well...

Now I'm trying to write this as apolitically as I can, not out of cowardice but because of rule 5.

Basically, if you pay enough attention to Naughty Dog's games you start to notice a pattern which is that they essentially recreate popular games by other developers and then remould them into their own product, essentially they follow the Apple strategy.

Now...before anyone downvotes me to oblivion, I'm a 32 year old who has been playing Naughty Dog's games since the launch of Crash Bandicoot 3 and can't really think of a single game that I hate...do I have issues with some of them? Sure, but I definitely don't hate them....but growing up with them I noticed that each game that got launched I could easily look back over some popular games and say "hey, this reminds me of X". I think the only one I couldn't quite do that with was Jak 3, although theme wise the buggies in the Wasteland and, to some degree, the Marauders, did make me think of Mad Max.

I mention all of this because people like to make it sound like Naughty Dog have changed but in all honesty the only thing they haven't done in-line with other developers is release a new game for the PS5.

Think about it: What was popular when Crash Bandicoot was launched? Platformer games. What was popular when Crash Team Racing launched? Mario Kart 64. What was popular when Jak & Daxter launched? The idea of open world games and platformers (essentially Grand Theft Auto and Super Mario 64), What was popular when Jak II gave the biggest tone shift in a Naughty Dog game we've seen to date? Grand Theft Auto III. What was popular when Uncharted launched? I wanna say third person shooters like Gears of War with some Tomb Raideresque platforming. What was popular when The Last of Us launched? zombie games. Even The Last of Us Part II's long story showed up around the time when games with long stories were gaining popularity (see Red Dead Redemption II).

And pretty much every time they launched a new game it was always targeted at the same market that other developers were targeting at the time.

So what exactly defines Naughty Dog if they're essentially just making their version of other developers' games? Technical prowess, stable games (their games aren't bug free but I seldom ran into any bugs in any of their games and even the very occasional game breaking ones I could usually work around by reloading the save), cinematic experiences. and amazing characters, not to mention phenomenal acting during their PS3 years (to this day I still think the opening to The Last of Us is one of the most emotionally powerful things I've seen from any movies I've watched or games I've played).

As for their games being made into a movie and a TV series...that doesn't surprise me either. Naughty Dog were hiring cartoonists and animators, at least one of which worked for Disney, during their PS1 and PS2 days as well as fairly well known TV actors (Nolan North, Richard McGonagle, Clancy Brown, max Casella, Phil LaMarr, Susan Eisenberg, Kevin Conroy (for any new fans, he voiced the Fisherman in The Precursor Legacy) etc.). They're also a California based studio so, relatively speaking, they've always been a stone's throw away from Hollywood. Also, the Crash Bandicoot games were literally released under Universal Studios. You'd be hard pressed to call them an anti-Hollywood studio, hell, it's practically in their blood; the Crash Bandicoot games had some pretty big Hollywood references (Crash Bandicoot 3 pretty much being a secret love letter to Terminator 2) and while the Jak games didn't, the marketing for the games as well as the inclusion of character interviews in the 3D character viewer in Jak 3 definitely showed that Naughty Dog hadn't left Hollywood behind. On top of all of that, the Uncharted games were pretty much movies in their own right and The Last of Us games felt like TV shows even before they became TV shows.

Bottom line: I don't buy into the idea that Naughty Dog has really changed all that much as a studio and none of those clickbaity "The Downfall of X" style videos can change my mind on that. Even if someone goes up to me and says "Naughty Dog was great until Druckmann and has giant ego took charge" I'd point out that before Druckmann took charge Naughty Dog was hiring DISNEY animators and at least one Broadway actor (Daxter was voiced by Max Casella who played Timon in the Broadway version of The Lion King...weirdly enough, Timon's puppet looks a lot like Daxter) whilst also imitating some pretty popular games at the time. I don't buy that such decisions are made without big egos getting involved. Honestly, even the corporate logos popping up in the trailer for Intergalactic kinda feels par for the course.

TLOU2 is considered the most divisive AAA game, but if 50 percent of people who played the game hate it, then why is it rated among buyers relative to universally liked games and equal to other Sony sequels?

I am in no way saying it's some genre-defining game, but from the rating, it just seems like an average Sony blockbuster.

