Scrapped Plants Vs. Zombies Game Was Uncharted Meets Ratchet & Clank
Details of a scrapped Plants vs. Zombies game have emerged online, alongside EA's grand plans for a crossover between the franchise, Uncharted, and Ratchet & Clank
07th Oct 2022 17:29
Images via EA | Naughty Dog
Scrapped Plants Vs. Zombies Game Was Uncharted Meets Ratchet & Clank
Details of a scrapped Plants vs. Zombies game have emerged online, alongside EA's grand plans for a crossover between the franchise, Uncharted, and Ratchet & Clank
07th Oct 2022 17:29
Images via EA | Naughty Dog
Halloween is just around the corner, and in some multiversal world of video game development, we might've been sitting down to play an open-world Plants vs. Zombies game. Sadly, an outing that would've crossed the apocalyptic shooter with the might of Naughty Dog - pitched as a mix between Uncharted and Ratchet & Clank with the Plants vs. Zombies name attached - was canned.
PopCap Games' beloved mobile title has grown from humble roots (pardon the pun) into a whole allotment of mobile and console releases. The first game sprouted in 2009, and since then, has branched out into various mainline titles and multiplayer spin-offs. The last release was the third-person Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville in 2019 as a particularly ambitious arboretum, but it's nothing compared to what could've been.
What Was The Plants Vs. Zombies Spin-Off?
As unearthed by IGN, something called "Project Hot Tub" was in development under a small team at PopCap Vancouver around 2015/2016. It would combine the "open corridor progression" of Uncharted with the family-friendly vibes of Ratchet & Clank.
Focusing on a pair of teenage siblings, Project Hot Tub paired you with those garden guardians on a trip through time to battle the undead. You'd battle through different time periods, usually accompanied by a faithful Peashooter - serving a bit like Clank. Other points would see recruit more plants, with the likes of a Sunflower lighting up dark caves or a Chomper being used as a grappling hook.
If you weren't already sold, the title was set to employ a similar combat system to Rocksteady's beloved Arkham games. Due to EA's supposed lack of single-player games for the whole family, Project Hot Tub was supposed to diversify its roster away from the long-running FIFA and Battlefield franchises. It might seem like the developer was throwing the kitchen sink at it, but to be honest, it sounds like a bold reinvention of the PvZ name in the best way possible.
What Happened To The Plants Vs. Zombies Game?
Ultimately, EA threw weed killer on the game, and instead, shifted its focus to Visceral's Star Wars game. Given that it was ultimately shown the door as well, it's a sad state of affairs that PvZ died so that yet another Star Wars game could also die. That being said, EA did deliver the acclaimed Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order in 2019, so it's not all bad.
The Project Hot Tub team said they were blindsided by EA, and with no rights issues or budget concerns, the game's culling came as a complete surprise. These days, the team is scattered throughout EA, and all that exists of the game are a few in-development screenshots. As for what's next for Plants vs. Zombies, the team that worked on Battle for Neighborville has since parted ways, while Plants vs. Zombies 3 has been stuck in beta limbo since 2020. This is yet another promising series that's been left to rot like an old compost heap.
About The Author
Tom Chapman
Tom is Trending News Editor at GGRecon, with an NCTJ qualification in Broadcast Journalism and over seven years of experience writing about film, gaming, and television. With bylines at IGN, Digital Spy, Den of Geek, and more, Tom’s love of horror means he's well-versed in all things Resident Evil, with aspirations to be the next Chris Redfield.
