Presentation
Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune opens a new period for Naughty Dog in 2007. After the highly stylized worlds of Crash Bandicoot and Jak and Daxter, the studio develops a more human adventure with more realistic proportions, animation and staging while preserving strong character mobility. Nathan Drake climbs, jumps, grabs ledges and moves through ruins with a fluidity that constantly connects exploration with spectacle.
The game follows a linear structure built like a pulp adventure. The jungle and island form the core of the journey, with Spanish fortresses, colonial ruins, caves, abandoned installations and underground passages. Progression remains directed, but the environments are large enough to create the feeling of an expedition moving ever deeper into forgotten territory.
Climbing provides the main breathing space between combat encounters. Nathan can grab ledges, move along walls, jump between handholds, use ropes and cross narrow passages. These sequences are less elaborate than in later entries, but they already establish the physical vocabulary that will remain closely associated with the series.
Puzzles appear more occasionally. Several use Sir Francis Drake’s journal to provide symbols, drawings or clues needed for their solution. Their main purpose is to preserve the archaeological side of the expedition and interrupt the rhythm of the gunfights rather than create long stretches of complex problem-solving.
Combat represents a very large part of the experience. Nathan uses a cover system to protect himself before aiming with pistols, rifles, automatic weapons, grenades and other firearms taken from enemies. He can carry only a limited selection of weapons, encouraging frequent use of whatever pirates and mercenaries leave behind.
Melee combat also allows enemies to be eliminated through punches and a few simple combinations. The system remains fairly basic, and the game clearly favors ranged firefights. Some arenas nevertheless require Nathan to move between cover as enemies advance, flank him or use grenades to force him out of a safe position.
This heavy emphasis on gunfights is one of the aspects that has aged most noticeably. Enemy groups are numerous, and several sections chain together encounters in ways that can feel excessive compared with the exploratory tone. The sequels would gradually reduce this impression of “combat corridors” by integrating action, verticality and spectacle more naturally.
A few sections briefly change the formula, including a Jeep chase and several sequences involving a jet ski. These moments already show Naughty Dog’s desire to regularly vary the staging, even if Drake’s Fortune remains much more restrained in this area than Among Thieves or Drake’s Deception.
The game’s identity also comes from its characters. Nathan is presented neither as a professional soldier nor as an invulnerable hero. He jokes, improvises, makes mistakes and reacts to danger with a mixture of confidence and concern. Nolan North gives him a personality that would quickly become inseparable from the series.
Elena Fisher is not simply an observer of the expedition either. A journalist who came to document Drake’s discovery, she quickly refuses to be pushed aside and accompanies Nathan through much of the adventure. Their relationship already relies on natural exchanges, disagreements and an attraction that later entries develop considerably.
Sully brings a different dynamic. As Nathan’s mentor and long-time companion, he shares his taste for treasure and risky deals, but he also has his own debts and criminal connections. The Nathan–Elena–Sully trio forms from this first game the human core around which much of the series will be built.
The story begins as a relatively conventional treasure hunt before introducing a darker dimension. The island gradually accumulates evidence of vanished expeditions, traces left by the Spanish and then remains from a German presence. The true nature of El Dorado eventually explains the massacres discovered during exploration and shifts the adventure toward a threat that goes beyond rivalry between treasure hunters.
This transition reflects the original identity of Uncharted. Real history, myths, archaeological imagination and supernatural elements are mixed without turning Nathan into an expert in the paranormal. He usually begins by looking for a rational explanation before encountering something that historical knowledge alone can no longer explain.
Staging is also an important part of the project. Naughty Dog uses dialogue during gameplay, contextual animation and cutscenes to maintain continuity between the characters and the action. These elements are less sophisticated than in the sequels, but Drake’s Fortune already establishes the goal of creating a playable adventure close to action cinema and classic exploration stories.
What to remember
- The first entry in the Uncharted series and Nathan Drake’s first adventure on PlayStation 3.
- Nathan follows clues left by Sir Francis Drake and discovers that El Dorado is not the city he expected.
- Elena Fisher and Victor “Sully” Sullivan establish the two central relationships around the protagonist from the very first game.
- A linear adventure combining climbing, exploration, cover-based gunfights, melee combat and a small number of puzzles.
- Much of the story takes place on a Pacific island covered in Spanish ruins and traces left by several expeditions.
- Gabriel Roman, Atoq Navarro and Eddy Raja are Nathan’s main human adversaries.
- The treasure hunt gradually develops into a darker threat connected to the true nature of El Dorado.
- The game establishes the main narrative and gameplay foundations that Naughty Dog would develop much further in later entries.
Conclusion
Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune already contains almost every component that will define the series, but they have not yet reached the balance found in later games. Nathan climbs, explores ruins, solves a few puzzles and follows a historical mystery, while gunfights occupy a sometimes disproportionate place in the overall rhythm.
This first adventure nevertheless remains essential to understanding why the series works. Nathan, Elena and Sully immediately bring a human dimension to a story that could easily have become nothing more than a succession of temples and treasures. Their conversations give continuity to the journey and keep the spectacle attached to recognizable characters.
The island is also an effective setting. Progression through its ruins creates the impression of following several generations of explorers who all encountered the same mystery. The shift from a search for El Dorado to the discovery of its true nature gradually introduces a sense of unease that the opening hours only hinted at.
The main limitations are mechanical. Combat repeats itself frequently, puzzles remain simple and climbing offers less variety than in later games. Uncharted 2 would revisit almost all of these elements and integrate them more naturally into the staging, building smoother transitions between exploration, action and storytelling.
Drake’s Fortune is therefore less impressive than the games it makes possible, but its importance does not come only from being the beginning. Naughty Dog defines Nathan Drake, his relationships, the series’ mixture of historical adventure and fiction, and a way of moving the player between narrative, traversal and action that would quickly become the signature of Uncharted.
Good to know
- Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune was developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Computer Entertainment.
- The game was released in 2007 exclusively for PlayStation 3, with its North American launch on November 19.
- It was Naughty Dog’s first new intellectual property after the Jak and Daxter series.
- Nathan Drake is voiced in English by Nolan North, Elena Fisher by Emily Rose and Victor Sullivan by Richard McGonagle.
- The adventure is entirely single-player; unlike later entries, Drake’s Fortune has no multiplayer mode.
- An update released in 2008 added support for PlayStation Trophies.
- A remastered version is included in Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection, released for PlayStation 4 in 2015 alongside Uncharted 2: Among Thieves and Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception.
