Title: Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End
Type of Game: Action-Adventure
Developer: Naughty Dog
Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment
Released: May 10, 2016
Platforms Available: PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, PC Game
Platform Reviewed: PlayStation 5
Level of Maturity: Teen (T) – ESRB
Reading Time: 13 minutes
Naughty Dog is behind some of the best PlayStation games in history. The Crash Bandicoot series won the hearts of millions of gamers on the first PlayStation. On PlayStation 2, the developers pulled it off with the excellent JAK and Daxter series, which brought an open world and other innovative features to the platforming genre that the competition continues to benefit from to this day. With the arrival of the PlayStation 3, developers decided to move on to a whole new genre that allows them to tell well-written stories with fleshed-out characters. We’re talking, of course, about the Uncharted series and the head of the phenomenal The Last of Us. Later on, the developers then sought to end the story of their biggest star, Nathan Drake. I’ll tell you how the fourth Uncharted fared in the review now, though you probably already know that. Naughty Dog is a safe bet.
The Final Adventure Begins
Even when Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End was announced, the developers made it clear that it would be Nathan Drake’s last adventure, concluding his story. Of course, I won’t tell you here if everything will turn out well or badly, you’ll have to find that out for yourself. Anyway, the new adventure revolves around the famous pirate Henry Avery, who was supposed to hide somewhere a treasure of incalculable value that Nathan Drake was after fifteen years ago, even with his brother, who is making his first-ever appearance in the series.
Although he wasn’t mentioned in the previous games because Nathan had him presumed dead, he fits in perfectly with the game and the Uncharted series and helps tell not only the actual pirate story but also clarifies the history of Nathan Drake around which the story is built. We’re used to well-written stories with Naughty Dog, and Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End is no exception to this. The plot is intriguing, with plenty of unexpected twists and turns, as well, as nicely-written dialogue, and most importantly, superbly acted characters with professional voice acting, both the main characters, which is to be expected, and the negative characters. For the first time ever, the acting of each character goes so far that you can tell what they are feeling, whether sadness, anger, or joy, from their facial expressions and just by looking into their eyes, which only helps to tell a story full of all sorts of emotions.
Crafting the Ultimate Journey
In Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, it’s easy to see how far the developers at Naughty Dog have come over the years. From the platforming games and the first Uncharted to The Last of Us, with which Nathan’s fourth adventure shares a number of common elements, from the style of storytelling to the action itself, which is far more varied and not as tightly tuned as in the past, which I’ll mention later. Of course, everything you loved about the previous games returns, just in a far more polished and bigger way.
Of course, only a fool would expect a new Uncharted open-world game, which of course it isn’t, it’s still a linear shooter that focuses mainly on storytelling, just with far more open locations that have excellent and detailed design that the developers must have spent years of hard work on. You’ll get to see lots of places around the world as you play. You’ll explore rainy and freezing Scotland, the urban environment of Italy, but also Madagascar, and various tropical islands. The fact that the levels have increased several times shows that a new element in the gameplay fits in perfectly. For example controllable vehicles in Madagascar plains. You’ll be driving around the many levels in a jeep, and at sea in a boat. The vehicle controls are fully intuitive and you’ll get used to them in a matter of seconds.
Pacing Perfection
What’s great about Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End is how the developers kept the pace high from the start. They constantly mix in slower storytelling chapters with action-packed ones. This balance is something they’ve been striving for since the first installment. Naughty Dog’s evolution is evident in the action passages as well.
These passages are more entertaining and elaborate than in the past. They offer plenty of options for resolving conflicts, thanks to the openness of the levels. You can still charge through enemies like Rambo and make Nathan a mass murderer. The shooting and cover system behind obstacles is now excellent. Nathan has several new ranged and melee attacks. Many encounters can also be avoided altogether. You can bypass opponents in the manner of Solid Snake. The developers created a simple but fully functioning stealth system, inspired by the Metal Gear Solid series. The feel of the action passages is excellent. The variety is enhanced by the roughly three dozen weapons, which are a joy to shoot.
Intelligent Adversaries and Allies
It’s incredible how Naughty Dog developers are raising the bar in almost everything. They are showing their competitors what direction to take. This also applies to the artificial intelligence of the enemies and characters that accompany you during each chapter. Enemies are observant, scrutinizing every slight movement on the map. They constantly change position during encounters, taking cover and supporting each other to eliminate the protagonist as soon as possible and thwart his quest for the legendary treasure.
You won’t come across any standing dummies who just stand still and shoot. This adds to the dynamic and excellent firefights, which are different every time and consistently enjoyable. The developers were aware of this and created something unique. You can replay all the encounters afterward without having to repeat entire chapters. Excellent AI is also provided by the teammates, who support Nathan in the fight. They can often shoot a large number of villains and help in fistfights. They constantly communicate with him, advising him when going through various locations and helping with solving puzzles. This makes the gameplay as smooth as possible and maintains a certain pace.
Exploring and Puzzling Through the World
Action makes up roughly half of the gameplay in Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, making it the most important component. But I mustn’t forget to mention the excellent exploration of each level. This is done in the manner of The Last of Us, whether you do it on foot or from a jeep. The solutions to the superbly designed logical or spatial puzzles are also worth noting. The indispensable diary will help you with these. In it, Nathan writes down everything he sees during the game to assist him in difficult moments. You can also collect old pages from books or letters, which help during the puzzles. Most importantly, these items deepen the story and the legend of the pirate treasure.
