There is one question we often see raised which always seems to confuse, and that is; just how old is Nathan Drake? You will remember that in Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception, we learn that Nathan and Sully met twenty years before the events of the main part of the game. We also overhear the following conversation between Sully and Nate;

“I should have known when I met you that I’d be in prison within a year!”

“I always got you out, though.”

“I was 15, Sully!”

Either Nate meant he was 15 when he was in prison, and therefore 14 when they met (depending on when birthdays fall), or Nate meant he was 15 when they met. Either interpretation makes sense, but I believe Nate was implying that he was 14 when they met in Colombia. So we know then, that Uncharted 3 takes place when Nate is 34. And we also hear Sully complain about how Elena and Nate wrecked his plane four years ago. He is of course referring to the inelegant crash in Uncharted; Drake’s Fortune. This proves that the games take place in real time (Golden Abyss aside, of course). We therefore know that Nathan Drake is 38 in Uncharted 4; A Thief’s End.

Where is this leading?

You may have seen today’s internet amusement – an app that analyses photographs and tells you how old it thinks the person in it looks. Well, given that there has been a chunk of debate not only around how old Nathan Drake is in the first place (which we have just addressed), but also how old he looks in the pre-Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End images. I am on the “he looks pretty dang good to me” side of the “how much has he aged” fence, so when I got the desired result from the first Uncharted 4 image I tried, I stopped. This is the internet, after all. Please accept my apologies for the crappy image, but here is the result which proves that he hasn’t been aged too much at all…;

Unfortunately, it was bought to our attention that Kotaku had had a similar idea, and had used a slightly larger test sample than my one. Damn them. Their results clearly suggest that Uncharted 4 Nathan *has* in fact aged before his time. However, their larger sample does show the flaws in the program, as although several are roughly right, young Nate apparently looks 24. And Golden Abyss Nate looks 37. Also I thought it would be sensible to test the program with a face I know, and one that I know the age of. These two images of myself have the ages swapped (and have been pushed slightly closer together).

(And yes, that is me partying with Alain Whyte at one of Morrissey’s aftershow parties. Thank you for noticing.)

So anyway, the point is; the internet has been fun today, but hasn’t exactly proved it can tell you how old you look.