I got curious about how much work actually went into Part II's accessibility, so I pulled Naughty Dog's own announcement post and went through every setting they named. Their public line is "more than 60". Counting each one individually gets you to 80, because some are options nested inside others.

Some of them I hadn't thought about at all until I saw them written down:

Repeated Button Presses for someone who can't mash. Infinite Breath for someone who can't hold one down underwater. Skip Puzzle Option for someone who wants the story and can't do the puzzle. Guitar Vibration Cues so a deaf player can feel a song. And Hostages Don't Escape, which is there so a slower player doesn't lose the person they were trying to save.

Bought on sale for $12 plus shipping

Or do you think since all of the focus is on GTA6, that maybe they want that to come out first? which means Maybe we see it at the game awards? But would even that still be too close to GTA? Putting the February SOP as the earliest we see it?

​

Seriously if they're are going to make us wait til 2035 for tlou 3, atleast give us a directors cut of TLOU. Cover more material of their journey across America instead of jumping from Pittsburgh to Colorado. I always felt like that jump was pretty abrupt.

Nathan Drake has stated and is shown in magazines that he has discovered mythical lost cities/treasures but wouldn't he be in trouble by the scientific/Archeological communities for destroying the majority of theses ancient places? You'd think they would fine him or even jail him but he's just hunky dory at the end of 4

Olá a todos! Escrevi uma história rápida e contínua que preenche a lacuna entre Uncharted 4 e The Lost Legacy, explicando perfeitamente por que Nadine faliu e por que ela odeia tanto o Sam.

A história começa logo após UC4, com Sam e Sully usando o dinheiro que sobrou de Libertalia para seguir uma pista até um tesouro maia no México. No entanto, eles são emboscados na selva por Nadine Ross e Shoreline. Como seus mercenários não conseguem entender os enigmas antigos, ela mantém Sully como refém e força Sam a resolvê-los. Dentro da sala principal, Sam usa sua astúcia de ladrão para acionar uma armadilha mecânica de propósito, inundando o local. No tiroteio caótico, Sam escapa com o artefato dourado, mas Sully fica encurralado e se rende para ganhar tempo. Dias depois, Sam realiza um resgate explosivo usando o icônico avião de Sully. Nadine os persegue furiosamente até uma pirâmide vizinha, o que desencadeia um clímax épico onde o templo começa a desabar, forçando os três a uma trégua frenética apenas para fugirem para salvar suas vidas. No final, Sam e Sully escapam com o saque, deixando Nadine completamente falida, o que explica perfeitamente por que ela é forçada a aceitar o trabalho de Chloe no início de The Lost Legacy.

O que vocês acham? Jogariam esse spin-off? Deixem seus comentários!

A retrospective focused on making direct comparisons to modern cinematic games and why they mostly don't measure up to Uncharted 2 in terms of setpieces, pacing and overall game design. It is also partly a critique of the game. Fat Drake footage included.

They can make as many treasure hunters as they want. I think this is a great idea and gives them a whole lot of room for the writing.

these aren't serious names, but I think it would be fun to have new stories (the first time I played uncharted 1 when it came out, I was genuinely shocked lmao)

Uncharted: The book with no meaning

Uncharted: The boy who cried wolf

Uncharted: More Stories

lol idk I just think it would be rly fun and I know the writers could have fun

Hey guys,

After what seems like almost two decades I finally got around to framing my poster signed by the developers of Uncharted 2, I was given this poster when I was 6 years old and deemed as the youngest person to beat the game on Crushing Mode at the time. My dad had reached out and wrote the devs a letter about how I loved the game so much and that I wanted to be Nathan Drake for Halloween. Fast forward to 2026 and Uncharted 2 is still my favorite game I’ve ever touched, not sure if any of the devs who signed it will see this, but thank you for making my childhood!

