God of War Laufey director understands the skepticism but wants fans to give it a chance

God of War Laufey director Ariel Lawrence has responded to the mixed reaction that followed the game's reveal at this week's PlayStation State of Play. The announcement drew genuine excitement but also a wave of pushback — mainly because you play as Faye, Kratos' late wife, rather than the Ghost of Sparta himself.

Speaking to GameSpot, Lawrence said she gets where the frustration comes from but is hoping fans stick around. \"I understand the skepticism,\" she said. \"I hope they will give it a chance and be excited to play. I think for me it's just, is it fun? Is it an adventure that I haven't been on before? And I think the biggest thing is just, for us, is how can we hold onto the surprise. It's just so hard to be surprised today.\" In a separate GamesRadar interview she added: \"We have to honor that everybody has their connection with a God of War story. If people have feelings, great — I hope to win over the skeptics in the future.\" Lawrence also noted that the negativity didn't demoralize the team so much as challenge it to prove what it's capable of, the same way it has before. A secondary complaint from some fans is that Laufey still uses the same one-shot camera style as the last two games, making it feel less like a departure than some had hoped.

Sony Santa Monica has confirmed that Kratos isn't going anywhere — the studio says there's plenty more of his story to tell, and Laufey isn't replacing him. The game runs parallel to the 2018 God of War and Ragnarok, which raises the possibility that it could serve as the true conclusion to the Norse saga and set up whatever comes next for Kratos. Atreus could also appear.

Laufey is coming to PS5 with no release date announced yet. Lawrence is confident that skeptics will come around once they see Faye's journey for themselves: \"We're not leaving anybody behind. We've got plenty more Kratos coming. This is really just a place for adventure to go beyond what we had.\"