The premier announcement from PlayStation’s State of Play was God of War Laufey, the next mainline entry in the God of War series. Acting as the closing act of the State of Play, over 20 minutes of gameplay was shared. Courtesy of the PlayStation Blog, we’ll share all the details below.
The Introduction
Death was supposed to be the end, but for Laufey (Faye), warrior and wife to Kratos, a new adventure is just beginning. Awakening unexpectedly in a strange land after her funeral, Faye discovers the plans she put in place to protect Kratos and Atreus are now at risk.
To save the ones she loves, Faye must fight through the afterlife of the gods — the Everywhen — where ruthless gods from across mythology vie for power in a land overflowing with dangerous magic.
Faye has always been a formidable warrior in our story. She and Kratos can both hit hard and take hits, so one of our top priorities throughout the development has been handcrafting a uniquely fresh feel for Faye’s gameplay that will also meet the high expectations fans have for the series.
Combining the movement and fluidity of the Greek era with the Norse era’s approach to world-building and close ties with characters — we’ve crafted an experience that has given our team incredible opportunities to take exciting creative swings, while staying true to the pillars of the God of War series.
Franchise Direction
Cory Barlog, director of God of War (2018) and Sony Santa Monica’s Head of Creative sat down with God of War Laufey’s Game Director Ariel Lawrence to discuss the original idea and it ties into the main franchise.
Finding Faye
Faye has long been one of the impactful characters in God of War’s Norse saga. A legendary warrior and leader — her impact was left on the Nine Realms long before she ever met Kratos.
God of War Laufey brings Faye to the forefront — exploring the humanity, strengths, and flaws of the person whose legacy was beloved in the minds of many.
To set the stage for Faye’s introduction, God of War Laufey’s Narrative Director and Lead Writer discuss what we know about her going into this journey and give a taste of what awaits her in the afterlife of the gods.
Combat
As the Golden Hand of the Jötnar, Faye has deep roots as a warrior and has proven equal to even the likes of Thor, one of the strongest gods in the Nine Realms.
From the beginning, we’ve built her combat to maximize lethality, power, and fluidity.
Building upon the strengths of the modern God of War combat system while injecting some old school, classic DNA of the Greek era — Laufey will feel fresh, yet familiar to fans of the series.
By allowing Faye to move easily between ground and air without halting the action, we’ve refined a hyper-responsiveness to her combat that we can’t wait for players to experience when they get their hands on the controller for the first time.
Her increased mobility adds a ton of offensive and defensive tools to turn battles against even the fiercest gods to her favor.
We’ve given you a taste of what Faye’s gameplay will look like at the start, and that’s just scratching the surface. There’s so much more we can’t wait to share further down the road — and plenty we’ll leave for fans to discover on their own!
While available to wishlist now, PlayStation has not shared an official release date for God of War Laufey just yet. But we’ll have more as soon as it’s available!