The roguelike genre is not everyone’s favourite. But God of War: Ragnarök: Valhalla is so good that it’s worth playing regardless of your chosen genre.

The roguelike genre has become one of the hottest gaming trends in recent years. (Like battle royales and Soulslikes before it.) The general premise of a roguelike is that players progress through a series of often procedurally generated arenas. They face randomized enemies and collect random loot. Eventually, they will face a specific boss. The arenas themselves are usually random, and the general structure of the game and the order of the levels is often relatively rigid. Although they’ve been around for quite some time, Hades breathed new life into the roguelike genre a few years ago. It expertly combined the story with the roguelike formula. Now God of War: Ragnarök: Valhalla is doing precisely the same.

In God of War: Ragnarök: Valhalla, players take control of Kratos in an epilogue where the player progresses through the depths of Valhalla and gradually climbs to the top in search of impossible answers.

In fact, the roguelike genre is definitely not for everyone. However, Valhalla goes above and beyond to prove that it’s worth playing regardless. It provides an immersive gaming experience that can be a “must-read” for all franchise fans.

God of War: Ragnarök: Valhalla is a must-have game for fans

Many modern roguelikes assume that players are already fully aware of what the genre entails. As well as how to use all the usual interlocking mechanics and systems. As such, many roguelikes can seem a bit inaccessible to newcomers to the genre. Because players are thrown in the deep end and only expected to figure it out after a few deaths and falling into the usual roguelike loop.

God of War: Ragnarök: Valhalla, on the other hand, makes meticulous efforts to ease players into the new roguelike experience.

The first hour or two of the Valhalla DLC slowly guides players through some initial rounds. Each of these gradually introduces the player to new roguelike mechanics. Examples include weapon upgrades, player upgrades, stat boosts, and the general looping structure of the mode. This is not only good for making it easier for new players to get into the roguelike genre. But it also works as a great storytelling device. Players are put in the shoes of Kratos, who himself is just learning how the rules of Valhalla work.

Valhalla is much more than a simple roguelike DLC

However, the truth is that God of War: Ragnarök: Valhalla is much more than just an extra roguelike mode. Valhalla’s core gameplay is as immersive and addictive as the best roguelikes. But it’s the story of Valhalla that really captures the attention of longtime fans of the game series. It’s the story that makes this DLC a must-have, regardless of your personal preference for the genre.

God of War: Ragnarök Valhalla DLC contains several fresh cutscenes and many new lines of dialogue and is not only the perfect epilogue to the story of Ragnarök but the perfect epilogue to the whole character of Kratos, masterfully connecting the Greek and Nordic God of War sagas.

Without spoiling too much, the story of the Valhalla DLC includes some crucial cameos. It also gives several great tasters of where the franchise could be headed in the future. All of this makes the DLC released last week a must-have for the franchise.

Source: IGN