Maybe next time a Nordic game will come out with a distinct subtitle
A surprise appearance from Kratos lit up the 2023 Game Awards, and I’m not just talking about the pretty good Call of Duty burn from his voice actor. DLC was announced for last year’s God of War Ragnarok, which itself was already unexpected. But there’s a kicker on top.
God of War Ragnarok: Valhalla is coming out on December 12, 2023. It’s also free. This new content is a direct epilogue to the ending of Ragnarok, with players joining just Kratos and Mimir exploring this series’ take on Valhalla. Is Kratos dead or something? I wouldn’t know; I never played Ragnarok.
With more information on Valhalla provided following the announcement via the PlayStation Blog, it looks like this DLC will reframe the modern God of War style as a roguelike. If Kratos is defeated the player will start over, but newly equipped with knowledge and resources that can be traded for permanent upgrades. The nature of these upgrades is not explained just yet.
During gameplay, Kratos will have all the weapons and skills he learned throughout Ragnarok. But he won’t have his equipment, specifically armor. Instead, players will have to choose a shield and Spartan Path for each run. Throughout the run, you’ll find Glyphs (for stats), Perks, Runic Attacks, and other goodies that will have an immediate, but temporary impact on the run.
While equipment is no longer a factor in Valhalla, you’ll still be able to find armor and use it for cosmetic purposes. The blog post mentions photo mode, so that will be available just like in the base game. And if you’re concerned about difficulty, there will be multiple settings alongside various accessibility options to choose from.
While the Valhalla DLC requires a copy of God of War Ragnarok to play, it does not require a completed game save to access. But as we established before this is an epilogue, so you might feel a little lost just jumping in blind.