Prior to this, I wasn't huge on Uncharted overall. I like Nathan Drake but Uncharted 1 is a pretty meh affair and Uncharted 2 rubbed me the wrong way entirely, despite the incredible cachet it carries. I'm also not a fan of ND's foray into The Last of Us, so I went into Uncharted 4 with some skepticism. I'm pleasantly surprised to say that not only did I like it, I downright loved it. As long as you're willing to deal with cover shooting as a central mechanic, I think you'll find A Thief's End to be a fantastically fun cinematic action adventure with the strongest narrative in the series and probably the best visuals ever put to a screen.
Story
The previous games were such deeply impersonal stories of supernatural treasure hunting that, by comparison, A Thief’s End
is a vastly different beast. The emphasis on narrative here is so much more pronounced than any of the trilogy. Perhaps, at times, too much so. This is Naughty Dog hot off the heels of The Last of Us, which quickly became not just a contender for Game of the Year, but all-timer material in the eyes of many. The shift in writing style is pretty noticeable, and I would say that it does clash with the nature of the series, mostly at the beginning. In Chapter 3, Nate, now in his… midlife crisis, let’s say, turns down an offer for a job at first. He cites a lack of permits as reason to steer clear, saying not getting the money “beats going to prison”. Yes, this is after the events of Chapter 2’s flashback to prison, but this is Nathan Drake. He slaughtered thousands on a blood-soaked rampage across Asia in the main trilogy, so forgive me if I’m not 100% sold on this new lifestyle of his. Once this little arc finishes and Sam shows up, the narrative begins to pick up steam. The brothers play off each other beautifully, and a little playful banter feels a whole lot more natural than when Nate talks to himself with nobody around. The story itself is hardly anything to write home about, but each beat is competently carried out, all the peaks and valleys included. Rafe is perhaps slightly underwhelming as a villain, but the final fight is good nonetheless. Nadine is definitely underdeveloped, but I'll assume that Lost Legacy fixes that somewhat. Nate and Elena's relationship is really well done, both on the "cutesy married couple having dinner after work" front and on the "past they tried to leave behind" front.
(Minor story spoilers)
I like how the history of the pirates founding Libertalia mirrors Nate and Sam's relationship - they imagine a pirate utopia, founded on common respect when helping each other under the pretense of Sam's precarious situation, only to realize the pirates duped the colonists and massacred them after Sam reveals his lie and Nate is left for dead. It's a simple trick, but very effectively done.
Gameplay
I'll get the combat out of the way first - I'm not really a huge fan of cover shooting in general and both U1 and U2's were excessively passable with their slow bullet speed and shaky aim. 4 improves it in some ways - more contextual cover, better movement, relatively fun stealth and some weapon variety - but ultimately it still doesn't impress. In particular I'm not fond of the large reticle for aiming, having your shots group within a certain range is kinda just frustrating. Guns with actual sights make the combat a joke, which shows how it was balanced around not having them. The use of ropes to swing around during combat is cool but underused and not game-changing. Fortunately, for all the complaining I just did, this game boasts way fewer combat encounters than the previous games and they genuinely don't overstay their welcome. Also, there's no yeti-type bosses, so that's a plus in my book.
Shooting aside, the rest of the gameplay is excellent. The climbing feels the best it's ever felt, with far finer control over Nate. Better yet, he doesn't fling himself into bottomless pits all the time! All exploration feels fluid and natural, despite the fantastical physics. I did a bit of a "oooohhh" when doing the climbing after Nate's boat crash, which doesn't allow you to jump from hold to hold, instead requiring you to guide the injured Nate more slowly and deliberately with just the analog stick. Getting a long climbing and exploring sequence is what I looked forward to the most, which I feel is high praise considering how much I groaned when I had to climb things as Kratos in 2018's God of War. Vehicles feel great too, and the rope is a great addition to the overall moveset. Plus, using the winch to hook up and maneuver the car is wonderful. All the little physics toys they came up with are just delightful. Same with all the contextual dialogue you get for doing them or working up to doing them. The constant flow of banter is the strongest it's ever been and it lends so much life to all the characters.
