, it does so while putting a roguelike spin on the brilliant combat, giving you effectively limitless challenges to conquer.
Following the events of the main game, Kratos is anonymously invited to a mysterious secret entrance to Valhalla. Curious what it could mean, he and Mimir find this secluded location and, with the help of the Valkyries, head into this new realm to make sense of it all. It turns out Valhalla is reflecting Kratos' memories back to him, meaning each area he enters — presented in a random order — takes place in locations with which he's familiar. Each time you start a run, you'll face randomised encounters and earn randomised rewards, going through it again when you reach the end or you die on the way.
Truth be told, Valhalla is more of a roguelite; rather than starting from scratch every time you enter Valhalla, you can unlock various permanent upgrades. This includes increasing Kratos' base stats, improving the rewards you find during a run, and unlocking room for more perks. The DLC eases you into things gently, steadily introducing more layers after each attempt. What's more, the first few times you go into Valhalla are more guided by the story, so you don't really need to concern yourself with maximising your build in the early goings.
Honestly, we're pleasantly surprised by how much of a narrative there is here, and where it goes. We don't want to spoil anything if you've yet to play, but Valhalla is essentially about Kratos coming to terms with his past and who he is as a person — and a god. There are some wonderful moments in this DLC that fans of the God of War series will love. There's more to this freebie expansion than the fairly low-key reveal trailer suggests.
While the main draw for most will be the story content, Valhalla also serves as a reminder that God of War Ragnarok has excellent combat. It took us a while to shake off the rust, but once you're back in the zone, the punchy, aggressive bouts are as satisfying as ever.
You're free to use all of Kratos' weapons, but the start of each run rewards you with a weapon-specific perk, which will encourage you to stick with one for the duration of that attempt. From there, each run sees you entering combat rooms (with a reward once all enemies are downed) followed by peaceful Sanctuaries, where you can spend currency on per-run upgrades. The roguelite elements have been woven into Ragnarok's combat system very well; perks and other rewards amp up your stats, give you Runic attacks, add numerous passive buffs, and much more. The game's terminology for all its systems can be a lot to remember, but all those abilities and skills feed handily into a roguelite structure. It's cleverly done.
Once you've defeated specific enemies called Valhalla's Chosen, you earn the right to move up to the latter part of a run, where the challenge ramps up a little. Once you're past the first few attempts, this becomes a gauntlet that gets harder the longer you take to complete it. This part of Valhalla is a neat way to change up the structure, but it's all on one quite large map, and it's sort of maze-like. With a bar ticking towards increasingly tough enemies, it can be frustrating when you get lost in the corridors between enemy encounters.
With that done, there's one final boss between you and a victorious run — and it's a new fight made for Valhalla. It's an engaging battle that's slightly different each time, and a good way to cap off each trip into the realm.
All told, it'll probably take maybe five or six hours to reach the credits and see the majority of the story. Once you're past this point, Valhalla becomes an endlessly replayable rogue-lite mode, albeit with a few more narrative bits and bobs to discover. While runs can become easier and easier as you unlock more permanent upgrades, you can easily increase (or decrease) the difficulty with five settings, harder ones offering more rewards. If you crave more ways to engage with Ragnarok's combat, Valhalla is ideal, and you're getting a great epilogue as an added bonus.
Conclusion
God of War Ragnarok: Valhalla is a brilliant addition to a brilliant game. Not only does it remix the core title's combat in a compelling, highly replayable roguelite mode, it does so with Santa Monica's usual cinematic style, weaving in meaningful story that'll keep you hooked while it lasts. Fans of the series really shouldn't pass on this — and, because it's totally free, there's no reason to do so.
Comments 66
Kratos the g.o.a.t. 🐐 👑.the fact that it also have past moments is legendary.i been playing god of war since ps2 days and god of war and grand theft auto are the best video games franchises ever.i remember watching clash of the titans movie back in 1981 it had greek mythology.and i wanted a video game like that.and it finally came in god of war.god of war Valhalla is excellent.word up son
I have yet to play this game, but I have it on my PS5. I've been trying to platinum Remnant 2, Lies of P and Lords of the Fallen. This is next on my list and Witcher 3.
My thought when I was playing this was Sony could have charged around £10 for this and I don't think the majority would complain.
Yeah, the fact this is free DLC is insane. It's easily worth £10-£15, as others have mentioned. Which makes it even better!
Really enjoyed the new narrative, too!
Yes I have loved every minute of this - easy 10 from me on account of being free and awesome. I am doing a cycle everyday just because now I want all the cosmetic armors
One of the Pros should be "free".
In a world of micro-transactions and loot boxes this was a very refreshing addition for free. I was initially dubious about how a roguelike mechanic would work in GoW but it actually fits perfectly. Can’t wait to play more over the weekend
I thought it was brilliant, one of the best DLCs I've ever played. The returnal free DLC is amazing too.
