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[WhiteWaterM00se]

Naughty Dog was better when it was creating a new IP every generation. (Regardless of who is in charge).

HOT TAKE: Some of those IP’s should have continued by different developers and on more platforms. Where is a modern Jak & Daxter, more Uncharted Adventures?

Another HOT TAKE: Sony is lately talking about not generating enough revenue from games. Why were the older titles not put on PC in greater frequency, and on Switch, Xbox, Mac? Are you telling me Uncharted 1-3, and Jake and Daxter trilogy wouldn’t sell well on other platforms?

Doing this would allow more money for the company and if they are smart, more money to invest into newer game development.

 

[Roufianos]

I hated both U4 and Last of Us 2, so yes for me.

 

[GymWolf]

Neil is not involved in the reason why i play ND games but now their characters are unlikeable other than being derivative so we can say that the games are a bit worse, yeah.

 

[DenchDeckard]

It really shocks me that there are fans of Uncharted 4. I think the game reeks of its troubled development. I give props to Neil for getting the game out the door considering but I found it painfully boring and a drag. It also didnt make any sense to me as a HUGE fan of the franchise. Too many plot holes and just boring plodding and talking with 0 risk climbing. It just missed the magic for me.

Last of us is one of my favourite games of all times, and as its been said. I think that was the magic that Neil and Bruce dragged out of each other.

So, I think Neil is super talented but needs someone to reign in the emo side a touch. I think if they made an Last of us 3 that had some of that magic of one, you COULD let part 2 go as the dark middle chapter. I think the issue with part 2 for me is you have the argument that he did what he did for a simple shock factor and it was just far too an easy cop out but for the game he was making it had to happen.

I am hoping that this new game can be something a little more light hearted and deliver that ND magic again.

Basically, the answer to the question for me is No. ND wasnt better before him, he was involved in all the Uncharted's I loved. Maybe he shouldnt be the Director etc but his involvement made some of the best games to come out in the last 20 years.

 

[GymWolf]

It really shocks me that there are fans of Uncharted 4. I think the game reeks of its troubled development. I give props to Neil for getting the game out the door considering but I found it painfully boring and a drag. It also didnt make any sense to me as a HUGE fan of the franchise. Too many plot holes and just boring plodding and talking with 0 risk climbing. It just missed the magic for me.

Last of us is one of my favourite games of all times, and as its been said. I think that was the magic that Neil and Bruce dragged out of each other.

So, I think Neil is super talented but needs someone to reign in the emo side a touch. I think if they made an Last of us 3 that had some of that magic of one, you COULD let part 2 go as the dark middle chapter. I think the issue with part 2 for me is you have the argument that he did what he did for a simple shock factor and it was just far too an easy cop out but for the game he was making it had to happen.

I am hoping that this new game can be something a little more light hearted and deliver that ND magic again.

Basically, the answer to the question for me is No. ND wasnt better before him, he was involved in all the Uncharted's I loved. Maybe he shouldnt be the Director etc but his involvement made some of the best games to come out in the last 20 years.

I thought it was a boring, shitty paced piece of turd except for the pure combat (when they actually let you fight) and obvious ND production values.

 

[DenchDeckard]

I thought it was a boring, shitty paced piece of turd except for the pure combat (when they actually let you fight) and obvious ND production values.

I remember literally falling asleep in the section where your walking around with Sam and theres like the shingled stones that you could slide down. The whole internet was ablaze with people excited how the stones rolled down the shingle hills and I legit, no lie actually fell sleep just listening to them talk to each other.

I legit cant remember anything of greatness in uncharted 4 outside of what they demoed. The jeep section and the dragging across the floor with the armoured car. that was mind blowing but we saw it at E3. Which i also think was a really poor choice.

 

[Trilobit]

I thought it was a boring, shitty paced piece of turd except for the pure combat (when they actually let you fight) and obvious ND production values.

