Another State of Play from Sony has come and gone, and boy was this one a banger. There was that closer look at Marvel’s Wolverine to cheer about. But we’re looking at the other big game that was revealed at the event, and the discourse around it that has since emerged. Laufey has become quite a debated reveal for PlayStation, and we understand why that’s the case.
It’s a franchise that has been centered around Kratos for two entire decades, after all. You might argue that Atreus took up a bit of the spotlight in the franchise’s recent entries, but the story always revolved around Kratos and the people surrounding him, to the point where the rest of the cast were worked into his story instead of the other way around.
A game that has Faye taking over from Kratos then becomes a shift in the franchise’s direction. You could say it moves its center of gravity, but is it really a bad choice to do that? Faye does have deep ties to Kratos and comes with a lot of mystery surrounding her days before she met the man who would then mourn her death. We know she’s got a bit of history with Thor, too. It’s definitely a risk to have her as the leading character of a new addition to the franchise, but does that automatically mean that Laufey is doomed before it even gets off the ground?
This is an interesting debate, to be sure, and is one that we’re happy to dive into before we give you our take on it. Let’s get right to it.
An Understandable Set Of Concerns
Let’s start with what those who are against the very idea of Laufey are saying, since the concerns surrounding Faye’s new leading role must be given their due. Kratos has definitely been the focal point of more than just the story, with the combat and associated mechanics being tailored to match his fighting style. He’s an intense, often brutal brawler who brings calculated aggression to any battle.
Of course, the franchise has spent a very long time setting that up, allowing its emotional beats to tie directly into how Kratos approaches challenges and adventure alike. His evolution from a rage-filled former Spartan looking to bring an end to his enemies in the Greek myth, to someone who struggles to keep his past buried away, has informed how he controls himself and those around him. We never thought we’d ever call him the controlling type, but after the last two entries, that’s now a thing.
His story is one that burns with the intensity of a man who doesn’t let anything stand between him and his goals, a facet that has guided all of the adventures we’ve had with him over the years. He brings an emotional payoff to all of them, while also serving as the perfect vehicle for combat systems centered around balancing his tactical thinking with his unbridled rage.
Could Faye match that intensity in her own adventure? Could the story in the new location feel like it adds value to the overall setting built around Kratos, validating Sony’s insistence that Laufey is neither a prequel nor a spinoff? Will Phranque and Rue manage to fit within the franchise’s tone well enough to make them companions who are as memorable as Mimir?
These are all valid questions, and if we were to weigh in, we’d say it’s too early to answer them, but we will say that they all stem from attachment to a fan base that has been pretty vocal about their demands. And the fact that these questions are being asked is a good thing.
But doesn’t Faye deserve a chance? After all, the game isn’t out yet, right?
Brimming With Potential
Faye is no stranger to Kratos. In the myth, her rapport with the giants is well known, fending off Asgard’s ambitions long before she even met Kratos. That makes her a capable warrior in her own right, while we also get to see a strategic side to her, thanks to how it was her actions that set Kratos and Atreus down the path to ending Asgard’s threat once and for all.
When you look at it from that perspective, Laufey could certainly help flesh out her character better, while also giving us insights into her past that might inform our knowledge of the broader conflict between Asgard and the giants, all from the perspective of a capable warrior who was a credible threat to the villains. Her legacy definitely matters, and the chance to see more of it could bring a fresh new perspective to Kratos and Atreus’s future outings.
Faye might be a new playable protagonist, but she’s been a part of the franchise’s emotional core for a long time, and an important one at that. That’s probably where the biggest risk for Laufey comes into play. It’s a title that must justify its existence to a very discerning set of fans, ensuring that Faye’s time in the new location gives further insights into the stories we’ve already experienced. It must feel like a necessary addition instead of a distracting detour.
