10 Things You Learn Replaying God of War (2018)

God of War's sequel was blessed with one of the greatest free DLC (freeLC?) packs in history when God of War: Valhalla dropped. As well as providing a stellar finale to God of War's Norse saga, Valhalla matched the series' signature combat with the roguelite genre to surprisingly successful results. 

And "surprisingly" really is the key word there, because when the developers tried doing the same thing in God of War 2018 it was utterly dreadful.

The reboot features a (thankfully optional) section called Ivaldi's Workshop, where you must guide Kratos through the titular area to gather rare items. The background lore states that Ivaldi designed the workshop to reassemble itself every time someone entered it, in true roguelite fashion, but it soon becomes apparent that the eponymous dwarf half-assed every other aspect of the workshop's design.

Every single room is a bland, circular arena filled populated by a handful of enemies, and the corridors between them cycle between the same two traps ad nauseam (spinning blades and crushing walls). As good as God of War's combat is, it simply cannot justify the hours of stultifying repetition necessary to complete the game's most tedious location. 

Really, the only merit Ivaldi's Workshop has is to help appreciate just how much of a glow-up Valhalla is from its abysmal precursor. If Valhalla is The Wrath of Khan, then Ivaldi's Workshop is a cut of the Star Trek: The Motion Picture that ends with William Shatner turning to the screen and telling your children that Santa isn't real.