Uncharted: Golden Abyss was not included in the upcoming Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection as it didn’t tie-in narratively with the main trilogy, developer Naughty Dog has revealed.
Speaking at EGX over the weekend (via Power Up Gaming), the studio’s Community Strategist, Arne Meyer, revealed that although the PlayStation Vita adventure was "definitely under consideration" for inclusion in the bundle, narrative reasons forced them to leave it out.
"But when we went back and looked at what we were trying to do with the Nathan Drake Collection, we realised that those three games – the trilogy – actually provided a particular narrative arc that led into Uncharted 4. We wanted to keep that as a holistic collection for that reason, and Golden Abyss kind of lives a little bit outside of that."
Uncharted: Golden Abyss was released for PS Vita as a launch title in 2012, and to date is the only game in the franchise not to be developed by Naughty Dog. Instead, the game, which is a prequel set prior to the events of Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, was handled by Sony Bend. Be sure to read our review of Uncharted: Golden Abyss if you’ve yet to sample handheld Drake.
Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection is scheduled for release on PlayStation 4 in early October in both the U.S. and U.K. The pack offers high-definition remasters of Uncharted, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves and Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception running in 1080p/60fps. It won’t, however, feature the multiplayer components of Uncharted 2 and 3. Sony has stressed that the bundle is more than just a simple port, and says that the HD overhaul makes a substantial difference to the Uncharted gameplay experience.
As previously repoted on PSU, the Uncharted: Nathan Drake Collection will weigh in at over 44GB and will also benefit from a day-one patch that improves various features. Those of you who already own a PS4 might want to invest in the Special Edition of the bundle, while gamers who have yet to make the transition to Sony’s current-generation console would do well to pick up the Uncharted PS4 hardware bundle.
The next chapter in the Uncharted series, Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, is scheduled for release exclusively on PS4 on March 18, 2016. The sequel will be the final chapter in Drake’s story, and sees the cocky fortune hunter reunited with his long lost brother, Sam, in a hunt for a legendary pirate treasure.