Highlights

  • The God of War Ragnarok DLC takes Kratos and Mimir to Valhalla, where they encounter references to Kratos' Greek past, adding depth to the story.
  • Kratos' cyclical journey in Valhalla could have been more impactful if it had followed his actual death in Ragnarok, leading to a more immersive experience.
  • While the Valhalla DLC serves as a captivating epilogue, it doesn't provide clear insight into what Kratos' next steps will be in the franchise.

Knowing how ambiguous the ending of God of War Ragnarok was, it was unclear what Santa Monica had in mind for its next endeavors in the franchise. Atreus is off on his own pilgrimage now with Kratos staying behind in the Norse realms to potentially become a benevolent god, and the least likely of occurrences happened when a roguelike DLC was announced for God of War Ragnarok during The Game Awards 2023. Not a half-sequel or a full sequel, this DLC still packs a bunch of thrilling story content and makes fun implications for where Kratos’ story could be headed.

It’s a rather sudden leap for Kratos and Mimir to find themselves in Valhalla, especially alongside Freya and the Valkyries. But as Kratos progresses further into Valhalla, the DLC’s most riveting content involves explicit references, settings, and characters from Kratos’ Greek past. However, because Valhalla is commonly depicted as an afterlife journey, Kratos’ cyclical, self-reflective adventure would’ve been much more salient and engrossing if this epilogue had succeeded his actual death in Ragnarok, which the base game itself tried to deceive players with to no avail.

Kratos and the PS5 Trophy icons
Related
God of War Ragnarok Valhalla Trophy Guide

A complete Trophy guide for God of War Ragnarok Valhalla, with information on how to unlock all twelve of the DLC trophies.

Kratos’ Death in God of War Ragnarok Would’ve Made Valhalla Taste Even Sweeter

Ragnarok’s Valhalla DLC is Yet Another Reminder of the God of War’s Past

The themes of Santa Monica’s refurbished God of War franchise are perpetuated further in Ragnarok’s Valhalla DLC, but this time Kratos is up against vivid memories of events and enemies from God of War’s original Greek trilogy. Once more, Kratos isn’t allowed to fully move on and must rely on mythical introspection to masochistically demonstrate his growth in sequential combat arenas with randomized perks, glyphs, stats, and other trait upgrades.

This arguably beats a dead horse since Kratos had finally become an emotionally intelligent father by the end of God of War and seemingly come to terms with the loss of Faye and his past misgivings in Ragnarok, but with Kratos still alive and well in the franchise it might be challenging to decide what to do with him now that his development has hit a proverbial ceiling. Killing Kratos definitely would’ve been a controversial choice, but seeing Kratos idly rowing a canoe into Valhalla without death having earned him puts him a little out of place, even if God of War’s interpretation of the Norse mythology is only loosely inspired by its ubiquitous source material.

Kratos’ Death in Ragnarok Could’ve Made Valhalla an Emotional Goodbye

Therefore, if Kratos did die in Ragnarok like he was repeatedly foretold to, having him be playable one last time in the Valhalla DLC could’ve been the most excellent way to set sail on the character. It might’ve taken the wind out of Kratos’ death in the base game to see him reprised in its subsequent, unanticipated DLC, but knowing he had transcended to Valhalla could’ve made sense within that context with all of its same ongoings reasonably taking place.

The Valhalla DLC serves as a terrific epilogue nonetheless and while it doesn’t seem like the Norse saga is complete yet even now, seeing Kratos battle through Valhalla’s memory lane with the Leviathan Axe, Blades of Chaos, Draupnir Spear, and the Blade of Olympus also seems like it would’ve been perfect as a bookend to Kratos’ story in the franchise. Instead, the DLC ends with him in almost the same place that Ragnarok ended, and what he’ll be up to next isn’t illuminated further.