PlayStation Experience 2016 was an exciting event for fans of Naughty Dog. The first trailers for The Last of Us Part II and Uncharted: The Lost Legacy were unveiled at the event, followed by panels in which Naughty Dog revealed details about the games. We don’t know everything about the games, but the trailers, panels, and interviews that have emerged since PSX 2016 have showed some of what we can expect from the upcoming titles.
Fans of Uncharted have known since 2015 that Naughty Dog would be releasing new content, but they didn’t know anything about the expansion until PSX 2016. The lengthy trailer for The Lost Legacy waits until the end to reveal its connection to the Uncharted franchise; the protagonist only discards her disguise at the trailer’s finale, when we finally see the game’s title. Many details have been revealed since then, including characters, locations, gameplay, and a year of release.
For The Last of Us, however, we had no idea there would be a sequel until PSX 2016. Fans have speculated about “The Last of Us 2” since the first game’s release and they were ecstatic with the surprising trailer and the title at the trailer’s end: The Last of Us Part II. We unfortunately haven’t been given as many details about this game as The Lost Legacy, but Naughty Dog has revealed enough to keep us satisfied until their next announcement. Here are 15 things we already know about Naughty Dog’s upcoming games.
15 Last of Us: You Play As Ellie
The trailer for The Last of Us Part II stars Ellie, but many fans still would’ve doubted her role if Naughty Dog hadn’t stated that Ellie will be the playable protagonist. Joel—the main protagonist of the first game—also appears in the trailer, so a lot of people would normally predict Joel’s return as the playable protagonist.
Only Ellie has been announced as a playable character, but Naughty Dog could easily include other playable characters. Before the first game released, Naughty Dog promised that Ellie would not be playable, yet both Joel and Ellie were playable in The Last of Us. We know we’ll primarily be playing Ellie; for now, we must wait to see if any other characters will be playable.
14 Uncharted: You Play As Chloe
Two previously minor characters in the Uncharted series are taking the spotlight in The Lost Legacy. Chloe Frazer makes her first appearance since Uncharted 3 as the playable protagonist of the new game. Nadine Ross accompanies her, acting as a companion AI who battles enemies and can perform some awesome combos with Chloe. We’ve seen just how deadly Nadine can be in combat and the trailer suggests Chloe is equally skilled in martial arts.
Chloe’s past is largely mysterious; The Lost Legacy will likely give us the details of her backstory. Regardless of what we learn about her past, we’re excited to see more of Chloe in the present. Chloe and Nadine are great minor characters and should work wonderfully as protagonists.
13 Last of Us: Takes Place Five Years After First Game
Ellie has clearly aged in the trailer for The Last of Us Part II. Soon after the trailer was shown at PSX 2016, Naughty Dog held a panel and revealed multiple details about the game. We found out Ellie—who was fourteen in the first game—is now nineteen.
A lot could have changed over five years. At the end of the first game, Ellie and Joel were having issues but were still together at Tommy’s town. The town is one of the few “civilizations” of the apocalyptic world, with a dam producing electricity for the entire town. Ellie and Joel may have lived safely in the town’s walls all five years, they may have been forced to once again survive in the wilderness, or the two may have been separated—we’ll find out when the game releases.
12 Uncharted: Takes Place After Uncharted 4
At their PSX 2016 panel, Naughty Dog stated that The Lost Legacy takes places sometime after Uncharted 4. This means a lot of time has passed since we last saw Chloe and Nadine. Uncharted 4’s epilogue takes place many years after the main game, revealing Nathan and Elena to be archaeologists with a teenage daughter. The adults have clearly aged, with Nathan’s hair starting to turn grey.
If The Lost Legacy occurs after Uncharted 4’s epilogue, Nadine and Chloe will be at least in their early 50s. Regardless of their age, the two women are still talented fighters capable of intense exploration and melee combat. Chloe and Nadine continue to hunt treasure even years after Nathan has retired to a normal (though still adventurous) life.
11 Last of Us: Returning Creators
We were happy to hear Ashley Johnson’s and Troy Baker’s voices again in the trailer. The two voice actors were also present at the PSX panel, telling their audience just how excited they are to be returning as the voices of Ellie and Joel. Fortunately, we also have some returning creators. Neil Druckmann, who wrote The Last of Us and directed it alongside Bruce Staley (who sadly will not be developing Part II), is the sole director of Part II and is writing the story with Halley Gross. Gustavo Santaolalla returns as the game’s composer.
With the director and writer of the first game returning, as well as the composer and voice actors, we’re excited to know the series will retain its creative genius.
10 Uncharted: A Standalone Game
The Lost Legacy was originally planned as DLC for Uncharted 4. Sometime after development, however, Naughty Dog chose to expand The Lost Legacy into its own game. Nonetheless, certain players with Uncharted 4 will have free access to The Lost Legacy. If you purchased the Digital Deluxe Edition or Explorer’s Pack for Uncharted 4, you will be provided with a free digital copy of The Lost Legacy. If you don’t have those editions of Uncharted 4, you may buy either a physical or digital copy of The Lost Legacy. Prices have not yet been revealed. Based on its large size and status as an independent game, The Lost Legacy will likely be as expensive or almost as expensive as Uncharted 4.
9 Last of Us: Fireflies Are Still Out There
The first thing we see in The Last of Us Part II’s trailer is a beautiful forest. As the camera backs up, you discover an overgrown village in the forest—as well as the Fireflies’ emblem painted across a stop sign. That was when viewers at PSX realized they were witnessing a Last of Us trailer. Despite being largely absent from The Last of Us, the Fireflies are integral to the civilization that has risen from the apocalypse. More importantly, they end up becoming the antagonists, for Joel must destroy a group of Fireflies in order to save Ellie.
