The new God of War Valhalla DLC has been a really nice surprise. I will start by saying I was not a huge fan of God of War Ragnorok. I like the combat in these games but unskippable cutscenes absolutely killed the second one for me. I don’t understand why they will give us a “story” mode for people who don’t like combat, but can’t give us an “action” mode for people who don’t like the story.
Anyway I fell off of it after a few hours but the free Valhalla DLC got me to reinstall and I’m glad I did! The DLC can be played without finishing the original game right from the main menu. It is essentially a roguelike mode that sees Kratos battling his way through linked zones that look like areas from previous games. These chunks of worlds are linked by stone doorways and like any good roguelike these days you are given an assortment of choices to help build your character for that specific run.
Kratos has access to all his weapons from the jump but as you progress through your run you will get treasure chests that augment your weapons, give you stat boosts and grant you powers. You fight on as far as you can before finally dying and starting the whole thing over again. In between runs you can spend currency on permanent benefits and stat upgrades that will hopefully let you get further next time. It's a pretty standard loop but very well executed and really fun.
For me it’s the perfect way to play God of War Ragnorok. There are story elements here and I suppose some might be considered spoilers if you didn’t beat the game. I’m able to skip through large parts of this dialog though and the bulk of the game is just kick ass combat and fun choices. Even if you bounced off Ragnarok like I did, I highly recommend grabbing the Valhalla DLC and giving it a try. It’s free!
-Gabe out
