The Treasured Tropes Of Uncharted’s Storytelling

This feature was originally published July 15, 2016.

As Naughty Dog’s Nathan Drake story wraps up, I can’t help but notice the lengths in which the Uncharted series has progressed narratively. Uncharted is part of the action genre, but it has established conventions that feel personal to the franchise. Although some may seem like they would be detrimental to the narrative, such as unlikely coincidences or a know-it-all character types, Uncharted uses them so they work with the storytelling in a positive way. Here are some of the reoccurring plot devices in Uncharted, and what they add to the series as a whole.

Warning: This feature contains spoilers for Drake’s Fortune, Among Thieves, Drake’s Deception, and A Thief’s End.

Far-Fetched Coincidences Keep The Action Moving If there’s one thing that moves plot forward in the Uncharted series, it’s happy coincidences. Present since a pocket-held journal saved Sully from a bullet in Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, these fortunate accidents are seen throughout the entire series. It’s almost as if a good-luck fairy sits on Nate’s shoulder. Some prime examples include when Nate coincidentally turned a corner to find a German U-boat in the forest mere feet from El Dorado’s temple or when Elena pulled Nate into a random door in Yemen to avoid Marlowe’s agents and find the well they came to the country in search for.

So how is it that Uncharted’s plot is hinged so closely to far-fetched coincidences, but that doesn’t seem to affect the player’s immersion in the story? Because Uncharted walks the line. The appearance of these is subsequently followed by action or a discovery that leaves the player no time to consider the odds of them happening. After Nate turns the corner and finds the U-boat, he is quickly confronted by Gabriel Roman and his men. Likewise, when they find the well in Yemen it leads them to the discovery of the location of the Iram of the Pillars and subsequently an attack from a terrifying swarm of spiders. In Uncharted, the plot moves quickly and the coincidences in the story allow the pacing of its narrative to stay consistent. Players are willing to suspend disbelief because they want Nate to keep moving, and Naughty Dog includes just the right amount of chance to allow the plot to flow without making the player throw up their hands and question, “What are the odds?”

Exploding Vehicles Are Gateways, Not Just Spectacle It seems every plane, train, and automobile Nate steps into soon meets its fiery demise. Sometimes you just witness explosions passively, such as the tank while traveling through a Tibetan village in Among Thieves, or the persistent helicopter that follows you along the rooftops of Yemen. However, more often than not, Nate is experiencing an explosion first-hand, desperately reaching for anything he can grab while a train teeters off the edge of a cliff or clutching to a parachuted cargo box as it drifts down slowly, forcing the player to watch the plane you destroyed come crashing down onto the Syrian sands.

Not only does Uncharted use explosions creatively, vehicle explosions often act as gateways to some of the most memorable set pieces throughout the franchise. Even when just witnessing an explosion, it usually leads to a frantic escape while everything comes crashing down around you. By using explosions as gateways rather than spectacle, it makes it so that every time Nate steps onto a form of transportation, you’re just waiting to see how he steps off of it alive.

That “Supernatural” Plot Twist Isn’t Relied On As The Series Progresses Supernatural oddities frequently show up in the Uncharted franchise. At first things seem straightforward; the treasure hunter is looking for treasure. But about three-fourths of the way through the story, a sudden twist occurs, revealing some curse or magical force has weaved its way into mix. Suddenly, getting that treasure is a lot more complicated.

In Drake’s Fortune, El Dorado bears a curse that has rendered the inbred descendants of Spanish colonists, and whoever else opens its sarcophagus, into zombie-like creatures. In Among Thieves, the Cintamani stone (resin from the Tree of Life) grants whoever drinks it heightened strength and speed while turning them into purple monsters called Shambhala Guardians. In Drake’s Deception, King Soloman casts a brass vessel into Ubar’s water supply, tainting it and causing those who drink it to hallucinate wildly, like Nate when he fought off Marlowe’s men as they seemingly became possessed by the Djinn and engulfed in flames. Surprisingly, A Thief's End opts to completely eliminate the supernatural twist from its plot altogether.

It’s almost like magic has slowly filtered its way out of the Uncharted universe as the series progresses, so that by the time it comes to a close it has disappeared completely and turned into a classic treasure-hunting plot. Perhaps this is because when Naughty Dog was first establishing the Uncharted IP, it wanted something extra to intrigue audiences. It feels like as Uncharted wrapped up, Naughty Dog was confident enough in its storytelling abilities that it didn’t see a need for any out-of-the-blue supernatural elements. Either way, the twist always felt inherently Uncharted.

Venture onto page 2 where we look at how suspense is maintained, the use lost cities, and a character analysis of Nathan Drake himself.