The “Uncharted” franchise may be coming to an end (or so they say), but it seems that the developers behind it are definitely planning to make sure that the game goes out with a big bang, as its fourth installment is shaping up to be a true masterpiece, at least judging by what’s being publicly shown. It’s obvious that a few years have passed since the last installment, as Naughty Dog have just released a set of screenshots showing off the difference in graphics between “Uncharted 3” and “Uncharted 4” – and even those who were expecting a noticeable improvement will probably be a bit surprised.
During this year’s PlayStation Experience, the company showed various bits of gameplay from the upcoming game, and those present were quick to notice the serious attention to detail in the creation of the environments. The game feels a lot more polished than its previous installments, and there are various small details around the levels that make everything feel more alive and exciting.
And a set of pictures comparing the previous game to the current one really drive the point home – “Uncharted 4” seems to be making full use of the hardware it’s being developed for. Everything about the character has been improved – the number of polygons on the screen, the texture resolution, shader quality, and everything else that comes in play during rendering.
The game is also rumored to have a darker tone/theme than the previous ones, which could be related to its sub-title (“A Thief’s End”), as well as Naughty Dog’s recent experience developing “The Last of Us”. It wouldn’t be surprising if the company decides to continue the trend of making games with a grim theme, predisposing the player to a thoughtful experience. “Uncharted” is certainly a franchise with some strong potential for that as well.
And yet, gameplay footage that has been shown publicly makes it clear that the main character hasn’t lost his charm, and continues to make jokes all the time while narrowly avoiding death in the most ridiculous of circumstances. So, even if the game does have a slightly darker approach to storytelling, this will very likely be mixed with a lot of humor in the typical style of Nathan that player have been enjoying for the last three games.
It’s not known exactly when the new “Uncharted” will hit the market, but it’s scheduled for 2015. Naughty Dog will most likely confirm the release date in the coming months, and they’re expected to release more gameplay footage soon as well. Although, the 15 minutes of gameplay that was already shown is more than enough to indicate that this game is shaping up to be amazing.