Nathan Drake doesn’t actually take bullet damage in the Uncharted series

News by Kirk McKeand Former Deputy Editor

Published on July 9, 2018

If you’ve ever wondered why Nathan Drake can soak up so many bullets in Uncharted, it turns out he actually can’t.

You see, that red screen that appears when you’re ‘taking damage’ is actually just a visual representation of Drake’s luck running out. Once you’re under fire for long enough, he actually takes a bullet and drops dead.

This revelation comes from Naughty Dog animator Jonathan Cooper on Twitter:

That’s a mega-swing! Sidenote I learned on joining the team: Drake doesn’t ever take bullet damage. The red UI that shows ‘hits’ is to represent his ‘luck’ running out. Eventually enemies will get a clear shot and kill him if he takes enough near-misses. https://t.co/byzVKYXVe7

— Jonathan Cooper (@GameAnim) July 8, 2018

In response, Uncharted creator Amy Hennig said, “True! That was the original intention (to stay more aligned with the spirit and tone of the films we were homaging).”

So there you have it - Drake isn’t superhuman, he’s just really, really lucky like Indiana Jones.