Amy Hennig's Uncharted 4 Was 'Very Different,' Says Ex-Naughty Dog Dev

Former Naughty Dog VFX artist Matt Radford says Amy Hennig's Uncharted 4 had Sam as the villain and was 'very different' from the final game.

Ever wonder what Uncharted 4 would have looked like if Amy Hennig had stayed at Naughty Dog? You're not alone. Over a decade later, we're still piecing together her original vision, and the latest clue comes from someone who was actually there.

Matt Radford, a former visual effects artist at Naughty Dog, recently sat down with Kiwi Talkz (via Insider Gaming App Premium Plus) and dropped some fascinating details. He joined the studio during Hennig's production of the game, and he remembers her version as "very different, very different" from the Uncharted 4 we eventually got in 2016 under Neil Druckmann.

So what made it so different? For starters, the characters weren't the same. "Amy's vision for the game that I saw didn't have the same characters," Radford says. And here's the kicker: Nathan Drake's older brother Sam? He was the villain. Yep, you read that right.

This isn't the first time we've heard this. Back in 2019, Hennig herself explained that Sam had an "antagonistic element" in her story. She described it as a journey from "this ghost from Drake's past being an antagonist to sort of reconciliation and reunification." So while Sam was still a major force, his role was more of a rival than a long-lost brother in need of saving.

Earlier this year, dataminer Michael Kemp (Thekempy on YouTube) dug up evidence of this alternate version. He found scenes that "didn't seem to be related to anything I recognized," with references to levels that didn't exist and story beats that never happened. There was more shipwreck exploring with Elena and less gun violence. Sounds like a pretty good time, honestly.

Radford also recalled the early days of Uncharted 4, which began production around the time Uncharted 3 launched in 2011. "I remember we built this green light demo for Uncharted 4 and it ran at like one FPS on like a PC," he says. He thought the game was "just like crazy scrappy back then." But he also added, "And Amy's vision seemed cool. Like, to be honest, it seemed cool."

Still, Radford is happy with the final version. He acknowledges that Druckmann's take might never have the same mystique as Hennig's unreleased game, but it was a strong entry in a beloved series. And now, he just wants to see Hennig shine again. "I just want to see Amy have her comeback," he says. "You know, when are we going to get Amy's games? She's really talented."

Hennig is currently working on Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra after contributing the story concept for Forspoken. But for many fans, the dream of playing her Uncharted 4 never quite died. What do you think? Would you have preferred Hennig's version, or are you happy with the game we got? Let us know in the comments!