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Why is climbing so boring in Uncharted 4, yet so fun in Zelda BOTW?

Beegeous said:
Having not played Uncharted but put around 70 hours into Zelda, the thing that makes the climbing fun is that climbing is almost a game in itself. By that I mean that the team have sculpted pretty much everything to be climbable, and the reward upon reaching the summit is a view of a content rich world in which you can go anywhere.

As I understand it Uncharted is a scripted and linear game so you're always guaranteed to succeed in the climb as the game is pushing you there, whereas in Zelda you climb because you can.
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You're also guaranteed to fail the climb when the game is scripted for you to do so.
 
I don't know about Zelda but in Uncharted(at least the ones I've played) it all felt so scripted and braindead. You don't feel like your making decisions or being mechanically challenged in any way.

The games I can think of where I liked climbing to the top of things are Shadow of the Collosus and classic style Tomb Raider.
 
One is auto with the boring obvious climbing spots and the other is more challenging with no boundaries.

I absolutely love climbing in BOTW except for the really tall mountings that require food.
 
the climbing itself isn't really fun in Zelda. The sense of adventure and the curiosity to find what's on top is though.

and fuck the rain when you're almost on top
 
The climbing in UC4 is scripted. The climbing in BOTW is free-form. That depleting, little green stamina orb may look out-of-place when you are running but the added layer of strategy it provides serves its purpose well when you are climbing. The choice to whether jump climb(and lose huge amount of stamina) or slow climb is always at play.

Plus the vertical surfaces in BOTW often have items to collect to side-track your climbing.
 
newbong95 said:
Climbing as a mechanic in uc4 is really old as it started around 2007/8 during uc1 ... but in zelda its new ... i'm sure climbing was fun in previous uc games and in time botw climing will become a chore
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Joke post?

Just the evolution in scaling between Uncharted 1 and 2 is enormous. Suddenly you were slipping on street signs and being forced to engage in firefights dangling from war torn building signage or literally straight upward on the side of a cliff face. It's only improved since with positionality and verticality playing a greater role.

In Zelda you have to time your ascent to land on a flat outcrop or equip gear to help or you slip on rainslick surfaces. There is more agency because you can fail and some surfaces are puzzles in that they can only be scaled one way, but they're apples and oranges. One is almost exclusive puzzle-oriented, the other action-focused.
 
Skux said:
Because Uncharted 4 climbing isn't about the mechanics of climbing.

It's a way to pace the game, and give a sense of adventure and exploration while at the same time letting character development happen between Drake and his ally.
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Pretty much this. Along with uncharted just being nice to look at (while what ive played of Zelda the wall textures might be some of the worst ive seen in a modern game.) Id rate them both about even in terms of enjoyment.

The hate Uncharted gets for "mindless climbing sections" is missing the entire point of why they exist to begin with.
 
Don't know about Uncharted, but I like climbing in Zelda because I have to plan out a route and look for ledges if I'm trying to scale something really big. Well, until you get 3 stamina wheels and then you're just jumping up everything easy lol.
 
One is a corridor climber, if you know what I mean, the other one is an open-world climber.
The climbing itself is no fun in either of them but having one single spot to climb versus the whole world is the obvious reason why one is more fun than the other.
 
Because it's automatic in Uncharted.

In Zelda you have Stamina, freedom, punishment for failure and most of all absolute freedom.
 
Climbing in Zelda isn't simply just holding up though. There's some strategy involved in finding a relatively flat sides so that you're able to stand on to regain some stamina.
 
The jump button while climbing in Zelda gives it a special juice factor as well I think. It becomes a risk vs reward situation when jumping to save time. There's more to it than just pressing up and waiting.

The only think I really dislike is when rain hits mid-climb and I'm in the middle of nowhere.
 
on another note, we have threads about zelda's gyroscope control, climbing, raining, open world, swordplay, take photo...etc etc..

fully expect another thread on why 'saving/load a game in zelda is so much better than other games'.
 
Combining the weekly Uncharted 4 hate thread with the daily Breath of the Wild praise thread.. it was the natural next step I suppose.
 
ive not played uncharted 4.

climbing feel satsifying on the promise youll potentialy find something youve not seen before, something new to experience and all that.
 
I wouldn't say the climbing mechanic is fun. I'd say the fact that you can get anywhere using it is. There is some stamina management to it in order to make it out alive out of a tough climb, be it by finding somewhere to rest, or having food at hand to boost yourself again, but all you do is press up and wait while Link slowly makes his way up a wall.

Also kids, remember to save frequently when climbing mountains, specially if you find some footing. Climbing for 20mins only to fall, die and have to start over IS NOT FUN.
 
