Sometimes a game’s sequel is such an astronomical step forward, it’s hard to even remember the first game was where the series started. Games like Assassin’s Creed 2 and Portal 2 fall into that category, but perhaps the quintessential example is Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. The first Uncharted wasn’t a bad game, but it stands in the shadow of a sequel that quite literally revolutionized action-adventure games and changed the entire trajectory of PlayStation as a brand. This is the game that transformed Nathan Drake into one of the most iconic video game characters of all time, and sparked a “cinematic” revolution.
Uncharted 2 was exactly what PlayStation needed in 2009 — a smash-hit unanimous Game of the Year that sent the console surging ahead, finally giving the Xbox 360 serious competition. It’s hard to overstate just how important Uncharted 2 was in every way; it finally gave us the closest a video game could ever get to the Indiana Jones experience, inspired countless games to follow suit (including Tomb Raider), and set a new precedent in terms of graphical presentation.
I mentioned the word “cinematic” before, and that’s really the key here. Uncharted 2, at the time, genuinely felt like playing a movie, and I don’t mean that in a derogatory way. The presentation of Uncharted 2 is jaw-droppingly impressive, from the way cutscenes flow into gameplay to how the shooting is framed to look like an action film, and that’s not to mention, the utterly unbelievable set pieces. The first Uncharted had a few set pieces, but the sequel cranks the dial up to 100.
I haven’t played Uncharted 2 in nearly six years, but I can still beat-for-beat talk about a handful of the game’s set pieces. From the gunslinging battle across a moving train followed by climbing up the crash, to sliding through buildings as a helicopter blows them to pieces. Uncharted 2 is an adrenaline rush from start to finish, but it’s also masterfully paced — weaving in quiet character moments, brief exploration, and treasure-hunting puzzles.
However, the real key in Uncharted 2 is how it slowly ramps up the tension and stakes. At the beginning of the game, Nathan is the treasure-obsessed rascal we all know him to be, but slowly Uncharted 2 starts to peel back his layers, showing his growing relationship with Elena, the trust his mentor Sully has in him, and how he fights tooth and nail to save the small Tibetan explorer that helps nurse him back to life. Piece by piece we see the stakes raised in Uncharted 2, showing that Nate is fighting for much more than just his next big score. It’s a perfect encapsulation of the lovable rogue archetype, one of the finest uses we’ve seen of it outside of Indiana Jones and Lara Croft.
Uncharted 2 is a success on every single level — tight shooting that feels satisfying, a rollicking story packed with emotion, and it’s visually impressive even to this day. But you only need to look at PlayStation’s history in the last fifteen years to see how influential it is.
After Uncharted 2, PlayStation delved deeply into the cinematic single-player experience, away from colorful platformers or multiplayer hits. Naughty Dog would iterate on Uncharted 2’s formula with a sequel and The Last of Us, Sucker Punch pivoted to more cinematic experiences with inFamous: Second Son and Ghost of Tsushima, and Insomniac used the formula for Marvel’s Spider-Man. You could name countless other games that likely wouldn’t exist without the seismic shift brought on by Uncharted 2; Days Gone, Concrete Genie, Horizon: Zero Dawn, The Order: 1886, and more.
Uncharted 2 was the game that opened the floodgates for games to pursue cinematic experiences. Sure, some may have lost their way in that rush to pursue movie-like experiences, but we still have Uncharted 2 to hold up as that golden idol of how to do it. It’s simply one of the best games ever made, and it likely always will be.
