[Update] Admittedly, the title here was a little flamboyant, so after much discussion, we've altered it slightly for the sake of being as truthful to the point as possible.
The Uncharted series is among the most acclaimed this generation, with Uncharted 2: Among Thieves winning handfuls of game of the year awards. With that said, no game is perfect, and if there has been one consistent gripe attached to the series it'd have to be its linearity. While some might argue that heavily directed gameflow strengthens the storytelling, David Jaffe believes it could open up the series to a lot of new possibilities.
David Jaffe recently shared his thoughts on the Uncharted universe during an interview with Edge Magazine. When he was asked about what he thinks of the series, he praised its presentation before unleashing his creative development side:
“In terms of gameplay choices, I don’t know. It’s really hard for me to have an opinion on it, because I love the genre. I’m a big action-adventure fan,”
He continued:
“I’d be curious as to what the experience would be like if it opened up a little bit. I think it would be an interesting experiment to find out if they could retain the wonderful flavour of that series while still giving the player a little bit more leash to run on.”
The problem is that the linear nature of Uncharted has become part of its identity, and changing the formula might not only upset fans but take away some of its personality and charm. A lot of us have gotten used to the point A to point B style of the series, and while that sounds boring the bombardment of huge set-pieces and epic moments are what make it exhilirating. Also, producing a game of Uncharted's presentational quality with some sandbox elements would certainly require a huge development team, but thankfully Naughty Dog has grown substantially over the years, so they may just have the resources.
On the other hand Uncharted is all about the drive to explore and discover. Larger spaces with more options could be just what the series needs to grow. Games like Red Dead Redemption have been able to tell a strong story while offering a huge amount of player-dictated direction, so it's definitely possible to balance both.
What do you think? Should Uncharted really open up, or is it fine the way it is?
