Naughty Dog has been a huge part of the success of PlayStation-only games for more than a decade. During that time, it has created two mascot franchises that have helped to keep the console going on the strength of its games alone.
Uncharted and The Last of Us are the names of these two series, and they couldn’t be more different in terms of tone and gameplay. But while one continues to do well, the other seems to have reached the end of its run in games and is just starting to branch out into movies.
If The Last of Us is as successful as it seems, there will probably be a Part 3, but it might not be Naughty Dog’s next big single-player game. Still, there will be a standalone multiplayer spin-off for The Last of Us. This could help keep the IP going until Naughty Dog can focus on new IPs or other opportunities.
Fans would love to see the Uncharted series keep going, and since it already has multiplayer elements, it would be interesting to see how a standalone Uncharted game with multiplayer would work.
The Last of Us Multiplayer Could Inspire Uncharted’s
The world and story of The Last of Us support the idea that people band together to protect themselves from raiders. On the other hand, raiders who are desperate may kill and steal from other survivors.
This would set up a simple loop in the multiplayer game of The Last of Us, where players could meet other players and not know if they can trust them or not, let alone compete for the few resources in an area that had already been robbed.
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Since Uncharted doesn’t have a simple premise like this, the previous multiplayer games in the series had classic competitive and cooperative game modes like King of the Hill and Team Deathmatch instead of a storyline.
Nathan Drake, Victor Sullivan, and a lot of other important characters from the Uncharted series have always been playable avatars in the multiplayer modes. This completely breaks the immersion of a multiplayer mode like The Last of Us Factions.
Still, a co-op treasure-hunting adventure with other players could be just what is needed to bring the franchise back, like what Naughty Dog is trying to do with The Last of Us. If the story is just as good, it could be much more satisfying.
This could lead to a co-op game like Uncharted: The Lost Legacy that can only be played with other people or can be played alone with an AI partner. If not, the same multiplayer shenanigans from Uncharted 2, Uncharted 3, or Uncharted 4 could come back in a big way with its own spin-off.
Multiplayer Game Is Uncertain Due to Uncharted’s Future
But even though Uncharted is still one of PlayStation’s most popular series, it might be harder for Naughty Dog to keep the series going with a multiplayer game that doesn’t seem to go with the series.
Uncharted works well as a linear, story-driven adventure game, and if it weren’t for that, it might not stand out as much as The Last of Us does. Also, the Uncharted franchise doesn’t seem to be making any more games, so it would be strange to bring it back for a standalone multiplayer spin-off.
The IP is at the peak of its success and popularity, and fans are still thinking about the HBO show when The Last of Us came out and started developing its own story.
Rather, the movie version of Uncharted did not do nearly as well, and Naughty Dog’s latest game, Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection, is already a distant memory for many players.
If a multiplayer spin-off was ever announced, it would probably mean that fans should also expect more from the main franchise. A multiplayer game for The Last of Us is being made right now.