Last year was, on the whole, a rather quiet one for Sony’s PlayStation 5. It’s impressive that the console saw record sales given thatMarvel’s Spider-Man 2andFinal Fantasy XVIwere the brand’s only major full releases.
WhileBurning Shoresretained my yearly top spot, a surprise first-party expansion did almost pip it to the post. I had a couple of guesses about what we’d see announced at December’s The Game Awards.God of WarRagnarök: Valhallawasn’t one of them but oh my, what a treat to end the year on.
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Take a look atGod of War Ragnarök Valhallain action below.
Admittedly, it was rumoured thatSanta Monica Studiowas working on an expansion toRagnarök. Then again, no one expected it to suddenly drop with only a week’s warningandfor it to be free. December does fall during the season of giving, I guess. If you haven’t yet dived intoValhalla, I implore you to. While, yes, it is somewhat annoying to reinstallRagnarökgiven that it’s an absolute whopper of a game, it’s oh so worth it.
Valhallaadds something invaluable to the God of War franchise. Until the release ofValhalla, the series very much felt like a tale of two halves. There’s the hack n’ slash original trilogy and then there’s the Norse saga which saw the franchise switch over to an action-adventure formula. The latter, as we all know, was treated as a soft reboot. While Kratos’ journey continued on, albeit with new game mechanics, the 2018 narrative was crafted with accessibility for new players in mind.
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Sony Interactive Entertainment
Regardless, Santa Monica’s plan to draw in new players clearly worked. With the release ofGod of War, Kratos quickly became one of Sony’s most famous and lucrative icons - something that only grew and intensified with the critically-acclaimed launch of sequelRagnarök. What the Norse saga did quietly create though was a split fanbase. There are those of us with very little knowledge about Kratos’ history, and then there are those who enjoyed the original trilogy and perhaps feel that there’s a depth of information that’s crucial to Kratos’ character that’s been largely ignored in God of War’s ‘modern’ era. EnterValhalla.
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The expansion will certainly satisfy those of you who are after a combat challenge - particularly given the limited arsenal and tactical choices you’re faced with - but what appealed to me is the fact that these combat encounters were closely tied in with what is a very personal journey for Kratos - and I should say,mild spoilerslie ahead.
Sony Interactive Entertainment
In order to defeatValhalla’s trials, Kratos must do so much more than defeat a physical ‘big bad’. He must defeat his internal demons and while we’ve seen the character face up to several of these internal struggles across bothGod of WarandGod of War Raganarök, there are plenty that remain unresolved from the hack n’ slash days. Let’s face it, in terms of emotional growth, Kratos has come a long way and suddenly,Valhallabecomes the glue bringing together the old and the new iterations of the character.
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Throughout our time inValhalla, players will venture to Greece, encounter Helios, fight Undead Legionnaires, and even wield the Blade of Olympus. It’s a trip down memory lane for both Kratos and long-time fans alike. Yet for those of us who are newer to the series, it’s a gateway to understanding this character more deeply. Regardless of how many franchise entries you’ve got under your belt, you’ll come away with something new.
Valhalladoesn’t simply cameo elements of the original games, depending on fan-service nostalgia à la modern day Star Wars. It revisits people, places, and events from Kratos’ past from the lens of the much more emotionally adept post-2018 Kratos, interweaving these with the franchise’s modern day gameplay mechanics.
Sony Interactive Entertainment
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Topics:PlayStation,PlayStation 5,Opinion,God Of War,Santa Monica Studio,Sony