The Fireflies have obviously survived in the five years since the first game. Since Ellie was raised indirectly by the Fireflies, they’re likely to step back into Ellie’s and Joel’s lives.
8 Uncharted: No Nathan Drake
Nathan Drake has been the primary protagonist of every Uncharted entry so far—but Naughty Dog has confirmed he will not be returning in The Lost Legacy. We’ll see if characters discuss Nathan’s current happenings, but Nathan himself will not appear. There’s no reason Chloe and Nadine would need Nathan’s help—after all, they are far more skilled in combat than he is—but he probably wouldn’t have accepted the adventure even if they offered.
Uncharted 4’s epilogue showed Nathan to be happily retired from his treasure-hunting career. As a family man running an archaeology company with Elena, Nathan has permanently left the franchise and its dangerous adventures. It’d be nice to know how Nathan’s doing, but we’d be fine hearing nothing about him because of his happy conclusion in Uncharted 4.
7 Last of Us: Releasing After Uncharted
A specific date has not been announced for either Uncharted: The Lost Legacy or The Last of Us Part II, but Uncharted is set to release sometime in 2017. Regardless of when Uncharted comes out, Part II will certainly release afterward. Naughty Dog has stated they will only fully commit to Part II after they’ve finished Uncharted.
Prior to Part II’s announcement, Druckmann said his company wouldn’t be able to develop a sequel to The Last of Us until they’d completed Uncharted 4. The same is now true for The Lost Legacy, but we know for certain that Part II is their next project. Naughty Dog chooses to work as a single team and thus completes games one at a time; while this requires patience from fans, the resulting games are definitely worth the wait.
6 Uncharted: Takes Place In India
The reveal trailer for The Lost Legacy shows an India at war with itself. Chloe walks through the hostile streets of an Indian city and is harassed by soldiers—until she reaches a rooftop and swiftly defeats three soldiers alongside Nadine. Before fighting the soldiers, Chloe gains a panoramic view of the city—part of which is burning—and watches a plane drop bombs on the city.
Chloe will be exploring India searching for the Tusk of Ganesha. Naughty Dog has stated that Chloe is half Indian, so we’ll see how her heritage and the war affect her quest for treasure—if they affect her hunt at all. Naughty Dog boasts a new level of openness in The Lost Legacy, presenting stages larger than any seen before in Uncharted and encouraging exploration. Perhaps players will have options regarding the war and the quest for the Tusk.
5 Last of Us: Ellie’s Changed
Obviously, anyone would change after five years—but those changes often lie beneath the surface. In Ellie’s case, we can already see ways in which she’s changed. She now has a tattoo on her right arm. The tattoo depicts a moth amongst fern branches. Beautiful and mysterious, the tattoo conveniently covers the spot where an Infected bit Ellie.
Ellie has also learned how to play guitar since the first game. She plays and sings throughout the trailer, demonstrating that she’s mastered the guitar over the past five years. This is a significant indicator that Ellie and Joel are likely on good terms; during The Last of Us, Joel promised Ellie he would teach her how to play guitar. While it’s possible Ellie learned on her own, it’s hard to imagine anyone independently learning an instrument in the apocalypse.
4 Uncharted: Trailer Is The Beginning Of The Game
The Lost Legacy was first revealed at PSX 2016 in a nine-minute trailer that features both cinematics and gameplay. The trailer is thrilling: Chloe sneaks through dark, hostile streets and must either evade soldiers or swiftly defeat them in combat. In addition to presenting great graphics and gameplay reminiscent of previous Uncharted games, the trailer reveals a new lock picking mini-game.
Naughty Dog revealed later that this trailer is in fact the opening of the game. This is great to know; while some video game trailers (including the first trailer for The Last of Us) include cinematics that won’t be included in the game, The Lost Legacy shows players exactly what to expect. Whether you’ve seen the trailer or not, the opening will be exciting when the game finally releases.
3 Last Of Us: “This Story Is About Hate”
Neil Druckmann, when discussing The Last of Us Part II, stated: “This story is about hate.” We know nothing else about the game’s plot, but we can definitely imagine what Druckmann means. The trailer is filled with hate: Ellie sings about murdering her enemies in a house of freshly-deceased corpses. When Joel asks what Ellie’s doing, she glares at him and says she’s “gonna kill every last one of them.” It’s unclear who Ellie’s enemies are, but they are going to regret messing with her.
When discussing the game’s theme of hate, Druckmann noted that The Last of Us was about love while the sequel will tell the opposite story. The contrast should be exciting—although we hope the loving relationship established between Ellie and Joel isn’t the source of hate.
2 Uncharted: Naughty Dog’s Final Uncharted Game
Naughty Dog promised that Uncharted 4 would be their last major Uncharted game. Even though they continued work with The Lost Legacy expansion (which is now so massive that it might as well be a major Uncharted game), they stated The Lost Legacy would be the last project they ever do in the Uncharted franchise.
This may not necessarily be the end of Uncharted, though. Naughty Dog will not be making the games themselves, but they are not opposed to the continuation of the franchise. If Sony finds the right developers, Uncharted may continue beyond Naughty Dog’s final game. Nathan Drake’s story may be done, but The Lost Legacy proves that there are plenty of Uncharted characters who can have their own game.
1 Both Games Are Exclusively For PS4
Like Uncharted 4, The Lost Legacy will only be released on the PlayStation 4. The Last of Us Part II is also planned as a PS4-exclusive title. All previous Last of Us and Uncharted games have initially released on a single console—although many of the games are now available on multiple platforms. The original Last of Us and the first three Uncharted games came out on PS3, but were eventually remastered for the PS4; the same thing may happen in a few years for the upcoming games. A new PlayStation console may not release for quite a while and Naughty Dog may not choose to remaster their upcoming titles; we’ll just have to wait to see if these games change in the future.