There's a ton of content, even after you roll the credits. There's continuing story elements related to items you find and Kratos's past actions, new challenges unlocked and apparently theres a secret ending too.
@evildave333 Applying points to your strength stat helps a lot with the spongy enemies. I stopped having this issue after a few upgrades.
I've seen some complaints about the roguelike nature of this DLC but if you're one of those people you should probably still give it a try anyways. It's extremely light on the roguelike elements and the runs tend to be on the shorter side, so even if you do die it's not like you lose a ton of progress. And on top of that there's a surprising amount of story content here as well, way more than you'd think. If you thought the base game didn't have enough "gameplay" then this DLC is for you. And if you're like me and you're along for the story, there's more of that as well. Honestly I see no reason why Valhalla shouldn't please both camps
I will probably loop back around to give this a go at some point for the story beats. Not a fan of roguelites though due to mandatory repetition/grinding.
Started this last night and I was surprised how good it is!
I wasn't sure if I would like this new mode at first but I absolutely loved it.
@evildave333 If you want want to feel unstoppable just lower the difficulty.
BTW the recommended difficulty (second of five) is very easy for roguelike standards. If people are worried about difficulty then they shouldn't.
I’m only 2hours in, but I’m surprised at how much story there seems to be. Really good but of content & it’s free.
I’ve missed Mimir😂.
I always felt the combat system was good enough to play with more, but the game ran out of content, so I'm glad to dive back in.
That said i'm going to be hella rusty it's not going to be like heating Hrolf and Gna on hard difficulty from the get go.
Do u have to finish the main campaign to start the DLC?
@rockodoodle No, but there will be spoilers
I just finished Valhalla an hour ago. The mode is so great! I can't believe it was free. A lot of effort clearly went into it. It really is incredible.
@get2sammyb exactly this! Just an excellent DLC. Loving it!
@Grimwood it could not be more far from dumb. It doesn’t get better than this!
@Tchunga also there is a lot of permanent upgrades, so even when you die you almost always go back in more prepared and stronger. Just amazing.
Oh, and the trophies are plentiful and really Great !
God of War is the gift that keeps on giving
Any new trophies to grab guys?. I’m about to start my Cyberpunk plat run but I’m down for Ragnarok after..
@BeenGamingSince_83 my bad you already answered lol. Any difficulty trophies added? I do struggle to play games on nightmare or insane or whatever they want to call the mode of death lol
@Mikey856 no difficulty involved, so your fine, and so am I 😂
@BeenGamingSince_83 ha awesome good stuff man thanks and enjoy
I really dislike roguelite/roguelikes unfortunatey, so I wish that there was no story content here, so that I could safely ignore it
Generally hate roguelike games, but I'm forcing myself to play through this one. Played a bit and it is has a lot more story than I expected. Though as with most roguelike games will probably be bored of it before getting all of the story out of it.
This DLC is absolutely amazing. In some ways, it has what Ragnarok is missing. I don't know if it's the more focused story or the setting, but there's just something about it that I can't put my finger on yet. Absolute 10/10 and my personal gaming highlight of 2023.
Yeah I don’t see how this can get any less than a 10. SSM knocked it out of the park especially not charging for this when it’s easily worth 10 or 20.
I seem to be the only that has found recent PS exclusives to be very underwhelming.
Spiderman , GOW, Horizon all bored me to tears.
@naruball The gift that keeps on giving for last gen gamers
Bruh for free this is a definitive 10 for me 😉
I still have to finish the second half of this game. I haven’t touched it in almost a year. I didn’t dislike it, btw, but I got a bit bored. Been meaning to dive back in…
It still needs to be it's own separate application/download.
@Arnna I'm sure if you went to purexbox you would find many more people in agreement with you...
@W0rl0ck Only if they are console-wars children.
@Arnna fair enough just thought it was a strange comment for a playstation centric site. Personally just play whatever game i want to on any device i need to.
@Arnna steam Reviews for these games also confirm that the vast majority of human beings enjoy those games:
God of War: 96.83%
Spider-man: 96.25%
2 of the highest rated AAA games in the history of PC, and as years old ports.
@ChrisDeku and? Reviews are irrelevant to me. I don’t need a numerical score to decide what games I play. That’s basic AF.
@W0rl0ck I can prefer to use Sony consoles without needing to like their exclusives. I think the exclusives of the ps3 and ps4 era were better. Demon’s Souls and Bloodborne for instance.
@Arnna Those are user feedback scores, percentage of positive scores, so basically everybody in the world that plays those games does like them. It is just you.
Removed - inappropriate
@Bolverkr Why? Trophy completion %?
Valhalla is available from the main menu.
Don’t have to beat the game, but it’s spoiler heavy.
Finished the main part yesterday, amazing experience!! Reminded me how amazing the combat is, and the narrative bits are TOP NOTCH!! A real treat to GOW fans!! If you liked GOW R, PLAY IT!!
