- Primary Subject: God of War: Laufey
- Key Update: The reveal trailer suggests Santa Monica Studio may be revisiting aerial combat mechanics that have largely been absent from the series since 2013's God of War: Ascension.
- Status: Based on Trailer Footage
- Last Verified: June 2, 2026
- Quick Answer: God of War: Laufey appears to bring back aerial combat elements. The trailer shows Faye launching enemies into the air and following up with airborne attacks, hinting at the return of a combat style that has rarely appeared in the series' modern era.
There was a lot to unpack during God of War Laufey's reveal.
Between Faye finally stepping into the spotlight as the playable protagonist, the introduction of the mysterious Everywhen, and Cory Barlog's confirmation that the game runs alongside the events of God of War 2018 and Ragnarok rather than serving as a straightforward prequel, Santa Monica Studio gave players plenty to think about.
Yet one small gameplay detail kept pulling my attention away from everything else.
It wasn't a new weapon, a boss fight, or even a major story revelation.
Instead, it was a small gameplay detail that instantly reminded me of an older version of God of War that the series largely left behind more than a decade ago.
The more I thought about it, the more it felt like one of the most interesting parts of the entire reveal.
God of War Laufey Is Bringing Back A Kind Of Combat The Series Left Behind
While most of the reveal focused on Faye, the Everywhen, and what the game could mean for the future of the franchise, I kept coming back to the combat footage.
The more I watched, the more one detail stood out to me. It was what happened whenever enemies left the ground.
Throughout the footage, Faye is shown launching enemies upward, following them into the air, and extending attacks in ways that immediately reminded me of the older God of War games.
That may sound like a relatively small observation (especially compared to everything else the reveal had going on), but it represents a surprisingly big change for a franchise that has largely avoided aerial combat since 2013's God of War: Ascension.
Back then, verticality was a major part of the series' identity.
Launching enemies, juggling them mid-combo, and keeping them airborne for as long as possible was not some niche technique reserved for advanced players.
It was woven directly into the combat system. The Greek-era games wanted players to feel powerful, aggressive, and a bit larger than life, and aerial combat played a huge role in creating that feeling.
The Norse saga deliberately moved in a different direction.
When Santa Monica rebooted the series in 2018, the goal was not to recreate the older games with prettier graphics.
The entire combat system changed, with fights becoming heavier, slower, and more grounded.
Kratos was no longer flying around arenas chaining together elaborate combo strings.
Every hit felt solid, every swing carried weight, and fights often felt like brutal back-and-forth exchanges.
A jump button sounds like a strangely small thing to focus on when discussing a major God of War reveal, but in this case it says quite a lot about Santa Monica's design priorities.
The start of the Norse saga saw God of War abandon much of its aerial combat, which made sense for the reboot but changed how battles felt.
The modern games took a slower, more calculated approach to combat. They were not worse because of that, but they were undeniably different.
To be clear, I think that change worked extremely well. In many ways, it was exactly what the series needed.
Kratos had changed, so his combat style changed with him. The older version of the character was driven by rage and destruction.
The Norse-era Kratos felt older, more restrained, and considerably more thoughtful (well, at least by God of War standards). The combat reflected that evolution perfectly.
That is why Faye immediately felt interesting to me, as she looks like a character built around a completely different combat mindset.
Her attacks look quicker, more agile, and noticeably more willing to use vertical space.
Watching her bounce between enemies and extend attacks in mid-air, I could not help thinking about how long it has been since God of War allowed players to fight like that.
More than a decade has passed since Ascension, yet those few seconds of gameplay instantly brought that style back to mind.
What excites me most is that this does not look like a simple attempt to recreate the Greek-era games. God of War has evolved too much for that.
Instead, Laufey appears to be blending the cinematic weight and presentation of the Norse saga with a combat style that is noticeably more agile and expressive.
If Santa Monica can strike that balance, this could end up feeling like the freshest combat system the series has had in years.
In some respects, Faye may be solving a problem Santa Monica could never really solve with Kratos.
Bringing aerial combat back to the older protagonist might have felt like a step backward for the character.
Bringing it back through Faye feels like a natural extension of who she is.
The new protagonist gives the studio a chance to revisit mechanics that disappeared from the series without changing how Kratos fights.
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