The big, final reveal during the June 2nd PlayStation State of Play was none other than an extensive trailer for the new God of War. Titled God of War Laufey, this game centers not on Kratos, but on another character from franchise history – his wife. Though the game doesn’t yet have a release date, the lengthy trailer did give us a good sense of its story and overall direction. David Jaffe, the original creator of God of War, shared his initial reactions to the trailer during a live reaction to the State of Play Showcase. And his commentary begins with an eyeroll.
Though Jaffe is credited with starting the God of War franchise, he has not been directly involved in developing new titles for quite some time. In fact, he has been openly critical of the direction the franchise has taken under PlayStation’s helm. So, it’s not too surprising to see that Jaffe’s initial reaction to the God of War Laufey trailer is less than optimistic. Specifically, he says the trailer “looks so uninspired,” going on to call it dull and predict that the game “is not going to do well.”
David Jaffe Calls New God of War “Uninspired” & Predicts It Will Underperform
The last God of War title that Jaffe worked on directly was God of War 2. Since then, he has gone on record to say the newer games don’t feel authentic to the spirit of the franchise or the character of Kratos himself. Yet despite this criticism from the original creator, many of these recent God of War entries have sold quite well and even snagged awards like Game of the Year. As for this latest entry, Jaffe is once again unimpressed by what PlayStation has to offer.
Jaffe livestreamed the State of Play and his initial reactions to it, including his thoughts on the latest God of War entry. After watching the 20-minute-long trailer that aired during the State of Play, Jaffe rolls his eyes before launching into his commentary. And he does not mince words. According to Jaffe, the game feels like a different project that has been put under the God of War umbrella. Then, he goes on to say it feels uninspired and predict that it isn’t going to perform well commercially compared to PlayStation’s expectations. You can check out the full reaction in the livestream VOD below, which should start around the 1:37 mark when Jaffe begins unpacking the Laufey trailer:
Specifically, he thinks the game feels more like a generic fantasy than a true God of War game, pointing specifically to the lack of “gore and violence” from the first game and the lack of Kratos as the central character. In fact, he doesn’t think that the game would be noteworthy at all without the God of War IP attached to it, citing that other games in the State of Play look far more interesting and fun.
Overall, it seems the original God of War creator is far from impressed with this first look at the next game in the franchise. Not mincing words, he sums it up with “I didn’t like it at all.” But he might be in the minority there, as many fans are indeed impressed with the trailer so far. Though quite a few people are equally baffled by the cube, many are impressed with our first look at combat and interested to see more of Faye’s story. Of course, not everyone is stoked for a God of War game that doesn’t center Kratos.
At any rate, it may be a while before we see much more from God of War Laufey. The game is simply noted as “in development,” with no release window in sight. Though this was a rather in-depth cinematic look at the game, it may be quite some time before we see another trailer, let alone get a release date. Until the game arrives and we get actual sales numbers, it’s hard to say whether Jaffe’s predictions have any merit.
What did you think of the new God of War trailer? Is Jaffe right that it feels like a generic fantasy story with the GoW label slapped on?
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