As Sony’s unofficial mascot for the better part of nearly a decade, Nathan Drake has captured the hearts and minds of PlayStation gamers with his globetrotting, trinket-pinching antics and immaculately-timed wisecracks. He also just so happens to have fronted one of the most successful videogame franchises of the last generation, with Naughty Dog’s acclaimed Uncharted franchise having raised the bar for console graphics and action-packed set pieces.
Sad it is to see then, that the plucky fortune hunter delivers his swansong outing with super sequel Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End for PS4 this week. Still, before he head-shots his last mercenary, PSU thought we’d reflect on just why Nate remains one of the most celebrated PlayStation icons of all time.
Here’s 5 reasons you should love Nathan Drake.
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He’s a regular bloke
Drake’s main appeal is the fact he’s so relatable. Unlike the stoic, muscle-bound Bro McShoot You-In-The-Face’s that have become ubiquitous in the industry since Gears of War appeared on the scene (not that we’re blaming Marcus Fenix, you understand), Drake actually looks and acts like a regular human being. Okay, so he’s missing the beer gut and season ticket to Man United, but there’s something instantly relatable to the cheeky chappie; he’s not a hardened military grunt, nor is he wielding any form of superhuman powers. He flinches when grenades are lobbed over his head, curses when the bullets zip by his dreamy features, and stumbles as he lands a tricky jump. Like so many of us, his bravado is an intrinsic part of his defense mechanisms to hide his own fears and failings—and that makes him a totally believable protagonist.
He rocks the half-tuck look like a pro
Drake’s sartorial choices may not exactly be even worthy of an appearance on Trinny and Suzanna, but he gets one thing right: the half-tuck. Somehow or another, the tenacious treasure hunter manages to pull of that I’ve-just-slung-on-whatever-I-found-on-my-floor aesthetic and make it work, and his trademark half-tuck shirt has become just as prominent a feature for Nate as his gun holster and handsome features. You know you’re a hardcore PlayStation fan when you’re rocking the half-tuck, and it’s all thanks to Drake. Cheers, mate, you’ve become a saviour to lazy guys everywhere.
He’s a handsome bloke, and a hit with the ladies
Blokes have drooled over female gaming characters for more than two decades now, so why shouldn’t our female stablemates have some eye-candy for once? Indeed, Nathan Drake’s dreamy features have made him quite a popular choice among the ladies, and in our experience at least, have helped break down those invisible barriers when it comes to easing our female friends into the gaming experience. Just one look at Drake and they’re hooked.
He actually grows as a character
While Naughty Dog’s storytelling in Uncharted isn’t quite as nuanced as the gut-churning The Last of Us in terms of character development, Nate still manages to go through enough changes himself to make you care about him from game to game. Sure, he retains his jack-the-lad sensibilities, wise-cracking in the face of death and oozing that roguish charm with the opposite sex, but by the time Uncharted 3 rolls around, there’s far more at stake in his escapades. Whether it’s his growing relationship with future wife Elena or his unbreakable bond with the cigar-chomping Victor ‘Sully’ Sullivan, Nate’s character as a whole does not stagnate. Hell, even half-way through the original Uncharted he’s ready to throw in the towel and abandon his search for El Dorado, as not to have Elena’s “bullet-ridden corpse on [my] mind.” Uncharted 4 looks to be centered specifically on Drake’s conflicting priorities, whether it’s helping out his brother Sam or staying true to his promise with Elena to knock treasure hunting on its head.
He kills hundreds of people yet you’ll still love him
This is one thing most Uncharted fans can freely have a bit of a laugh at, and has been the case since day-one. Drake, for all his cheeky-chappy sensibilities in the game’s glamorous cut scenes, is something of a sociopath during gameplay, mowing down hundreds of enemies every time he has an itch to find another long-lost city. Hell, he even manages to deliver pithy one-liner after snapping some poor sod’s neck or capping them between the eyes. And you know what? We don’t care; we still love him, and no matter how many people he nonchalantly slaughters, we’ll continue to think he’s The Man.