These days, the name Naughty Dog is synonymous with some of the most well-known video game properties in existence like The Last of Us and Uncharted. But before oppressive apocalypses and swashbuckling adventures, Naughty Dog studied the blade and honed its skills on a colorful platformer, with a dynamic duo that rank among the best PlayStation characters of all time. Jak & Daxter: The Precursor Legacy is easily one of the greatest platformers ever made, and an encapsulation of a forgotten era — when Sony had the lead on whimsical mascot games. Now this crucial piece of PlayStation history is finally playable on modern consoles, free with PlayStation Plus Premium.
Jak & Daxter originally released on PS2 all the way back in 2001 and was Naughty Dog’s first new game after creating the mega-successful Crash Bandicoot franchise. That’s right, there was a point in time when Naughty Dog was best known for creating bizarre, anthropomorphic animals. As you might expect, the game focused on a pair of heroes named, well, Jak and Daxter. The pair travel to the forbidden Misty Island, where Daxter is inadvertently turned into an ottsel — a strange cross between an otter and a weasel.
