Nathan Drake is one of the more prominent and notable PlayStation icons. Drake was the leading man of the Uncharted franchise until he was able to retire peacefully and leave his days of treasure hunting and traveling around the world to look for new trinkets and treasures to collect behind him; however, some fans are still not over the missed opportunity that could have pit him against another well-know treasure hunter, until now.
Fans are ecstatic about the long-awaited encounter between Drake and Lara Croft of the Tomb Raider franchise. Although the Tomb Raider franchise is not a PlayStation exclusive, the franchise flourished on the platform making her a worthy rival to the retired treasure hunter.
Nathan Drake Finally Comes Face to Face With Lara Croft After All These Years
Astro Bot is finally released exclusively for the PlayStation 5 and other first-party studios celebrated the launch with new artwork featuring iconic protagonists. Unfortunately, not everyone was a fan of the idea, especially Days Gone director John Garvin for reducing his work as a promoter of other games. Nevertheless, other developers operating under the PlayStation Studios umbrella welcome this new and exciting chapter for the franchise.
The developers from Team ASOBI wanted to take the franchise to a new level while using the child-friendly rating to their advantage to bring together different protagonists across gaming history and secretly embed hundreds of thousands of easter eggs and references. Weeks before the game launched, early-testers caught glimpses of countless cameos which is astounding given the limited time and manpower the studio had at its disposal.
For the 1st time ever (officially), the two video game adventurers, Lara Croft & Nathan Drake, finally meet each other (in some ways) in Astro Bot! 🎉
Thanks @TeamAsobi/@Playstation! 🩵@CrystalDynamics @tombraider @Naughty_Dog #TombRaider #Uncharted #AstroBot
📸: @PS5Trophies_ pic.twitter.com/HB5GYHLZoN— Infinity Tomb Raider (@infinityTRaider) September 6, 2024
The gaming community knew Nate would be in the game after early promos showcased a version of the character recreated with the same likeness of Astro. Fans were blown away by the studio’s incredible attention to detail and how they faithfully recreated smaller assets like Nathan’s toy gun from an early chapter in Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End.
Fans always dreamed of the day Nathan and Lara cross paths or for Naughty Dog and Crystal Dynamics to do something honoring the characters’ similar themes about treasure hunting. Fortunately, Team ASOBI answered the call took matters into their own hands, and gave the gaming community the meet-up of the century.
Astro Bot Is Bringing PlayStation Icons Together
Sony Interactive Entertainment has struck gold in the previous generation with a flurry of back-to-back success of first-party exclusives. This project is no different but the studio wanted to honor every other franchise that inspired them. Trusted gaming insiders like Jeff Grubb were blown away by the sheer quality and are convinced this game is Game of the Year material after playing 20 minutes, months ago.
Other forgotten gems like Bloodborne are getting more hype and appreciation in this game than Sony could ever give the iconic Soulslike franchise. The developers know what the gaming community wants and this is one way to show that their voices are heard. Hopefully, Sony’s upper management will understand where the gaming community is coming from and give other projects the acknowledgment and opportunities they deserve.
Lara Croft and Nathan Drake are different individuals with a knack for stumbling into places where they were never meant to set foot. The world of Astro Bot brought these iconic gaming protagonists effortlessly and is the closest players can get to an actual crossover.
Team ASOBI wanted to take the Astro franchise to a new level and accomplished that goal with raving reviews from the gaming community and critics alike. Perhaps a sequel will allow the developers to try more ambitious ideas and establish this as a PlayStation powerhouse along the likes of God of War, The Last of Us, Uncharted, Horizon, Bloodborne, and every other major PlayStation Studios project.
What are your thoughts so far about Astro Bot? Do you think it will win Game of the Year? Let us know in the comments section below!
