Uncharted 5?
I previously reviewed the fourth installment here. Spoiler: I loved it and assigned it a rating of 9.5/10. It was highly entertaining and escapist fun, which, as I wrote in 2022, is needed “now more than ever before.” Four years after the fact, that statement is also more true than ever before.
In fact, this is exactly what I wrote:
As is my character trait, I seem to review properties years after their initial release. I have a massive collection of books to read, movies to watch, and games to play, and I’m usually quite behind … but there’s good reason. The world needs escapism now more than ever before …
It’s a highly entertaining story with humor, family drama, marriage drama, action, and excitement. There’s little doubt that the franchise just keeps getting better, and that this game — the culmination of three earlier iterations — has taken all the best of what made parts 1 through 3 entertaining and expanded on them. Faces from the past appear, along with some new characters, the narrative further develops Nathan Drake’s past and character through cut scenes and interactive story-driven flashbacks, and at the conclusion, a future is foreshadowed. This game is simply great.
That was four years ago now. You can read the full review here. I included an extensive list of pros, and in my cons list, there were none listed. The game is that good.
Since that time, there hasn’t been a lot of news. The Tom Holland film used elements from all four games, and while the movie was entertaining, it wasn’t exactly a blockbuster resulting in a whole series ala Indiana Jones, which is what the studio and filmmakers (I assume) were hoping for. But suddenly, just in the last two weeks across the internet on multiple sites, people are now saying a fifth game from the Naughty Dog franchise will soon be announced. Why, exactly?
Because of this post, by one of Naughty Dog’s directors, on Instagram:
Research?
The image harkens back to the Uncharted series — any one of them. And it is cryptic enough to start the speculation churning.
However, please keep in mind, it could be anything: a rerelease with upgraded graphics, DLC, or a totally different game altogether. It’s impossible to say … however, Naughty Dog has not shot down any of the online chatter.
As more news about this appears online, I’ll post it here at Life After Gateway. Watch this space.
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A Blanket of Steel by Timothy S. Johnston and from Fitzhenry & Whiteside, LTD. is the recipient of the 2024 GLOBAL Thriller Award GRAND PRIZE and the 2024 CYGNUS Award First in Category.
— Timothy S. Johnston, 20 April 2026
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Praise for Timothy S. Johnston’s A Blanket of Steel
“Fans of Clive Cussler’s NUMA Files will be delighted with Timothy S. Johnston’s undersea novels. Truman McClusky and Dirk Pitt are cut from the same adventurer’s cloth.” — Nick Cutter, author of The Deep and The Troop
“Action that ranges from close range combat to torpedo-fueled attacks. The result is a thriller that keeps moving from confrontation to confrontation … with constant danger and the vast depths of the ocean as a setting, there is always reason to keep reading.” — Kirkus Reviews
“Read the book and prepare to be blown away by one of the best writers I have ever had the pleasure to read. Timothy S. Johnston is simply amazing.” — FIVE Stars from Readers’ Favorite
“A Blanket of Steel is not simply a ‘daring do’ thriller … It’s prescient.” — Amazing Stories
“A priority selection. An action-packed story that is hard to put down. A Blanket of Steel is outstanding.” — D. Donovan, Sr. Reviewer, Midwest Book Review
“Innovative technology, Mac taking risks no one else would dare and thinking his way through to brilliant solutions … But the stakes are higher than they’ve ever been before. This is it. The countdown to the final battle … Johnston does an excellent job of keeping the tension taut as he plays with the reader’s perceptions of characters we thought we knew and trusted …” — SFcrowsnest
“Expect to be left breathless. Trust me here. Please. I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN.” — Michael Libling, author of The Serial Killer’s Son Takes A Wife and Hollywood North: A Novel in Six Reels
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A BLANKET OF STEEL is out now!
WATCH THE GRIPPING BOOK TRAILER HERE.
FOR PURCHASE OPTIONS CLICK HERE
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A Blanket of Steel from Timothy S. Johnston and Fitzhenry & Whiteside, Ltd.
Book Cover & Jacket Copy:
AN UNSTOPPABLE THREAT!
A mysterious assassin has murdered Cliff Sim, Chief Security Officer of the underwater colony, Trieste. Cliff was a mountain of a man, highly trained, and impossible to defeat in combat. And yet …
Someone brutally beat him and left his broken body in a secret Chinese facility at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean.
And included a calling card for Truman McClusky, Mayor of Trieste.
Taunting him.
Mac has led the underwater colonies in their fight against the world’s superpowers. Climate change has devastated the surface; nations suffer famine, drought, rebellion, rising waters, and apocalyptic coastal flooding. But now, as Mac leads the underwater colonies to freedom and independence, he’s faced with the gravest threat of his life: a Russian assassin, hellbent on killing Mac and everyone he cares for. Now Mac must uncover the identity of the killer, face him in combat, and at the same time lead people in battle against the largest underwater force ever assembled. It’s Mac’s final test, and to win the war, he must use every tool at his disposal, including the most surprising and devastating underwater weapons ever invented.
If Mac fails, all hope is lost for the future of human colonization on the ocean floors.
But the assassin could be anyone …
Watch your back, Mac.
A Blanket of Steel is the most gripping thriller yet in The Rise of Oceania.
FOR PURCHASE OPTIONS CLICK HERE
The other books in The Rise of Oceania series by Timothy S Johnston:
The War Beneath 9781771484718
The Savage Deeps 9781771485067
Fatal Depth 9781554555574
An Island of Light 9781554555819
The Shadow of War 9781554556007
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TSJ’s Awards
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THE WAR BENEATH: FIRST PLACE 2018 GLOBAL THRILLER Action / Adventure Category Winner, 2019 Silver Falchion Award Finalist, 2018 CLUE Award Semi-Finalist, 2019 Kindle Book Awards Semi-Finalist, & 2019 CYGNUS Award Shortlister
THE SAVAGE DEEPS: FIRST PLACE 2020 CYGNUS Award Winner, 2019 GLOBAL THRILLER Awards Finalist, 2022 Kindle Book Awards Semi-Finalist; 2019 CLUE Award Shortlister
FATAL DEPTH: FIRST PLACE 2021 GLOBAL THRILLER Award Winner, 2022 Silver Falchion Award Finalist (Best Action Adventure), 2021 CYGNUS Award Semi-Finalist
