The Uncharted franchise is getting plenty of love to kick off 2022. Not only did the Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves collection remaster the two most recent entries for PS5 owners, but a live action movie based on the series is being released on February 18. With the games always being a critical and commercial success, it would only make sense for a new Uncharted title to release in the future.
Most fans would surely agree that Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End and Uncharted: The Lost Legacy are a step above previous games in several areas. The tighter focus on character development offers the best storytelling in the series, while the graphics and gameplay are at their best as well. However, one thing the newer games are missing is the fantastical enemies from the original trilogy, something that always made Uncharted stand out. While mythological entities would have clashed with the serious tones of A Thief’s End and Lost Legacy, a new and more lighthearted Uncharted game should let players fight foes that are not human once again.
Uncharted’s Non-Human Enemies Made Combat and Treasure Hunting More Interesting
Each of the first three Uncharted games not only saw Nathan Drake hunting a different treasure, but also fighting a unique enemy type associated with said treasure hunt. All the special enemy types highlighted the dangers of Nathan Drake’s adventures, with each having a significant impact on gameplay as well. All were different from one another, giving each game some distinct encounters that stick with players long after they have been completed.
In the first Uncharted game, players did battle with The Descendants. These zombie-like monstrosities swarmed players, with the enemies having vampire-like features and moving around in a terrifying way. When The Descendants became the focus in the back half of the game, Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune essentially turned into a horror title, with Nathan Drake trapped in dark areas where a Descendant can attack at any time. With the creatures tied to the opening of the El Dorado sarcophagus, they fit directly into the narrative.
In Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, the Shambhala Guardians were introduced, monstrous purple creatures that took serious damage to kill. The creatures were humans that consumed the blue resin from the Tree of Life, gaining black teeth alongside their oddly colored skin. The Guardians keep people away from Shambhala, using Yeti costumes to keep explorers from discovering the ancient city. In both their normal and Yeti forms, these enemies provided memorable encounters.
Finally, there was Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception, which brought in the Djinn alongside some creepy hordes of spiders. The Djinn were hallucinated by Nathan Drake once he drank the tainted water within Iram of the Pillars. Boasting fiery bodies, the real Djinn were trapped inside a brass vessel, which is the item Katherine Marlowe strived to steal from Iram. While Nathan Drake only got the chance to fight these enemies while in a hallucinatory state, they offered a memorable sequence that was different from the others in the game.
Whether it was The Descendants, Guardians, or Djinn, each of Nate’s over-the-top adversaries helped to define their respective games. The tonal shift provided by The Descendants makes for some surprisingly scary gameplay in the original game, while the interesting story of The Guardians makes Uncharted 2’s plot significantly better. While it was smart to focus on more grounded treasures in A Thief’s End and The Lost Legacy, as it allowed Nate’s Story to be wrapped up properly and let Naughty Dog give Chloe some needed depth, future games should bring back the unique enemies seen in older Uncharted titles.