The Last of Us' Dark Tone Won't Influence Uncharted 4, Naughty Dog Says

After Amy Hennig left Naughty Dog and her role as director of the upcoming Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End earlier this year, The Last of Us co-directors Bruce Straley and Neil Druckmann stepped in to lead the Uncharted series’ debut on PlayStation 4. Set in a grim, post-apocalyptic world, The Last of Us is of course a much darker game than Nathan Drake’s thrilling but largely light-hearted adventures.

Though the first trailer for Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End was darker than usual both visually and in tone, Naughty Dog says that The Last of Us’ grittier mood won’t bleed into Drake’s next adventure.

"Uncharted is a completely different franchise, and appeals to its audience for completely different reasons," Naughty Dog's co-president Evan Wells told Eurogamer in an interview. "I don't think The Last of Us marks a new direction in tone that all of our future games are going to take on. We'd alienate a lot of our Uncharted fans. We want to keep it a light-hearted romp. I think from a technical standpoint we've learnt some things from the Last of Us that will feed into Uncharted - in fact it strengthens our desire to keep them distinct."

Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End is scheduled to be released on the PS4 at some point in 2015. Sony Pictures also recently announced that a movie based on the Uncharted game series will make its debut in theaters on June 10, 2016.

What kind of tone would you like to see Naughty Dog strike in the next Uncharted? Let us know in the comments below.