Between its trilogy of Uncharted titles and The Last of Us, Naughty Dog has set the tone for PlayStation's first-party output in recent years. From God of War to Days Gone, it's easy to see how other studios have been influenced by Naughty Dog. It seems like that inspiration is more than thematic for the currently shadowy new Sony studio based in San Diego. Rumors suggest that this team is taking the torch from Naughty Dog directly by working on a new Uncharted game.
Nathan Drake's story may have concluded, but there is plenty of space in this universe to tell a fresh story. After all, the Uncharted brand has plenty of momentum, even without a game confirmed to be in the works. The Tom Holland-led film will certainly renew interest in the series, making a new game all the more likely. Now that the film has been delayed into 2022, it's possible that a new Uncharted title could launch around the release of the movie. Assuming that the rumors hold weight and Sony's new studio is at the helm of this title, it'll have big shoes to fill.
However, Sony Bend proved with the PlayStation Vita title Uncharted: Golden Abyss that this is possible to an extent. That game does offer a potential route for a new Uncharted to take. Golden Abyss was a prequel, and there's certainly room for another one. However, it would be fairly uninteresting for a new studio to follow this path. It would, like Golden Abyss, invite one-to-one comparisons that wouldn't shake out in the new game's favor. No one is Naughty Dog other than Naughty Dog itself -- a lesson Crystal Dynamics learned with its very good but decidedly not Uncharted-level Tomb Raider titles.
The best path forward for the Uncharted series is to follow up on the dangling thread from Uncharted 4: A Thief's End. The game concludes with the reveal of Nathan Drake's daughter, Cassie. By making her the protagonist of the next title, the Uncharted series could carry on without simply trying to tell a non-Naughty Dog Nathan Drake story.
Perhaps Drake's daughter has taken a different interest than he did, possibly going into the sciences. Maybe Cassie is a marine biologist, out exploring and collecting research when she stumbles upon a sunken clue to some long lost treasure. She shows it to her father, who, in typical Nathan Drake fashion, can't resist pursuing the lead. Out of practice and out of his prime, he goes missing, and Cassie has to reluctantly leave behind what she knows to track him down.
Cassie could bring with her a slower, more thoughtful gameplay style about scientific exploration and discovery, juxtaposed against the bombastic action framework that her father's adventures invite. Meshing different worlds could result in a special gameplay and narrative experience. The next Uncharted title should obviously still be a third-person action-adventure title, but infusing more thoughtful scientific discovery and exploration elements could make it feel novel. In some respects, this game could pull in facets of Metroid Prime's exploration mechanics.
This is all hypothetical, of course, but the ideal extension of this series retains its spirit but recontextualizes it through a fresh lens. We know what a straightforward, Indiana Jones-style adventure game can be. Naughty Dog cracked that code and refined its own formula with five Uncharted entries that built on each other. The question now is how the series can find a new identity that that feels both familiar and bold. Centering the narrative around Drake's daughter while including him in a secondary role -- almost like Peter Parker in Spider-Man: Miles Morales -- could create a strong narrative thread and a thoughtful father-daughter dynamic.
That sort of storytelling that foregrounds a new character can also open up new gameplay possibilities. This is the right path. Uncharted: Golden Abyss is a solid title and a great showcase of the PS Vita, but it's the Batman: Arkham Origins of the series; it's a faithful but fragile reconstruction of another developer's core experience.
Much like how Gotham Knights is taking the Rocksteady formula and spinning it into something new, an Uncharted game crafted by a new developer should do the same. No one other than Naughty Dog can deliver a Nathan Drake Uncharted and make it as special as Among Thieves or A Thief's End. However, a fresh team can expand the universe thematically and mechanically. That principle of evolution is what should inform the next Uncharted title.