Among video game developers,Naughty Doghas become revered for its grit. Their more recent and well-known series focus on tales of adventure rife with danger,populated by well-rounded characters.The worlds and their inhabitants feel alive, which makes their perils and inner turmoil hit that much harder.
Not every Naughty Dog game has players bawling their eyes out; lots of them are fun for all ages. But when a game decides to go for a darker tone, fans of this dev know they’re not going to be pulling any punches. These games aren’t “dark for the sake of being dark;”they’re dark with the deliberate precision of deeply emotional storytelling.
The originalJak and Daxterwas a fun, colorful platformer with iconic characters and sassy humor. Yet as the video game industry began testing the waters with darker subject matter (especially after the release ofGrand Theft Auto 3), Naughty Dog realized that the kid gloves had to come off.
In cameJak 2,a significantly darker sequelthat brought in more cutscenes, a larger story, and even voice acting for the previously-silent video game protagonist. The game starts with the plucky Jak undergoing two years of imprisonment and torture, and his first words upon being rescued are a vow of revenge. While the game still has the series’ sarcastic charms,Jak 2represents a major growth spurt in the trilogy’s tone, and it was just the first taste of what Naughty Dog was capable of.
TheUnchartedseries is usually more about treasure hunting than it is about heavy themes, but when it came time tobring Nathan Drake’s adventures to a close, Naughty Dog knew that fans might have trouble accepting the end of an era. And so,A Thief’s End’sstory tackled exactly that.
After Nathan hangs up his adventurer’s hat and settles down with Elena, his long-lost brother drags him back into his life of treasure hunting. Nathan is forced tolie to his wifeto save his brother, causing him to realize just how much he missed his life of adventure and and danger. While the game itself still harbors plenty ofIndiana Jones-inspired fun, its central theme is one of letting go. Nathan learns that it’s okay to let this chapter of his life end, helping players to also accept what the next chapter ofUnchartedmight contain without Nathan Drake being present.
Uncharted 3is often considered the darkest entry in the series, primarily because of how it fleshes out its characters, especially its protagonist. Nathan Drake isn’t exactly acomplicated man. He likes treasure, adventures, mentor/father figures named Sully, and blonde journalists named Elena.Uncharted 3expands on who Nathan is, posing questions likewhyhe does what he does and, more poignantly, how much it’s really worth.
Throughout the game, Nathan takes his dedication to the job way too far. His thrill-seeking ways end up driving a wedge between him and Elena, and even endangering Sully’s life. Adding to that, players finally see more of Nathan’s backstory and how he came to meet Sully for the first time. Treasure hunting isn’t just Nathan’s job. It’s his whole life, but is it worth sacrificing everything and everyone else that gives his life value?
No Naughty Dog fan should be surprised to findThe Last of Uson this list. This 2013 game is legendary for bringing storytelling in video games to new heights. Its post-apocalyptic tale ofloss, regret, grief, and traumahad gamers’ jaws on the floor from beginning to end. No one had ever seen anything like it.
There arelayersto the darkness found inThe Last of Us. The very concept of a mind-controlling fungus turning people into semi-aware, zombie-like monsters is downright horrifying. This dangerous world has left each of its characters hardened by trauma, with their pain depicted with heartbreaking accuracy through both the writing and acting. Finally, the game asks hard-hitting questions that gamers still debate to this day. Ifthisis what the last of humanity looks like, is it really worth saving?
Fans remaindivided onThe Last of Us Part 2. Some were left angered by the direction it took when compared to the original. Others appreciated its subversiveness, taking a unique approach to its storytelling in order to truly portray the cycle of revenge. One way thatThe Last of Us Part 2unilaterally surpassedPart 1was by making the tone much,muchdarker.
Part 1was by no means a happy game, but itwassparked by glimmers of hope. Joel’s story was one of healing, of moving on from everything he’d lost and accepting new joy into his life.Part 2had little to none of that. As Ellie takes the baton from Joel, her story descends into pure hatred and revenge. And while 14-year-old Ellie from the first game was no stranger to violence, grown-up Ellie in the sequel no longer has the thin, threadbare kid’s gloves protecting her.The Last of Us Part 2is heartbreak incarnate, and gamers can only hope thatPart 3will have Ellie end up a little less alone.
