Finally finished Valhalla DLC.
I'll start this by saying that my overall impressions of the DLC are better than they were a few days ago. I think once the story aspect is completed, the general flow of things works a lot better. As much as I appreciate the randomness involved, I can't help but feel that too many of my runs were resulting in me getting skills options that just weren't beneficial to how I'd approach combat. Now I understand the point is to have the player be more flexible, but that doesn't mean it's more enjoyable: especially if it's acting as roadblock.
Nevertheless, my solution was ultimately to buff the spear. Extra dmg, extra stun, constant elemental cycling, and you have a recipe for victory. Add in realm shifting and boss battles can end up feeling trivial.
Ultimately, I liked everything about the game (except the general gameplay loop, but post-story it feels like I'm playing an old skool beat-em up (in terms of surviving to the end). I really appreciated the story, and how it tied Kratos' past present and future together. The fact this is free is incredible.
I have high hopes for the future of the IP, and look forward to seeing where it goes.
On a side note, I'm going to look to get the TLoU2 DLC, but I know for a fact that I won't engage with Returnal.