In recent years, Naughty Dog has been known for its gritty and realistic action games, like theIndiana Jones-styleUnchartedseriesor its grim survival-horror franchiseThe Last of Us. But before it was known for making intense shooter games, Naughty Dog built its reputation on colorful platformers, with the originalCrash Bandicoottrilogy serving as three of the most-defining games on in the entire PlayStation 1 library.
After its work on theCrash Bandicootfranchise, Naughty Dog moved on to create a brand new IP on the PlayStation 2 in the form ofJak and Daxter. As was the case withCrash Bandicoot, all three games in the coreJak and Daxterseries earned widespread critical-acclaim and are generally considered some of the best games on their platform. Unfortunately forJak and Daxterfans, a new game in the series hasn’t released since 2009’sJak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier, and there is no return in sight.
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While there is no newJak and Daxtergame known to be in development at this time, that doesn’t mean the franchise can’t return eventually. And in fact, now many be the perfect time for a completeJak and Daxterreboot.
A Change of Pace
SinceUncharted: Drake’s Fortunelaunched for the PS3in 2007, Naughty Dog has exclusively made realistic games with human-looking characters. While both theUnchartedandLast of Usfranchises are gorgeous-looking games, and in fact some of the best-looking games ever made, there’s no denying that they generally have a much darker color palette when compared to some of Naughty Dog’s earlier work. This is necessary to achieve the photorealistic graphics that Naughty Dog shoots for, but it can be limiting from a creative standpoint.
Imagine returning to theJak and Daxteruniverse with today’s technology. TheJak and Daxterseries never really left the PS2 era (unless one counts theHDJak and Daxtercollection ports) and a new game in the series could be lightyears ahead of the original games from a visual standpoint. The brightly colored worlds of theJak and Daxtergames could take great advantage of the PlayStation 5’s hardware, and it would allow Naughty Dog’s artists to work on something completely different where they aren’t limited by having to make things fit in a realistic world.
Not only that, but the general tone of theJak and Daxtergames would be a nice change of pace compared to Naughty Dog’s recent titles. While there’s plenty of humor in theUnchartedgames,The Last of Ustitles are oppressively dark in tone and can be downright depressing.Jak and Daxterhad a lot more comedy, and while there were plenty of dark moments sprinkled throughout the series, it generally stuck to a lighthearted vibe.
AnewJak and Daxtergamewould trade the realistic-looking worlds ofUnchartedandThe Last of Usfor something bright, colorful, and more optimistic than Naughty Dog’s recent titles. It would serve as a big change of pace and would give fans of company’s work something different to play.
Variety
Naughty Dog has consistently madeUnchartedandThe Last of Usgamessince 2007, releasing no other games in the interim. If nothing else, having a newJak and Daxtergame could provide some variety and ensure thatUnchartedandLast of Usfans don’t get franchise fatigue.
Reboot
Now, when some people see “reboot,” they sometimes think that means throwing away what was established in previous games, but that’s not always the case. A newJak and Daxtergame could be a reboot in the sense that it wouldn’t require people to play earlier games to understand the story, while still not contradicting the events of the previous titles. This way,Naughty Dogwould be able to appeal to a wider audience, and it would potentially ensure that the newJak and Daxtergame is more successful than it would be otherwise.
The reason why a soft reboot may be in order for theJak and Daxterseriesis because of how long it’s been since a new game has been released.Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontierreleased for the PSP 12 years ago at this point, and the last game in the series developed by Naughty Dog came out all the way back in 2005 withJak X: Combat Racing. While most of theJak and Daxtergames are regularly available on PS4 and PS5, it could be risky to expect people to play through these older games to understand what’s going on.
Naughty Dog’s Next Game
Whether or not aJak and Daxterreboot happens remains to be seen, but one thing is clear, and that isNaughty Dog is working on a PS5 game. Whether that PS5 game is a sequel to one of its established franchises or a new IP is up for debate, and withThe Last of Us 2just releasing last year, it will likely be years before fans get a glimpse of it.
But remember, Sony owns the rights toJak and Daxter, and it doesn’t necessarily need to have Naughty Dog make a new game in the series. In fact, the PSP spinoffDaxterwas made byReady at DawnandJak and Daxter: The Lost Frontierwas developed by High Impact Games, so there’s already a precedent for other studios making games in the series.
Whatever the case may be, hopefullyJak and Daxterfans can look forward to a new game in the series sooner rather than later.
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