A brand new advert selling the PlayStation 5 has despatched followers right into a frenzy after it appeared to tease the following journey in Naughty Canine’s beloved Uncharted franchise. It does beg the query; can a future installment succeed with out the guiding hand of the acclaimed developer?
The ‘Reside From PS5’ advert is introduced within the fashion of a information report and options most of PlayStation’s heavy hitters comparable to Ratchet and Clank, Aloy, Kratos, and Spider-Man. At first look, it seems like some other promo for PS5 designed to hype up the console and its upcoming slate of video games for the yr forward. However eagle-eyed viewers have been left speaking concerning the younger girl exploring an ancient-looking cave and uncovering artifacts. The snippets of footage have led followers to imagine that this could possibly be the primary glimpse of Uncharted 5, that includes Cassie Drake on the forefront — the teenage daughter of Nathan and Elena.
Cassie was first launched within the epilogue of Uncharted 4 and could possibly be managed by the participant as she uncovered memorabilia from Nate’s previous adventures lengthy after he retired. Uncharted 4 was all the time supposed to suggest the top of Nathan Drake’s journey, and whereas the story wrapped up in a largely satisfying method, the door was probably left open for Cassie to fill the footwear that have been left by her father.
Uncharted is a mammoth franchise at this stage and one that’s quintessential to PlayStation’s id, status, and success. There was cautious optimism final yr that Naughty Canine could be returning to the world of Uncharted after a recruiter took to LinkedIn searching for new expertise to “Construct future groups for not solely new titles however the legacy of Uncharted”. Nevertheless, Naughty Canine’s Co-President Neil Druckmann appeared to dismiss the prospect final week in an interview with BuzzFeed, saying:
For us, Uncharted was insanely profitable — Uncharted 4 was one in all our greatest promoting video games — and we’re capable of put our last brushstroke on that story and say that we’re completed. We’re shifting on.
Neil Druckmann through BuzzFeed
If Naughty Canine actually is stepping away from the franchise then there’s the chance that one other developer might take the reigns, however can they ship the identical degree of high quality? Effectively, it’s attainable, and there’s trigger to hope that Uncharted 5 can match as much as the lofty expectations of the collection. Naughty Canine has beforehand entrusted ports of the Uncharted collection to each Bluepoint Video games and Iron Galaxy for collections on PS4 and PS5 respectively.
Engaged on ports of earlier video games can have given each builders a core understanding of the elemental gameplay mechanics of the collection, nevertheless, each are largely identified for ports. Bluepoint Video games has earned their stripes within the trade not too long ago with their remake of Demon Souls on PS5 and their help to Sony Santa Monica on God of Conflict Ragnarok. That mentioned, there’s nonetheless a option to go earlier than the studio can helm a serious AAA title.
If there’s one studio within the PlayStation household that really deserves a shot at Uncharted, it’s Bend Studio. The builders of Days Gone? Actually? Yeah! Uncharted: The Golden Abyss is a prequel to the primary collection and was developed by Sony Bend for the PlayStation Vita in 2011. Whereas it didn’t precisely attain the heights of the primary three video games, it was a strong installment all the identical and faithfully recreated the collection’ excessive octane motion platforming and over-the-top set items.
It was beforehand reported by Bloomberg that Bend Studio pitched a brand new Uncharted recreation however stepped away after they have been involved that the challenge could be absorbed by Naughty Canine. Now that Druckmann has made the studio’s intention to step away from the franchise obvious, the trail could possibly be clear for Bend to take the reigns.
The studio is considerably of a black sheep amongst first-party builders for PlayStation followers because of the underwhelming launch of Days Gone. Nevertheless, Bend has a strong basis to construct on with their success on Golden Abyss which they’ll take with them on Cassie Drake’s first journey. Past that although, what a narrative it might be for the studio to have a full-on redemption arc by delivering one other stellar entry in what is likely one of the most adored collection in trendy instances.