Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End — Review
Greatness From Small Beginnings
Naughty Dog has stated that Uncharted 4 will be the developer’s final game in the series. If that proves to be true, they’ve ended on an absolute high-note of the franchise. This is no small feat given the almost impossible to meet expectations going into Nathan Drake’s final journey.
Fresh off the heels of The Last of Us, Naughty Dog was faced with the departure of Uncharted writer and creative director Amy Hennig and Uncharted 4 director Justin Richmond. They were replaced with The Last of Us leads Neil Druckmann and Bruce Straley, and many wondered how they would handle the lighter subject material. As it turns out, Uncharted 4 was in more than capable hands.
Nate’s story picks up with he and Elena now married, living a peaceful and normal life together; Nate working a nine to five deep sea salvage job, and Elena continuing to work as a journalist. However, moments of reflection and an almost distant look on Nate’s face during conversations show that he may not be entirely content with this new adventure-free lifestyle. When Nate’s presumed-dead brother Sam shows up in trouble one day, Nate agrees to exit retirement to help find a long-lost cache of pirate treasure in order to save Sam’s life.
It’s another race around the globe for Nate as he tracks the lost treasure of notorious 18th century pirate Captain Henry Avery from cathedrals and tombs in Scotland to the plains and craggy islands of Madagascar. The motivation to keep pressing forward this time though comes not from fame, excitement, or riches, but from a brotherly duty to help Sam.
While Nate still throws out witty one-liners in the heat of battle, this is also a more mature Nate than we’ve seen in the past. We see him struggling to reconcile that deep down he actually enjoys this lifestyle, and we see his relationship with Elena become strained as he hides this latest adventure from her. This is also more personal expedition for Nate. He’s in it to not just save his brother, but continue a search they began many years earlier.
This is all brought to life by wonderful facial animations as well as terrific performances from the entire cast. Nolan North (Nathan Drake), Emily Rose (Elena Fisher), and Richard McGonagle (Victor Sullivan) are stronger than ever, while newcomers Troy Baker (Samuel Drake), Warren Kole (Rafe Adler), and Laura Bailey (Nadine Ross) bring much needed depth to friends and allies. Emily Rose as Elena steals every scene she’s in. Her love for Nate is clearly shown, whether overtly while discussing their mundane days at work, to just beneath the surface as she argues with Nate and wrestles with the idea of him risking his life.
The story has gotten a much bigger focus this time around. While the previous games used loose story elements to set up the next set-piece or shootout, Uncharted 4’s narrative is the driving force here. Over the course of the roughly 15–20 hour adventure (depending on how thorough you are exploring and looking for collectibles), we learn more about Nate’s past and his family than we ever have before. We’re also introduced to Rafe Adler, arguably the franchise’s best and most fleshed-out villain. While not physically threatening, he’s a mirror image of Nathan Drake with a massive inheritance backing his excursions, and he causes us to look at Nate and his obsessive quest for treasures in a new light. Rafe is aided by Nadine and her private army, but unfortunately she is under-used, and seems to exist merely as an explanation for Rafe having an army at his disposal.
The environmental storytelling is what really stands out though. For those who have played The Last of Us, you can find its DNA all over Uncharted 4’s design. Nate is very rarely alone in his journey. Sam, Sully, or Elena are almost always at his side, and the crew banter back and forth throughout, allowing for further character development outside of cutscenes. New collectibles such as journal entries, hidden notes, and optional conversations also add to the story. Reading the notes, we learn an impressive amount about Captain Henry Avery and his crew of pirates, as well as others who have tried (and failed) to find the treasure. This is similar to the notes found in the Suburb chapter of The Last of Us, detailing the entire tragic story of Ish and his settlement, except expanded upon to encompass the entire game.
On a technical level, Uncharted 4 is one of the best looking games ever made, and is certainly the best looking on PS4. Characters, buildings, and nature are all exceptionally detailed. Island vegetation flourishes, mud sprays as your jeep attempts to gain traction on hills, and interiors are cluttered realistically to make every home and building actually feel lived in. There were moments that were almost intentionally designed to make use of the game’s excellent Photo Mode, which even allows you to turn off player models to get that perfect vista screenshot.
