God of War Ragnarök: Valhalla – Free DLC Revealed during The Game Awards 2023
During The Game Awards 2023, Santa Monica Studio surprisingly presented the free God of War Ragnarök: Valhalla DLC, showing a trailer at the beginning of the show. Furthermore, the American software house has also revealed the release date, set for December 12, 2023, obviously on PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4. Shortly after the video, the PlayStation Blog released a long post explaining in detail what this DLC consists of. During the last few months there had already been rumors about DLC, and these rumors have found substance in this new announcement. From the trailer that was shown to us, and from Geoff Keighley’s words on stage, it seems Valhalla will be a rogue-lite-style content, and to take advantage of it will be necessary to own the original game.
God of War Ragnarök: Valhalla: Free DLC revealed with Release Date
Once the game is installed, you can download the DLC from the PlayStation Store, and then face the new challenges it offers. For example, in the trailer – which we show you above – we see Kratos dealing with various enemies who try to defeat him without too many compliments, with even bosses blocking his way. Furthermore, it is very eloquent how, after a defeat, our hero finds himself getting up “somewhere”, and forced to start the challenge again elsewhere. It is not yet clear whether this will be the only additional content we will see dedicated to the Pearl of Santa Monica Studio, but for now, we can be more than satisfied.
Journey to Valhalla
God of War Ragnarök: Valhalla will be the epilogue to the events of God of War Ragnarök and follows Kratos on a deeply personal and thoughtful journey. It is set after the decisive battle against Odin and the departure of Atreus, when Kratos saw a path for himself that he did not believe possible. Arriving on the mysterious shores of Valhalla with only Mimir for company, Kratos will explore its unknown depths to overcome the trials within himself and face the echoes of his past.
Combat reinvented
We at Santa Monica Studio challenged ourselves to create something new compared to everything we’ve done so far in God of War. God of War Ragnarök: Valhalla celebrates the combat you know and loves from God of War Ragnarök and fuses it with innovative and experimental elements inspired by the roguelite genre. Each attempt in Valhalla will push you to master different aspects of Kratos’ arsenal, as you face new enemy combinations and various surprises along the way!
Fight. Learn. Grow.
In Valhalla, defeat in combat does not represent the end of the warrior’s spirit. If Kratos falls, he will wake up outside the doors, ready to try again. During each attempt, you will learn and adapt to the challenges of Valhalla. The more you overcome, the more resources you will get to allocate to permanent upgrades that affect both Kratos and Valhalla itself. Accumulating rewards and knowledge during attempts will help you get closer and closer to discovering the mysteries that await Kratos within.
Conquer Valhalla, conquer yourself
The shore of Valhalla humbles all who wish to enter it. Kratos must abandon his armor and equipment and seek rewards, both tentative and permanent. Kratos will always have access to all of his fully upgraded weapons and skill trees, but he will have to commit to using a shield and a Fury of Sparta path for each attempt. As you overcome the trials of Valhalla and explore its depths, you’ll need to decide which temporary glyphs to use to upgrade your stats, which perks to select, which runic attacks to use, and more. Each attempt may play out differently based on the rewards you choose, so keep your strategy in mind when making your selections! Preparing wisely, adapting to the challenge ahead, and mastering your skills will be key.
Play with style
Armor in Valhalla is purely for looks, so go wild with customization! Unlock different looks, then mix and match the ones you like best between attempts, so Kratos always looks great in photo mode.
Choose your challenge
God of War Ragnarök: Valhalla has five difficulty levels that have been specially crafted and adapted to the original gameplay of the DLC. Each difficulty setting increases the rewards you earn in battle, and you can freely exchange them between attempts (even to and from the highest difficulty setting, Show Me Mastery). As your skills grow, we invite you to try some of the higher difficulties to earn more rewards and test your mastery of Kratos’ arsenal! Among the five options you can select the challenge level you find most fun. To help you further customize your gameplay experience, the DLC will continue the God of War Ragnarök standard for accessibility settings.
Play anytime
God of War Ragnarök: Valhalla is a separate experience from God of War Ragnarök, so you don’t have to worry if you don’t have certain upgrades, equipment, or story progress. If you think the DLC is fun, you can play it anytime! However, if you fear that it will ruin the gameplay or narrative experience, we recommend finishing God of War Ragnarök first, as God of War Ragnarök: Valhalla serves as an epilogue to the main game’s story.
A gift for fans!
If you own God of War Ragnarök, you will be able to download God of War Ragnarök: Valhalla for free from the PlayStation Store starting December 12th*! “On behalf of all of us at Santa Monica Studio, we want to wish everyone a happy holiday season and extend our sincere gratitude to you for the incredible support you have shown us this year. We are truly fans of our fans and hope you will enjoy God of War Ragnarök: Valhalla when it releases next week. We can’t wait for you to play and share your experience with us using #GodOfWarRagnarokValhalla or #GoWRV on social media!”
