With the release of the PlayStation 5, many eyes are on Sony's first-party studios that are developing for the new console. Despite The Last of Us 2's recent release just last year, fans of Naughty Dog are already craving new information on their next projects, namely the rumored Stray's Cross. While nothing has been officially confirmed, the game is supposed to be a first-person science fiction adventure game in the very early stages of production at Naughty Dog.
It's unlikely that any substantial news about Stray's Cross will be coming soon, but looking at Naughty Dog's storied history of games might be able to help inform what the game will be like before more news breaks. There are many strengths Naughty Dog has to lean on that could carry Stray's Cross, but it's likely that the game will be an amalgamation of all of their core proficiencies.
Naughty Dog's Writing and Characters
Perhaps Naughty Dog's biggest strength is its solid writing. Between the writing of genuine feeling characters and overall believable stories, Naughty Dog is one of the studios leading the way for narrative-driven gaming experiences. Looking at the Uncharted and The Last of Us series, the studio has proven that it can create well-written deep characters with its most recent releases. While very little is known about Stray's Cross, it's likely to lean heavily on realistic dialogue for establishing the characters that the studio is known for.
Stray's Cross is rumored to have two playable characters and it's a safe bet that both characters might have noble intentions on the surface, but will struggle with deeper flaws. Recent Naughty Dog games have explored the complicated nature of humanity such as Nathan Drake's nearly life-ruining obsession with the pursuit of treasure in Uncharted 4 and Ellie's futile search for justice and a slow, tortured death in The Last of Us 2. The studio seems to be interested in exploring the redeemable and unredeemable parts that make up individuals and it's likely that interest will make another appearance in Stray's Cross.
The Story Format of Stray's Cross
While The Last of Us 2's dual-narrative was controversial, to say the least, it showed that Naughty Dog is willing to take some risks when it comes to story formatting. Even though it's not the first game to feature a dual-narrative, it shocked players and provided an interesting look into story formatting. With the rumor that Stray's Cross is going to have two playable main protagonists similar to The Last of Us, it wouldn't be out of the question for the studio to try something similar again. It's unlikely that Stray's Cross would frame a dual-narrative in the same way as The Last of Us 2, but it might make sense that The Last of Us 2 was potentially testing the water for Stray's Cross.
Despite, its controversy, The Last of Us 2's dual-narrative definitely resonated with plenty of gamers and so the studio might be inclined to give it another try. Even if that's not what Naughty Dog is planning, Stray's Cross could play around with perspective in an unforeseen way that makes use of its two protagonists.
State of the Art Motion Capture
Most AAA titles released nowadays are created using motion capture. Naughty Dog is no exception, however, the studio has been on the cutting edge of graphical fidelity for quite some time. Rendering believable human faces without slipping into the uncanny valley is quite the feat, but telling emotionally resonant stories with those characters is even harder which is exactly what Naughty Dog has been doing. The release of The Last of Us 2 showed exactly what the studio is capable of when it comes to realistic character models.
If Stray's Cross is being designed for the PS5, which all signs point to, it would be an unbelievable jump in realism. Both Uncharted 4 and The Last of Us 2 were nearly photorealistic, so if the studio is able to capitalize on the more powerful hardware that the PS5 offers, it might be able to make Stray's Cross with a level of graphical fidelity not yet seen.
Satisfying Gameplay Loops
Stray's Cross is rumored to be a first-person game, ditching the classic Naughty Dog third-person action game formula. If that's true, it means that the studio will need to rework the primary gameplay loop that the Uncharted and The Last of Us series share to accommodate for a new perspective. It's not unheard of for studios to change up perspectives between games, but seeing Naughty Dog work on a completely new type of gameplay loop will be telling for the studio's future titles.
If Stray's Cross were to borrow ideas from Uncharted and The Last of Us, it might be worth Naughty Dog's time to keep the reactive A.I. and stealth sections from The Last of Us and the high octane shootouts with major setpieces from Uncharted all told in a first-person perspective.
Detailed Environments and Environmental Storytelling
Much of Naughty Dog's games are told primarily through linear story sequences, however, if the player spends enough time looking at their surrounding environments, they might catch a lot of unspoken environmental stories. The ending areas of Uncharted 4 are a perfect example of this: so many of the derelict buildings that Nathan Drake and company explore feature after-the-fact vignettes of pirate betrayals. The Last of Us games do a similar thing telling the stories of many people's last moments on outbreak day and beyond.
The new sci-fi setting for Stray's Cross will give Naughty Dog plenty of new environments to play around with and an infinite number of possible stories to tell solely through the game's world. Most details about the game and its plot are still unclear, so speculating about what sorts of stories could be told might be pointless, however, it's almost a guarantee that the story on the surface of the game won't be the only one running through the title.