Achieving that might be easier said than done, as Laufey’s supporting cast may seem like risky additions according to some, and that could go against the tone that’s been set over the past few years. Phranque and Rue do look like they could be solid companions to Faye as she tries to navigate her new circumstances, but they seem too light and quirky in the brief glimpse we got of the new game. Of course, we’re going to assume that this won’t be the case throughout the game, but that’s something that can only be confirmed when we experience it.
Our minds immediately went to Mimir and how he became an invaluable companion to Kratos and Atreus, often being the one to find a suitable middle ground between dealing with matters aggressively or tactfully. He brought a dash of humor to both the adventures he was in, but that was balanced out by his own flaws and the mistakes of his past that he came to regret. He felt grounded within the emotional framework of the franchise. Phranque and Rue need to fulfil a similar role in Laufey, and do it so well that we would appreciate them right off the bat.
There’s also the notion that this isn’t the first big shift in the franchise’s direction to hit us. The jump from the PS2’s unbridled revenge story to the more measured take in the recent one worked thanks to solid development work. It was a shift in tone that succeeded because it was executed very well, and Laufey is going to have to emulate that, and perhaps even surpass it in order to succeed.
But we think that it’s a strong possibility, and the gameplay is what makes us confident about it.
A Capable And Agile Warrior
The developer’s assertion that Laufey aims to blend the speed and agility of combat systems from the older games with the precision of the latest titles might sound like a ploy to get us interested in Laufey if it weren’t for the evidence that has been placed right in front of us. Faye might not be as imposing as Kratos, but she’s certainly as deadly as him when you put a potent weapon in her hand. She was the former owner of the Leviathan Axe, and wielded it impressively enough to make Brok and Sindri proud of it, and of the warrior in whose hands it did destructive damage to the enemies.
The new sword she gets, thanks to Rue, looks to be quite a nasty weapon in her hands, and the fact that Rue’s ribbon-based moves are incorporated into her new fighting style immediately took us back to the reach and crowd control potential of the Blades of Chaos. It’s a great way of blending her former weapon’s single-target capabilities with something that comes close to Kratos’ arsenal, but with fresh twists that could make Faye’s very interesting to learn and master.
Another aspect of Laufey that has us very intrigued is her innate magical abilities, and the fact that the new location amplifies them to a point where she could separate enemy souls from their shells and use them to incorporate additional attacks into her combos. Combine all of that with her agility and speed, and you get a gameplay loop that feels mechanically distinct enough to stand out from the franchise’s previous entries.
Of course, the enemies you take on with the new combat system are an important part of the experience, and the glimpses of the new location’s rogues gallery that we’ve been given have us reasonably optimistic about Laufey’s chances at doing well when it finally releases. If the combat works well with the setting, this could feel like a game that has all the ingredients to make gamers notice.
But of course, we have to consider how a new game without Kratos is a hard sell for anybody who’s been following the series. The franchise gave him an overhaul from a mad, revenge-filled man to a somber and reflective one, and it was a shift that was well-received thanks to how the new mechanics were able to justify it. But is it ready for another one, and a title where Kratos takes a backseat to a new lead?
Laufey is taking on a massive creative burden on that front, and the reveal has only managed to divide the franchise’s fan base over the potential for its success. It needs to prove that Faye is capable enough of carrying an entire campaign on her shoulders, while the new location needs to become more than a concept. It needs to be the stage for a new chapter in the franchise, and one that connects back to everything that we already know and is detailed enough to make it a worthy addition to the game.
The skepticism surrounding Laufey is understandable when you consider the enormous risks it is undertaking, but it’s also what makes it such an interesting addition to the franchise. Laufey and Faye deserve a chance before we pass judgment on them. It doesn’t deserve blind confidence, not yet, but it mustn’t be written off just yet.
Reinventions aren’t a new thing in gaming, and Laufey is one that must prove itself before it becomes an accepted part of the fan base. But what we’ve seen of it makes us optimistic about its chances, and we can’t wait for its 2027 release to see if that sentiment was well-deserved or not.
Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.
