After playing through God of War Ragnarok’s free Valhalla DLC, I was left with one thought that got even more perplexing, confusing, and downright baffling until I eventually finished the title, causing me to ruffle my hair and ask: How on Earth is this free?
The Game Awards 2023 provided a litany of surprises and announcements, but possibly the one that resonated the most was the jaw-dropping bombshell of the free God of War Ragnarok Valhalla DLC.
The new content shows 2022’s GOTY contender still has life left in the tank, and Kratos’ killing is not done. So how is it? Let me tell you: Valhalla could have been a standalone release—it’s that perfect. Still, I cannot, and will not, get past one detail about the action title: it’s free.
The thought of free DLC in 2023 is a shock to the system and got me thinking that Santa Monica shouldn’t be alone in this decision, nor should this mentality be so surprising.
Valhalla is a whole new game for free
As the credits rolled for Valhalla, I was incredulous: both with the jaw-dropping Valhalla ending and because, some slightly repurposed gameplay aside, Ragnarok’s Valhalla DLC reshapes the franchise I know and love and molds it into something new—for free.
In a bizarre twist, Valhalla is a roguelike, meaning that Kratos is expected to partake in multiple loops of Valhalla, with every playthrough completely randomized: the layout, areas, enemies, rewards—every experience is unique.
Roguelikes are nothing new, and the Hades influence is wholly evident here. But Santa Monica could’ve merely made a tacked-on, generic roguelike mode and served it up as new content. Instead, Ragnarok players are treated to a true epilogue featuring a wealth of new dialog and cut scenes, fresh narrative twists, shocking reveals, and the kind of fan service that gets Reddit and YouTube hotter than a bath in Muspelheim.
If you only care about gameplay, say hello to epic new boss fights, on-the-go strategizing concerning your combat approach, returning enemies, and even a new weapon I can scarcely believe was added. There’s so much longevity here, too. I easily got between eight to 12 hours of it with some players sure to get more.
Santa Monica could have charged $5, $20, or maybe even $40, and no one would’ve even batted a hanging-off Troll eyelid. But it didn’t, which begs the question: “Why doesn’t any other developer do this?”
Remember when paying for a game meant you got all of it, not some?
Not to sound like a boomer here—I’m only 30, leave me alone—but I still remember the pre-PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 era when the notion of DLC was practically non-existent. It was as mythical as a Kratos-owned ice cream shop called Kratos’ Kreamy Treats.
You bought a game (actually, my parents bought me a game), and you received all the scheduled and planned content from the get-go. You’d check the bonus menus to see costumes and secrets you could unlock and how to do it. Nowadays, you need to check if you have enough money in your account.
I’ll happily accept the point that internet connectivity allows games to be patched and updated to fix faults. However, it’s led to eye-rolling, money-hungry tactics like microtransactions and paid DLC to feed the corporate greed monster—which could make a good God of War boss.
If your game isn’t finished or you have plans for additional content, you should delay the game. Delays shouldn’t just be for more time to make sure it “meets our high expectations” or whatever generic spiel is CTRL + V’d in every corporate apology statement.
The vision is too big for the project? No worries, just bottle any remaining ideas and implement them into the next game that people will then happily pay full price for on day one because they know they won’t be short-changed due to post-launch, premium add-ons.
Or, and here’s a revolutionary thought, you don’t make people essentially pay for the same game twice and make bonus content free à la Valhalla. That’s fun to say out loud.
Make more DLC free and stop announcing season passes before games are out
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is not the only example of announcing a season pass well ahead of its release, but it’s recent and juxtaposes the stance of Santa Monica with God of War Ragnarok Valhalla perfectly.
On one hand, you have lengthy, substantial, free DLC for a game considered one of the best of its generation, and on the other, you have Avatar, an unproven entity already telling potential consumers that they will have to fork out a lot more cash if they want to experience all that the title has to offer.
Do you see the problem? Whether Santa Monica had this epilogue DLC in the pipeline is anyone’s guess. It doesn’t matter, though, because it’s free. On the other hand, Ubisoft has indirectly told you it’s deliberately holding content back and will be charging you extra for it. These ideologies are intrinsically night and day and detrimental to the trust between consumers and developers.
It’s a practice that has been in operation for over a decade now, and I’m tired of it. The majority of developers out there need to take a long look in the mirror and observe and follow the fabulous example set by Santa Monica. I’m the beneficiary of unbelievable generosity by a reputable company. Sadly, I know I shouldn’t get used to it.
