5 Darkest Naughty Dog Games, Ranked

Among video game developers, Naughty Dog has become revered for its grit. Their more recent and well-known series focus on tales of adventure rife with danger, populated by well-rounded characters. The worlds and their inhabitants feel alive, which makes their perils and inner turmoil hit that much harder.

Not every Naughty Dog game has players bawling their eyes out; lots of them are fun for all ages. But when a game decides to go for a darker tone, fans of this dev know they’re not going to be pulling any punches. These games aren’t “dark for the sake of being dark;” they’re dark with the deliberate precision of deeply emotional storytelling.

5 Jak 2

One Small Dark Step For The Trilogy, One Massive Leap For The Company’s Future

The original Jak and Daxter was a fun, colorful platformer with iconic characters and sassy humor. Yet as the video game industry began testing the waters with darker subject matter (especially after the release of Grand Theft Auto 3), Naughty Dog realized that the kid gloves had to come off.

In came Jak 2, a significantly darker sequel that brought in more cutscenes, a larger story, and even voice acting for the previously-silent video game protagonist. The game starts with the plucky Jak undergoing two years of imprisonment and torture, and his first words upon being rescued are a vow of revenge. While the game still has the series’ sarcastic charms, Jak 2 represents a major growth spurt in the trilogy’s tone, and it was just the first taste of what Naughty Dog was capable of.

4 Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End

Saying Goodbye To Nathan Drake As He Says Goodbye To His Past

The Uncharted series is usually more about treasure hunting than it is about heavy themes, but when it came time to bring Nathan Drake’s adventures to a close, Naughty Dog knew that fans might have trouble accepting the end of an era. And so, A Thief’s End’s story tackled exactly that.

After Nathan hangs up his adventurer’s hat and settles down with Elena, his long-lost brother drags him back into his life of treasure hunting. Nathan is forced to lie to his wife to save his brother, causing him to realize just how much he missed his life of adventure and and danger. While the game itself still harbors plenty of Indiana Jones-inspired fun, its central theme is one of letting go. Nathan learns that it’s okay to let this chapter of his life end, helping players to also accept what the next chapter of Uncharted might contain without Nathan Drake being present.

3 Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception

“Do You Ever Stop And Ask Yourself Why We Do All This?”

Uncharted 3 is often considered the darkest entry in the series, primarily because of how it fleshes out its characters, especially its protagonist. Nathan Drake isn’t exactly a complicated man. He likes treasure, adventures, mentor/father figures named Sully, and blonde journalists named Elena. Uncharted 3 expands on who Nathan is, posing questions like why he does what he does and, more poignantly, how much it’s really worth.

Throughout the game, Nathan takes his dedication to the job way too far. His thrill-seeking ways end up driving a wedge between him and Elena, and even endangering Sully’s life. Adding to that, players finally see more of Nathan’s backstory and how he came to meet Sully for the first time. Treasure hunting isn’t just Nathan’s job. It’s his whole life, but is it worth sacrificing everything and everyone else that gives his life value?

2 The Last of Us Part 1

The Ultimate Gut-Punch Champion Of Video Game History

No Naughty Dog fan should be surprised to find The Last of Us on this list. This 2013 game is legendary for bringing storytelling in video games to new heights. Its post-apocalyptic tale of loss, regret, grief, and trauma had gamers’ jaws on the floor from beginning to end. No one had ever seen anything like it.

There are layers to the darkness found in The Last of Us. The very concept of a mind-controlling fungus turning people into semi-aware, zombie-like monsters is downright horrifying. This dangerous world has left each of its characters hardened by trauma, with their pain depicted with heartbreaking accuracy through both the writing and acting. Finally, the game asks hard-hitting questions that gamers still debate to this day. If this is what the last of humanity looks like, is it really worth saving?

1 The Last of Us Part 2

The Sequel That Took Everything And Left Nothing Behind

Fans remain divided on The Last of Us Part 2. Some were left angered by the direction it took when compared to the original. Others appreciated its subversiveness, taking a unique approach to its storytelling in order to truly portray the cycle of revenge. One way that The Last of Us Part 2 unilaterally surpassed Part 1 was by making the tone much, much darker.

Part 1 was by no means a happy game, but it was sparked by glimmers of hope. Joel’s story was one of healing, of moving on from everything he’d lost and accepting new joy into his life. Part 2 had little to none of that. As Ellie takes the baton from Joel, her story descends into pure hatred and revenge. And while 14-year-old Ellie from the first game was no stranger to violence, grown-up Ellie in the sequel no longer has the thin, threadbare kid’s gloves protecting her. The Last of Us Part 2 is heartbreak incarnate, and gamers can only hope that Part 3 will have Ellie end up a little less alone.