The Game Awards 2023 brought in a lot of announcements, however, one of the most unexpected ones was from Sony’s Santa Monica Studios. It seems like the studio still had some gameplay pending for their popular PlayStation title, God of War Ragnarok, and they decided to surprise fans on the occasion.
The developers indeed came with a box of surprises revealing four surprises one after the other. Just moments after Kratos’ voice actor, Christopher Judge, made a return to the stage, Sony Santa Monica announced the first surprise, a new DLC for God of War Ragnarök named Valhalla. Considering that God of War Ragnarö had won the 2018 Game of the Year, Sony Santa Monica Studios just proved how special the event is to them by announcing the DLC at this year’s awards.
Not only did the developers announce the new DLC called GOW Ragnarok Valhalla, but they also revealed a second surprise in the form of the release date when the brand-new DLC will arrive. Valhalla promises to bring along more action-adventure goodness to PS5 gamers.
When is God of War Ragnarok DLC releasing?
The release date of the new DLC is closer than fans would expect. It will arrive next week, on Tuesday, December 12, 2023. The third surprise that the developers revealed was a trailer of the DLC at The Game Awards 2023.
From what is seen in the trailer, below, it seems that God of War is likely to find himself traveling between various environments when DLC Valhalla drops next week. Another interesting thing teased at the end of the trailer hints that players could encounter a cyclops, potentially a substantial tie back to Greek mythology in the new DLC.
The description of the trailer reads, “Embark with Kratos to Valhalla on a deeply personal and reflective journey towards a future he never thought possible. Master challenges of mind and body on an unraveling adventure that blends the beloved combat from God of War Ragnarök with brand new elements inspired by the roguelite genre.”
PlayStation also published an official blog post that suggests the game will feature new and combat gameplay that fans of the series are familiar with. Besides it will also have roguelike gameplay features such as temporary and permanent upgrades, different encounters in each run, as well as different difficulty options. Every difficulty option adjusts the rewards, and players can swap the rewards among the difficulties.
Is God of War Ragnarok Valhalla Free?
The fourth and final surprise that Sony pulled out of the bag was that God of War Ragnarök Valhalla would be absolutely free. At the awards night, when no one from the studio came forward to introduce it themselves, the host Geoff Keighley called the DLC a “gift from the passionate developers“ to its community.
Thus, God of War Ragnarok Valhalla is a free DLC hitting the Sony consoles and PCs on December 12, 2023. Players must note that the DLC takes place after the main game, thus players are advised to finish the main games ahead of Valhalla”s arrival.
After the final battle of God of War Ragnarök, the DLC will feature Big Daddy Kratos and his body-less best friend, Mimir who take on dungeons filled with monsters. It will be a rogue-like game where players get to attempt to complete the DLC in multiple runs, utilizing knowledge from past runs.