Adventure games have their roots in the point-and-click adventure games of the '90s, with plenty of games being inspired by MS-DOS LucasArts titles such as the classic Monkey Island series. Although adventure games would eventually evolve into the more cinematic and story-driven experiences that are popular today, such as The Last of Us and the Uncharted series, they continue to pay homage to their point-and-click roots through easter eggs. A more recently revealed example of this are references to the Monkey Island series peppered throughout Uncharted 4.During a Twitter discussion on Easter Eggs, Uncharted 4 designer Josh Scherr confirmed that the game has some pretty interesting easter eggs that reference Secret of Monkey Island. These were included, with permission from Disney themselves, in the form of several references to Secret of Monkey Island protagonist Guybrush Threepwood, as well as some more subtle nods to the games.
The first easter egg comes in the form of an old portrait players can find in Chapter 11. There are several portraits in the area that both Nathan Drake and Sam comment on, mentioning the people depicted in them by name. There's one particular painting, however, that neither Drake nor Sam recognizes. This painting is of Guybrush Threepwood, though many fans of the game may have missed this reference due to the period-accurate art style used for the painting.
The painting in Chapter 11 is undoubtedly the most on-the-nose reference to the Monkey Island series in the game. The painting managed to go over the heads of even diehard Monkey Island fans, though many couldn't deny that there was a striking resemblance to Guybrush, with some symbols beneath the painting even being the solution to a puzzle in the same chapter. This isn't the last reference to Monkey Island's main character, however, as there are a couple more places where players might be able to spot his likeness.
Players will also notice that one of the many statues of the pirate founders of Libertalia in Chapter 12 looks strikingly similar to Guybrush. Once again, characters will note each of the other pirate captains' names but conveniently forget Guybrush's. Since Josh Scherr confirmed that Naughty Dog had permission from Disney to use the character, the lack of any mention of Guybrush's name may be a nod to the Monkey Island series's comedic nature.
There's one final painting of Guybrush that players can find. This one is actually a (mostly) in-tact version of the torn-up one found in Chapter 11, though it does have the word "THIEF" painted overtop Guybrush's likeness. There's also a plague on this painting that's mostly faded, though the name "Guy Wood" is just barely legible. It seems that Guybrush's name may have been intentionally scrubbed from the history of Libertalia within the lore of Uncharted 4.
Beyond the statues and paintings, there are also a couple of secrets that players can find in the dialogue throughout the game. Nathan Drake will remark when looking at a cistern that it's the "second biggest cistern (he's) ever seen." That line is a direct reference to a running joke in the Monkey Island games where Guybrush would commonly remark that something is the second biggest version of that thing that he's seen. One final line of dialogue references the skull-shaped island from Monkey Island.
Today's adventure games wouldn't be where they are without the early point-and-clicks like Monkey Island, and Naughty Dog was clearly inspired by the series when they made the Uncharted games. In an interview with Venture Beat, Naughty Dog co-president Neil Druckmann admitted to being a huge fan of the Monkey Island games and stated that he was the one to approach Uncharted 4's design team to add in the Monkey Island references.
These references to Guybrush Threepwood and the Monkey Island games are a personal favorite of Josh Scherr's, as he brought them up in response to a Twitter thread asking game devs about their favorite easter eggs that they've ever worked on. He also makes sure to say that the Monkey Island references required the entire team to work together to pull off, which is part of the reason why he enjoys them so much. Naughty Dog clearly has tons of respect for the adventure games of old that helped pave the way for games like Uncharted.