Additionally, you can sometimes use the novelty of a jeep to solve puzzles in the open world. This adds many unexpected scenes and events. The jumping passages are also satisfying. Nathan’s movement on platforms is much smoother and more intuitive. He has a special grappling hook to cross big gaps. Later, there is a climbing wedge, which could have been used a little more. You get it relatively later and then only use it in a few situations, which is a bit of a shame.
A Lengthy and Replayable Treasure Hunt
Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End is clearly the longest installment in the series, with 22 major chapters. While I didn’t really stop anywhere and a lot of places were left unexplored, I still got a solid fifteen hours on the greater difficulty along with exploring, which is way above standard for a single-player game these days. But I believe that many will take a little longer to play because you’ll want to explore everything. The big advantage is the replayability. You can search for hidden treasures, relics, links to other games, or other bonuses that the developers cleverly hid around the locations that you don’t have the chance to discover on your first playthrough.
Additionally, replayability is helped by the fact that you can handle many situations like Rambo, but also avoid encounters altogether, and there are several hidden trophies for quietly passing through the levels. The developers have also prepared a lot of unlockable bonuses, whether it’s infinite bullets, all the weapons, and so on, to various graphics filters, or bonus character outfits that you’ll definitely want to unlock. So one playthrough of Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End is definitely not the end of it, you’ll want to give it at least one more go. In the case of the platinum trophy, even a total of three times.
Expansive Multiplayer Fun
Moreover, Uncharted is no longer just a story campaign, but since the second installment, the developers have also regularly served up a multiplayer component, which they are constantly improving. While in Uncharted 2 it was still a minor bonus, in Uncharted 3 it was a full-fledged part, and it’s no different in Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, where the multiplayer is the most ambitious and, dare I say it, can keep you entertained for dozens more hours.
The multiplayer builds on fast and fluid 5 vs 5 team action with the ability to use a variety of weapons, bonus abilities, and even a grappling hook for movement or melee, it also allows teams to create interesting tactics on nicely designed maps, of which there are eight in the base and inspired by the story campaign. For multiplayer, I have to mention the fact that the developers focused mainly on stable 60fps. For the PlayStation 4 version. The PlayStation 5 version I reviewed, called Legacy of Thieves Remaster Collection, with this remastered campaign, runs at 60 fps as well. For PS4 “only” Multiplayer, which is a well-done job considering the weaker performance of this console.
Multiplayer Modes and Mechanics
So far, Uncharted 4 has three game modes for you to play. There’s the classic team deathmatch, which is all about the number of enemies you kill. The second mode is Command, in which you and your team have to take control points on the map and then hold them to get the most points, it’s classic Control, but it’s also fun in an Uncharted way and won’t get boring.
The most team-based mode is the Looting mode, designed to be played with eight players (4 vs 4). In it, a special relic always appears on the map which you then have to deliver to your chest. Of course, both teams fight for this, and the relic can be tossed between team members in various ways to support each other. I found this mode to be probably the most fun, the most exciting, and the most made for teamwork and headset communication of all.
Unparalleled Visual Detail
If there’s one studio that has always gotten the most out of any given piece of hardware and shown everyone that it can be done when you want it, it’s definitely Naughty Dog. Back in the PlayStation 2 era, everyone admired the gorgeous-looking JAK and Daxter platformers, on PlayStation 3 it was the Uncharted series, and it was the fourth installment that was the best-looking game of that generation until The Last of Us Part II arrived, no question.
Throughout the game you’ll marvel at the awesome-looking locations for the time, with realistic textures and lighting, all the characters are incredibly detailed, with skin deformation and various wounds and torn clothing visible as you play. In addition, everything is complemented by awesome effects, whether it is explosions or perfect physics, thanks to which practically everything effectively falls apart, and during shootouts, stones and large amounts of splinters fly to each side. It’s almost unbelievable what the developers have managed to get out of hardware that can match computers at several times the price of his time.
Immersive Audio Experience
The whole perfection is then underscored by the soundtrack, which for the first time ever is by the acclaimed British composer Henry Jackman. It contains a lot of great and easy-to-remember tracks (including new versions of old songs and brand new ones) that you’ll want to keep playing on their own, and the soundtrack always complements the action on the screen, whether it’s the cutscenes or the action sequences themselves, making you feel like you’re watching a movie in the cinema. The sound system is also great, whether it’s the gunfire, explosions, various music effects, or the environment itself, everything has been worked out to the maximum by the developers to give the best possible farewell to their favorite hero and prepare him for a dignified exit from the video game scene.
A Triumphant Farewell
Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End is one of the best action games I’ve been able to play to this date, containing a perfect balance between cinematic sequences, action, and solving ingenious puzzles, while in virtually everything setting the bar for the competition a little higher again and in some aspects up to this date. Whether it’s the narrative, the acting, the design, the excellent action, the AI, or the breathtaking audiovisual design, where you can see in every pixel how much care and love the developers have put into the game. Naughty Dog has created yet another video game gem, and it just confirms where the best games you can play are currently being made. It’s just a shame that we’ll have to wait a long time for another game of similar quality.
Where to Buy The Game?
Steam (PC, Mac, Linux): Full Thieves End collection available for $49.99. You can purchase it directly from Steam.
PlayStation Store (PS4): Full Thieves End collection available for 39.99. You can find it on the PlayStation Store.
Epic Games Store (PC): Full Thieves End collection available for $49.99. Purchase it from the Epic Games Store.
Official Page: Visit the official Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End page for more information.
Subreddit: Join the discussion on the Uncharted Subreddit.
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