God of War is back, but this time the next adventure stars Faye, the wife of Kratos and mother of Atreus. What happened after she was laid to rest at the end of the 2018 game? We’re about to find out thanks to the game’s staggering 23-minute debut gameplay trailer.
The demo begins with Faye, or her full proper name of Laufey, given her frost giant heritage, awakening in a mysterious forest immediately after being laid to rest at the conclusion of God of War (2018). Faye is once again portrayed by actress Deborah Ann Woll (Daredevil, Daredevil: Born Again, Queen of the Ring). The adventure, which serves as a parallel sequel to God of War (2018), centers on her arrival in the afterlife of the gods –The Everywhen – a bizarre world filled with magical creatures and deities of all shapes, sizes, and cultural origins.
“I think in [God of War Ragnarök], Odin really was kind of taken by that question: ‘What happens when we die?'” say God of War Laufey game director Ariel Lawrence in a sit-down interview with Santa Monica Studio creative head Cory Barlog. “‘We know what happens to the mortals when they die, but what happens to us?’ And so this is an answer for that question, what happens to gods when they die. Things aren’t working quite exactly the way they should be in this afterlife of the gods. Magic isn’t flowing exactly the way that it should be. So this afterlife’s not exactly a paradise. It’s a little bit more of a prison.”
According to an official description on the game’s PlayStation Store page, ‘Faye discovers the plans she put in place to protect Kratos and Atreus in her absence are now at risk.” To save her family, she must battle gods from multiple pantheons, all vying for dominance of the now-corrupted Everywhen. One of these antagonists, shown in the video, is Sekhmet, an Egyptian goddess and the God of War of her pantheon.
Combat is a mix of one-handed swordplay, where Faye nimbly hacks away at foes, including popping them skyward for air juggles, while using her free hand to utilize an array of magical abilities, such as blocking attacks. Combat encounters with small foes and larger bosses sport the same over-the-shoulder action as Krato’s Norse adventures, but Faye is much quicker and more agile than her husband, making for brisker and more stylish encounters. Everywhen looks as stunning as you would expect from a modern God of War game, boasting a dreamlike whimsy that juxtaposes well with the series’ trademark brutality.
At one point in the demo, Faye is taken prisoner but escapes thanks to the help of an unlikely ally: a talking cosmic cube with a sword stuck in it. This cube, played by Jack Quaid (The Boys, Novocaine), is named Phranque (pronounced like “Frank”), aids Faye in her quest to return home, including helping her obtain the sword embedded within it. Tied to this sword’s hilt are sentient ribbons named Rue (voiced by Perlina Lau), who can not only speak but also aid Faye in combat; the ribbons can extend during sword strikes to attack distant foes and generally help keep enemies at bay.
God of War Laufey is coming to PlayStation 5, but it has no release window. It’s the latest God of War project Santa Monica has in the oven, following the announcement of the God of War Trilogy Remake earlier this year. Santa Monica also released the side-scrolling prequel game God of War Sons of Sparta in February, and you can read our review of that game here.