History YMMV / Uncharted

* SugarWiki/VisualEffectsOfAwesome: ''Uncharted: Drake's Fortune'' was noted at the time for its lush and wonderful environments even though it suffered from a few graphical issues. ''Uncharted 2: Among Thieves'' fixes those issues and gives some of the best graphics you can ever have from the UsefulNotes/PlayStation3. ''Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception'' takes it a step further and refines those graphics to make it one of the most visually pleasing games for the system. Then ''Uncharted 4'' came along, blowing all the previous games out of the water in this department, to the point where most people didn't think the first trailer was actually possible in game. It's considered one of, if not ''the'' best-looking UsefulNotes/PlayStation4 games out there--which is saying something since the [=PS4=] was only ''two years'' along in its life when ''4'' came out, setting the bar ridiculously high for any game released after it.

* AcceptableTargets: After some criticism of the first game for making the {{mook}}s non-white, the developers attempted an AuthorsSavingThrow by leaning heavily on {{Amoral Afrikaner}}s, {{Evil Brit}}s and [[BalkanBastard scary Serbians]] to fill out the villain roles in later games.

* SignatureScene: Each of the main five games has a few set-pieces that distinguish themselves from the rest, either for their high level of interactivity or [[SceneryGorn the sheer level of destruction caused.]]
** The first game has the opening shootout on the boat, the Jeep chase, the sniper battle in the Cathedral, and [[spoiler: the first encounter with a Descendent.]]
** The second game has the helicopter chase sequence in Nepal, the train sequence (which could arguably be the series' signature scene as a whole), the truck chase up into the mountains, and the [[spoiler:first fight against the Guardians.]]
** The third game has the Chateau escape, the cruise ship sequence, the entire plane/Rub' A Khali desert sequence, and the caravan fight.
** The fourth game has the car chase sequence in the middle of the game, the tower collapse, and the final duel [[spoiler:with Rafe.]]
** ''Lost Legacy'' has the final train sequence at the very end, which is a massive involved level that incorporates many elements from previous Signature Scene's into one final farewell. It references the Jeep chase from ''1'', the train sequence from ''2'', the caravan chase from ''3'' and the car chase from ''4'' and mixes them all together.

* AuthorsSavingThrow: In response to the UnfortunateImplications some felt with the first installment having Drake shooting non-white enemies and trying to steal treasures, Creator/NaughtyDog made several narrative changes in the sequels.
** ''Among Thieves'' and ''Drake's Deception'' had {{Balkan Bastard}}s and {{Evil Brit}}s as the predominantly Caucasian antagonists of the respective entries. In addition, ''A Thief's End'' has Drake going up against {{Amoral Afrikaner}}s for a PirateBooty, the lead bad guy Rafe Adler is American, and the seemingly stereotypical [[TheCartel Latin American drug lord]] set up as the GreaterScopeVillain [[spoiler:turns out to be part of a lying flashback made up by Sam Drake precisely to appeal to Nathan]].
** Drake's motivations become more altruistic as he is more focused on helping his friends and stopping the villains from threatening the world rather than stealing treasure.
** The sequels also feature more emphasis on heroic non-white characters. Both Tenzin and Salim have rescued Drake from near-death and have plenty of badass moments. ''The Lost Legacy'' has two women of color as the main heroine's.

* UnfortunateImplications: [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/27-Uncharted-Drakes-Fortune There are some]] who feel the series doesn't exactly treat non-white non-Americans the greatest. The first installment suffers the most for featuring mooks being ethnic minorities and Nathan being the only one capable of doing any actual treasure-hunting and clue-solving.

* BrokenBase: The lack of multiplayer in the ''Drake's Collection'' remastering. Some viewed the stated reason (''Uncharted 2'''s multiplayer was still being played on the [=PS3=]) as a rather weak reason, especially since 2's multiplayer was critically acclaimed. Others felt the ''Collection'' was still worth the money with the three games within.

