While the God of War franchise might be taking a quick detour with the upcoming God of War Laufey, Santa Monica Studio has confirmed that it is far from done with telling stories about series protagonist Kratos. In a social media post, the developer noted that it is currently excited to explore the afterlife through the eyes of Kratos’ wife Faye. In the future, however, we can expect to see Kratos come back as the main character.
“Kratos is the God of War – we have many more stories to tell with him,” wrote Santa Monica Studio on social media. “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!”
The post came in response to Cory Barlog’s recent comments in a PlayStation interview with director Ariel Lawrence, where he mentioned being excited about exploring Faye as a character and her story as a small part of the larger God of War tapestry. He also reaffirmed that there will always be more stories about Kratos to tell.
“It’s exciting. Faye is, while it’s a different thing, it’s still part of the larger tapestry of what we truly want to explore, all these different characters in there. But there’s always going to be Kratos games throughout the whole history.”
Lawrence responded by noting, “Oh, for sure. We can’t not tell stories about the big guy.”
God of War Laufey was officially unveiled during Sony’s recent State of Play showcase with a lengthy gameplay reveal trailer. The title will put players in the shoes of Laufey – or Faye, as she’s more commonly known – who finds herself waking up in a strange world shortly after her death that kicks off the events of 2018’s God of War. On waking up, she discovers that the plans she had made to ensure the protection of Kratos and her son, Atreus, might be in danger, and springs into action.
The gameplay in God of War Laufey is slated to be a return to the more fast-paced action of the original trilogy, while its narrative style will still be closer to the two more recent mainline entries. Faye’s primary weapon, this time around, will be a magical sword, and she will be accompanied by a sentient Cosmic Cube during her adventures.
Santa Monica Studio had confirmed that God of War Laufey was being directed by Lawrence rather than Barlog through a social media post, where it said that Barlog was more focused on the long-term vision for the God of War franchise, and as such, was working with directors like Lawrence to develop the games.
“Cory is the Head of Creative at Santa Monica Studio,” wrote the studio, “this involves working with game directors like Ariel Lawrence and guiding the long-term vision for all games in the series.”
While God of War Laufey doesn’t yet have a release date, rumors indicate that it isn’t years away. The title is being developed exclusively for PS5.