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Controversy · comment analysis

Why isn't the franchise's original hero returning?

What the comments really say about replacing legacy heroes, backed by the numbers.

Updated: 01/08/2026
Across the five games tracked, the original hero steps aside for a new lead by narrative choice (prequel, grief, exploration), not rejection of the character. The topic ranges from 8% to 20% of discussion depending on the game, peaking in a gendered clash on God of War Laufey.

The context

On October 7, 2024, marking the original game's tenth anniversary, Creative Assembly announced Alien: Isolation 2. Its new protagonist, Blake, a Weyland-Yutani manager, replaces Amanda Ripley, the 2014 heroine.

On June 8, 2025, at the Xbox Games Showcase, Focus Entertainment and Asobo Studio unveiled Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy, a prequel built around Sophia rather than Amicia, the lead of Innocence and Requiem.

On December 11, 2025, at The Game Awards, Remedy Entertainment revealed Control Resonant. Players take on the role of Dylan Faden, brother of Jesse Faden, the protagonist of the first Control (2019), who is reported missing at the story's outset, explaining her absence as the playable lead.

On June 2, 2026, during a State of Play, Santa Monica Studio announced God of War Laufey. The story picks up right after the death of Faye (Laufey), Kratos's wife and Atreus's mother, who died before God of War (2018); she becomes the playable heroine in the afterlife realm, the Everywhen. The studio also confirmed a next Kratos-led entry, tied to this story, is already in development.

Sources: Creative Assembly annonce Alien: Isolation 2 · Focus Entertainment et Asobo Studio révèlent Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy · Remedy Entertainment révèle Control Resonant · Premier aperçu de God of War Laufey - PlayStation.Blog

Factual background compiled from public sources — the debate analysis below relies exclusively on the comments.

How we got here

as told by the comments
June 2017

The pattern is born with Beyond Good and Evil 2: the E3 teaser bets on a customizable hero rather than Jade's return, though this isn't yet the core of the debate, focused on delays.

Mid-2025

The pattern resurfaces with Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy: first waves of comments missing Amicia and Hugo in favor of Sophia.

June 10-26, 2026

Peak on God of War Laufey: Faye replaces Kratos, tipping the debate into an openly gendered clash between sexism accusations and defense of the creative choice.

June 17-July 2026

The pattern migrates to Alien: Isolation 2, where uncertainty over Amanda Ripley's return revives a quieter nostalgia, without gendered controversy.

July 30, 2026

Control: Resonant joins the list of sequels with a replaced heroine, but the topic stays marginal there, mentioned in passing rather than debated head-on.

Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy

~20% of the discussion on this game

Amicia and Hugo give way to Sophia in this prequel, sparking visible but rarely hostile nostalgia. Most comments welcome this new chapter of the lore.

Original loyalists 40 %

Part of the audience already says it misses Amicia and Hugo before even playing the new game.
« Already missing Amicia and Hugo 🥲 »
— @B-looser4004 · ♥ 780 · translated · see original ↗
Others admit they haven't gotten over Requiem's ending, which colors their reception of the sequel.
« I'm still sad about Requiem's ending. »
— @Zeroninja-j5c · ♥ 125 · translated · see original ↗
The Amicia-Hugo duo is explicitly cited as something already missed since the announcement.
« Not gonna lie, gonna miss our girl Amicia! »
— @JJJoeJoe · ♥ 316 · translated · see original ↗

Open to renewal 60 %

Many say they're excited to explore Sophia's past, a character already appreciated in Requiem.
« Sophia was pretty much my favorite character in Requiem, the only adult who understood the madness of the De Rune siblings' situation and lived to tell the tale. I'm excited! »
— @meganmcdonald3333 · ♥ 137 · translated · see original ↗
Others welcome the saga's continuity through a 'familiar face' rather than a total stranger.
« Gonna miss Amicia and Hugo but I'm glad the series is continuing with a familiar face, surprised we have a game about Sophia. »
— @lonleybeer · ♥ 122 · translated · see original ↗
The mere continuation of the series, regardless of the heroine, is enough to please part of the audience.
« So happy the Plague Tale is continuing. »
— @freeMHan11 · ♥ 192 · translated · see original ↗

Beyond Good and Evil 2

~15% of the discussion on this game

In development for nearly a decade, the game replaces Jade with a customizable hero, a choice overshadowed by the overall obsession with endless delays.

Original loyalists 30 %

Even a simple glimpse of Jade is enough to spark a wave of nostalgia among longtime fans.
« OMG IS THAT JADE? »
— @anomaly_7303 · ♥ 1 · translated · see original ↗
Others worry the original heroine is so forgotten that most of today's audience has no idea who she is.
« When 90% of the people who are watching have to go look up who Jade is... »
— @mimik6775 · ♥ 1 k · translated · see original ↗

Open to renewal 70 %

The ability to create your own character, even a shark-man, excites part of the audience more than Jade's return.
« Wait, you can create your character? Don't get me wrong, the chimp jet-pack gameplay is awesome, but that shark-man though. »
— @Alkadius1993 · ♥ 768 · translated · see original ↗
Many newcomers discover the game without knowing Jade and still get excited about the universe.
« This is the first time I've ever heard of this game, I have no idea what's happening but that monkey killed me lmao XD. »
— @TheDede508 · ♥ 783 · translated · see original ↗

Alien: Isolation 2

~10% of the discussion on this game

Amanda Ripley's status in the sequel remains unclear, fueling mild nostalgia rather than outrage. Many fans stay excited even without confirmation of her return.

