Santa Monica Studio Explained Why the Next God of War Title Is Dedicated to Faye

For many players, it was a surprise that the new God of War, announced at State of Play, will be dedicated not to Kratos, but to Faye - his wife and mother of Atreus, who is an important part of the story of the two previous games. In a new interview, Santa Monica Studio explained their decision and answered some questions from fans.

Shortly after a more than 20-minute showing of God of War, Laufey, the game director Ariel Lawrence, and Santa Monica Studio creative director Cory Barlog spoke with IGN to explain why Faye ended up in the spotlight. According to Barlog, the idea of exploring her story was born at the studio back in 2018, and the developers want to significantly expand the lore of the universe, as well as reveal more about a character who had mostly remained off-screen. More words from Barlog you can check out below:

“We'll always tell stories about Kratos, but I think for us, it was just a chance to talk about somebody who was so pivotal to the beginning and get to know them and push beyond into this new world and give us some place to be surprised and see how things connect. So for us, it's not a departure; it's more of an expansion.

The character to usher us into this sort of new world is this character, who is such an anchor to the rebirth of where we were going with the franchise.

She was omnipresent but visually not represented. In 2018 she was a feeling; she was a phantom and a specter but one whose tendrils stretched out through the entirety of the narrative, and it gave her this interesting sense of power inside of it. It was like, man, it would be so interesting to see who she was before, but it also would be interesting to see how things continue forward.”

Ariel Lawrence, in turn, spoke about the main differences of God of War Laufey compared to the previous games in the franchise, which, as could be seen from the gameplay, are related to the combat system—it has become faster but, at the same time, remains brutal.

“Kratos is like a brick wall, and he's a little stoic, but it's just that his brutality is different. How do we show somebody who's his equal as she is? So when we looked, we got to think about all the games. The Greek era had an influence on Faye. The Norse era has an influence on Faye. So going to our more agile combat roots but also retaining our companions, our gritty closer combat. How do those marry together and then make something that's uniquely Faye-feeling while still being a Santa Monica game?”

Despite the promising concept, not everyone was pleased with the God of War Laufey showcase. In particular, it concerns the franchise's creator, David Jaffe, who did not hesitate to state that the game "looks like sh*t" and gave an unfavorable forecast regarding its sales. Fans quickly reacted to his statement, calling him a harsh and envious critic.

You can also check out everything that was announced and revealed during PlayStation’s State of Play.

Are you excited about God of War Laufey? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

The game is in development exclusively for PlayStation 5 and doesn’t have a release date yet.