David Jaffe, creator of the original 2005 God of War, has sharply criticized the reveal of God of War Laufey. The new entry, shown during State of Play, puts players in the role of Kratos’ wife Laufey, also known as Faye, but Jaffe argues that what he saw no longer resembles the God of War he recognizes.

David Jaffe made it clear very quickly that the God of War Laufey reveal did not win him over. The creator of the original God of War reacted live to the State of Play presentation, and from the opening stretch he described the new game as “so uninspired” and said it “looks so dull”. The game places players in the role of Laufey, or Faye, as she battles other gods in the Everywhen, the afterlife of the gods, including other Gods of War. That premise could have provided a strong mythological hook, but Jaffe argued that the footage lacked the immediate identity that once made the series hit so hard.

His reaction does not come out of nowhere. Jaffe has long been one of the loudest critics of the modern Norse-era God of War games, especially since the 2018 soft reboot. He has repeatedly argued that Kratos became too soft, that the franchise lost the bombastic cinematic action that originally defined it, and that the newer games shifted too far toward slower, more mature storytelling. He has also been openly critical of Atreus as a character, so his response to God of War Laufey follows a familiar line, only with the volume turned up again.

During the reaction, Jaffe said the original God of War games had clear, immediate hooks. “God of War, the originals, had their hooks, right?” he said, pointing to Kratos as a brutal lead, Greek mythology, violence, and spectacle. He acknowledged that this formula eventually wore out its welcome, and he praised Cory Barlog’s 2018 reinvention as a smart evolution at the time. He even said he loved that game. With God of War Ragnarök, however, he felt the newer approach was already running out of gas, and the Laufey-centered follow-up did not appear to give the franchise a strong enough new hook.

His bluntest line was the one that summed up the whole reaction: “This is not God of War, I don’t know what the f*ck this is? This is like some fantasy novel.” Jaffe argued that if the God of War title were removed, if Kratos were not part of the context, and if players did not already know the modern story, people would not be talking about this game in the same way. To him, it would look like a fantasy story about a goddess who dies rather than a true God of War experience. He added that he will probably play it on stream, but if not for that, he would have no interest in playing it.

That does not mean the audience broadly agrees with him. The modern God of War games remain enormously popular, with the 2018 entry holding a 94 Metascore and a user score around 9.0, while God of War Ragnarök also received an extremely strong critical and player response. GameRant readers voted both the 2018 game and Ragnarök into their top 10 best games of all time, so Jaffe’s view is not a consensus position. It is still a revealing creative objection: how far can a series move from its original identity before the person who created it no longer sees it as the same thing?

Source: GameRant