One of the things I hated about the aforementioned God of War was its liberal use of the most mind-numbing "puzzles" one can imagine, a veritable conveyor belt of throw axe -> freeze thing -> pull lever -> lift thing -> recall axe, repeated as needed for periods of narration. Uncharted 4's actual puzzles are not only much better in terms of variety and difficulty, they almost never repeat. As a result, the game never deviates from the core idea of a cinematic narrative, never dives into ideas that stick out as overtly "game-y". There are no character levels, no quest markers, no perks, and no map. The game fully commits to the idea of a fully cinematic adventure and wants the player to completely forget the standards of the open world game. In a way, I found this stark, dedicated linearity quite refreshing after God of War, Xenoblade 3, Gotham Knights, Cyberpunk, etc etc. We spend so much time on backloggd praising the benefits of intricate gameplay and deep mechanics all coming together in thoughtful ways that it feels a little like blasphemy to say, but I really enjoyed this 20 hour movie.
Looks
I actually played the Legacy of Thieves Remaster for PS5 for this, but I'm logging here because of the disparity in play count (sue me). In this regard, I admit that my experience doesn't match the original release of the game. But boy howdy is this game gorgeous. Naughty Dog are pioneers of graphical fidelity, and their work on facial animation in particular is shocking. This game is just downright staggering in the visuals department. The lighting, the detail on the texture work, as well as some technical thing I'm not sure I can put my finger on - ambient occlusion? TAA? I don't know, but whatever it is, it lends a certain visual sharpness I've never seen before. Couple that with the incredible performance on PS5, with near instant loads and a frame rate that seems untenable on console hardware for the quality of picture, and you've got a strong contender for the best looking game of all time. The Madagascar section might be one of the most visually stunning things I've ever seen in a video game. Same for several parts of the island, as well as the boat segment and mansion party. All of this to say that I took an absurd number of screenshots.
Final Thoughts
I'll just end by saying a couple of my favorite setpieces include the whole of Scotland, Twelve Towers, New Devon -> No Escape, Join Me in Paradise, and At Sea -> Marooned. The absolute best ones however are Nathan's dinner with Elena, the clock tower, and the auction, with the Madagascar car chase after Sam being probably the most fluidly designed action sequence I've ever played in a video game.
So yeah, high praise for Uncharted 4. My preconceptions of it being entirely overwrought and dull were completely off the mark, and what I was happy to discover in its stead is a stellar action adventure experience with some real heartfelt moments, especially as a closing chapter to one of gaming's iconic franchises. Highly recommended.
Story
The previous games were such deeply impersonal stories of supernatural treasure hunting that, by comparison, A Thief’s End
is a vastly different beast. The emphasis on narrative here is so much more pronounced than any of the trilogy. Perhaps, at times, too much so. This is Naughty Dog hot off the heels of The Last of Us, which quickly became not just a contender for Game of the Year, but all-timer material in the eyes of many. The shift in writing style is pretty noticeable, and I would say that it does clash with the nature of the series, mostly at the beginning. In Chapter 3, Nate, now in his… midlife crisis, let’s say, turns down an offer for a job at first. He cites a lack of permits as reason to steer clear, saying not getting the money “beats going to prison”. Yes, this is after the events of Chapter 2’s flashback to prison, but this is Nathan Drake. He slaughtered thousands on a blood-soaked rampage across Asia in the main trilogy, so forgive me if I’m not 100% sold on this new lifestyle of his. Once this little arc finishes and Sam shows up, the narrative begins to pick up steam. The brothers play off each other beautifully, and a little playful banter feels a whole lot more natural than when Nate talks to himself with nobody around. The story itself is hardly anything to write home about, but each beat is competently carried out, all the peaks and valleys included. Rafe is perhaps slightly underwhelming as a villain, but the final fight is good nonetheless. Nadine is definitely underdeveloped, but I'll assume that Lost Legacy fixes that somewhat. Nate and Elena's relationship is really well done, both on the "cutesy married couple having dinner after work" front and on the "past they tried to leave behind" front.
(Minor story spoilers)
I like how the history of the pirates founding Libertalia mirrors Nate and Sam's relationship - they imagine a pirate utopia, founded on common respect when helping each other under the pretense of Sam's precarious situation, only to realize the pirates duped the colonists and massacred them after Sam reveals his lie and Nate is left for dead. It's a simple trick, but very effectively done.
