God of War Ragnarok: Valhalla Review (PS5) | Push Square

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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