Sony’s most recent State of Play happened on June 2, 2026.
Studios and publishers use the broadcast to showcase upcoming PlayStation releases. Now, I could sit here and discuss some of the highlights (Wolverine is a must-have. Phantom Blade Zero won us over years ago, and this latest trailer did nothing to intensify the hype. ILL looks great). But let’s be honest.
The only announcement most of you care about is God of War: Laufey, which has left me so frustrated that I’m no longer willing to engage in conversations about the video game. Whenever the culture war penetrates gaming, more often than not, I can see both sides of the argument.
Not that I agree with either side. Rather, I can (sort of) understand why either side thinks what it thinks, even when they are wrong. Culture war arguments in this arena typically surround the same set of complaints: Party A (the so-called woke mob) believes a new release is finally giving women a prominent role in gaming.
Party B (the so-called anti-woke/conservative sect) thinks studios are sidelining men. Party A commends a new release for making women more realistic in their appearance by eliminating the skimpy clothing and bouncy boobage.
Party B thinks studios are going out of their way to make women ugly/buff/masculine. Party A believes that modern games are speaking to the ‘enlightened’ opinions of the masses.
Party B feels like modern games are preachy. Every title tries to shove a social message down gamers’ throats. Party A praises video games for creating strong female characters. Party B criticizes gaming for making every woman an overpowered Mary Sue.
Keep in mind that these groups are playing the exact same video games. And yet, their interpretations could not be more different. To clarify, these arguments inevitably attract agitators at the extremes of the spectrum, whose only objective is to divide and inflame. However, the voices in the middle are somewhat rational.
If you apply enough empathy, you will eventually understand where they are coming from. That said, these debates only serve to rob fandoms of their joy. When Sony gave us that 20-minute God of War: Laufey footage, I thought, “Here’s a blockbuster video game with a female protagonist that EVERYONE can get behind.”
The footage seemingly nullifies the popular complaints that such developments usually attract. You can’t accuse Laufey of replacing or even sidelining Kratos because the character is still alive and well. His adventures will continue in a separate game. The spinoff follows his wife, who dies at the start of God of War 2018.
God of War: Laufey shows us what happens to Fey after she journeys to the afterlife. You can’t accuse Santa Monica Studios of ‘uglifying’ the female protagonist, because everyone loves Debrah Ann Wol (Laufey’s actress).
She’s basically a nerd princess. If you have an hour to burn, watch her interview with Jon Bernthal. It takes her less than five minutes to make a Dungeons and Dragons fan out of Bernthal. You can’t accuse her of being an outsider who’s ruining your favourite franchise.
She’s as much a fan of God of War as everyone else. More than that, she is beautiful. Is Fey a Mary Sue? No, because we know from previous installments that she fought Thor to a standstill. Her strength was never in question.
Also, what else do you expect from Kratos’s wife? Nothing about God of War: Laufey should incite ‘culture war’ criticism, and yet the internet is still raising the same old complaints, which initially incensed me.
I wanted to dismiss all the haters as weak-willed whiners who don’t deserve an iota of the attention they have attracted. But I have killed that attitude, because that kind of thinking has turned the internet into sewage.
Also, an entertainment pundit explained a facet of this debate that I keep ignoring; these individuals are not stupid. They are merely sensitive. The culture war has thoroughly battered both sides of this conversation to the point where they overreact to everything. Every announcement feels like an attack on their beliefs and philosophies.
That would explain why a simple Double Jump is causing so much turmoil. I still refuse to engage with this conversation online. You shouldn’t either. Wait for the game to debut and judge it for yourself.
mbjjnr8@gmail.com
