Review
As God of War: Ragnarök came to its climax, it’s safe to say I was satisfied. The story of growth and acceptance was string throughout Ragnarök’s epic journey throughout the nine realms and it left a significant impact on father and son duo Kratos and Atreus. During Ragnarök’s story, Kratos and Atreus struggled with the former’s past and the latter’s future, not knowing that both had a great impact on the other and would go on to form the 2022 journey. As the pair’s journey came to an exciting and gripping close, they looked toward a future teaming with hope and new possibilities, not just for themselves. With the tyrannical and mad god Odin and his realm of Asgard destroyed, the realms faced a future teaming with uncertainty but filled with hope.
With Odin gone, the pair realized that their shared journey had ended, at least for now. As Atreus ventures off to parts unknown to find the last remnants of his people, Kratos stays behind in the Norse world to help the realms heal and move on. It was a bittersweet farewell one that gave the pair hope in one another, and for the future. Perhaps what’s even more helpful is a path left for Kratos that could lead him to be a better man than who he is now. Driving the story for Ragnarök were the Jötnar shrines, ancient shrines left behind by the Giants of Jotunheim to tell the stories of their most treasured people, on the surface so they could be remembered but in truth hiding deeper prophecies that would dictate the future of Ragnarök’s story.
It is one of these prophecies that leaves Kratos with more questions than answers and it is in this story that he would find new answers that could give him a better vision of his path forward. On a prophecy, he finds an engraving showing a potential future, where Kratos is not feared or hated but is instead worshipped out of respect and perhaps even loved. While this shows a future that Kratos could have, the man we know is not one to accept Prophecy or fate but this doesn’t stop him from tearing up at the prospect of a good future and it is in Valhalla’s story that we might find the answers to Kratos’ future. Ragnarök’s ending was thrilling, heartfelt and satisfying but at the same time, I wanted a bit more. As an audience, we always want to know our characters end up in a good place and at the end of Ragnarok's epic story, many fates were left ambiguous.
Valhalla seeks to answer this burning question by acting as an epilogue for the epic story and giving us a sneak peek at what’s been happening since Kratos and companion, Freya cleared the realms of most of its dangerous threats.
Finding themselves on the shores of Valhalla, Kratos and his most trusted friend Mimir have been invited to come by an unknown individual who is inviting Kratos to “Master himself”. In Norse Mythology, Valhalla is a warrior’s heaven, where the souls who have died in battle are collected by the Valkyrie and bought to battle, feast, and fornicate until Ragnarök comes, then “the Einherjar” as they are called, will fight for Odin. After Asgard was destroyed we thought Valhalla would be gone as well but funny enough it has remained and now it has a new purpose: Helping Kratos. On the shores of Valhalla, Kratos must master the beautiful but dangerous realm that holds many secrets and can renew Kratos with a purpose and a role that will determine the future of the realms as he is left with a difficult choice: to become the new God of War of the Norse realms.
Valhalla acts almost like a mirror, holding up the mistakes in Kratos’ life that he regrets most and throwing them in his face. Facing many of the original adversaries that he faced in Greece is a great way of showing Kratos’ overall growth as he fights them with both familiar and new tactics. It’s also a great way to bring Kratos’ Journey full circle as we can see how Kratos perceives his past mistakes and how they translate to who he has become now and how he feels about himself. Acting as the Angel and the Devil on his shoulder or shall we say hip are Mimir and the seemingly resurrected Greek Sun God, Helios. Mimir looks upon Kratos' acts with a hint of enlightenment whereas Helios admonishes Kratos' actions even in the Greek and Norse worlds. It helps Kratos look at his actions as Mimir and Helios provide a lens for Kratos' actions. The advice given by these 2 is only improved when we meet the magnanimous host who has invited Kratos and Mimir to tour Valhalla: Týr, the former Norse God of War.
Týr was the former God of War of the Norse lands, one who fought for peace and was loved by all. Described as wise, clever and defiant, Týr was an obvious threat to Odin as the God of War became an obstacle in Odin's quest for knowledge. In Ragnarok, Týr became Atreus' best hope to start Ragnarok but when we found him in a deep, dark prison, it never occurred to us that it wasn't Týr. We learned that the hard way when Odin revealed his disguise and murdered Brok, one of the series most well-liked characters. After Ragnarok, Kratos and Freya found Týr in a displaced piece of Asgard that was destroyed. From there we could find Týr exploring the realms looking at what has become of them and reflecting on his past mistakes and the result of Odin's schemes.
Hoping to help Kratos confront the darkest parts of himself, Týr offers Kratos what he needs most, a fight. As Kratos fights to get to Týr each time he's confronted with some of his most vicious acts but Týr seeks to imbue Kratos with hope and understanding of his actions as Kratos looks to his potential future. Kratos has done many things that even long-term fans of the series rightly judge him for, but his actions have changed the old God as we find answers to understand what happened in the years after Kratos left Greece.
The Verdict
God of War: Ragnarok - Valhalla is one of the greatest adventures that Santa Monica Studios has given us as well as Kratos. While his recent Norse adventures gave us a chance to understand Kratos' reform we've never spent time to see what he would be like on his own. Not only do we explore Kratos' past and future but also those of other popular characters like Mimir and Sigrun which never feels like they eclipse Kratos' journey but rather compliment it. If Santa Monica wanted it to be, this would be the perfect sendoff to Kratos' journey and it's exciting to see what the passionate developers will do next but for now, this closes the chapter on Kratos' past and helps him move into the future.
Main Narrative - Kratos' journey of understanding and acceptance is exceptionally well done. Unlike the previous Norse games, it forces Kratos to confront his past in a way that doesn't allow him to look away but confront it at his own pace - 10/10
Side Narrative - While Kratos is on his journey of discovery, Mimir comes along for the ride and this time we can look deeper into his past and feelings on the future and how much he has changed. We are also given an opportunity to look into the backstories of several notable characters like Týr and other surviving Valkyries - 10/10
Characters - Kratos continues to become redeemable in this latest entry as we see how much he has learned in his last few adventures and how wholesome and healthy a friendship Kratos and Mimir have grown over the last few years. It also shows us the bonds the pair have made with other notable figures of Norse mythology like Freya and Sigrun and just how strong the links are between the characters - 10/10
Environments & Collectibles - The landscape of Valhalla is an incredible reimagining of the Norse realms. The rich environment portrays the beautiful yet harsh landscapes of the Nine Realms. Revisiting the world of Greece was also an excellent nod to the series' past, bringing together the Greek-inspired levels with the game of the modern God of War games. Every collectible in the story is placed cleverly and thoughtfully and each has a desired purpose to provide Kratos with a reflection point in Kratos' past - 10/10
I give this game 10/10 Helios Heads