The part at the end when there's a massive and challenging shootout on the pirate ship was probably the most memorable part and where I started really wondering why they put so little engaging gameplay into the game. Climbing around on cliffs where there's zero platforming or skill required was like being forced to crawl slowly, slowly, slowly all the time. And the constant "oh no, a rock or plank was loose and you're going to faaaall - sike got you! Wasn't that exciting?!" got worn out really fast, but continued basically from start to end.

 

[GymWolf]

The part at the end when there's a massive and challenging shootout on the pirate ship was probably the most memorable part and where I started really wondering why they put so little engaging gameplay into the game. Climbing around on cliffs where there's zero platforming or skill required was like being forced to crawl slowly, slowly, slowly all the time. And the constant "oh no, a rock or plank was loose and you're going to faaaall - sike got you! Wasn't that exciting?!" got worn out really fast, but continued basically from start to end.

Yep, combat was by far the best part of the game and it's like 10% of the actual gameplay.

Such a waste.

 

[GymWolf]

I remember literally falling asleep in the section where your walking around with Sam and theres like the shingled stones that you could slide down. The whole internet was ablaze with people excited how the stones rolled down the shingle hills and I legit, no lie actually fell sleep just listening to them talk to each other.

I legit cant remember anything of greatness in uncharted 4 outside of what they demoed. The jeep section and the dragging across the floor with the armoured car. that was mind blowing but we saw it at E3. Which i also think was a really poor choice.

I legit paused the game 3 times and needed 6 months to finish it.

Still better than 3 i guess, never even completed than one...

 

[pauljeremiah]

There is a new ND or Druckman thread on this site every fucking day. This guy living rent free in some heads here holy shit. Let it go

It's just like the other place, except they have JK Rowling living rent-free in their heads.

 

[AlphaDump]

I was never a fan of the jak series personally, and disliked Naughty Dog's artstyle in general prior to the Uncharted series. I even think Crash Bandicoot was clunky and overrated.

Uncharted 2 was really the game that changed my perception of them, and also helped justify my ps3 purchase. They've been somewhat coasting on that formula ever since which isn't a bad thing since it generally pushes the entire medium forward. The evolution in gameplay with the TLOU 2 was a step in the right direction, too.

 

[Evil Calvin]

'Were'

 

[Sethbacca]

Wiki has this.

Neil Druckmann - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Imagine looking at this list and saying YES. Some of his narrative choices may be questionable to some of you but these are unquestionably some of the best games of the last 2 decades.

 

[kazuyamishima]

Some questionable decisions in their latest games, and a lot of people say that Bruce and Amy were ND, but Neil’s games are still selling millions whilst Amy worked on BF Hardline and Forspoken after departing ND.

 

[proandrad]

Guy was the sole head on 1 game that was polarizing. Everything else he has had his hands on has been gold and if you are part of half the people that liked TLOUP2, then the guy has a 100% hit rate.

 

[CoreyFlawless]

I mean, he been writing since uc2 for them. So yeah. He been the man. Maybe too much of the credits.

 

[Sooner]

Hell no.

The Last of Us and Part 2 are two of the best games ever. The reasons people are split on Part 2 are stupid and mostly stem from a poor first impression of leaks pee-release that were put of context.

The fact that anyone cared THAT much about the games characters, shows how great the story telling was. And the gameplay is incredibly overrated. TLOU2 would be a great game without the story, just based on the actual gameplay.

 

[Wolves hunt in packs]

They were great then and great now, the end.

 

[bitbydeath]

No because Uncharted and TLOU were also his, but he needs others to curb his writing.

 

[Brigandier]

I couldn't even finish that one

If he directed Uncharted 2 then I'll give him props!

I absolutely loved Uncharted 1-3 especially 2, But yeah I struggled with 4, I never played it again after I finished it which was a first for this series.

Uncharted 2 on the other hand.... man what a game and I loved the MP.

