God of War: Laufey Brings a New Hero to PlayStation’s Flagship Series

Sony’s State of Play event ended with more than 20 minutes of surprise gameplay from a new God of War game. Unlike the previous games, this new adventure stars Laufey, aka Faye, who was married to Kratos and is the mother of their child, Atreus.

While we don’t have much information about the game, God of War: Laufey expands the series in a new direction. Beyond the change in protagonist, players will also get to explore an afterlife of the gods, which Sony’s blog post describes as a place “where ruthless gods from across mythology vie for power in a land overflowing with dangerous magic.”

The gameplay video introduced characters from Egyptian and Mongolian mythology, as well as sentient ribbons attached to a mysterious sword, which was encased in something resembling a gelatinous cube from Dungeons & Dragons. The cube talks and aids Faye in combat.

The video starts with a sequence from the 2018 God of War with the burning of the body of his dead wife, Laufey, who is known best as Faye. A sequence shows the embers from the fire rise up and turn into a figure, and Faye awakens in what appears to be Valhalla.

As she explores, Faye sees what appears to be an army taking over this land and corrupting its creatures. Faye is then confronted by the apparent leaders of the army, Sekhmet and Begtse. The pair are gods of war from Egyptian and Mongolian mythologies, respectively.

Sekhmet asks whether Faye thinks the splinter stuck in her hand would set her free from the location before Begtse punches Faye and tells her the gateway is closed, and there is no escape. Faye is then locked in a cage. Captured next to her is a gelatinous cube with a sword with ribbons stuck in it. The cube, called Phranque, and Rue, the ribbon, talk to Faye and tell her that they’re in the afterlife of the gods, which they call Everywhen.

The combat shown features a familiar style to that of the previous God of War games. Faye is able to combo attacks and use the cube to assist her in defeating enemies. The video ends in a confrontation with Begtse. Both Begtse and the prisoner who escaped mentioned how the sword is more than what Faye assumes.

God of War: Laufey will be a PS5 exclusive. Sony did not provide a release date or price for it.