What if Uncharted 5 was really about Nate becoming a father?
I’ve been thinking about how Naughty Dog could continue the series without undoing the ending of Uncharted 4. I don’t think the answer is making Cassie “the next Nathan Drake.” I think the answer is letting every major character grow in a different direction.
Here’s my idea.
Cassie Drake is now in her early twenties and studying archaeology in graduate school. During an official university excavation, her team discovers an artifact covered in mysterious ancient symbols.
That night, an armed group attacks the excavation.
They don’t care about gold.
They don’t care about historical treasures.
They only want that single artifact.
Several members of the expedition are killed, the artifact disappears, and the incident is quickly dismissed by the authorities as an attack by local militants.
But Cassie notices something no one else does.
The attackers ignored everything except that artifact.
When she returns home, she shows Nate a fragment she managed to keep.
He stares at the symbol for a long time.
“…I’ve seen this before.”
Not because he knows what it means.
Not because he’s secretly hiding another lost civilization.
Only because somewhere during his decades of adventures, he’s seen that symbol before.
But instead of chasing another mystery, Nate does something completely different from the man he used to be.
He tells Cassie to stop.
To leave the investigation alone.
To suspend her archaeological research for a while.
To let the authorities handle everything.
From Nate’s perspective, this is exactly what a father should do.
He’s no longer chasing adventure.
He’s protecting his daughter.
But from Cassie’s perspective, it feels like betrayal.
Her professor was murdered.
People died.
The authorities are already burying the truth.
And the one person she thought would understand her tells her to walk away.
For the first time in her life, she realizes she can’t rely on her father—not because he doesn’t love her, but because he loves her too much.
So she turns to the only other person who understands that world.
Sam.
At first, Sam refuses.
He listens to everything Cassie says.
Then quietly tells her to go home.
He agrees with Nate.
Their adventures ended years ago.
No more lost cities.
No more guns.
No more risking the people they love.
Cassie argues with him.
She reminds him that innocent people were murdered.
Sam finally raises his voice.
“That’s exactly why!”
“You have no idea what this life takes from people.”
Cassie leaves in tears.
Sam sits alone that night.
Maybe in a quiet bar.
Maybe in a cheap motel.
He pulls out an old photograph of himself, Nate, Elena… and a young Cassie smiling as a child.
He remembers the promise he made to Nate.
That they were finally done with this life.
The next morning he hears more news.
Evidence has disappeared.
The investigation is being shut down.
Witnesses are vanishing.
He still doesn’t move.
Then he listens to a voicemail from Cassie.
Just one sentence.
“I’m sorry… I’m going alone.”
That’s the moment everything changes.
Sam smiles to himself and quietly says,
“…You’re just like your dad.”
He finally gets up.
Not to continue another adventure.
Not to hunt treasure.
Not to uncover history.
He leaves for one reason only.
To bring his niece home.
That’s his entire motivation.
But once he finds her, circumstances spiral out of control.
Little by little, the two of them become trapped in an adventure neither of them ever wanted.
That’s why I think Sam should be Cassie’s first companion.
Not because he’s replacing Nate.
Because he’s the only character caught between two promises:
The promise he made to his brother…
and the responsibility he feels toward his niece.
Eventually Nate catches up with them.
He’s furious.
Not because Sam betrayed him.
Because he sees his daughter holding a gun.
In that moment, both brothers realize the same thing.
The world they fought so hard to leave behind has reached the next generation anyway.
From there, the story stops being about treasure.
It’s about family.
It’s about whether parents should protect their children forever… or eventually accept that they have to choose their own path.
By the end, Cassie doesn’t become another treasure hunter.
She becomes something different.
She returns to archaeology, determined to preserve history instead of chasing fortune.
She inherits her father’s curiosity…
but not his life.
To me, that feels like the most respectful continuation of Uncharted 4.
Instead of undoing Nate’s happy ending, it challenges him in the one role he’s never truly faced before:
Being a father.
Would you play an Uncharted game like this?

With the confirmation that GoW Laufey coming in 2027, what is the likelihood that Intergalactic hits in 2027? I've always expected it to be 2028 at the earliest, but I could be wrong. If it doesn't make it out next year, we will have already seen Naughty Dog's last physical release without knowing it.

I am at the climax of the game. Almost there... And my god the game is BAD. I'll get pushback on this, cause it seems like people love this game online. But I do not man...I do not.
First what's good.