* UncannyValley: Fingers in the second game look very... rectangular. It also seems as if there are floodlights hooked up to the characters' lower eyelids. They constantly have a shining, wet look to them, and look rather bug-like.

* PolishedPort: ''The Nathan Drake Collection''. Not only does it port the first three games to the [=PS4=] in 1080p at 60fps, it also [[AuthorsSavingThrow corrects]] gameplay niggles fans had from certain games, such as the awkward {{Waggle}} and grenade system in ''Drake's Fortune'' and the aiming lag in ''Drake's Deception''. Chances are the only complaint you'll see online is that is doesn't include either of the later games' multiplayer modes.

* DemonicSpiders: '''Armored Soldiers'''. Introduced in the second game and being a mainstay enemy since, these bastards are the bane of ''Uncharted'' players and often end up being the ones who will put an end to a no-death run. Their armor allows them to soak up tons of gunfire before they're finally put down, and while you can take them down with a few well-placed headshots, particularly with rifles equipped with a zoom feature, they can be surprisingly adept at sidestepping at the last second. Armed with high-powered assault rifles, or much more commonly, OneHitKill-level shotguns, they'll slowly advance toward Drake Franchise/{{Terminator}}-style, and the minute they catch up to him that's often it, forcing the player to restart from the latest checkpoint.

* SugarWiki/VisualEffectsOfAwesome: ''Uncharted: Drake's Fortune'' was noted at the time for its lush and wonderful environments even though it suffered from a few graphical issues. ''Uncharted 2: Among Thieves'' fixes those issues and gives some of the best graphics you can ever have from the UsefulNotes/PlayStation3. ''Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception'' takes it a step further and refines those graphics to make it one of the most visually pleasing games for the system. Then ''Uncharted 4'' came along, blowing all the previous games out of the water in this department, to the point where most people didn't think the first trailer was actually possible in game. It's considered one of, if not ''the'' best-looking UsefulNotes/PlayStation4 games out there--which is saying something since the [=PS4=] is only ''two years'' along in its life when ''4'' came out, setting the bar ridiculously high for any game released after it.

* CompleteMonster: [[YMMV/Uncharted2AmongThieves Zoran Lazarević]], [[YMMV/UnchartedTheLostLegacy Asav]], and [[YMMV/UnchartedGoldenAbyss Roberto Guerro]]. See those pages for details.

* HoYay:
** Drake is frequently shipped with both [[MentorShip Sully]] and {{F|oeYayShipping}}lynn. And now he's shipped with [[IncestYayShipping Sam]], who is in turn often shipped with [[FoeYayShipping Rafe]].
** Female example: ''Lost Legacy'' has made Chloe and Nadine extremely popular.

* AcceptableTargets: After some criticism of the first game for making the {{mook}}s non-white, the developers attempted an AuthorsSavingThrow by leaning heavily on {{Amoral Afrikaner}}s, {{Evil Brit}}s and scary Serbians to fill out the villain roles in later games.

** ''Among Thieves'' and ''Drake's Deception'' had {{Renegade Russian}}s and {{Evil Brit}}s as the predominantly Caucasian antagonists of the respective entries. In addition, ''A Thief's End'' has Drake going up against {{Amoral Afrikaner}}s for a PirateBooty, the lead bad guy Rafe Adler is American, and the seemingly stereotypical [[TheCartel Latin American drug lord]] set up as the GreaterScopeVillain [[spoiler:turns out to be part of a lying flashback made up by Sam Drake precisely to appeal to Nathan]].

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: Is Nathan Drake a happy-go-lucky adventurer who regrets but doesn't dwell on the high human cost of his endeavors, or is he a high-functioning clinical sociopath hiding behind a jokey facade, whose friends are mostly unaware of the true depths of his ruthlessness? You can read one argument for the latter [[http://tay.kinja.com/how-do-we-stop-nathan-drake-1595867612 here]].

