Following the reveal of God of War Laufey during PlayStation’s State of Play showcase, developer Santa Monica Studio has come forward to clarify that Kratos, the longtime protagonist of the game franchise, will remain the face of God of War moving forward.
This came from a pre-recorded interview session with directors Cory Barlog (God of War 2018, God of War Ragnarök) and Ariel Lawrence (God of War Laufey), which alludes to the fact that the studio was already aware that Laufey would raise fan concerns for being the first mainline title to not feature Kratos in a prominent role.
“Faye, while it’s a different thing, it’s still part of the larger tapestry of what we truly want to explore, all of these different characters in there,” Barlog explained. “But there’s always going to be Kratos games throughout the whole history. We’re super excited about that.” To which Lawrence agreed, “Oh, for sure, we can’t not tell stories about the big guy.”
The sentiment was further reiterated by a post on the studio’s social media pages, which read, “Kratos is the God of War – we have many more stories to tell with him. For now, we’re excited to take fans on a journey into the afterlife of the gods with Faye and hope you’ll come along for the ride!”
These clarifications seem to stem from the divided reactions to the upcoming game’s reveal, which saw Laufey, often referred to as Faye, the wife of Kratos, introduced in the 2018 reboot, take centre stage in her own spin-off adventure as she ventures into the afterlife of the gods. While many fans praised the game’s more fluid combat, reminiscent of the classic God of War games of the past, others were understandably less receptive to the new title, particularly when it came to the overall vibe of the game, as well as its naming convention, with some saying that the game should have dropped its God of War title when it wasn’t focused on Kratos, the actual God of War.
At least now Santa Monica Studio has clarified that Kratos would still be the heart and soul of the franchise, as he should be, although it would be interesting to see which direction the studio would take to continue the beloved icon’s narrative, especially since the reboot franchise has seemingly wrapped up his adventure following the ending of Ragnarök. As for God of War Laufey, only time will tell how well-received the spin-off would be, and whether it would be able to capture the same magic seen in the core franchise, as the title has yet to receive an official release date.
Kevin is a reformed PC Master Race gamer with a penchant for franchise “duds” like Darksiders III and Dead Space 3. He has made it his life-long mission to play every single major game release – lest his wallet dies trying.
Si Jia
