In 2018, Kratos was living a new life, one with significantly less rage in an ancient Nordic country, with his son, Atreus. That game–spoilers abound–begins with grief, as father and son prepare the cremation of Faye, Kratos’ wife and Atreus’ mother. Soon after, father and son would go hunt deer.

Meanwhile… We learn very recently, during yesterday’s State of Play actually, that right after the cremation, Faye awakens in a new world that appears to be rife with conflict. She ends up fighting a lot, gets punched bloody in the face, blown up, get thrown at a mountain, and all sorts of other dire straits, while her husband and son are back home, mourning her, thinking she’s at peace, while they hunt deer.

God of War Laufey is the final presentation of Sony PlayStation’s State of Play, where they showcase all the upcoming titles coming to their platform. The twenty-minute showcase of God of War Laufey featured gameplay and story hints. But it all boiled down to, this thing is going to be epic and 2027 is going to be an exciting year.

During this soft reboot of God of War, one of the most mysterious figures is Faye. We know so little of her, and the only things we ever do hear about her comes from Kratos’ own accounts. And yet, as the narrative progresses, we begin to see how much Faye knows and she becomes the driving force behind it.

Seeing her alive-ish and kicking heads off their bodies is drawing mixed impressions out of me. Don’t get me wrong, this game got me hyped enough to want this as a day one purchase (something I haven’t done in a long time). But seeing the myth herself and possibly seeing her direct involvement in Kratos and Atreus’ ordeals seems to take away some narrative core. But if the story works, then it works.

Perhaps more than anything, God of War Laufey seems to be a test gauge if the devs can proceed in making more “God of War” titles without Kratos in it. If anything, Ragnarok pretty much closed off Kratos’ narrative. Yes, there is more that can be done. Like giving Kratos an active observer role. But Santa Monica has been working with Kratos since 2005. Since then, there have been, maybe at least eight God of War titles featuring Kratos, exploring most aspects of his life.

From a creative standpoint and for the sanity of the creatives, a new protagonist would keep things fresh and interesting. It would be like making a new game series that reminds devs that making games is fun.

After the end of Ragnarok, many assumed there would be an Atreus spin-off game, given that he stepped off to take on his solo adventure. Instead, we got a Faye story. And seeing the trailer, it makes sense that we see her story first as it showed gods from other mythologies, the Egyptian goddess of war, Sekhmet, and the Mongolian and Tibetan god of war, Begtse. It’s all-out now, and shows that future games may no longer be restricted to a single myth saga. But who knows, maybe this type of narrative will be exclusive to Faye.

A nitpick that bothered me at first is, using the title “God of War” and then subtitling it with the new protagonist’s name may draw the wrong kind of attention for the game. When people see “God of War” they think Kratos. However, the more I think about it, the more I realize that the title “God of War” itself can be more than just Kratos as the God of War. It can be about the gods’ primal and violent instincts, which seems to fit the bill.

God of War Laufey may launch early 2027, plenty of time to give GTA VI its own months’ long limelight.