 

[ShirAhava]

Uncharted 2 was amazing I wasn't a fan of ND before that and I haven't been since

 

[Senua]

I absolutely loved Uncharted 1-3 especially 2, But yeah I struggled with 4, I never played it again after I finished it which was a first for this series.

Uncharted 2 on the other hand.... man what a game and I loved the MP.

Yea I liked 3 more than 4 too, definitely not a common opinion lol

 

[Aenima]

Better question would be if Naughty Dog had better games before Neil started simping for Anita Sarkeesean and bacame a feminist. And the answer is yes. SInce then the only remaining 2 male characters (Joel and Nate) from ND active IPs got removed by Neil. He retired Drake in U4, and killed Joel in TLOU2. Everething feels like a femenist agenda. The games still has great gameplay, Both Uncharted 4 and TLOU2 had my favorite gameplay from all they games, but hated the stories.

 

[SHA]

People love to hate, what they can't conquer. They hate that he's constantly making things that are hits.

COD haters won't let their hate affect their decision to buy the next Cod anyway, but these comments surely aren't meaningful.

 

[nial]

Yes.
ND peaked with Uncharted 2,

They peaked at Uncharted 2 so yes

How much power did he have in the decision making for Uncharted 1 - 3?

Uncharted 2 won the generation for Sony, so the answer is yes.

One of the two lead game designers for Uncharted 2.

Druckmann gets too much credit for the quality of Naughty Dog games. He wouldn't be anything without the talented team that brings those games to life. The cult of personality around some of these game designers is just weird to me.

Fair enough, but he's far from being the only example of that.
Just look at all the people who somehow still believe that Miyamoto is the ""mastermind"" of those Nintendo games.

 

[Madserb2023]

It was better before Druckman had control. Still think Uncharted 2 was the best game they have made along with Jak and Daxter. Both Uncharted 4 and Last of Us 2 were bloated with bad pacing compared to the previous entries. If their next game is the same, then Druckman is the problem.

 

[Fbh]

One of the two lead game designers for Uncharted 2.

eh, I think it's implied in the thread that the question is if ND was better before Niel became the leading authority at the studio and not if ND was better before Niel joined the studio 20 years ago.

Being one out of two lead game designers in a game that's directed by someone else and has a different creative director isn't comparable to being the game director + studio head + head of creative

 

[Dragon_Rocks]

I feel earlier they were games centered around fun and now it's games centered around some message.

 

[KaiserBecks]

Say what you want about TLOU2, but with this game, they finally addressed criticism and consciously made the decision that the quality of the gameplay should match the quality of their then story-focused games. With that in mind I voted “yes”.

 

[Pegasus Actual]

Uncharted 2 through TLOU1 was pretty good, the rest I can do without, no problem.

 

[cinnamonandgravy]

Wiki has this.

Neil Druckmann - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

thanks--had no idea what he's done

but dont care for any of those except for last of us' gameplay.

 

[YCoCg]

Naughty Dog has had three different ears, people keep lumping the first two together but the Andy Gavin & Jason Rubin eras cover the start up to Jak X. Then you got the Evan Wells era with Bruce Stanley, etc, which covered the first Uncharted upto Uncharted 4 and now we're in the full on Druckman era.

 

[Tchu-Espresso]

So many here have fallen off a cliff with Druckman derangement syndrome, it’s really a sight to see lol.

 

[K' Dash]

Of course they were, and for anyone saying that TLoU2 is their best game mechanically, it’s just the evolution of systems put in place by Amy and Bruce years before leaving.

 

[Killer8]

Left Behind was the exact tipping point. As soon as ND realized they could make the critics clap like seals by sprinkling in a bit of the gay, it started to go downhill from there. That's not to say everything they've made since has been bad - Uncharted 4 was a fine exit for the mainline series. But it's clear that The Last of Us II and the new slop they are peddling are centred purely around pandering and "owning the chuds." Doesn't help that Druckmann is a very schizophrenic writer who can have moments of sheer brilliance and then absolutely nuke it just a few hours later.