Original loyalists 35 %

Some explicitly regret not continuing the story with Amanda.
« I'm already shivering with anticipation, but it's a shame not to continue this sequel with Amanda! »
— @zacfiel6428 · ♥ 41 · translated · see original ↗
Others find it a shame not to see her again, while hoping for a hidden cameo.
« Can't wait to play it, even if not seeing Amanda again is a bit of a shame, but it's entirely possible to run into her in the game, if the devs kept the surprise hidden... »
— @whitefeather637 · ♥ 12 · translated · see original ↗
One comment goes as far as pleading with developers not to replace her in her own story.
« Please don't tell me you're replacing Amanda Ripley in her own story. »
— @Rexysbiggestfan · ♥ 0 · translated · see original ↗

Open to renewal 65 %

For others, the real star remains the xenomorph's AI, more than the identity of the human heroine.
« 'A.I. 2' could also be version 2.0 of the greatest enemy AI in a game. »
— @WalmartWhite. · ♥ 24 · translated · see original ↗
Trust in the development team reassures those who accept the uncertainty around the protagonist.
« Creative Assembly knows what they're doing; staying focused purely on the first film after all this hype proves they go beyond chasing cash. »
— @andrewhauge4338 · ♥ 23 · translated · see original ↗
Many simply say they're happy a sequel finally exists, regardless of who leads it.
« A huge fan of the original Alien Isolation, I am so looking forward to playing the upcoming game too. Thanks for the interview, it made me confident part 2 will finally happen. »
— @MartinLeggewie · ♥ 55 · translated · see original ↗

God of War Laufey

~9% of the discussion on this game

Here it's not Kratos disappearing but his wife Faye taking over as the playable lead, fueling most of the backlash. The corpus mostly defends the choice, turning sexism accusations back on the critics.

Original loyalists 25 %

For part of the audience, nobody asked to play as Kratos's wife instead of him.
« Nobody asked for or wanted to play as Kratos's wife. »
— @KaryonTheirStory · ♥ 643 · translated · see original ↗
Others dismiss Faye as a mere plot device to move along a grieving husband's story, not a hero in her own right.
« Faye was a McGuffin, a plot device to move the story along for an estranged and grieving husband. »
— @V1dW4tcher · ♥ 502 · translated · see original ↗
Some already joke, with irony, about Kratos being further sidelined in other productions tied to the license.
« I can't wait to see how Kratos gets emasculated in Amazon's Goddess of War. »
— @ambushbob · ♥ 0 · translated · see original ↗

Open to renewal 75 %

Defenders point out Faye has always been depicted as a fighter able to hold her own against Kratos and Thor.
« Faye has canonically fought both Kratos and Thor to a draw. She's always been badass. »
— @localtincan5666 · ♥ 1 k · translated · see original ↗
Others call it absurd to dictate to creators who can embody their own characters, labeling that stance anti-art.
« It is comical how these people claim to be 'defenders of art' or 'true fans', yet try to tell artists what they can do with THEIR characters. They really are the anti-art. »
— @SMM5 · ♥ 1 k · translated · see original ↗
A parallel is drawn with Metroid and Samus: playing as a woman only became a 'problem' recently for some players.
« Imagine if Metroid came out today, these same grifters would lose their mind over Samus. Playing as a woman only started being a 'problem' within the last 10 years. »
— @ItsB3enLikeThis · ♥ 717 · translated · see original ↗

Control: Resonant

~8% of the discussion on this game

Available corpus data stays very thin for this title: it only surfaces in passing, cited by commenters on other releases the same season for the 'Resonance' naming coincidence. No direct discussion of the heroine swap is documented here.

Original loyalists 50 %

Lacking dedicated comments, the position of those who might miss Jesse Faden only reads between the lines, via implicit comparison with other season releases.
When mentioned, the game is often bundled with other 'Resonance'-titled releases without detailing any opinion on the protagonist swap.

Open to renewal 50 %

The game is mostly name-dropped amid a packed fall lineup, with no reservations expressed about the original heroine's absence.
« Resonance: A Plague Tale, Control Resonant, Final Fantasy Resonance…. I'm sensing a theme this Fall release schedule. »
— @Brumack8808 · ♥ 240 · translated · see original ↗
Other commenters note the coincidence of 'Resonance' titles this season with curiosity rather than concern.
« Resonance: A Plague Tale, Control Resonant, Final Fantasy Resonance…these 2026 games really…resonate…with me. »
— @JayKanPlayy · ♥ 74 · translated · see original ↗
Where the debate standsReplacing the legacy hero rarely divides fans in practice: across all five games, most commenters welcome the new protagonists as long as the universe stays coherent. The debate is sharpest and most polarized around God of War Laufey, intertwined with sexism accusations, while it stays muted on Alien: Isolation 2 and nearly absent on Control: Resonant.

Frequently asked questions

Which games are affected by the replacement of a legacy hero?
Five tracked games share this pattern: Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy (~20% of discussion), Beyond Good and Evil 2 (~15%), Alien: Isolation 2 (~10%), God of War Laufey (~9%) and Control: Resonant (~8%).
Why isn't Kratos playable in God of War Laufey?
According to commenters, his wife Faye takes over as the playable lead; most of the corpus defends this as a logical evolution, while a minority keeps calling for Kratos.
Does Amanda Ripley return in Alien: Isolation 2?
Her return isn't confirmed in the exchanges observed: some fans openly miss her, but many stay excited, banking on the atmosphere and the xenomorph rather than the heroine.
Does changing the protagonist hurt these games' reception?
Overall, no: continuity of the universe reassures more than attachment to a single hero, except on God of War Laufey, where the debate turns sharper, tinged with sexism accusations on both sides.
Analysis built from 288 public YouTube comments on the tracked videos — updated on 01/08/2026. Our methodology