The next God of War game is ditching the Spartan warrior entirely. Sony Santa Monica Studio confirmed that God of War Laufey will put players in control of Faye, the giant matriarch whose corpse launched the 2018 God of War adventure, in what amounts to the franchise's boldest narrative pivot yet.
Faye, born Laufey the Just in the realm of Jötunheim, died before the events of the 2018 game. Her ashes became the vehicle for the entire father-son journey with Kratos and Atreus, who spent the campaign scattering them across the nine realms to reach the highest peak. What players didn't know at the time: those gold markings that guided them up ledges and across chasms were painted by Faye herself, long before, as she foresaw their coming adventure.
In God of War Ragnarok, Faye appears in dream sequences haunting Kratos, portrayed by Deborah Ann Woll. She offers wisdom about grief and loss, helping Kratos reckon with his son's role in the apocalypse. One moment crystallizes her character: "To grieve deeply is to have loved fully."
But Laufey will answer a question Santa Monica has been building toward since 2018. "What happens to gods when they die?" Creative director Cory Barlog asks. The answer lies in the afterlife, where Faye's own adventure unfolds.
This isn't a prequel. Laufey exists as a standalone story that expands the universe forward, not backward. It's a continuation of mythological stakes that the studio has been planting like seeds for years. "Even back in 2018, we started building all this," Barlog says. "We were setting tiny little narrative beats that were going to start to structurally support this growth of the universe."
Faye proved herself a warrior in her own right. Late in Ragnarok, Kratos learns she once battled Thor in Vanaheim, their clash between Mjolnir and the Leviathan Axe so violent it tore apart an entire valley. The axe she wielded would eventually pass to Kratos.
Game director Ariel Lawrence describes Faye's combat as distinctly her own. "She's not quite as solidly built a brick wall as Kratos is, but she's every bit as much of a warrior," Lawrence explains. "For her, lean into that agility, that flexibility, the speed, while still maintaining how deadly she is." The team aims to blend the fluid, magic-infused combat of the original Greek saga with the gritty, personal brutality of the Norse games, creating something uniquely tailored to Faye's fighting style and comfort with sorcery.
Santa Monica is betting that audiences want more than sequels. By pivoting to Faye, the studio asks new questions rather than rehashing old ones. Lawrence says the team views Faye as the true starting point for Kratos and Atreus' entire journey. "Really getting to know her as a character, fully as a three-dimensional human has been really important to us," he says. "Just who was this woman who was a match equal to Kratos?"
God of War Laufey arrives on PS5 soon.
Author Emily Chen: "Santa Monica finally stops circling around Faye and lets her carry a game, which is exactly what the franchise needed to avoid becoming a Kratos echo chamber."
Comments