God of War Laufey Director Says Phranque and Rue Are Important for Story and Gameplay

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The reveal of God of War Laufey last week generated a lot of excitement among fans. However, some have criticized the inclusion of the character Phranque, a gelatinous cube, specifically regarding the style of its writing. In a recent interview, director Ariel Lawrence explained that Cory Barlog was the one who decided to include Phranque, and that its presence allows the development team to create innovative and engaging combat, movement, and puzzle elements.

I was reading an interview with Lawrence from Santa Monica Studio, and it was really interesting! He was talking about how Phranque and Rue – that talking ribbon on Faye’s sword – weren’t just cool story elements in God of War Laufey, but actually helped with the gameplay too. Apparently, the whole team was super hyped about Phranque in particular; it sounds like they really put a lot of energy into that character.

Lawrence explained that both Phranque and Rue are valuable characters, not just for helping Faye in battles, but also for getting around the game world, solving puzzles, and offering general usefulness. The team is particularly excited about the design possibilities that Phranque’s unique form – a cosmic jelly cube – opens up in different areas of the game.

Interestingly, she also revealed that Phranque was part of the concept for God of War Laufey from before Lawrence was even part of its development team. She noted that Phranque was “one of the very first things” made for the title by Cory Barlog, and that he is a core part of the game’s overall story. Lawrence found it exciting to work with the character since she saw it as a way to see how far human connection could go when the subject of this connection is just a talking cube.

Lawrence explained that when he rejoined the team, the characters Faye and Phranque were already in development, originating with Cory. Phranque has always been a core element of the ‘Everywhen’ story. Lawrence found it interesting to explore how they could create emotional connection and narrative around something seemingly lifeless – a cube – and make the audience care about it.

We found the idea really intriguing and Cory and I discussed how exciting and different it was. The team was especially energized by the unexpected nature of the concept, and we’re all really excited about the possibilities it opens up from a technical standpoint.

The new God of War game, currently known as God of War Laufey, was revealed at Sony’s State of Play event and is being made only for the PlayStation 5. While Santa Monica Studio hasn’t announced when it will be released, some reports suggest it won’t be for several years.

As for the future of the franchise, Santa Monica Studio has said that it still has many more stories to tell involving Kratos. For now, however, the team is excited to explore the concept of “the afterlife of the gods” with Faye as the main character.

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2026-06-10 17:11