If Uncharted 5 Happens, Nathan Drake Won't Be The Hero

[Fanghawk]

If Uncharted 5 Happens, Nathan Drake Won't Be The Hero

//cdn.themis-media.com/media/global/images/library/deriv/870/870689.jpgAccording to Naughty Dog creative director Neil Druckmann, while Uncharted might have sequels after A Thief's End, Nathan Drake won't be in them.

Nathan Drake has been the charismatic face of Uncharted ever since the series launched in 2007. But lately, Naughty Dog has teased that <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/139340-Uncharted-4-Will-Have-Multiplayer-And-AI-Companion>Uncharted 4: A Thief's End will be Drake's final adventure - the subtitle itself being a fairly major clue. We don't know how Drake's story will end, but <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/tag/view/neil%20druckmann?os=neil+druckmann>creative director Neil Druckmann made one thing clear: If Sony keeps making Uncharted sequels, Nathan Drake won't be in them.

"He's at the height of his popularity, so it's not a good business decision. But I feel like the best way to honour him is to go out on top, to finish his story," Druckmann told The Sun. "Whether that's it for Uncharted? I don't know. At the end of the day Sony owns Uncharted and they can do whatever they want. But at the end of this story, it will be really hard to do a sequel with Nathan Drake."

Obviously, what exactly happens to Drake is up for speculation. Some have theorized that Naughty Dog plans to kill him in Uncharted 4, but there's also an argument that A Thief's End prompts Drake to set aside his adventuring lifestyle. That would certainly reflect Drake's changing relationship with Elena across the series, which Druckmann notes will be a major theme in this story.

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"The heart of this is Nathan Drake's struggle: how do you balance your relationship with your family and friends and your passion, the thing you're willing to dedicate your life to and make big sacrifices for," Druckmann said. "Nathan Drake has dealt with obsession his entire life and we've seen it hurt his relationship. We've seen how between each game his relationship with Elena falls apart. There's something that happens there in that gap that was really interesting for us. What happened there?

"That's what we want to get into. Because maybe you can't have both. Maybe you can't have your family and that passion and the obsession."

Whatever happens, there are still other ways Drake could be included in future Uncharted games. (And hopefully none of those options include the word "reboot".) But Druckmann is adamant that A Thief's End will be a definitive conclusion to Drake's story. "Maybe there'll be a prequel, maybe it will be a different character, I don't know," Druckmann admits. "But this is the end for Nathan Drake."

Uncharted 4 launches on April 26, 2016 for the PlayStation 4.

Source: GamesRadar

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[Casual Shinji]

I'm sure that's what they said about Uncharted 3, too.

Naughty Dog is a big provider for Sony, and I reckon they're given quite a bit of leeway in the games they make, but Sony still owns them and if Sony wants more Drake I don't think there's anything Druckmann or anybody else over at ND can do but oblige.

All we can do is hope. Just kill him off, or kill off Sully or Elena. Either way is fine.

 

[Neurotic Void Melody]

I am getting a vibe of the not-so-subtle "death of batman" being highlighted, laminated and launched directly at our faces here. Which means if there is some overly sweet, fluffed-up happy ending with all the characters dancing in a flowering meadow in this game, it will be severely disappointing and possibly heavily nauseating without being directly related to whiskey and strong painkiller consumption.

 

[Lightknight]

I'm sure that's what they said about Uncharted 3, too.

Naughty Dog is a big provider for Sony, and I reckon they're given quite a bit of leeway in the games they make, but Sony still owns them and if Sony wants more Drake I don't think there's anything Druckmann or anybody else over at ND can do but oblige.

All we can do is hope. Just kill him off, or kill off Sully or Elena. Either way is fine.

Or, how about he does what the rest of us do and realize that happiness is who we have with us, settle down and get a day job (or unimaginable wealth and do freelance journalism while traveling the world in your yacht).

People don't have to die for someone to retire from a dangerous line of work. You just have to have a life that is so valuable as to make risking it untenable. The premise of Drake is that he has a passion about something. Let's say he accomplishes the goal he set out to do. Whatever it is. Maybe going after random treasure just doesn't matter to him after this. Seems like most of his explorations were regarding his ancestor anyways so maybe if he completes that story arc then he's good to finally focus on other things.

 

[Casual Shinji]

Or, how about he does what the rest of us do and realize that happiness is who we have with us, settle down and get a day job (or unimaginable wealth and do freelance journalism while traveling the world in your yacht).

