Summary
Naughty Dogrecently announced that it would be ceasing development on the long-anticipatedThe Last of Us Online, reaffirming its commitment to single-player games. While this may come as a disappointment to some, it can be argued that theGaaS approach toThe Last of Us Onlinecould have run contrary to Naughty Dog’s strengths, and with the project out of the way, the famed developer might be free to explore some of its older single-player franchises.
For the past few years, Naughty Dog’s reputation has been almost synonymous withThe Last of Us. The widely publicized and rabidly debatedLast of Us Part 2dominated any and all discussion of the company in 2020, and this trend seems to have continued in the years since, thanks to theLast of UsTV show, remake of the first game, and the upcomingPart 2remaster on PS5. This, coupled with Naughty Dog seemingly ending the story ofUnchartedwith its fourth entry, has led many to speculate that the developer’s next release will be tied toThe Last of Us, with a third mainline entry in the series being a possibility. However,Naughty Dog is working on multiple single-playergames, according to a recent statement, which opens the door to the possibility of the revitalization of older IPs.
Crash Bandicoot
Kicked off in 1996,Crash Bandicoothelped usherNaughty Doginto the era of the PlayStation. Considering the type of game the developer would go on to be known for,Crash Bandicootcertainly seems like an odd starting point, as its identity is firmly rooted in the traditional staples of the third-person, all-ages platformer. Many of Naughty Dog’s pillars of game design, like its focus on cinematic storytelling and strong voice acting performances, are absent from this older franchise. It would be interesting to see the developer incorporate the strengths of a series likeUnchartedin this decidedly cartoonish, low-stakes series.
Naughty Dog split from Crash Bandicootin 1999, and the IP would eventually be sold to Activision-Blizzard, which is now owned by Microsoft. Since Naughty Dog is a Sony studio, it’s highly unlikely that it would revisit this franchise, barring some joint venture between the two competing companies, or an acquisition of theCrashlicense by Sony.
Dream Zone
Dream Zonewas a one-off adventure title released in 1988, back when Naughty Dog was called JAM Software, and takes place in a surreal and bizarre dream world filled with danger and satirical comedy. It’s a bit archaic, to be sure, and the IP itself doesn’t carry too much weight, but revisitingDream Zonecould allow Naughty Dog to experiment with more abstract and interpretable storytelling. GivenNaughty Dog’s penchant for emotionalstorytelling, there’s a good deal of potential in a game untethered from the restrictions of real-world logic. Plus, it would give the developer’s impressive environment and character design artists a chance to flex their creative muscles with more otherworldly designs.
Jak and Daxter
Coming afterCrash Bandicootbut predatingUncharted,Jak and Daxteris the franchise that marked Naughty Dog’s transition to more story-focused games. While the first game in the series is strictly a platformer with minimal narrative content, the following two games would greatly flesh out the series' characters and world, leveraging PS2 tech to tell more cinematic stories. While it doesn’t come close to the maturity of something likeThe Last of Us, it’s surprisingly well-written and rich in lore and personality, making it a good candidate for the modernNaughty Dogtreatment.Jak and Daxteris an enduring franchisewith countless passionate fans, and unlike other franchises likeCrash Bandicoot, the rights are still owned by Sony, so a new entry in the series is certainly possible.
