6 Retconned Plot Points That Ruined Beloved Video Game Characters

1. Nathan Drake Isn't Nathan Drake - Uncharted 4: A Thief's End

What you think you know: Nathan Drake is the plucky young rogue. The treasure-hunting, artefact-collecting, quip-spitting legend himself. Born of a fairly mysterious past, he's a descendant of one Sir. Francis Drake (hence the love for all-things shiny) and spends his time hanging out with mentor Sully and lover Elena (gunfire and angry pirates optional).

The new reality: Turns out Drake is actually Nathan Morgan, as towards the end of Uncharted 4, we find out both he and brother Sam (another retconned addition) had a treasure-loving mother, Cassandra, and it was her life that was spent searching for the world's riches. Turns out she committed suicide and their still-unknown father sold off all Cassandra's possessions to a woman named Evelyn.

All of this is told in flashback when Nate and Sam are kids, as it's established that Nate's love for treasure, his driving force to explore and ostensibly his entire character, is a product of wanting to aspire to be more like his mother, rather than have any dreams or aspirations of his own.

In Uncharted 3, Marlowe reads out these accounts of what happened to his parents with no context, thereby letting you fill in the blanks of "Well, then he found Sully, and discovered a mix of familial and monetary worth from both him and treasure". Nope, Nate had Sam to help frame his resolve, and the detail of Cassandra as a driving force, minimising Sully's impact and weakening the strength of their relationship overall.