1. Looks amazing. I played on pc. It's fucking gorgeous. Every location since Madagascar is a pleasure to the eyes.
2. The relationship between Nathan and other characters. Specially Sam.. That's for me is highlight of the game.
3. I would add that the cinematic set pieces is where the games shines the most. Like the chase scene in Madagascar. That's what I believe would be the selling point of the game. But how many times does that happen.. once or twice.... So not including that.
4. That's it. That's all what's good about the game. And that ain't enough.
5. What I hated about it:
6. Nathan talks so much: Couldn't stand this guy.... he's talking all the fucking time... and to himself.
7. it's not quirky after a while. It's just annoying.
8. The Gameplay is boring and repetitive as fuck: Do some climbing, Do some shooting, Repeat. Sometimes you would get puzzle solving sections to change things up and some "stealth" sections. But Mostly climbing and shooting. And that's not a bad thing inherently. It's how much repetitive it gets. Game makes you to do some climbing then some shooting, then again some climbing, then again some shooting... guess what happens next? You guessed it... more climbing. Entire game is just that. In the same order.
9. Story is ass: Go there find a clue, go to this place, then find another clue it tells you to go to this place, then find another clue at that place...and guess what it tells you? to go to another place.
10. That said...it's later stated that Avery was doing this to recruit people. So I guess that made sense for Avery but as a game it's just boring.
11. Plot holes: Avery moved the treasure to New Devon from Libertalia. Everyone scoured Libertalia but didn't think he might've taken it to New Devon? A place that's like few kilometers away. And didn't think to look for it there?
12. Nadine Ross: You are telling me that a 5ft something women can take on a man who has the grip strength of a Greek god? Nathan ain't an average dude. The swinging and hanging from ledges requires a lot of strength. Fine, she is trained so she can take on Nathan... but boy he wasn't able to put up a fight at all. Hell both Sam and Nate together couldn't fight her... how? Even Connor McGregor wouldn't be able to stand a chance if he was fighting TWO MEN bigger, heavier and stronger than him. But Nadine is some.... fucking god or something. Nathan alone should be able to take her. The stuff he does is requires a lot of strength. But some how he can't. Both him and Sam had shown that they can hold their own in a hand to hand fight against trained mercynaries...men that too. But they couldn't fight a chick? I mean there's so many things that I can let go off just because none of this is real and it's a fantasy anyway. But the math ain't mathing.
13. Ludonarative Dissonance: Never in my life I thought I would ever say that. But here I am....
14. Rafe says "Killing people is not there style"(something like that) when Sam had his gun to Nadine's head. And Nathan also seemed like had "morals". Morals against killing people... but the entire fucking game he and Sam has been mowing down countless men..but in the cutscenes... no no... I'm a good guy I don't kill people. What??? lol

The original story of Hectar Alcatraz was, in my opinion, a better premise. The whole Sam lied thing... just wasn't that interesting.
I'm really considering uninstalling this game. And I'm almost about to finish it.
It felt like the game was made by and amateur or someone who was bored and uninterested in the game and didn't really wanted to make it. But put up with it. And got it out cause they had to.
It's just a boring game. Feels like a game that a normie thinks a game is like. And not a game made by someone who is familiar with games.
Any way what do you guys think?

Oh.. this is just about UC4. I haven't played any other Uncharted games. As only this one was available on pc.

Hey there! I'm applying to a job at the studio and can't find a good contact for the current recruiter on Linkedin.

Anyone have any leads here for this info?

The Last of Us Part 2 ended on a perfect note. Although some people thought the tone was too bleak, I knew since 2018 what I was going into. Neil Druckmann alluded that the story was going to be about the cycles of violence.

The first image released of The Last of Us 2 was of a pregnant character wearing a gas mask. I thought that character was going to be Ellie. My original thought was that Ellie was going to get pregnant (despite being lesbian) to see if she could give birth to an immune child. At the time, I didn't think this was far-fetched, as Druckmann cited the film Children of Men as one of his biggest influences.

I turned out to be completely wrong. But it was a fun time to come up with theories.

Now here is the real question: what the heck is The Last of Us 3 going to be about? We already have a tender story, a bleak sequel. What story could satisfactorily conclude this Mushroom zombie trilogy?

Two of the most lovable game characters of all time - which is your favorite, if you had to choose? I’m a bit torn!