God of War Ragnarok: Valhalla is now out! The Free DLC can be played at any time during the game however, it is recommended that you play it after the main story. This is because it serves as an epilogue to God of War: Ragnarok. The official synopsis reads, “God of War Ragnarök: Valhalla will be an epilogue to the events of God of War Ragnarok that follows Kratos on a deeply personal and reflective journey. Set after the decisive battle against Odin and Atreus’ departure, Kratos has seen a path for himself that he never thought possible before. Brought to the mysterious shores of Valhalla accompanied only by Mimir, Kratos will enter its unknown depths to overcome trials within himself and face echoes of his past.” But now that it is out and we have out hands on it, let us look at it in detail, so obviously, MASSIVE SPOILERS for the DLC follow below!
God of War Ragnarok: Valhalla Full Story Summary, Spoilers, and Recap
It was quite clear from the trailer that we’ll be seeing elements from Greek Era of God of War in the DLC. Not only did we clearly see a Cyclopes at the end of the trailer, but we also heard the music from Greek Era. The Vengeful Spartan theme from God of War (2005) plays for a good 15 seconds of the trailer before a Cyclopes pops out on screen. But the questions everyone has are why Kratos ended up in Valhalla? What’s the story of the DLC? Does it hint at the future of the franchise? Are there any cameos? Well, we have all the answers now, so let us begin!
The DLC begins as Kratos travels to the shore of Valhalla while talking to Mimir about the mysterious challenge invitation he received. Never shying away from a challenge, Kratos reaches the shore and enters Valhalla. Upon entering the realm, he is stripped of his powers, armor, shield, relics, runes, and basically everything except the 3 weapons at their base stage. He tries to explore the realm and encounters various enemies and soon falls to a few Einherjars who are way to powerful for Kratos without any powers to defeat.
Kratos and Mimir wake up on the shore and brace themselves to enter Valhalla once again. However, Freya and the Valkyries intervene and try to dissuade him from entering into Valhalla. Kratos shows them the mysterious invitation and upon seeing that Freya in convinced he needs to go on this journey of self-introspection. Sigrun is surprised how Kratos was able to enter Valhalla and suggests that entering into the realm with force will do him no good. Hence, the Valkyries prepare a ritual for him so that he isn’t completely stripped of his powers upon entering. This time Kratos will be allowed to take in Shield as well as keep his Spartan Rage and Godly powers. While conversing with Freya, we find out that Freya has asked Kratos to become the God of War of Norse Pantheon which Kratos has apparently denied for now.
Anyways, the Valkyries and Freya inform Kratos that Valhalla will show him visions of his past and display the realms as Kratos interprets them. After performing the rituals, Kratos enters the realm once again and begins his journey. From this point on gamers will start getting a grasp of the various doors and how to progress. Kratos must progress through various doors, defeat the Valhalla’s Chosen and then the mini boss to move closer to finishing the DLC. As you progress, you’ll unlock more skills at the shore and would be able to get stronger as you keep investing in them. Now for the banger, after defeating a mini boss, Kratos will see his old throne and Mimir’s head will be replaced by Helios’ head!
Moving forward, Kratos and Helios talk about Kratos’ rampage at Greek Pantheon and then Kratos proceeds to encounter Olympus! Over there, he faces some Greek enemies and just like Greek era, puts Helios’ head in the cage and is about to sacrifice him, before Helios turns back to Mimir. Upon seeing Mimir about to be sacrificed, Kratos interrupts the process and breaks the rule and hence, Valhalla starts engulfing them both into flames. Fortunately they are rescued by Sigrun and Kratos and Mimir begin again! Eventually, after defeating a couple of more mini-bosses, Kratos comes face to face with Tyr! Yes it is Tyr who invited him to Valhalla and is putting him through these trials. Only after defeating Tyr can Kratos enter the room behind him.
From this point on, Valhalla unlocks even further and gamers can perform various labours. These include finding all 3 Boat Captain Keys, completing 9 Mastery Quests, reclaiming Pandora’s statue, reclaiming Kratos’ Oath Stone, fighting at Forum arena, and unlocking all 9 realms as well as Olympus within Valhalla. So, there’s a lot to do in the DLC and in the course of the story, Kratos will encounter many Greek and Norse enemies and artifacts including the Blade of Olympus. Yes, Kratos can summon the Blade of Olympus in his Spartan Rage mode!
As per the story, you’ll be required to fight Tyr 3 times (aside from the times you fail and retry). In each battle with Tyr, Kratos learns some valuable lessons and unlock new abilities and powers. As you progress towards the end of the DLC, Kratos encounters Tyr one final time. An interesting thing to note here is that Tyr uses weapons from various Pantheons he has travelled to over the time including Japan and Egypt. This is a pretty solid tease and hint towards the franchise’s future and where Kratos may go next! Anyways, after defeating Tyr this time, he teaches him a few valuable lessons about hope, love, fear, and hate, and allows Kratos to visit the room behind him. Any guesses who Kratos finds in there?
You’re right, he finds Young Kratos sitting on his old God of War Throne. While we do not hear any voice lines from Young Kratos, we see old Kratos expressing all his anger and frustration with his past self. For two games, he was unable to live with himself and his choices and tried to ignore his past as much as he could. However, here, he finally confronts his old self and ultimately forgives himself after a long and heartfelt monologue. Yes, Christopher Judge has done it again! At the end, Kratos accepts the throne but instead of God of War, he is now the God of Hope and Peace!
If you have any questions regarding God of War, feel free to ask in the comments below. For more content, stay tuned. As usual, like, subscribe and share our articles as we here are trying to build a community of people High on Cinema!