WARNING: Spoilers for the end of God of War: Ragnarok follow. Read on at your own risk!
It feels like everyone (including us!) has written about the journey of Kratos from God of War to Dad of War over nearly two decades-worth of God of War games. While video games have plenty of recurring protagonists that have remained popular and relevant as long as Kratos, it is rare to see a studio like Sony Santa Monica allow that real-life longevity to metamophosize into in-game character growth and self-reflection. But over the course of God of War (2018) and God of War: Ragnarok, we have seen Kratos grapple with grief over the loss of his partner, and the challenges of raising a son alone all while fighting off his worst tendancies toward rage.
By the end of Ragnarok, Kratos has (as much as anyone does) finally figured a lot of it out. Just in time for his teenage son to head off to college, leaving dad to deal with an empty nest and a new big question: what does a retired, lonely God of War do with himself?
God of War, Empty Nest
Okay, Atreus isn't literally going to college, and Kratos isn't retiring yet (that we know of). But that's the metaphor that co-directors Mihir Sheth and Bruno Velasquez used when I talked to them about the new DLC epilogue for God of War: Ragnarok, entitled Valhalla. It's an epilogue taking place after the events of Ragnarok, following Kratos and Mimir on a journey into Valhalla. Atreus, off on his own journey now to find the rest of the Giants, isn't co-starring anymore (jury's still out on whether or not he appears at all). That leaves Kratos in the spotlight on a journey the co-directors call "personal" and "intimate" and "reflective" as the two older, battlescarred men grapple with the possible future laid out before them.
And if that sounds like it has the potential to get a little metatextual, maybe tap into some feelings the developers themselves are having at the moment.
"You could say that a lot of our projects in our games and the way that we approach them kind of reflects a little bit also about the studio's personalities and personal experiences," Velasquez says. "The previous games in the Greek era, perhaps that was our college years; and now, we all have grown up and have families of our own. We try to reflect those personal experiences also through Kratos and through some of the other characters he interacts with, of course."
Speaking of the Greek era, many fans have already pointed out parallels between the key art for Valhalla and a certain piece of God of War 2 art. This, along with numerous references in the announcement trailer to Kratos' Greek saga, has fans wondering what the connection between the two games might be. Sheth and Velasquez want everyone to discover this for themselves, but be assured: these parallels were "not an accident."
Going Rogue
Tight-lipped as they are on story details, Sheth and Velasquez can say a bit more about the gameplay and its surprising swerve into the rogue-lite genre. Both are quick to marry the two elements together: roguelikes are "inherently reflective," they say, with repetition prompting reconsideration of past journeys and acknowledgement of growth. Plus, Sheth says, getting to work on a slightly genre-bent God of War was "reinvigorating" for the team; as developers, they "enjoyed being challenged."
"We're taking an inspiration from a genre that's not really 'what we do,'" Sheth continues. "This was a cool opportunity to be like, 'Let's push ourselves, let's do something a little bit different.' What we found is that it's inherently resonant with that theme, that genre, and we use rogue-lite here to specify that. We're still very firmly a God of War experience...When we started developing this, we were like, 'Wait, no, this wasn't built for this intent,' but we can do a little bit here and there and suddenly create something that genuinely feels new. It's a format that people understand...but the result is I think genuinely pretty interesting and pretty new and we're super curious to know what people think about it because even on the team, there's been a lot of surprises."
In practice, here's what it looks like: Kratos arrives at Valhalla with all the weapons he's collected in Ragnarok, his skill tree maxed, and all the buttons set up the way they were at the end of Ragnarok. This is true even though players can jump into the DLC at any point in Ragnarok, but Velasquez and Sheth recommend playing after beating the game, since the story's pretty spoiler-heavy. Then, for the duration of each "run" into Valhalla, Kratos must commit to both a shield and a Spartan Rage path. He'll gain other different perks and boosts throughout, leaving players to make choices as to how they build Kratos up on each attempt. While they won't spoil what any of the new abilities are, I'm reassured that there are "a few surprises" in terms of new abilities, and we've already seen at least one brand-new enemy in the trailer.
Sheth explains that, in a way, Valhalla represents a deviation from the philosophy of Ragnarok. While Ragnarok had plenty of player choice involved in different Kratos "builds," Sheth notes that most players tended to pick two or three favorite moves and commit to them. But in Valhalla, the theme is "Master thyself." And that means mastering every aspect of Kratos.
"To have that growth in Valhalla, you will actually experience that mastery for yourself," he continues. "You'll see things. You could have put, I don't know, 100 hours into Ragnarok and you're going to play this experience, and I guarantee you, you're going to have a different takeaway from the core combat and progression systems."
If that sounds scary, don't worry. Velasquez reassures that there are still multiple difficulty modes, and unlike the main game, you can raise and lower them freely between each run without worrying about getting stuck at a lower tier. Depending on the difficulty setting, player choice, and a little luck, the total time to beat the DLC might vary, but we're told a ballpark 8-10 hours is a safe estimate for most people.
A Gift to God of War Fans
Announced last week and releasing days later right before the holidays for free, Valhalla very much feels like a proper holiday gift. And I'm told that's the right tone. Velasquez and Sheth say that Sony always intended for this DLC to be free, and they worked hard with the intention of releasing it before year's end as a "gift" to not just Valhalla fans, but to all God of War fans.
"This is a celebration of the franchise, its players and its history," Sheth says. "The character of Kratos is the culmination of all of this, but celebration was a theme...We need our fans to come with us because we are taking them on a journey that's quite unique in this regard. We want everyone, again, I stress this, if you've ever been a part of this franchise, this is for you."
God of War Ragnarok: Valhalla launches free tomorrow for PlayStation 5.
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.
