Uncharted 4: A Thief's End is a clear demonstration of two things: developer Naughty Dog's commitment to telling a satisfying, compelling story, and the determination that is required of a studio to produce a AAA game in spite of potentially crippling setbacks. Take, for instance, Uncharted 4 scrapping nearly 8 months of work after its director, Amy Hennig, left Naughty Dog altogether. Some studios wouldn't be able to survive such a drastic change, but luckily for Naughty Dog, they had the talented team behind The Last of Us step up. Even still, Uncharted 4 ended up being delayed due to developer dissatisfaction with the ending.

Needless to say, things haven't been smooth sailing for Naughty Dog in Uncharted 4's development, particularly in terms of the game's narrative. However, a recent interview with the game's co-director, Neil Druckmann, shed some light on why Naughty Dog was so heavily committed to getting Nathan Drake's last story just right.

Druckmann took the time to address some of the critical issues Naughty Dog is looking to explore in Uncharted 4, and chief among them is Drake's personal dilemma between following his passion for adventure and spending time with the people he has grown to care for over the course of his past trials and successes. During the interview, Druckmann said:

"With Uncharted 4, as we were building it we were realizing more and more what the theme is: it's that balance between pursuing your passions and being with the ones you love, and what happens when you have to choose between those things."

Druckmann also posed a question about this theme, wondering aloud whether or not it was possible for someone to reconcile those two things without facing any serious consequences. Naughty Dog isn't shying away from the tried and true method of exploring their story with cutscenes either, although they're looking to make Uncharted 4's cutscenes dynamic and interactive to avoid removing players from the action.

Although Uncharted 4 is still a ways out from its March release date, fans of the series will have other options to get their fill of Nathan Drake until then. Naughty Dog releases Uncharted: the Nathan Drake Collection in just over a week, which will feature remastered editions of the earlier Uncharted games as well as access to the Uncharted 4 multiplayer beta which begins in December. Those looking to download the game, however, might want to check and see if they can make a little bit of extra space first.

How important is a satisfying ending to the Nathan Drake saga to you? Would you be okay with a worse ending if it meant there would be more Uncharted games in the future? Let us know what you think in the comments.

Uncharted 4: A Thief's End releases exclusively for PS4 on March 18, 2016.

Source: Official PlayStation Magazine (via PlayStation Universe)