Sony's major State of Play announcement was God of War Laufey, the next installment in Santa Monica Studio's God of War franchise, exclusively for PlayStation 5. While rumors of the game focusing on Faye rather than Kratos had circulated for months, the 20-minute gameplay reveal sparked intense reactions across the internet.
IGN spoke with God of War Laufey's game director Ariel Lawrence and creative director Cory Barlog before the reveal to discuss why Faye was chosen as the protagonist. We also have an explainer on Faye's backstory if you need a refresher. So if you need context before diving into the reactions, IGN has you covered.
Let's start with reactions from IGN readers, which I'd characterize as mixed. Some complained about gameplay segments requiring pressing R2 to progress. "I understand it's a demo, but maybe don't introduce a 20-minute uninterrupted gameplay sequence that's just hitting R2 to advance a cutscene," commented IGN reader TacticalEA. "Also, in the boss fight, she clearly takes damage but doesn't react or lose health."
Another common observation is that the gameplay doesn't meaningfully change the God of War formula. "I'll pass on this one," said IGN reader Doodelino. "GoW 2018 was a masterpiece, Ragnarok was great but I'm tired of the formula, and Laufey doesn't add anything new. Plus, I'm not interested in the character."
Faye as the main character is the biggest talking point, and not everyone is on board. David Jaffe, one of God of War's original creators, was critical. "That looks so uninspired and dull," he said during a YouTube livestream. "It's probably the opening, and it's dead. That game won't do well. It may be a cheap game, like $80 million." He added, "The originals had hooks—Kratos as a badass, Greek mythology, violence. Then Cory evolved it brilliantly for 2018, but Ragnarok was running out of gas. Now... yeah."
"This feels like Cory wanted to write a fantasy story," Jaffe continued. "You've lost the gore and violence, the character—Kratos changed so much he wasn't Kratos anymore. Now you've lost the mythology, and the cube and Disney character at the beginning just seem like fantasy. If you removed God of War from the title, nobody would be talking about this game compared to others shown today."
But there are plenty of positive reactions. "This looks better than 2018 and Ragnarok in every way," said IGN reader shoras. "The combat is what I imagined the original trilogy's combat evolving into. Loved the color and fantastical creatures."
Even Jaffe praised the combat shown near the end. Many appreciate that the game runs parallel to God of War 2018 and Ragnarok rather than being a prequel. "Actually looks really good. I'm glad it's not a prequel; 'Faye dies and fights through the afterlife' is a much better hook," said Redditor Tulipanzo.
The cube, voiced by The Boys star Jack Quaid, is already divisive. Some love the Hughie-like voice, while others worry it'll get annoying. "I'm not sold on the Jell-O cube character," said Redditor Jatacus. "I thought it would transform. Maybe it's inspired by mythology? I trust the studio."
Clearly, opinions are split. These talking points won't disappear soon, but as we learn more, we'll get a clearer picture of what to expect. Here's everything announced at State of Play June 2026 if you need a recap.
