Uncharted 4 story completely rewritten post-Hennig

Uncharted 4's directors threw the entire script out the window when they took over from Amy Hennig and Justin Richmond.

The story Uncharted 4: A Thief's End was changed "100%" when Neil Druckmann and Bruce Streley took over as directors.

This largely contextless tidbit appeared as part of an Associated Press interview published by the New York Times, among others.

"This is the biggest, most ambitious Uncharted - let alone game - that Naughty Dog has ever endeavoured to take on," Straley said of the project.

"We want to do this justice. We want it to be a mind-blowing, eye-popping, sweaty-palms adventure. Everybody is bleeding out of their eye sockets to make it come together. We want to make sure Drake is sent off properly."

Strayley's comment about bleeding out the eyeballs may refer to crunch, which isn't especially surprising given that Uncharted 4 is due in April and the developer was recording motion capture as recently as last month despite a couple of delays.

Hennig and Richmond won acclaim for the Uncharted series' wonderful blending of blockbuster action tropes with very human warmth and heart, and it's a pity we'll never know where they might have taken Nathan Drake. Hennig left Naughty Dog in March 2014, and Richmond followed suit just weeks later. Despite rumours of discontent at the studio it appears both creatives received offers to good to pass up, with Hennig landing a role at Visceral on an all-new story-driven Star Wars game.

Druckmann and Straley were leads on The Last of Us and have approached Uncharted 4 as an opportunity to explore Drake's past.