God of War Ragnarok Valhalla DLC review: The perfect epilogue to an incredible saga

God of War Ragnarok's Valhalla DLC is arguably the most content-rich expansion piece I've ever played since Bloodborne's The Old Hunters, which is genuinely surprising considering the former's asking price. I was somewhat skeptical when Valhalla was first revealed, considering its roguelike approach and also since the DLC was, well, a free add-on.

However, as soon as I started playing Valhalla, I was immediately hit by the realization of how wrong my preconceptions were regarding it. Despite looking like a tacked-on roguelike-inspired game mode, the Valhalla DLC is an essential piece of content. It serves not only as an expansion of the base game, but also the epilogue to Kratos' Norse saga.

God of War Ragnarok's Valhalla DLC, within just a few days, has become one of my personal favorite DLCs that I've ever played. Although there are some things that it does that I do take issues with, for the most part, Valhalla is everything I could've hoped for from a God of War Ragnarok expansion, and perhaps even more.

God of War Ragnarok Valhalla DLC: The masterfully crafted epilogue to Kratos' Norse saga

Story and setting

Expand Tweet

I initially did not expect to get too much in terms of story in the Valhalla DLC, considering it was a free add-on and did not promise much in lore. At least that's what I got from the DLC's marketing. Imagine my surprise when I found out that not only does Valhalla feature a fully fleshed-out story, but one that's equally as essential as the base game.

The story starts fairly simple, with Kratos and Mimir heading off to seek out Valhalla at the request of a mysterious entity. Once Kratos enters Valhalla, he eventually realizes that it's a journey he must look through to the end, not only to find out the identity of the person who invited him there, but also to put his past to rest, with dignity.

God of War Ragnarok's Valhalla DLC does not employ too many cutscenes to narrate its story. Instead, the expansion relies on character dialogue in between levels, and even combat to get the job done. While there are a few cutscenes here and there, they aren't usually as lengthy or cinematic as in the base game, which personally I'm fine with, considering the DLC's scope.

Valhalla brings back memories of the classic God of War games (Image via Santa Monica Studio, Sportskeeda)

What really took me by surprise is how expansive the story is, touching on almost every single aspect from Kratos' Greek past to the situation of the Nine Realms following Ragnarok, and the fall of Odin and his Aesir regime. I would really love to dissect every single aspect of the story, but I do not want to spoil it, as I consider it to be something you should experience first-hand.

The expansion mostly features parts of the Nine Realms, which are rotated at random for each new run. However, once you get past the first threshold of Valhalla DLC's campaign, you'll unlock the upper levels, which feature entirely new locations. These are inspired by Kratos' memories of his past, as well as key moments from the original God of War trilogy.

Gameplay and combat

Combat more or less remains the same as the base game, albeit with the introduction of new enemy types (Image via Santa Monica Studio, Sportskeeda)

Well, in terms of gameplay, God of War Ragnarok Valhalla essentially remains more or less the same as the base game, albeit with a major difference, i.e., the progression system. The Valhalla DLC is completely separate and can be accessed irrespective of your base game progression. However, I highly, recommend finishing the main story first.

Given that the Valhalla DLC takes place after the ending of the base game, it's best to start the expansion after you go through the main story, at least once. Similarly to a roguelike, starting a fresh run in Valhalla DLC strips you of all your Runic abilities and combat perks, leaving you with just your standard powers and weapons.

However, as you complete combat challenges and open chests that are scattered throughout different levels, you will be rewarded with Runic attacks and combat perks at random. What makes every single run fresh and engaging is the random nature of these abilities. The gameplay here mostly revolves around you completing challenges.

There are plenty of hidden surprises for you to find as you progress through Valhalla (Image via Santa Monica Studio, Sportskeeda)

Once you start a fresh run, you're first required to go through a set amount of combat arenas, before proceeding to a boss arena. Once you clear the lower levels of Valhalla and defeat the first boss, you're taken to the upper levels. This opens up new combat arenas, tougher enemies, and significantly better rewards for defeating them.

