The Story Timeline Order of Uncharted Games
Uncharted is a franchise of action-adventure video games featuring thrilling adventures in multiple, exotic locations around the world. Uncharted video games typically feature third-person camera, third-person combat with cover, platforming elements and action-adventure gameplay. Due to the immersive and seamless gameplay nature of the Uncharted games, these games can be considered a cinematic action-adventure experience, with puzzles, action and dialogues.
The first game in the Uncharted series, Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, was released in 2007. Uncharted: Drake's Fortune already featured the hallmarks and characteristics by which the series would come to be known for, such as the action-adventure gameplay, platforming and third-person perspective. Uncharted video games generally are adventures in different places of the world, where the player character is looking for treasures, and in these adventures the player must defeat different enemies and surpass platforming environments. Even though Uncharted games feature platforming gameplay, I do not believe it is accurate to define them as platforming games, since this is not the defining characteristic of these games. Instead, it seems more accurate to describe Uncharted video games as action-adventure games with platforming elements. This difference is important because Uncharted video games feature frequent combat gameplay as well as an overall cinematic experience throughout each game. This cinematic experience and frequent combat gameplay is not often seen in typical platforming video games, but more so in action-adventure games of the late 2000s and early 2010s.
Uncharted video games, with their diverse locations and action gameplay, are a fan-favorite for action-adventure fans and players who enjoy going on adventures across the world. These games are specially suggested for gamers who want adventure but also like action gameplay. Action-adventure fans who have played the Tomb Raider video games may notice similarities between the Tomb Raider games and the Uncharted games. Indeed, just like in Tomb Raider, players in Uncharted will have the experience of exploring exotic locations in the world, searching ancient ruins for treasures, platforming in a 3D environment and fighting enemies. However, unlike the Tomb Raider series, which started mostly as a 3D action-adventure platformer series, the Uncharted series started as a cinematic action-adventure experience. The Tomb Raider games would migrate to a cinematic action-adventure experience mostly starting with Tomb Raider: Legend. Another important difference is that, in Uncharted games, players are able to use the game environment as cover, something that is not available in most of the Tomb Raider video games, which rely much more on Lara Croft's acrobactics and reflexes in order to fight the different enemies. It is also notorious that in many Uncharted games, it is common for the player character to fight human enemies, whereas in most Tomb Raider games released before Tomb Raider (2013), most enemies would typically be animals and fantastic creatures. Another discerning feature is that quite often in Uncharted games, the main character, Nathan Drake, is accompanied by NPC (non-player character) companions, while in most of the Tomb Raider games, Lara Croft, the protagonist, is alone during the whole gameplay of each game. Another important difference is that most of the Tomb Raider video games have a focus on solving puzzles, with the combat in the game more as a secondary element, even though it is important to the adventure. Uncharted games, on the other hand, have a much more present combat gameplay, which appears much more frequently in the game when compared to most of the Tomb Raider video games.
In What Order to Play the Uncharted Games?
Any Uncharted video game can be enjoyed in any order. However, story-wise, considering that the Uncharted video games belong to the same universe, and considering that most Uncharted games feature the same protagonist character, Nathan Drake, it is reasonable to consider that play the Uncharted games in story order is suggested for the best possible story experience. Playing these games in the chronological story order is also interesting to see the character development that the protagonist goes through, as well as appreciate the order of the events that happened in the different Uncharted games.
The Story Timeline Order of the Uncharted Video Games
This is the story timeline order of the Uncharted video games. In other words, this is the chronological order of the story events that happen in the different Uncharted games. This is the suggested order to play the Uncharted games for players who want to have the best possible story experience in the Uncharted games series. It is important to note how this chronological story order can be quite different from a release order. For example, Uncharted: Golden Abyss was released after Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception, when, in fact, story-wise, this game is actually set before the first Uncharted game, Uncharted: Drake's Fortune.
The games in this list were organized by their starting time period, and not necessarily the time period at the end of the game. For example, Uncharted: Fight for Fortune features elements that are seen in Uncharted 2: Among Thieves and Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception, but that is not how the game starts, and for this reason was included before these games. This principle also applies to other games in this chronological story order of the Uncharted video games.
Uncharted: Golden Abyss
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune
Uncharted: Fight for Fortune
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception
Uncharted: Fortune Hunter
Uncharted 4: A Thief's End
Uncharted: The Lost Legacy
Most Uncharted video games are set directly some years after the other, and feature a clearly defined time period. This is not the case for the Uncharted spin-off games, Uncharted: Fight for Fortune and Uncharted: Fortune Hunter, in which case the storyline is not so clearly defined and the time period of the games cannot always be easily gathered. However, there are elements in these games that help identify the moment in which these games take place, and these evidences were used to decide the best location, story-wise, for these spin-off games in this chronological story order of Uncharted games list that I've wrote. While some people may disagree about the location of Uncharted: Fight for Fortune, and argue that possibly a better location for this game would be Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception, in the case of Uncharted: Fight for Fortune this game could as easily be placed after Uncharted 2: Among Thieves or Uncharted 3: Drkae's Deception, because this game features elements seen in these other games. However, when writing this list, I decided on the placement of each game based on the starting moment of the game, and not based on the time period throughout the gameplay. For this reason, even though Uncharted: Fight for Fortune may feature elements of games that are placed after it in my list, the game still starts after Uncharted: Drake's Fortune.
What is the Time Difference Between Each Uncharted Game?
Most Uncharted main video games are separated by one or two years each, even though this is not always the case. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, for example, is set some years after the previous Uncharted main game, Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception.
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