10 Ways Your Favourite Video Games Were Almost Radically Different

Video game development isn't easy. With the pressure on to create something distinct that stands out against the competition while at the same time keeping up with the features and mechanics that are making other games successful, studios have to constantly chop and change upcoming products right up until their due dates.

Not only that, but when you have hundreds of people working on the same product for years at a time all with different visions, there are always going to be creative ideas being optioned that could completely change the focus of development.

But while these differences are usually small and a natural result of production, sometimes a title can change massively from its first unveiling to being put in your console.

Whether it was the result of internal problems with a game's production or just last minute 'eureka!' moments that saved titles in the final few months before retail, some of the industry's most beloved games underwent radical changes before release.

With these changes available for anyone to analyse, players have been left to wonder what the world of gaming would look like if the original incarnations of these titles ever saw the light of day.

On the surface, when Uncharted 4 was first announced back in 2014 it looked as though Sony had everything in order for Nathan Drake's final outing. Under the surface however, Naughty Dog hadn't even decided whether this was going to be the final entry in the series at all.

Revealed in Jason Schreier's book Blood, Sweat and Pixels, the original vision for the game was completely different to the one that eventually shipped.

Initially, a good chunk of the title was going to involve no shooting at all, with the devs instead putting the focus on platforming, melee combat and stealth, rather than full-blown firefights.

Likewise, the story was also going to be altered, with Sam being the main villain. The twist that he was Drake's brother was originally going to be reserved for a later part of the game, in an attempt to drag out the fractured relationship between the two characters.

With the sequel not coming together in a way befitting of Naughty Dog's reputation, upper management brought in the directors of The Last of Us to steer the ship, throwing away the majority of the work already completed to craft a new finale to the series.