Highlights
- God of War Ragnarok unveiled Valhalla DLC with a new rogue-like game mode at The Game Awards, expanding the franchise’s recent entry in a unique way.
- The Last of Us Part 2 remaster will feature the No Return game mode, similar to God of War Ragnarok’s Valhalla, hinting at a potential trend for Sony’s first-party IPs.
- Sony showcased upcoming exclusives, including Rise of Ronin and expansions for Final Fantasy, but it was the surprise free DLC for God of War Ragnarok that stood out the most.
God of War Ragnarok was spotlighted at the 2023 Game Awards with the announcement of its Valhalla DLC, which will bolster the most recent entry in the franchise with a new rogue-like inspired game mode. A PlayStation 5 remaster for The Last of Us Part 2, revealed at the end of November, will include the No Return game mode, with a striking semblance to God of War Ragnarok‘s upcoming addition, highlighting what may become a trend for Sony’s catalog of first-party IPs.
Sony had a strong showing at The Game Awards with first looks at several upcoming exclusives set to arrive in the next couple of years. Rise of Ronin surprised as a fresh franchise, and fans of Final Fantasy are feasting on multiple fronts with an expansion for Final Fantasy 16 and a release date trailer for Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. Perhaps the most surprising reveal by Sony, however, was a significant free DLC to its 2022 Game Award Game of the Year nominee, God of War Ragnarok. Not only is Valhalla being touted as a brand-new God of War experience with story elements and a game mode of increasing difficulty, but it is all set to arrive on December 12, less than a week after its announcement.
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Sony Santa Monica and Naughty Dog Are Reading From the Same DLC Playbook
The primary point of similarity between God of War Ragnarok‘s Valhalla and The Last of Us Part 2‘s No Return is the genre that both draw inspiration from. Rogue-likes have been garnering more mainstream appeal for years now, with cyclical, procedurally generated gameplay loops where death means starting anew with whatever carryover progression elements there are from the previous run, as well as the knowledge gleaned from failure. Sony has dabbled with the genre on PlayStation 5 previously, with Returnal being among the console’s first exclusive titles.
The trailer for The Last of Us Part 2‘s remaster and the Game Awards trailer for God of War Ragnarok‘s Valhalla give revealing looks at what players can expect. Both modes will feature runs with unique scenarios or modifiers and tough choices to make in upgrading the playable character between rounds. Failing a round means going back to the beginning in both, and they each will contain story elements from their respective games.
Interestingly, only God of War Ragnarok‘s Valhalla appears to continue its narrative as an actual epilogue for Kratos, with No Return being a standalone experience completely untied to the game’s events.
No Return and Valhalla Evoke Each Other While Staying Distinct
Despite their remarkable similarities, there are several other contrasting elements to Valhalla and No Return. The Last of Us Part 2‘s offering will have a dynamic scaling difficulty, while God of War Ragnarok‘s will have preset difficulties with scaling rewards.
Both will have augments to choose from between rounds to strengthen the character, though No Return will have players starting relatively from scratch, while Valhalla will start Kratos with his full complement of weapons and a maxed skill tree. The other contentious difference is that Valhalla will be free DLC available to all players; on the other hand, The Last of Us Part 2‘s remaster will require a 10-dollar upgrade for previous base game owners and a full purchase for those who don’t already own it.
Genre Experiments Bode Well for Gaming’s Future
As fans of Sony Santa Monica and Naughty Dog anxiously await both studios’ next feature titles, these post-launch additions to two critical masterpieces are welcome extensions to these games’ lifespans. It will be interesting to see if these rogue-like detours manifest as fully-fledged games from either studio down the line as they look to venture outside their wheelhouses. With Valhalla arriving on December 12 and No Return on January 19, now is the perfect time to dust off both titles for another playthrough in anticipation of their impending DLCs.
God of War: Ragnarok
- Released
- November 9, 2022
- ESRB
- M For Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language
- How Long To Beat
- 26 Hours
- Metascore
- 94
- PS Plus Availability
- N/A