And let me tell you, the kind of enemies you will be facing in the upper realms are arguably the toughest that the entirety of God of War Ragnarok has to offer. However, with new and improved enemies, comes a new and improved Kratos. You see, to help you tackle the adversities in Valhalla, Santa Monica has added a brand new Spartan Rage ability for Kratos, the Legacy.

The Legacy Spartan Rage is a callback to one of Kratos' most powerful abilities in the classic God of War games (Image via Santa Monica Studio, Sportskeeda)

Legacy essentially opens up an entirely new weapon and playstyle for you to invest into. This new ability does take a bit of getting used to; it took me somewhere around 8-9 runs to completely get the hang of this new ability on Show Me Mastery difficulty. However, once you do get to grips with it, Legacy becomes the best tool to help you go through Valhalla.

Progression and bosses

The roguelike progression system makes every new run unique and fresh (Image via Santa Monica Studio, Sportskeeda)

God of War Ragnarok's Valhalla DLC's roguelike progression system can be a bit jarring, especially coming fresh off of the heels of the main game. I recently finished my first "Give Me God of War" run, just a few weeks before the Valhalla DLC's release. And still, I found myself struggling to keep up with the expansion's difficulty.

As much as I love God of War Ragnarok, the difficulty, or lack thereof is among one of the biggest complaints I had from the base game. However, with the Valhalla DLC, Santa Monica seems to have addressed that. The Show Me Mastery difficulty, paired with the randomized nature of abilities, is arguably the most challenging that God of War Ragnarok has ever been.

While most of the things you unlock in each run are temporary, there are also a few permanent things, such as the Mastery Seals, which you can use to upgrade Kratos' base stats and make him more and more powerful with each new run. And similarly to the base game, you will feel Kratos getting stronger with every incremental upgrade.

The boss fight against Tyr is arguably the biggest highlight of Valhalla DLC (Image via Santa Monica Studio, Sportskeeda)

Also, did I mention Valhalla DLC comes packed with one of the best boss fights God of War Ragnarok has to offer? There are some returning bosses like the fan-favorite bipedal reptile, Ormstunga, the Berserker Souls, King Rholf, and a few more in the DLC. However, what really took me by surprise was the final boss of the expansion, Tyr.

Tyr is essentially the epitome of God of War boss fights, easily the most challenging I've fought in the entirety of God of War Ragnarok. Valhalla's Tyr is essentially a significantly more aggressive and agile version of Odin, with access to a host of magical abilities as well as melee weapons and an excellent soundtrack.

I fully completed Valhalla DLC in about 20 hours, but still found myself regularly going back to the game (Image via PlayStation 5, Sportskeeda)

I won't go into the narrative reasons behind Tyr's appearance in Valhalla. However, reviewing the Valhalla DLC and not mentioning this boss fight will be a complete disservice to the game in my honest opinion. This version of the Norse god now shares the same place in my heart as bosses like Isshin Ashina, Slave Knight Gael, Sister Friede, Artorias, Sigrun, and King Rholf.

My only gripe with the DLC is that it can get a bit repetitive after a while. Also, making your way through the lower levels on each new run can become a chore, when all you just want to do is to fight Tyr or any of the bigger bosses and enemies the upper levels have to offer. Apart from these very minor nitpicks, the God of War Ragnarok Valhalla DLC is about as perfect as it gets.

In conclusion

God of War Ragnarok's Valhalla DLC is everything I expected it would be, and more, much, much more. From a captivating story about loss and the process of overcoming grief for the betterment of others, to an addictive roguelike gameplay loop with new enemy types and bosses to fight, and more, the expansion comes packed with enough content to warrant a standalone game.

Expand Tweet

There are very few DLCs that stand up to the base game that they're part of, let alone surpass them. However, akin to expansions like The Old Hunters, Ringed City, Blood and Wine, and Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty, God of War Ragnarok's Valhalla DLC is truly exceptional. It is something that goes neck-to-neck with the base game, in terms of quality.