{"id":55320,"date":"2026-06-04T14:58:26","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T18:58:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/overcentral.com\/en\/?p=55320"},"modified":"2026-06-04T14:58:30","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T18:58:30","slug":"god-of-war-laufey-flop-reasons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/overcentral.com\/en\/god-of-war-laufey-flop-reasons\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Brutally Honest Reasons God of War: Laufey Will Flop \u2013 Straight From the Creator Who Hates It"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Let’s be real for a second. When the guy who literally invented<\/em> your franchise watches your new trailer and says “that looks like shit” on a live stream, you don’t get to pretend everything is fine. David Jaffe<\/a> \u2014 the original creator of God of War<\/em>, director of the first two games, and the man who gave us Kratos in all his rage-filled, god-killing glory \u2014 did exactly that during PlayStation’s June 2026<\/a> State of Play. His target? God of War: Laufey<\/em>, the upcoming spin-off where you play as Kratos’s dead wife, Faye, alongside a talking jelly cube named Frank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And Jaffe didn’t just dislike it. He destroyed it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Uninspired,” he said. “Dull.” Then came the comparison that should haunt Sony Santa Monica’s nightmares: “Reminds me of Forspoken<\/em> a little bit.” Ouch. For those keeping score, Forspoken<\/em> was a 2023 fantasy RPG that flopped so hard it became a cautionary tale written in bold letters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So here’s the thing. Jaffe might be blunt. He might be angry. He might even be bitter about how much Kratos has changed since he left the franchise. But is he wrong<\/em>? I spent hours going through every trailer, every interview, every press release, and every angry comment section. And honestly? The creator might have a point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are 5 brutally honest reasons<\/strong> God of War: Laufey<\/em> is heading for a flop \u2014 straight from the man who started it all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reason #1: It’s a God of War Game Without the God of War<\/h2>\n\n\n

Let’s start with the obvious. The game is called God of War<\/em>. The entire franchise is named after Kratos. He is, for all intents and purposes, the brand. And he’s not in this game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not as a playable character. Not as a sidekick. Not even as a cameo, according to everything we’ve seen so far. Kratos is gone. Replaced by his deceased wife, Faye (also known as Laufey), a character who, before this announcement, had exactly two narrative functions: being dead and being sad in flashbacks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jaffe put it best during his stream: “You’ve lost the character. You already lost him after 2018 ’cause he changed so much he wasn’t Kratos anymore. Now you’ve lost the identifiable mythology. And you’ve also lost me with the cube.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here’s the brutal truth: fans don’t buy God of War<\/em> games because they love the combat system (though it’s great). They don’t buy them because they love Norse mythology (though it’s interesting). They buy them because they love Kratos. They love his rage. His guilt. His reluctant dad energy. His journey from monster to father to\u2026 whatever he’s becoming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take Kratos away, and what’s left? A generic fantasy action game with a familiar logo slapped on top. And the fans know it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reason #2: The Forspoken Comparison Isn’t a Joke \u2013 It’s a Warning<\/h2>\n\n\n

When Jaffe compared Laufey<\/em> to Forspoken<\/em>, social media laughed. But it wasn’t a punchline. It was a prophecy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let me remind you what Forspoken<\/em> was: a high-budget, high-expectation fantasy RPG from Square Enix. It featured a female protagonist transported to a magical world. It had flashy combat, beautiful graphics, and a talking companion (a bracelet, not a cube, but close enough). It also had cringey dialogue, an uninspired open world, and a protagonist that audiences found annoying rather than endearing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Forspoken<\/em> flopped. Financially and critically. It became a meme. A cautionary tale. The kind of game that gets brought up in “what went wrong” panel discussions at GDC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now look at Laufey<\/em>. Female protagonist? Check. Magical world (the “Everywhen”)? Check. Talking companion (Frank the Cube)? Check. Flashy combat? Check. Beautiful but generic fantasy visuals? Check. Absence of the gritty, bloody identity that made the original games iconic? Double check.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jaffe saw it immediately. “This just feels like somebody wanted to write a fantasy story,”<\/em> he said. Not a God of War<\/em> story. Just\u2026 a story. And without the brand recognition, Laufey<\/em> would be exactly what Forspoken<\/em> was: an expensive, forgettable footnote in gaming history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reason #3: Frank the Jelly Cube Is Not a Companion \u2013 It’s a Meme Waiting to Die<\/h2>\n\n\n

We need to talk about Frank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Frank is a gelatinous cube. A cube. Of jelly. He is magical. He talks. He also turns into a sword. He is voiced by Jack Quaid, who is a talented and genuinely funny actor. And none of this is a joke. This is a real design choice that multiple professional adults approved in what one assumes was a very expensive room with a very nice whiteboard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jaffe called Frank a “Disney character.” That’s generous. Disney sidekicks are designed to sell plush toys to children. Frank looks like someone spilled a blue raspberry Slurpee, gave it a personality, and called it a day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here’s the problem: God of War<\/em> is not a game that should have a cute, quirky, comedic sidekick. The franchise was built on brutal violence, tragic storytelling, and a protagonist so angry he punched his way through an entire pantheon. The tonal dissonance between “Kratos ripping off Helios’s head in slow motion” and “Frank the Cube makes a witty observation about your mom” is not just jarring \u2014 it’s franchise suicide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Imagine if The Last of Us<\/em> had a talking mushroom companion. Or if Dark Souls<\/em> had a giggling fairy following you around. That’s what Frank is. A square peg (literally) being hammered into a round hole by a development team that forgot what made their game special.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jaffe’s reaction? “Lost me with the cube. Really fucking goofy.”<\/em> He’s not wrong. Frank is goofy. And goofy doesn’t sell copies of God of War<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reason #4: The “Everywhen” Is a Mythology Smoothie \u2013 And Nobody Ordered One<\/h2>\n\n\n

