The future of theUnchartedfranchise is certainly a big mystery: it’s not clear when, or even if, the franchise will continue. If Naughty Dog and Sony do end up deciding tobringUnchartedback(as they are wont to do—theUnchartedfranchise is immensely profitable), then there will be at least one big obstacle in the way.
Spoilers ahead forUncharted 4.
That obstacle, of course, is the status of Nathan Drake and his allies, who have all apparently retired from treasure-hunting by the end ofUncharted 4. Nate and Elena have had a daughter, Cassie, who could conceivably steward the franchise moving forward, and one mustn’t rule out the possibility of a “one more job” story that brings Nate and Elena out of retirement, but both of these avenues are a bit pedestrian, and may not provide the space for innovation and change that a new entry in the series would demand. Rather, it might be best for theUnchartedseries to turn back the clock, taking a few pages out of IO Interactive’s notebook.
The Case for Uncharted 5 Getting the 007 First Light Treatment
007 First Light Is an Early James Bond Story; Uncharted 5 Could Be an Early Nathan Drake Story
007 First Lightis taking a smart, if not totally original, approach with its narrative: it’s a prequel story to a character that audiences around the world know and love. By beingset early in James Bond’s espionage career,First Lighthas a lot more breathing room, able to introduce new characters, conflicts, gadgets, and the like, instead of having to work around lengthy, already-established lore.
A younger, more inexperienced lead can also be more interesting than a weathered and world-weary one, since they still have a lot of lessons to learn, and more opportunities for failure, which in turn provide more opportunities for interesting growth. Cassie Drake could be this younger protagonist, but putting her in the lead role runs the risk of retreading old ground. Moreover, Cassie being theprotagonist ofUncharted 5has the potential to undermine the themes ofUncharted 4, which revolve around the less-than-savory elements of Nathan’s obsessive treasure-hunting ways.
If Cassie follows the same dark path as her father, thenUncharted 4’s narrative could fall flat in retrospect. But if players got to fill the shoes of a young Nathan Drake, following him on his first adventures, thenUncharted 4could tell a powerful coming-of-age story about a hero that millions of players already know and love.
Showing a younger version of an older protagonist would also be a nice change of pace from the ever-popular “dad genre” that exploded in the wake of games likeThe Last of UsandGod of War(2018).
Uncharted 3andUncharted 4both follow the early adventures of Nathan Drake to a certain extent, but there’s a gap between his childhood pickpocket days and his globe-trotting criminal career that hasn’t been explored to its fullest potential. It would be interesting to see, for instance, the first time that Nathan took a life, or the first woman he fell in love with, considering his womanizing tendencies. More importantly, a prequel game could help to further flesh out his relationships with Sully and Sam, as these dynamics are arguably the best in the series. TheUnchartedmovie adaptationproves that there’s an audience interested in seeing Nathan Drake’s early days, so it makes sense for a game to follow a similar route.
From a gameplay perspective,Uncharted 5could adopt a completely different mechanical framework. Nathan wouldn’t be the nigh-unstoppable superhuman he is in the later games, and this would allowUncharted 5to be slower, more methodical, or more challenging, akin tothird-person shooters likeResident Evil 4. All in all, there’s a world of potential in a Nathan Drake prequel story, and Naughty Dog should consider capitalizing on it.
