- Uncharted 1-3 designer Benson Russell says Uncharted: Drake's Fortune doesn't need a remake.
- Russell claims that a remake of the first Uncharted game would feel more like a "cash grab".
- Instead, he wants Naughty Dog to make an Uncharted prequel in the vein of Uncharted 4.
The Last of Us and Uncharted series are some of the best video games of all time, but Naughty Dog needs to stop chasing remakes and remasters, and even the series’ original designer agrees. Uncharted 1-3’s game designer, Benson Russell, explained in an interview with FRVR that there’s no point in remaking Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune.
Instead, he wants an Uncharted prequel exploring Nathan Drake’s journey before the first game. The designer says that Naughty Dog should “take the spirit [of Uncharted] and make a new game in an earlier time era and go back to what it was. Just don’t recreate the first game. It’s just, eh.”
According to Russell, the first Uncharted doesn’t need a remake because it’s still relatively “new”, and a remaster is already available as a single-player title on the PS4 and PS5.
“You’d have to rewrite the whole story to make it better, which means you’re going to change the spirit, and you’re going to change the scenes and what the first one was about, right? It doesn’t make any sense,” said Russell. “I honestly thought the same thing about The Last of Us Part 1… these are old games for a reason.”
Naughty Dog’s remakes have indeed been, for the most part, pointless. Neither the original The Last of Us nor the sequel required a remake or a remaster.
Russell admits that remaking Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune would feel “more like a cash grab than it would feel like anything necessary at this point”, which is similar to how fans felt about The Last of Us Part 1 and The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered.
According to the designer, Naughty Dog should “take the lessons of Uncharted 4 and make a new game that’s in the past or wherever you need it to be”
Currently, Naughty Dog is working on Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, rumored for a 2027 release. However, a new Uncharted prequel in the vein of Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End would significantly increase Naughty Dog’s goodwill.
