While much of the announcement for God of War: Laufey was met with a standing ovation from the franchise's fans, if there was anything that garnered criticism from all corners of the internet, it was the inclusion of the Jack Quaid Cube AKA Phranque. The quippy dialogue of the cube, the awkwardness of its inclusion, and the fact that it doesn't seem to be based on any mythology drew a lot of different critiques.
However, the game's director, Ariel Lawrence, says that Phranque is key to God of War: Laufey, in a way that'll become clear once we play the game ourselves. "When I came back to the team, the two characters that actually were started from with Cory [Barlog] were both Faye and Phranque," she said in an interview with YouTuber FlowGames (via Wccftech).
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"Both Phranque and Rue are really important, both in combat assists as supplemental to Fay, but also in traversal and puzzle solving, and just the utility of both of them and what they can do in the shapes that they're in. So, for Phranque, as a cosmic jelly cube, how we may use him in certain parts of the world has definitely been exciting for the team just in terms of design work for us," Lawrence continued.
It's easy to imagine how a big cube could be useful mechanically. Phranque could be a platform between areas, or a springy jump pad allowing us to reach greater heights. We already saw his use in combat, ramming foes as he slaps his way across the battlefield. All of those things sound fine, but they might not fix the quip fatigue a lot of fans are experiencing, and when you see a quirky cube voiced by one of the quippiest guys out there, you could see where some of the critique comes from.