Naughty Dog recently announced that it would be ceasing development on the long-anticipated The Last of Us Online, reaffirming its commitment to single-player games. While this may come as a disappointment to some, it can be argued that the GaaS approach to The Last of Us Online could have run contrary to Naughty Dog's strengths, and with the project out of the way, the famed developer might be free to explore some of its older single-player franchises.

For the past few years, Naughty Dog's reputation has been almost synonymous with The Last of Us. The widely publicized and rabidly debated Last of Us Part 2 dominated any and all discussion of the company in 2020, and this trend seems to have continued in the years since, thanks to the Last of Us TV show, remake of the first game, and the upcoming Part 2 remaster on PS5. This, coupled with Naughty Dog seemingly ending the story of Uncharted with its fourth entry, has led many to speculate that the developer's next release will be tied to The Last of Us, with a third mainline entry in the series being a possibility. However, Naughty Dog is working on multiple single-player games, according to a recent statement, which opens the door to the possibility of the revitalization of older IPs.

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The Last of Us Part 2’s Roguelike Mode Once Again Puts a Game in Naughty Dog’s Crosshairs

The Last of Us Part 2's upcoming roguelike mode makes another case for Naughty Dog to tackle a long-speculated game with similar shooter gameplay.

Crash Bandicoot

Kicked off in 1996, Crash Bandicoot helped usher Naughty Dog into the era of the PlayStation. Considering the type of game the developer would go on to be known for, Crash Bandicoot certainly seems like an odd starting point, as its identity is firmly rooted in the traditional staples of the third-person, all-ages platformer. Many of Naughty Dog's pillars of game design, like its focus on cinematic storytelling and strong voice acting performances, are absent from this older franchise. It would be interesting to see the developer incorporate the strengths of a series like Uncharted in this decidedly cartoonish, low-stakes series.

Dream Zone

Dream Zone was a one-off adventure title released in 1988, back when Naughty Dog was called JAM Software, and takes place in a surreal and bizarre dream world filled with danger and satirical comedy. It's a bit archaic, to be sure, and the IP itself doesn't carry too much weight, but revisiting Dream Zone could allow Naughty Dog to experiment with more abstract and interpretable storytelling. Given Naughty Dog's penchant for emotional storytelling, there's a good deal of potential in a game untethered from the restrictions of real-world logic. Plus, it would give the developer's impressive environment and character design artists a chance to flex their creative muscles with more otherworldly designs.

Jak and Daxter

Coming after Crash Bandicoot but predating Uncharted, Jak and Daxter is the franchise that marked Naughty Dog's transition to more story-focused games. While the first game in the series is strictly a platformer with minimal narrative content, the following two games would greatly flesh out the series' characters and world, leveraging PS2 tech to tell more cinematic stories. While it doesn't come close to the maturity of something like The Last of Us, it's surprisingly well-written and rich in lore and personality, making it a good candidate for the modern Naughty Dog treatment. Jak and Daxter is an enduring franchise with countless passionate fans, and unlike other franchises like Crash Bandicoot, the rights are still owned by Sony, so a new entry in the series is certainly possible.