One of the coolest things about God of War<\/em> (2018) and Ragnar\u00f6k<\/em> was their commitment to Norse mythology. Yes, they took liberties. Yes, they changed things. But the world felt grounded in something real. You could feel the weight of the myths behind every character, every location, every story beat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Laufey<\/em> throws that out the window.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Faye wakes up in the “Everywhen” \u2014 an afterlife realm where multiple mythologies coexist. We’ve seen Egyptian gods (Sekhmet confirmed). We’ve seen hints of Mongolian mythology. There’s probably Chinese, Japanese, and whatever else the writers felt like throwing into the blender<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jaffe’s critique was surgical: “You’ve lost the identifiable mythology of it.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here’s why that matters. When God of War<\/em> went from Greek to Norse, it was a massive shift, but it was a complete<\/em> shift. One mythology at a time. Fans could learn, adapt, and fall in love with a new pantheon. The Laufey<\/em> approach \u2014 let’s do all of them at once \u2014 sounds like a fanfiction writer’s fever dream, not a AAA game design document.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What happens when you try to serve Egyptian, Mongolian, Chinese, and Norse mythology in one game? You serve none of them well. You get shallow references, cultural appropriation accusations, and a world that feels less like a cohesive setting and more like a theme park. A very expensive, very confusing theme park with a talking cube.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fans wanted Kratos in Egypt. One mythology. One clear direction. What they’re getting is a mythology smoothie. And nobody ordered one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reason #5: The Creator Himself Said It Won’t Sell \u2013 And He’s Never Been More Honest<\/h2>\n\n\n

This is the big one. The reason this article exists. The reason the internet is on fire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

David Jaffe \u2014 the creator of God of War<\/em> \u2014 didn’t just criticize Laufey<\/em>. He predicted its failure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“It’s dead,”<\/em> he said. “That game is not going to do well for what they expected to do.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then came the comment that should terrify Sony Santa Monica: “If you got rid of God of War\u2026 if it was just a story about this goddess who dies\u2026 you would not be talking about this game.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Think about that. The man who built the sandbox is saying the new castle is only getting attention because it’s in his<\/em> sandbox. Not because it’s good. Not because anyone asked for it. But because the logo is familiar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jaffe even admitted he has no personal interest in playing it: “If it wasn’t for the stream, I have no interest in playing that game.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the creator of your franchise says he’d rather watch paint dry than play your new game, you have a problem. When he says it on a live stream with thousands of viewers, you have a crisis<\/em>. And when the internet agrees with him \u2014 as evidenced by the brutal dislike ratios on YouTube trailers \u2014 you have a flop in the making.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Bottom Line (No Cube Required)<\/h2>\n\n\n

Look, I’m not saying God of War: Laufey<\/em> will be a bad game. It might be perfectly fine. The combat looks solid. The graphics are gorgeous (they always are). Jack Quaid is funny. Frank might even grow on you, like a fungus or a bad habit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But “perfectly fine” is not what God of War<\/em> means. The franchise was built on excellence. On risk-taking that paid off. On a protagonist so iconic that his silhouette alone sells millions of copies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Laufey<\/em> takes every risk in the wrong direction. No Kratos. A dead wife protagonist. A jelly cube companion. A mythology smoothie. And the creator’s public blessing of failure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

David Jaffe might be a controversial figure. He might be too harsh. He might be stuck in the past, missing the “old Kratos” that modern audiences have moved beyond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But he’s not stupid. And he’s not blind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He looked at God of War: Laufey<\/em> and saw what everyone else is afraid to say out loud: without the name, nobody would care. And with the name, it’s just not enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

God of War: Laufey<\/em> probably won’t be the worst game of 2026. But it might be the most disappointing. And in some ways, that’s worse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What do you think? Is David Jaffe right about Laufey? Or is the creator just bitter? Drop your take in the comments \u2014 and please, be nicer<\/a> than Jaffe was. (Or don’t. It’s funnier if you aren’t.)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Let’s be real for a second. When the guy who literally invented your franchise watches your new trailer and says “that looks like shit” on a live stream, you don’t get to pretend everything is fine. David Jaffe \u2014 the original creator of God of War, director of the first two games, and the man who gave us […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":84842,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cards.overcentral.com\/cards\/en\/55320.png","fifu_image_alt":"5 Brutally Honest Reasons God of War: Laufey Will Flop \u2013 Straight","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-55320","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-videogames"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cards.overcentral.com\/cards\/en\/55320.png","fifu_image_alt":"5 Brutally Honest Reasons God of War: Laufey Will Flop \u2013 Straight","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/overcentral.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55320","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/overcentral.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/overcentral.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/overcentral.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/overcentral.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55320"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/overcentral.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55320\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/overcentral.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/84842"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/overcentral.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55320"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/overcentral.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55320"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/overcentral.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55320"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}