Gameplay
I'll get the combat out of the way first - I'm not really a huge fan of cover shooting in general and both U1 and U2's were excessively passable with their slow bullet speed and shaky aim. 4 improves it in some ways - more contextual cover, better movement, relatively fun stealth and some weapon variety - but ultimately it still doesn't impress. In particular I'm not fond of the large reticle for aiming, having your shots group within a certain range is kinda just frustrating. Guns with actual sights make the combat a joke, which shows how it was balanced around not having them. The use of ropes to swing around during combat is cool but underused and not game-changing. Fortunately, for all the complaining I just did, this game boasts way fewer combat encounters than the previous games and they genuinely don't overstay their welcome. Also, there's no yeti-type bosses, so that's a plus in my book.
Shooting aside, the rest of the gameplay is excellent. The climbing feels the best it's ever felt, with far finer control over Nate. Better yet, he doesn't fling himself into bottomless pits all the time! All exploration feels fluid and natural, despite the fantastical physics. I did a bit of a "oooohhh" when doing the climbing after Nate's boat crash, which doesn't allow you to jump from hold to hold, instead requiring you to guide the injured Nate more slowly and deliberately with just the analog stick. Getting a long climbing and exploring sequence is what I looked forward to the most, which I feel is high praise considering how much I groaned when I had to climb things as Kratos in 2018's God of War. Vehicles feel great too, and the rope is a great addition to the overall moveset. Plus, using the winch to hook up and maneuver the car is wonderful. All the little physics toys they came up with are just delightful. Same with all the contextual dialogue you get for doing them or working up to doing them. The constant flow of banter is the strongest it's ever been and it lends so much life to all the characters.
One of the things I hated about the aforementioned God of War was its liberal use of the most mind-numbing "puzzles" one can imagine, a veritable conveyor belt of throw axe -> freeze thing -> pull lever -> lift thing -> recall axe, repeated as needed for periods of narration. Uncharted 4's actual puzzles are not only much better in terms of variety and difficulty, they almost never repeat. As a result, the game never deviates from the core idea of a cinematic narrative, never dives into ideas that stick out as overtly "game-y". There are no character levels, no quest markers, no perks, and no map. The game fully commits to the idea of a fully cinematic adventure and wants the player to completely forget the standards of the open world game. In a way, I found this stark, dedicated linearity quite refreshing after God of War, Xenoblade 3, Gotham Knights, Cyberpunk, etc etc. We spend so much time on backloggd praising the benefits of intricate gameplay and deep mechanics all coming together in thoughtful ways that it feels a little like blasphemy to say, but I really enjoyed this 20 hour movie.
Looks
I actually played the Legacy of Thieves Remaster for PS5 for this, but I'm logging here because of the disparity in play count (sue me). In this regard, I admit that my experience doesn't match the original release of the game. But boy howdy is this game gorgeous. Naughty Dog are pioneers of graphical fidelity, and their work on facial animation in particular is shocking. This game is just downright staggering in the visuals department. The lighting, the detail on the texture work, as well as some technical thing I'm not sure I can put my finger on - ambient occlusion? TAA? I don't know, but whatever it is, it lends a certain visual sharpness I've never seen before. Couple that with the incredible performance on PS5, with near instant loads and a frame rate that seems untenable on console hardware for the quality of picture, and you've got a strong contender for the best looking game of all time. The Madagascar section might be one of the most visually stunning things I've ever seen in a video game. Same for several parts of the island, as well as the boat segment and mansion party. All of this to say that I took an absurd number of screenshots.
Final Thoughts
I'll just end by saying a couple of my favorite setpieces include the whole of Scotland, Twelve Towers, New Devon -> No Escape, Join Me in Paradise, and At Sea -> Marooned. The absolute best ones however are Nathan's dinner with Elena, the clock tower, and the auction, with the Madagascar car chase after Sam being probably the most fluidly designed action sequence I've ever played in a video game.
So yeah, high praise for Uncharted 4. My preconceptions of it being entirely overwrought and dull were completely off the mark, and what I was happy to discover in its stead is a stellar action adventure experience with some real heartfelt moments, especially as a closing chapter to one of gaming's iconic franchises. Highly recommended.