Denzar said:
Gameplay mechanics wise, both are boring. Sorry.
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It's not true though.

When you see a huge wall in Zelda you have to have a quick look and see where the resting spots are, so there's a bit of tactics/thinking involved "Can I climb this?".

Whenever the Stamina meter is near depletion and you just about make it to a resting spot or to the top, especially when it's the last hit off the dash button which fully depletes your meter, that's very thrilling to me.
 
Because you don't do anything in Uncharted. You hit a button. In Zelda you have to plan a route, you can't just start where ever you want. And if you make it up a mountain you actually did that. You didn't follow a predetermined route, you picked your route and you made it. That's why it feels good to me. Cause I feel like I actually had some say in this. When your stamina is about to run out and you make a desperate jump and actually make it to a ledge it feels pretty good.

The climbing in UC might as well be a QTE and nothing of value would be lost.
 
Climbing in games with Uncharted style traversal is unfun because essentially its you vs the screen to see if you can identify the handholds that the devs put there. Its either too obvious or its impossible to see the difference between handholds and textures.

Zelda climbing is slow and somewhat boring but offers risk vs reward where the player can skip ahead and risk depleating their stamina bar. Plus it has the whole think out your route aspect, and its driven by the players desire to reach a goal.
 
Stereogatari said:
It's not true though.

When you see a huge wall in Zelda you have to have a quick look and see where the resting spots are, so there's a bit of tactics/thinking involved "Can I climb this?".

Whenever the Stamina meter is near depletion and you just about make it to a resting spot or to the top, especially when it's the last hit off the dash button which fully depletes your meter, that's very thrilling to me.
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Not to me, actually. Don't get my thrills from climbing in BotW. Still, I get why it might be more interesting than U4 to some people.
 
I wouldn't say the climbing itself is fun. A lot of times I hold up and do something else as he climbs. However it's better than uncharted since it's not linear climbing. It's not "oh looks like I gots climb now". You can set your own course when going up something, which adds a lot to the open word experience. It's one of the biggest pros I think the game has. If I had to sit there and walk around big mountains and such, I'd probably hate the game.
 
Because you're climbing for different reasons. In Uncharted it's to get past a section of a level, while in Zelda it's because you're exploring or going for a higher vantage point.

In terms of the actual climbing I don't see how either is "fun".
 
lmao climbing in Zelda is not 'fun'

Maybe more rewarding or more free but not fun.

Staring at a stamina bar deplete is not fun.

Not being able to climb since Hyrule must take place in prehistoric Seattle is not fun.
 
It's because climbing in Zelda engages you throughout- first, you have to decide you want to climb something. Then, you need to decide how you are going to approach the climb. And finally, during the climb itself, you must decide if you can make it, if you have enough stamina to jump, etc. The most important aspect is that you have complete control, and it's part of your own unique adventure.

miller.skippins said:
on another note, we have threads about zelda's gyroscope control, climbing, raining, open world, swordplay, take photo...etc etc..

fully expect another thread on why 'saving/load a game in zelda is so much better than other games'.
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Don't know about saving/loading but the fact that everything in the open world except shrines streams seamlessly is really nice.
 
ShinUltramanJ said:
Because you're climbing for different reasons. In Uncharted it's to get past a section of a level, while in Zelda it's because you're exploring or going for a higher vantage point.

In terms of the actual climbing I don't see how either is "fun".
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Fun = mental stimulation.

Climbing requires more effort and thought to accomplish in BotW, as opposed to the automatic nature of Uncharted. Hence more "fun"
 
Climbing in Zelda is as much fun as you want it to be. Do you want to challenge yourself by finding creative routes? Do you risk climbing a spot above water when failing could mean you falling and drowning.
Climbing is as much of a tool of traversal in Zelda as anything else, and thus part of it's wealth of player expression.

In UC4 it's mostly just there to funnel you into the next loading zone. (it gets fun during the mini sandbox shootouts though) There is no expression of skill or player agency involved. It's as scripted and curated as the rest of the game.
giancarlo123x said:
He's not wrong, also it's stupid that when it starts raining you're most likely screwed and have to stop climbing.
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Unless you plan a different route (one that is sloped enough to use the grip cancel technique)
 
only difference besides freedom I noticed is that drake doesn't slip on a rock in the rain every 3 seconds XD.....but he will slip due to a dislodged rock......quite a few times haha
 
Skux said:
Because Uncharted 4 climbing isn't about the mechanics of climbing.

It's a way to pace the game, and give a sense of adventure and exploration while at the same time letting character development happen between Drake and his ally.
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Yeah this.

I haven't played Zelda but it seems something like Grow Home or Windlands would be a better comparison (wrt the climbing).
 
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