God of War: Ragnarok - Valhalla

 PlayStation 5
Metascore
88

Generally favorable reviews - based on 9 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 9
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 9
  3. Negative: 0 out of 9
  1. Kotaku
    Dec 14, 2023
    Valhalla knows the parts of Ragnarök fans are jonesing to revisit a year later. Though I adore the 2018 reboot, Ragnarök devotes so much time to watching its world expand and collapse that I lost sight of why I was happy to see this dissection of Kratos’ divisive character. I imagine plenty of people will feel Valhalla lets him off too easily. But this expansion does feel like the follow-up to his story that was missing between the reboot and Ragnarök, and confirmation Santa Monica Studio still gets what made its new take on Kratos compelling in the first place.
  2. Polygon
    Dec 15, 2023
    Valhalla acts as both an epilogue for Ragnarök and a subtle prologue for the events that will unfold in the inevitable third game. But it doesn’t feel tacked on. Instead, it provides an atypical breather from overarching narrative responsibilities and dense areas to comb. As AAA games continue to pursue grandiose scale, this simpler, yet equally rich, structure stands on its own. I hope more studios take notice of the importance of allowing smaller stories to blossom. For now, I’ll take refuge in Valhalla — before Kratos’ next odyssey engulfs me in spectacle and padding once more. [Polygon Recommends]
  3. The Verge
    Dec 20, 2023
    Recursive stories have become a trend in video games as of late. Hades, like God of War, pulls from mythology to tell stories about gods. Returnal uses its loops to explore the psyche of the main character. But it’s not just roguelikes; Outer Wilds’ loops let you explore an entire galaxy. Games of all types have embraced recursive storytelling as a narrative tool. Valhalla is perhaps the biggest game to adopt the structure, and, like most roguelikes, playing it isn’t really about getting to the end. Instead, it’s about accepting that you can change yourself one step at a time. You just have to trust the process.