God of War creator David Jaffe criticizes PS5 spinoff Laufey

David Jaffe, the creator of the original God of War and a former Santa Monica Studio developer, criticized the upcoming PS5 spinoff Laufey after viewing a 20-minute presentation.

He posted online that the footage felt like a conventional fantasy and used strong language: “What the f*ck is that? That looks like sh*t, I’m going to be honest with you. It reminds me of that game Forspoken a little bit.” He described the title as “uninspired and dull” and added, “It’s dead. That game is not going to do well for what they expect it to do.”

Jaffe questioned creative choices and the franchise’s direction, saying the series had lost “the gore and the violence that made the first game” and that the lead character changed after the 2018 reboot: “You already lost him after 2018 because he changed so much he wasn’t the same character anymore.”

He pointed to specific elements in Laufey’s reveal, naming “the cube and the little Disney character at the beginning” as moments that turned him off, and suggested the God of War name would be doing much of the work to attract interest: “without the God of War branding, no one would care about the game.”

Earlier this year, Jaffe described the side-scrolling spin-off God of War: Sons of Sparta as a “terrible first-party game.” Jaffe is credited with creating the original PS2 God of War and later left Santa Monica Studio.

Developers present Laufey as a departure from the action focus of the original trilogy and the 2018 reboot, exploring an afterlife for gods and a different narrative approach. The game’s reveal drew mixed responses from players and commentators.

The God of War franchise expanded with the 2018 reboot and additional projects, and remakes of earlier entries are in development.