The time of the year has come, now that it's official, to recognize the incredible achievements of the PlayStation owned, Santa Monica based powerhouse that is Naughty Dog. The Last of Us: Part II is sweeping Game of the Year awards, as well as other awards, from various outlets. With another great achievement added to the list Naughty Dog has finally achieved the three-peat that eluded them with Uncharted 3. Naughty Dog has released 3 Games of the Year in succession starting with TLOU, followed by Uncharted 4 and now TLOU: Part II. This achievement is unheard off since the advent of Game Awards. To date no studio in history has been as consistent in releasing quality games and standing above all the rest while capturing the hearts of critics and gamers alike (despite the fierce competition from great studios, creative minds and franchises).
You could say their prestigious story started by creating one of the most beloved franchises for PlayStation fans and gamers around the world with Crash Bandicoot on the PlayStation 1. During PS1's heyday, Crash was the premier Sony mascot. It was then a great studio, an important studio, but one among many. The meteoric rise that catapulted them beyond just being one of many to being at the top of the gaming pantheon took quite a lot more years to materialize.
To me the meteoric rise started with the well known character named Nathan Drake, the work and imagination of the incredible Amy Hennig (along with Josh Scherr and Neil Druckman). Their vision was realized in game form by a hungry group of talented developers who wanted to prove that their best days were not behind them but in front of them. While the first Uncharted (a result of laborious development work on the hard to code for PS3) was a good game; it wasn't the smash success of say preceding franchise 1st entries like Crash or Jak. This reality drove that team to excellence. The drive to succeed and the hunger to excel made Uncharted 2 not only a great sequel to a good game but a gaming masterpiece that would define not just the PlayStation platform but the gaming landscape as well. In 2009 Uncharted 2: Among Thieves became the consensus Game of the Year and swept awards. The work from this game would lay the groundwork for the type of games, direction and studio identity that came to define Naughty Dog in successive years. With Uncharted 2 Naughty Dog not only raised the bar for itself as a studio but for the industry as a whole. When it came to making blockbuster, action-packed, narrative driven, character driven video games Naughty Dog was the "it" to follow. Since then a lot of studios, as is customary in the industry, borrowed ideas from the Uncharted games to improve aspects within their games to realize their vision. This has generally resulted in improved character driven, narrative driven experiences across the board.
Uncharted 3 followed Uncharted 2 by becoming a smashing success but while great, it wasn't as unanimous in receiving praise as its predecessor. Uncharted 3 simply did not hit all the right notes in as balanced a manner as Uncharted 2 did for great number of critics and gamers. So after Uncharted 3 you could say Naughty Dog cemented itself as an elite studio in the industry (no longer just great). Like others within that elite club however; ND was somewhat unable to repeat the magic twice in a row to the same effect. That is when, from left field, in 2013, comes The Last of US. Expectations for excellence from Naughty Dog after Uncharted 2/3 were a given at the time. But no-one expected that a new IP, relatively secretive, releasing in the middle of the year, with mild marketing would suddenly once again become a generation defining game. The Last of US, the creation of Neil Druckman and Bruce Straley once again found magic. It found that perfect tone pitch to become not just Game of the Year, but as some consider it, Game of the Generation.... gaming's "Citizen's Kane" moment. Certainly, and without a doubt, a generation defining game realized in a brutal new world starring Joel and Ellie.
This incredible level of success and this magic would carry over to their last 2 main entries as well. Uncharted 4 and The Last of US: Part II becoming Games of the Year in the now concluding PS4 era. If there is something to take away from the excellent work in Uncharted 4 is how well Naughty Dog managed to give Nathan Drake a great send-off, and conclude the 4 game saga, aptly titled, a Thief's End, on their terms. TLOU: Part II would also capture the same magic despite being more controversial. Here Neil Druckman uses the game to push the narrative and story of beloved characters to places that folks may find themselves uncomfortable in experiencing or finding joy in. The game needless to say oozed in quality, and was incredibly well made, closing another chapter in the world of The Last of US.
As a fan of their games I've been part of the journey all throughout on this life spanning saga of adventures. I've been happily a part of the community of those games, playing them, enjoying them. I've lived through the hype of following news, gossip, leaks (for good or bad), through the launches etc. All I can say is that I've been a happy partner in all of it - and that I still get as anxious and excited for their games as I did in decades past. I can't wait to see what they do next and wish them all the success in the world - to the devs and creatives minds that have come and gone, to the old and the new, to the few that get no mentions except on credits to those that make the news all the time. It's a team effort over there, and it shows every single time (not just cliche). There is always a special mention tho.... To the man behind the scenes, Evan Wells. This is the guy that has managed that studio through thick and thin to success all these years as studio head. Maybe he'll release a book someday on his life's work managing Naughty Dog for so long. I'll be there to purchase it and read it. Thanks to all the Dogs. To more years of greatness.
