After revealing its new God of War game, the first not to star the Spartan ascendant Kratos, Santa Monica had to make it clear that yes, we’ll get to see more of the big guy in future installments. This one has Kratos’ late wife, Faye, as the protagonist, though that doesn’t seem to sit well with a good chunk of the fan base.
As spotted by Eurogamer, Santa Monica Studio’s creative director Cory Barlog and GoW: Laufey game director Ariel Lawrence spoke in an interview that went live not long after the conclusion of Sony’s State of Play this Tuesday. In it, Barlog said Faye as a protagonist is admittedly something “different” than what fans and the studio are used to, but nevertheless remains a “part of the larger tapestry of what we truly want to explore.”
However, Kratos stories will not go away, and more are to come with future installments in the series. “There’s always going to be Kratos games throughout the whole history,” Barlog pointed out. Lawrence reaffirmed this stance, saying that Santa Monica simply “can’t not tell stories about the big guy.”
So this is great news for hopefuls who weren’t as excited to see a God of War game with no Kratos in it, at least not as a protagonist. The Spartan appears briefly in the presentation, but apparently as an illusion, offering to help Faye get up from the ground. He disappears shortly thereafter, but we’ll probably see more of him in whatever capacity down the line in the story.
That won’t suffice for many, though, and heated debates are being led online as we speak, with some arguing the series owes it to Kratos to have him as a protagonist every single time. The odd concept of a spin-off doesn’t seem to ring a bell to them, and so, for example, we have one person saying the game is called God of War, not Goddess of War, which, by that logic, means female protagonists are out of the question forever.
AI-generated edits were also made depicting Faye doing “women’s work” by washing clothes in the river or doing the dishes while Kratos is in the back yelling at her, which just goes to show how much some people hate the idea of a female protagonist.
I have other complaints about this game, namely that damned cube and its insufferable dialogue, and since there are real things for people to discuss, I fail to see how Faye’s being a female lead character would ever come up as a topic of discussion.
But at least these dissident voices will get their comfort game at some point, hopefully letting the rest of the world enjoy things without derailing every conversation about it.
