Dead gods that Faye should face in God Of War Laufey's afterlife

The shock announcement in Sony's June State of Play (one of many, to be fair) was without a doubt God of War Laufey. Run parallel to God of war The Norse saga, this spin-off title moves away from Kratos as its protagonist, instead following Faye, also known as Laufey the Just, a Jotunn warrior and Kratos' deceased wife, as she navigates life after her cremation. The lengthy gameplay demo showed off tons of new features, including a more mobile combat system, some really unusual companions, and a couple of deities from pantheons we haven't seen before in the franchise.

Although these two gods are indeed intriguing, God of War Laufey takes place in Everywhen, an afterlife where (seemingly) all the gods converge after their death. As such, it's not a stretch to assume that we'll see some familiar faces during the campaign, likely faces that Kratos has previously crushed. We're naturally excited to see what goes up against these dead gods will play as, but we're even more excited about the possibilities they bring to the story. After all, many of these gods are unreliable at best, downright murderous at worst, and some even have an unkind history with Faye to draw upon.

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Rearrange the cases in the correct US release order.

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Odin

The Master Manipulator has a deep connection to Atreus

• Shown in: God of War Ragnarok

Odin had been chasing Faye for a long time. Her efforts (and Tyr's) to hide the Realm Tower to Jotunheim caused both Odin and Thor much frustration in their efforts to “unify” the Nine Realms through violence and subjugation. This is also why she and Kratos built their home out in the wild forest, in an attempt to hide from the Allfather's ravens.

Odin probably has a much bigger bone to pick with Faye now, though. After all, her son, Atreus, cast the spell that trapped Odin's soul in an orb. Since Faye is clairvoyant (a common Jotnar trait), she probably knew that Kratos and Arteus' journey would lead to the Allfather's demise. However, we don't know if she was aware that her son would defeat him outright. Although Sindri smashed the marble, which technically speaking means that Odin's soul would not reach the afterlife, that is a very cunning god we are talking about. If anyone can find a way to slip through the rules of Everywhen, it's Odin.

Thor

The God of Thunder has a contentious history with Laufey

• Shown in: God of War (2018), God of War Ragnarok

Faye and Thor go way back. The Thunder God's genocide of the Nine Realms is what prompted Faye to hide Jotunheim and banish herself from the land of the giants, all to keep her people safe. But before that, she and Thor clashed with swords, and by all accounts it was a battle for the ages. Both Kratos and Mimir have waxed poetic about Faye's fighting abilities, with Kratos claiming that she “fought beautifully”, and these abilities were clearly on display in her fight against the God of Thunder.

Faye's fight with Thor eventually ended in a stalemate (much like Kratos' fight with Thor), with Mjolnir and the Leviathan ax colliding and causing the destruction of a settlement in a nearby valley. Although Thor had a change of heart moments before his death and turned against Odin (largely due to his relationship with Atreus, and Atreus' relationship with Thor's daughter, Thrud), the God of Thunder's history with Faye may prevent him from being an immediate ally should they meet in the afterlife.

Baldur

Baldur's pursuit of Faye consumed him

• Shown in: God of War (2018), God of War Ragnarok)

Cursed with immortality by his mother to avert a prophecy of his “unnecessary death”, Baldur was desperate to break free from his inability to feel anything: be it pain, pleasure or even temperature. Odin, likely for no other reason than to manipulate his son, convinces Baldur that finding Faye is the key to breaking his curse. This is why Baldur arrives at Kratos' cabin in the Wildwood. Unbeknownst to him, Faye was already dead.

Through much struggle and pain, Kratos eventually managed to kill Baldur, with Freya's help, after the God of Light had nearly gone mad. Between his tenuous grasp on reality, his obsessive pursuit of Faye to remove his curse, and his vendetta against Kratos for, well, killing him, it stands to reason that if Baldur were to run into Faye in the afterlife, he'd probably have a leg to pick. He would also be an excellent candidate to form an uneasy alliance with Faye against some of the stronger gods found in everyday life.

Zeus

Kratos and his father did not get along

• Shown in: God of War, God of War 2, God of War 3, God of War: Ghost of Sparta, God of War: Ascension, God of War (2018)

While he was initially presented as benevolent in God of War (2005), Zeus quickly changed his tune, placing a curse on Callisto that would turn her into a monster if she revealed his relationship to Kratos, and torturing Deimos for believing Kratos' brother to be the prophesied “Marked Warrior”. The irony was that Kratos ended up being the marked warrior that Zeus feared would kill him and claim his throne.

When Kratos opened Pandora's box to gain the upper hand in his battle against Ares, he released the Titanomachy evil, which possessed all the gods of Olympus, including Zeus. These evils made Zeus paranoid, which is what caused him to betray Kratos and repeatedly try to kill him. But at the end of god of war 3, when Kratos drives the evil out of Zeus, the Lord of Olympus ends his opposition to his son. Kratos still brutally murders his father, fulfilling the prophecy that terrified Zeus for so long, but Zeus seemed to accept his fate. This provides an interesting opportunity i God of War Laufey. While Zeus could certainly serve as a (very powerful) threat to Faye's advances, he could also see her efforts to help Kratos and Atreus as an opportunity to redeem himself. It all depends on which version of Zeus we get.

Ares

The Greek god of war offers a unique perspective on Faye's husband

• Shown in: God of War, God of War 2, God of War: Ghost of Sparta, God of War: Ascension,

It's been a hot minute since we've seen each other Ares, the original Greek god of war (unless you count on seeing statues of him in the background of God of War: Sons of Sparta). His demise at the hands of Kratos, while wielding the Blade of the Gods, marked a turning point for all of Olympus. Ares planned to kill Zeus and take his throne, which is why Zeus backed Kratos in God of War (2005). After defeating Ares and claiming the title of God of War for himself, Kratos kept Ares' soul in a vessel in his throne room.

Here is the interesting part. After Kratos was betrayed by Zeus and thrown into Hades, he never returned to his original throne room, except in illusions. As such, we don't know what became of Ares' soul. He may still be there, trapped forever, or he may have been unleashed on the Everywhen. While we know that Kratos told Faye about his past, we also know that he, with Atreus, left some parts intentionally vague, including many details surrounding his pact with Ares. Did he do the same to Faye? If so, there is a possibility God of War Laufey for Faye to come face to face with a stark and ugly truth about the husband she fights so hard to protect.

System

Publisher

Sony Interactive Entertainment

Number of players

Single player

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