People don't have to die for someone to retire from a dangerous line of work. You just have to have a life that is so valuable as to make risking it untenable. The premise of Drake is that he has a passion about something. Let's say he accomplishes the goal he set out to do. Whatever it is. Maybe going after random treasure just doesn't matter to him after this. Seems like most of his explorations were regarding his ancestor anyways so maybe if he completes that story arc then he's good to finally focus on other things.

That's precisely what happens after Uncharted 3. I don't know if you've seen any of the released cutscenes from Uncharted 4 yet, but one of them shows Drake working at the docks doing paperwork, livng a normal everyday life... But just as he thought he was out, they pull him back in.

The previous two games presented the risk his adventuring posed to the people he cared about, but that hasn't stopped him yet. So maybe this fourth game needs to finally grow some balls and actually kill off a main cast member close to Drake to show him the consequences of his actions. This would make for a very dour send off to a lighthearted series, so neither Sully nor Elena are probably gonna bite the dust, but it would be the one thing to genuinely get Drake to hang up his hat forever. That or he dies himself.

If he and his chums make it out consequence free, he's just gonna go and do it again.

 

[Eclipse Dragon]

All we can do is hope. Just kill him off, or kill off Sully or Elena. Either way is fine.

I've been expecting Sully to die since game one, I'm really surprised he didn't die in game three especially. I like him as a character, but typically characters in his role (mentor) die. He keeps defying my expectations.

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OT: I hope if this game ends with Nate retiring permanently from treasure hunting, that they find a way to improve the chemistry between him and Elena, because as far as I remember, they didn't have much going on in that department.

As for who would take up the mantel should Uncharted 5 become a thing, Nathen Drake's child maybe, I doubt it would be Sully, though I'd be interested in seeing a prequel featuring him as the main character. I would hope though that it's somebody almost completely unrelated to Drake.

 

[mysecondlife]

Nathan Drake being a mentor to another smart-ass youngster is usually (and typical way of) how they continue things.

 

[Hairless Mammoth]

Whether of not Drake comes back, how about ND tries a new IP (or one they haven't touched in years[footnote]Rings of Power reboot, anyone? /jk[/footnote])? Maybe in a genre outside of 3rd person action?

And yes, I'd rather not see someone killed off as the reason he doesn't return. People can change. Drake can get tired of being in the path of bullet, hanging off ledges 200ft up, and watching those close to him also in constant peril. If they're going to finish his arc, give the audience some decent closure.

I hope they just retire his character then go the usual route of killing him off to end a story, a cheap way to go if you ask me. Plus it would mean he could still appear in future games just not him as the PC.

Also Naughty Dog where is Jak 4 already?

That's the question I've been asking for years (when I'm not asking where a reboot to the series, is). Unfortunately, I heard of an interview where someone at ND says they are done with cartoony platformers. Whether that was just the opinion of that individual or the general mood of the whole team, it does look like we'll be waiting for the Jak IP to be farmed to someone else who might be able to make something better than The Lost Frontier.

 

[tiamat5]

I hope they just retire his character then go the usual route of killing him off to end a story, a cheap way to go if you ask me. Plus it would mean he could still appear in future games just not him as the PC.

Also Naughty Dog where is Jak 4 already?

If his death is memorable and heartfelt it won't be cheap. Many characters have died in a glorious or heartfelt or emotional way that sticks with the person who witnessed it. Death doesn't have to be cheap. It can only cheap if they make it cheap. Who knows maybe both Drake and Elena will die together like lovers or Elena will die and Drake so will decide that he will stop adventuring forever. Maybe he will sacrifice himself to save his baby mother and go out in a blaze of glory. Maybe his son or daughter will grow up to be the next hero in a completely different trilogy.Maybe we will get some Indiana Jones like mysticism and Drake will leave this world forever never to be seen again or sacrifice himself so a great evil is not unleashed

 

[Ryallen]

All I can say is his wife better be dead or dying and he's helping his brother to cope with it. I also vaguely remember reading an article somewhere rumoring that ND was casting for his son, so he might have to deal with that.

The way I see it, they've done the whole "his adventuring is ruining his relationship with Elena" thing since the second one, and doing it a third time just seems baffling.

 

[remnant_phoenix]

I'm gonna go with Drake gets maimed. Kinda hard to adventure through dangerous tombs with a fake arm or leg

This is what I was thinking. What if he loses one or both of his legs or something? It would make future sequels logistically unfeasible without actually killing him. He would be forced to settle down, and he could still be happy with Elena, but at the end-cost of a physically-handicapped life as opposed to full-able-bodied one if he'd stayed out after 3.

That could be written as effective end for the character I think.

EDIT: Man, those screenshots are pretty.