Recent comments from a key individual at Naughty Dog have tantalisingly offered the promise of an Uncharted 5 release. Friends of Naughty Dog games and the Uncharted series in particular were no doubt at least somewhat disappointed that Uncharted 4 seemed to be the last title in the series. But Shaun Escayg, Writer and Creative Director on Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, spoke to Eurogamer recently, and hinted that Uncharted could continue even without the protagonist Nathan Drake.
Uncharted 5 hint
The ending of Uncharted 4 pretty much retired the hugely popular character of Drake, but Escayg suggests that further releases could follow with other characters central to the action. “I wouldn’t say it’s the end. This thieving world is huge. There’s so many characters. Even before we settled on this particular story we were exploring Sullivan, we were exploring Cutter, and pairing each other up, thinking what would be right, what would have conflict, growth, something new, something fresh. And Chloe was the one that kept jumping out. But to say the Uncharted world is done… I doubt that highly,” Escayg revealed.
This will undoubtedly be massive news in the video game sphere. Naughty Dog has built up a massive reputation as a developer of outstanding titles recently, with its latest games, The Last of Us and Uncharted 4, receiving almost blanket praise from critics and gamers alike.
Far from having exhausted the Uncharted universe, it seems that Naughty Dog instead has several ideas floating around for characters already involved in this game world. Escayg stated that fan-favorites such as Victor Sullivan could feature prominently in future releases, even if Naughty Dog chooses to move on from Chloe and Nadine after the existing Uncharted release.
“Yeah… We did explore, I would say, almost every character in that world and we do have spines and storylines to explore with them. But this was the one we chose to settle on,” Escayg commented.
Druckmann comments
This will certainly come as a surprise, as the California-based Naughty Dog had seemingly ended the series with Uncharted 4. The most prominent creative individual at the software developer, Neil Druckmann, previously indicated that all Uncharted 4 would complete the circle of the series, effectively killing off the Uncharted brand.
But it now seems that Naughty Dog realizes it is onto a good thing with the hugely popular Uncharted range of games, and can extend its lifecycle still further by putting other characters at the center of its narrative. Considering the writing capabilities of Druckmann, it is also possible that new characters will be dreamed up for future titles.
Uncharted: The Lost Legacy is scheduled for release exclusively on PlayStation 4 on August 22, and there is no doubt that this will be another hugely anticipated title. Naughty Dog can seemingly do no wrong in the software trade at present, and it will be intriguing to see what the company produces when The Lost Legacy hits the stores and PlayStations all over the world.
So what can we expect from this potential of Uncharted 5 release? Certainly this game will not appear for some time, if it is ever released at all. Naughty Dog has already teased gamers with the existence of The Last of Us: Part 2, yet there was no further information on this title at the recent E3 trade show. This means that the second in The Last of Us series will not appear until 2019 in all probability, meaning that work on an Uncharted 5 release will be delayed until then.
While this means that Uncharted 5 is extremely unlikely to appear at any point during this decade, it could make the game an ideal launch title for the proposed PlayStation 5. This console may be released in 2020 or 2021, meaning that Uncharted 5 could launch alongside it.
Design
Uncharted 5 would benefit from being the first title in the series developed specifically for 4K resolution consoles. Although Uncharted 4 is compatible with the PlayStation 4 Pro, and The Lost Legacy builds on this functionality, the new console was released before Uncharted 4 hit the stores. So there is good potential for Uncharted 5 to deliver a quality of gaming, and certainly visuals, that has never been witnessed in the series previously.
Serious tone
While Uncharted has always been essentially pulp fiction, it is possible that the tone of future releases could be tweaked slightly. The Last of Us is, of course, hugely dark in nature, and it doesn’t seem that Uncharted would benefit from this approach. However, Uncharted 5 could be more of a serious and emotionally involved release than previous games in the series.
Improved multiplayer
The multiplayer aspect of both Uncharted 4 and The Last of Us have been pretty decent, while Naughty Dog has made efforts to include new maps, modes and skins to keep players engaged. However, there is still room for improvement, and this could be a significant focus of Uncharted 5. Naughty Dog has already mastered the storytelling genre, and if it could couple this with a truly outstanding multiplayer release then it would have a true winner on its hands.
With The Last of Us 2 very much on the horizon, Uncharted: The Lost Legacy due to be released in the coming weeks, and a possible Uncharted 5 in the pipeline, it is clear that Naughty Dog has plenty for PlayStation fans to enjoy in the foreseeable future.
