God of War Ragnarök’s roguelite DLC is an excellent ode to Hades
Even by AAA standards, God of War Ragnarök is a colossal game. It interweaves tales of fatherhood, legacies, and cataclysmic events in a semi-open world replete with things to do. But in Valhalla, its free DLC, Santa Monica Studio boils combat and adventure down to a much simpler formula. In pulling from Hades’ approach to storytelling, God of War Ragnarök: Valhalla weaponizes repetition to engross you in its roguelite narrative, drip-feeding you deeper knowledge of the Ghost of Sparta and the characters around him with each successive run.
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Valhalla, released on December 12, serves as both a new roguelite mode and a story-centric epilogue. Unlike the upcoming No Return mode in The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered, in which the novelty lies in taking control of previously unplayable characters, Valhalla puts us back in Kratos’ shoes. This new realm takes a shape that reflects the psyche of the person entering it, showing dream-like depictions of familiar locales and acquaintances. For Kratos, it’s less about his relationship with Atreus or the events of Ragnarök, and more about confronting his sadistic old self, accounting for past actions, and finding resolution with a wide cast of returning characters.
No, this isn’t the first time that we’ve seen references to the protagonist’s genocidal onslaughts back in
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