* DracoInLeatherPants: There's been many an argument on who's hotter - [[VideoGame/Uncharted4 Rafe Adler]] or [[VideoGame/Uncharted2 Harry Flynn]].
* EscapistCharacter: Nathan. Highly skilled gunfighter, ladies' man, expert in adventurous archaeology, smart enough to know every bit of world history (and language) that's relevant, excellent climbing skills? Check. Average outlook, frequently panics? Check.
** Subverted in ''Uncharted 3''. [[spoiler:It's implied that Nate is an escapist character for himself as well; he was never related to Francis Drake and was just an orphan abandoned by his parents. ''Uncharted 4'' expands on this, revealing that both Nate and his brother Sam are on the run, and adopted new identities based on their historian mother's theory that Francis Drake had descendants.]]
* GuideDangIt: Good luck finding all the treasures on your own, unless somehow you're extremely proficient at finding tiny little sparkles tucked away in every freaking nook and cranny.
* HoYay: Drake is frequently shipped with both [[MentorShip Sully]] and {{F|oeYayShipping}}lynn. And now he's shipped with [[IncestYayShipping Sam]], who is in turn often shipped with [[FoeYayShipping Rafe]].

** Due to Naughty Dog's [[Videogame/CrashBandicoot previous]] [[Videogame/JakAndDaxter series]] featuring three games and a MascotRacer, it is occasionally joked that ''Uncharted'' is due for its own racing spin-off, sometimes called "Unkarted".

* {{Narm}}: The shear Superman level of strength and invulnerability Nate, and later Chloe, needs just to get through the game can be pretty hard to take seriously. Heck even just counting the climbing would mean Nate and his companions have the upper body strength and endurance that would make professional rock climbers look like infants.

** They also have infinite grenades, which you can do nothing about in any game sans ''3''. While tolerable on a regular playthrough, they make "[[HarderThanHard Crushing]]" playthroughs absolutely miserable; enemy weapons deal enough damage that sticking to cover is absolutely necessary, yet staying in cover will result in a grenade landing next to you every few seconds until you A) die or B) dodge into the line of fire.

** The second game has the helicopter chase sequence in Nepal, the train sequence (which could arguably be the series' signature scene as a whole), the truck chase up into the mountains, and the [[spoiler: first fight against the Guardians.]]

** The fourth game has the car chase sequence in the middle of the game, the tower collapse, and the final duel [[spoiler: with Rafe.]]

* SpecialEffectFailure: Nate's hair never responds to water [[note]]presumably because of the high processing cost[[/note]]. For instance, the first trailer for ''Uncharted 4'' shows Nate groggily climbing out of a river. It's very realistic, except for his hair, which is stiff as a brick and barely looks wet. This wouldn't be that noticeable if the games didn't love showing off how his clothes get wet.

* ToughActToFollow: Largely downplayed, if not outright averted. ''Uncharted 3'' had to follow up on the universally acclaimed ''Uncharted 2''. While most people felt it wasn't ''quite'' the masterpiece the second one was, it was still a brilliant game in and of itself. ''Uncharted 4'' also suffered from this a bit, less from following ''Uncharted 3'', than following Naughty Dog's 2013 hit ''VideoGame/TheLastOfUs'', although it too was able to hold its own and is nevertheless considered superior to the third game in the series.
* UncannyValley: Largely averted, but fingers in the second game look very... rectangular. It also seems as if there are floodlights hooked up to the characters' lower eyelids. They constantly have a shining, wet look to them, and look rather bug-like.

* VideoGameMoviesSuck: Completely averted with the short film; it was clearly a labor of love for the cast and crew. However, this concern ''is'' expressed by fans regarding the still-yet-to-be-released feature length film, due to the questionable casting choices (Creator/TomHolland and Creator/MarkWhalberg as Nathan Drake and Sully respectfully) and decision to make it a ''prequel'', adapting the backstory shown in the third and fourth game, rather than following the main games. Not helped by the TroubledProduction, either.