Is Uncharted 4 an open world game?

The Short Answer

No, Uncharted 4: A Thief‘s End is not truly an open world game. With its narrative-driven action and predominately linear level design, Uncharted 4 keeps one foot firmly planted in the franchise‘s linear roots. However, compared to past entries, it does take significant steps to expand player freedom with its incorporation of open gameplay elements. So while not fully open world, Uncharted 4 progresses the series formula closer to open-ended design.

Defining Open World Games

Before analyzing Uncharted 4‘s credentials as an open world game, it‘s important to define what that term means for video games. Open world games empower the player to freely navigate through a virtual world and approach objectives in the order and method of their choosing, with few forced constraints. Progress flows from the player‘s decisions rather than a pre-defined path.

Well-known examples include groundbreaking Grand Theft Auto titles, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Red Dead Redemption 2, and recent hits like Elden Ring. Common traits include:

• Large, continuous open environments free for the player to explore
• Multiple story threads/side quests available simultaneously
• Minimal gating of content based on story progress
• Scope for emergent gameplay and unexpected events through A.I. systems

So in summary, player freedom and agency sit at the heart of open world game design. Developers give users an expansive sandbox with tools and systems that facilitate their own choices.

Uncharted 4 Features Semi-Open Design

Developer Naughty Dog did not set out to transform the historically linear Uncharted formula into a fully open world proposition with the fourth numerical entry. In an interview with GamesRadar+, co-director Neil Druckmann stated their continued vision for a "guided, cinematic experience."

However, Naughty Dog did purposefully evolve the level design and gameplay to support more open-ended traversal and exploration. As Druckmann explained to VentureBeat:

"We wanted to challenge ourselves to create more breadth and allow players to pick more of their own paths…So we were inspired by what we see in open-world games and trying to embrace that as much as we can."

So how exactly does Uncharted 4 fuse open world concepts into its linear foundations?

Wider, Multi-Path Environments

A central dimension is how Uncharted 4 moved away from confined, climactic set-pieces to create more expansive spaces that support multiple routes across terrain and between objectives.

Early gameplay reveals showcased sprawling jungle ruins, enormous underground cave systems, coastal cliffsides, and urban environments. Players can approach encounters and navigate to destinations in creative, self-directed ways – clambering up sheer walls for a vertical flank or silently infiltrating through dense foliage.

While past Uncharted games followed a clear A to B pipeline, set-pieces are now integrated into miles-long levels as emergent beats within a wider possibility space.

Freedom of movement and level navigation was clearly a priority. Lead designer Ricky Cambier detailed how vehicle transport like boats and jeeps serve as rapid transit across these large areas while opening up further traversal decisions. Helicopters and grappling gear also reduce barriers to exploration.

via GIPHY

Uncharted 4‘s exploration of wider environments on Madagascar‘s rugged coast

Side Quests and Hidden Objectives

These expanded environments are filled with side content and hidden objectives beyond the critical story path, bringing another staple open world feature. Treasure hunts and bonus conversations add new layers to the world and characters through optional objectives.

Collectibles also encourage wandering off initial paths to uncover artifacts, journal entries, and scenic vistas tucked away in hidden nooks. These additional goals and discoverables are a shift from purely plot-driven motivation.

Add in bounty side missions against wanted pirates in Madagascar, and Uncharted 4 has a basic structure for supporting player-directed exploration.

Gated Progression Persists

However, the core narrative flow in Uncharted 4 maintains the series‘ linear DNA. Environments funnel down into bottlenecks, symbolic gates where players must complete required events before continuing.

So while given freedom within levels, actual advancement relies on triggering scripted story sequences – exploring treasured ruins, surviving ambushes, solving ancient trials. Users can‘t simply traipse across the whole island from the get-go or decline the central storyline.

This sequenced gating of progression around plot blocks freeform exploration across the world, putting guard rails on agency. An open world game would instead allow the skipping of story beats and non-linear area access.

So in summary, Uncharted 4 selectively borrows open world traits but stays faithful to its linear roots where narrative-focused progression is concerned.

Quantifying Uncharted 4‘s Openness

We can further analyze Uncharted 4‘s genre by quantifying key metrics against past series entries. Helpfully, completion aggregators like HowLongToBeat.com gather playtime data on finishing goals that indicate where games fall on the linear to open scale.

Here is a comparison of main story length, completionist length, and single-playthrough lengths across the core Uncharted releases:

The above shows A Thief‘s End is considerably lengthier than its forebears – over 5 hours longer for main story; nearly double for full completion. This supports critics‘ assessment that the semi-open design facilitated more gameplay volume across a similar number of chapters.

Side content like treasure hunts also drive fuller playthroughs. The wider spread of single run estimates speaks to players spending variable times on optional exploration.

So the data verifies players are indeed afforded more discretion to set their own pace. At the same time, 10+ hours is still consistent for an linear, narrative heavy action-adventure. Elden Ring in contrast averages 52 hours for main story completion!

Critical Reception Affirms Progression

Reviewers widely praised Uncharted 4‘s balancing act in opening up breadth and player choice while retaining its cinematic flair.

IGF award winner Stephen Beirne commended the title‘s "different stages of being open and being closed" in his NU Reviews piece. Veterans of the franchise reliefed that the series "didn’t lose sight of what makes Uncharted so special."

CNET‘s global editor Scott Stein summarized concisely how Uncharted 4 "feels more open-world while never quite becoming a full open-world game".

Popular YouTube critic SkillUp echoed the same sentiment, stating that "It‘s still a linear game, no question about it, but the sandbox gameplay completely changed the way Uncharted 4 flows."

There was consensus that Naughty Dog had stuck the landing in embracing the benefits of open design while keeping Uncharted‘s identity intact.

The Verdict: A Linear Heart, With Open Edges

So in conclusion, no – Uncharted 4: A Thief‘s End does not qualify as a truly open world game. With its narrative gateways, defined protagonist journey, and authored set-pieces, Uncharted‘s linear DNA persists.

However, Naughty Dog did deliberately evolve its formula to support player freedom between plot bottlenecks. Optional objectives pepper the wider, multi-path environments to reward exploration. These open gameplay elements let users dictate the action‘s ebb and flow beyond on-rails cutscenes.

Quantitative data on playtimes and critical commentary both support the assessment that Uncharted 4 sits in a middle-ground genre fusion – not fully open world, but no longer purely linear. It represents a milestone for blending open game principles into narrative action-adventure.

Ten years on from the debut Uncharted title, A Thief‘s End shows how even genre pillars can expand their boundaries while staying true to their essence. With a next-generation sequel in early development, it will be exciting to see how Naughty Dog pushes the envelope further with its flagship franchise.