The arguments have already begun about God Of War Laufey and the fact that it has a new, female protagonist but why does that fact upset some gamers so much?
What a treat, to wake up on Wednesday morning and find out that Sony had given us the ultimate present: a brand new look at God Of War Laufey.
Over the course of 23 minutes, we got to see what Santa Monica Studio has in store for the latest iteration of its revamped (and lauded) God of War franchise – one that has, up until now, featured Kratos as the main character, but this time features his dead wife, Faye (aka Laufey).
Speaking for myself, I couldn’t be more excited. The game features killer voice-acting, some absolutely gorgeous animation, and the prospect of finding out more about a character who, in God Of War Ragnarök, was always something of a mystery. Factor in some exciting new pantheons to battle and some frankly stunning-looking combat, and you’d think Santa Monica is onto a surefire winner.
Despite that, and because we can never have anything nice in this world, the depressingly inevitable backlash followed straight after.
Critics piled in, describing the move to focus on Faye ‘woke’ and accusing Sony of creating a ‘girlboss’ version of their beloved franchise. Even the director of the original God Of War, noted curmudgeon David Jaffe, piled in, calling the upcoming game ‘so uninspired and so dull.’
Expert, exclusive gaming analysis
Sign up to the GameCentral newsletter for a unique take on the week in gaming, alongside the latest reviews and more. Delivered to your inbox every Saturday morning.
‘What the f*** is that?’ he said, while watching the trailer. ‘That looks like s***, I’m going to be honest with you. It reminds me of that game Forspoken a little bit.’ (It doesn’t look anything like Forspoken, other than it has a female protagonist – Devil May Cry or Bayonetta would’ve been a more natural comparison.)
He went on to say that the game was ‘dead’ and doomed to fail.
I’m sorry but talk about sour grapes. Why are some men so wedded to the idea that every franchise has to feature a man – or worse, feature a weak woman dependent on a man for her survival – to be a hit?
We live in the 21st century; it shouldn’t be a shock that women can make good action heroes. For those who want to get technical, there’s even precedent for this in the lore. God Of War Ragnarök clearly stated that Faye was an excellent warrior, perhaps even better than Kratos.
The Leviathan axe he wields was created for her and we find out during Ragnarök that in the past, she was able to best Thor, one of the strongest antagonists in the game. During one dream sequence, we even see her call Kratos a ‘good boy.’ A flex, if ever there was one.
As a female gamer, I couldn’t be happier about God Of War Laufey, not least because of what it says about the industry.
Two decades ago, the only high profile woman in video games was Lara Croft, whose mass market appeal was probably less down to the fact that she could simultaneously fire two pistols (which impressed my seven-year-old self no end) and more to the ultra-short shorts and low-cut top that she tends to wear.
Since then, there has been progress, but it has also been slow. As recently as 2018, Ubisoft shied away from featuring Kassandra – the de facto protagonist of Assassin’s Creed Odyssey – in their marketing, giving people the option to play as her brother, Alexios, for fear of offending the fans and missing out on sales.
A shame, really – and a decision that was ultimately proven wrong when the game went on to become one of their highest-rated ever. Certainly, Assassin’s Creed Odyssey was the first console game I ever properly engaged with, and I remembered being electrified by it.
Moving as a woman through the world of Ancient Greece, kicking ass and taking names, felt like the ultimate in escapism, and a breath of fresh air after a childhood spent playing as Harry Potter (a man), James Bond (a man) and Sonic The Hedgehog (a man… kind of).
Odyssey, for me, was proof that a female protagonist could lead a franchise, and clearly, I’m not the only one who thinks so. Creative stagnation comes when we rehash the same, tired old formulas, and feature the same types of characters, over and over again.
The gaming industry is so much more diverse than it was three decades ago (in 1989, women made up just 3% of the games industry; today it’s around 25%), and it’s right that what we’re seeing on-screen now reflects that.
In recent years, we’ve gotten more realistic, less overtly-sexualised women on the small screen, as well as members of the LGBT+ community. Aloy, the hero of the Horizon Zero Dawn franchise, is a woman who is not only a warrior, but queer. The Last Of Us Part 2 featured not one, but two female leads in Ellie and Abby.
Games like Baldur’s Gate 3 and Cyberpunk 2077 offer the option to create their own hero: male, female, or whatever the player chooses to be. But each time, there has been pushback.
On the release of Horizon Forbidden West, Aloy was criticised for rocking peach fuzz and no make-up; recent Lara Croft games have been lambasted for giving her a ‘woke’ makeover that included toning down the overt sexualisation and leaning more into the overtly violent action hero side of her character.
No doubt, the backlash to God Of War Laufey will keep coming. Fine. But I know what I’ll be doing come release day: having a great time enjoying the IP of a studio who have shown they can make killer hits, over and over again. Those who don’t play will ultimately be the ones missing out.
Email gamecentral@metro.co.uk, leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter.
To submit Inbox letters and Reader’s Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here.
For more stories like this, check our Gaming page.