@Arnna You don't understand how sample sizes work. Samples of 100k are massive. Election results are predicted based on samples of 1000 people.
You're just another 14 year old edge lord hating on everything because you think it makes you look cool. You're coming across as a loser, not cool and edgy btw.
No interest in roguelikes, so I guess I'll have to miss the "valuable narrative" of the DLC. I'm not going to play through something I know I won't enjoy just to get extra story. It should have just been normal DLC if there was something worthwhile still to tell rather than locking it into a playstyle some people won't enjoy.
@Fight_Teza_Fight
My PS5 only has but so much free space on it lol and Ragnarok isn't exactly a small download.
I'm sure I'll free up some space eventually and get around to it as I wrap up more of my backlog but no telling when that'll be 🤣
@Arnna And if you're the kind of person that likes to hop onto the internet and decry other people's fun then you're a bit of a tool...
@TrickyDicky99 nah. It's also available on ps5. You may wanna look it up
@Arnna fair enough. They're not for everyone. I feel the same about GTA and other games, though I do realize they're good games. Just not for me. What are some recent games that you played and enjoyed?
@naruball So is Skyrim 🤷♂️
Kind of a random question here—are there any apples or horns from Nornir chests in this DLC? My Full Belly trophy never popped in the base game and I haven’t wanted to do an entire playthrough again just to get that trophy. If there’s another apple or horn in the DLC, sometimes that can trigger trophies that should have already popped. I doubt that this DLC would have Nornir chests, certainly with an increase in health or rage, but I had to ask!
@TrickyDicky99 fantastic example.
Traded the game in last week so can't play it unless I get hold of another copy😢
Although I said I completely despise the "roguelite" approach the devs took with this DLC, I finally couldn't stand to lose the story elements included in it.
I'm a big fan of the whole series, and of the Greek myths, so it captured me ever since the first trilogy way back in 2007.
Actually God of War was the single reason I i bought my first PS console, a PS2 Slim. But I digress...
So I went ahead and gave this DLC a go.
Suspected that the devs would make the lowest difficulty fit like a glove for those that are mainly interested in the story.
So I set it to low and in I went.
And as expected, it was perfectly doable 'till the end.
Only died at the first run, where I was actually supposed to.
So this is what I recommend to anyone that's against this game genre: play it on the lowest difficulty.
The many story elements that are included after each 1 or 2 fights, will definitely engage, make things interesting and keep you wanting to see more - it's very well thought out.
And on "low", the difficulty is quite approachable. Since you won't actually die, you won't be set back by the "roguelite" side of it.
There will be quite a few repeating areas (because you have to exit after the end of each run, and re-enter to begin another). But you go through repeating areas even in the main games, so it's no biggie.
The overall experience will feel exactly like the main GoW Ragnarok game, that's what counts.
Given this (and the fact that it's free) make the DLC definitely worth a shot for every fan of the series, weather they like the roguelite genre or not.
So roguelite because trends (and to see each devs attempt at such level gen sure but I don't expect they are that much, the assets I assume are reused a bit and that's understandable of course for a DLC/bonus mode and such but of which enemies and such across this game, the two games maybe?), it's free so that's a bonus, understandable why they did it but still even if the game already has high sales but maybe not enough so oh it's free, get people to buy the game?
I mean nothing is a second time success, not always. Good enough yes, consistently is rare for some things unless the brand is strong enough or it's been running for many years or other possibilities to keep 1 game/brand going.
Fair challenge I assume, the base game had fair references and conclusion and this does in it's own way. Makes sense.
Thing is only if you like the current two games I assume and didn't try GOW 2018 or never touched them and dropped off or liked Raganrok and yet roguelites aren't your thing maybe? Whatever possibilities. Whatever they do next though who knows but if it's the same gameplay, camera angle and story telling then.............
The new locations/mythology will be nice to hear about at least.
Love roguelike modes in non-roguelike games like this. If I'd have the option to buy this mode and the TLoU2 one on PC, I would.
@Panic_Attache Feel free to point out where I decried anyone else’s fun. I said I don’t get anything from those games and find them boring. I stated a personal opinion.
Are you usually this fragile?
@ChrisDeku And what about all the people who don’t leave user reviews for games? Got that ratio, buddy? 🤦♀️
@Arnna ah, you actually don’t know how samples work, gotcha.
Wait until you find out video game charts are based on sample sizes of less than 5% of all sales 😅
Gotta buy the game soon lol. It is getting cheaper and cheaper on physical disk.
I tried this the other day, but cannot get back into it. I don't remember the controls, so I just get beat down.
Just playing this now after having just completed the campaign for a 2nd time.
Getting kind of bored of the premise after having fought tyr for the 3rd time and reset back to the beach / beginning. Possibly due to having played the campaigned again just prior so 30 hours of GOW straight.
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