Impressively, even with this level of detail, the frame rate remains steady at an almost constant 30fps. There were rare occasions while exploring larger areas that it would drop, but once combat began it somehow never faltered. With bullets flying, environments getting destroyed, and constant explosions, it was during these moments that the frame rate remained solid.
The major criticism against previous Uncharted games has been the combat. While Uncharted 4 by no means would be considered excellent in this regard, it does make improvements. The gunplay feels solid, and there are options to tweak the level of aim assist or turn it off entirely if you so desire. The usual brute enemies clad in body armor wielding shotguns and LMGs make their return, and may be a little too numerous in late-game areas for my tastes. They can be dispatched fairly quickly by removing their helmets with headshots, but their presence definitely slows the gameplay, and on tougher difficulties their ability to kill in one shot can be frustrating. Traditional cover mechanics return, with a greater emphasis on destructability. No longer can Nate hide behind a crate for the entirety of a fight. Enemies will target the cover or use flanking tactics, forcing you out of cover. Naughty Dog has removed the ability to throw back grenades and counter incoming punches as well, leaving rolling away your only option.
These decisions seem to lend themselves to one of Uncharted 4’s largest gameplay changes: the use of much larger and more open areas. Nate can often approach combat in a variety of ways, and Uncharted 4 even allows for stealth to be a viable option in most scenarios. While it may be lacking some traditional stealth options (ie: being able to distract an enemy by tossing an object), there is plenty of cover and tall grass for Nate to hide in and remain undetected. Your AI partners will also follow your cautionary lead and never get in the way either.
Nate still traverses cliffsides and buildings with ease, and I found myself less prone to making an errant jump to my death than I had in the past. Naughty Dog has included a grappling hook this time around, and its inclusion feels like a natural evolution in both exploration and combat. With the larger open areas, Nate now often has the option to leap across gaps, scale a cliff-side, or climb, rappel, and swing to reach new locations. You reach the same destination in the end, but you now feel a sense of ownership in your progression, instead of feeling forced down a singular path. Plenty of verticality allows the grappling hook to be useful in combat too, allowing Nate to swing above his enemies and drop down for a knockout punch, which never gets old. While Uncharted 4 trades in some of the spectacle and set-piece moments of previous games in favor of these larger combat arenas, I can’t say that I missed them too much. That’s not to say these moments don’t exist, but nothing truly reaches the heights of fleeing a helicopter while running atop a moving train from Uncharted 2 or hanging out the back of a doomed plane in Uncharted 3.
Various standard puzzles make their return, and like the previous games don’t offer much in terms of complexity or creativity. Nate typically finds himself in a room with only a select few objects to interact with, and it’s just a matter of moving things into the correct position. They’re an entertaining diversion from the climbing and shooting, but certainly not on the same level as the puzzles found in recent similar games such as Rise of the Tomb Raider.
Multiplayer returns in various 4v4 and 5v5 matches. Four modes are included — Team Deathmatch, Plunder, Command, and Ranked Team Deathmatch, with the promise of more maps, modes, and co-op style horde modes in free future updates. While it doesn’t reach the heights of The Last of Us’s amazing Factions Multiplayer, it’s still entertaining enough to keep players coming back.
Plunder is a capture-the-flag type mode, where both teams fight for control of a single idol and must return it to their base. It can be frantic as both teams constantly converge on a single point, keeping the action moving and never having to look far for a fight. Command is a typical domination-type mode, with 3 capture points that teams must hold for points.
Aside from guns and gear, various sidekicks and mysticals can be used in-game to lend support. By amassing money in a round through kills, assists, and playing the objective, you can then spend it on one of these single-use items. The game retains a balance though by increasing the cost of items each time you buy them, and they very rarely feel overpowered. Mysticals lend chaos through supernatural abilities and items, and sidekicks can provide much needed covering fire, support, or distraction.
While the fast-paced and arcadey nature of the multiplayer tends to lend itself to a more run-and-gun style, teamwork will still win out in the end. This isn’t a twitch shooter, and being outnumbered almost certainly means death. With the ability to revive teammates as well, staying together is the best plan for success.
Playing and completing challenges earn you Relics, which you can then spend on cosmetic items such as taunts, characters, and skins for your character and gun. Naughty Dog has faced criticism in the past for including guns and abilities as paid DLC in The Last of Us, venturing into pay-to-win territory. This time around, they have made the commitment to provide all future DLC and maps for free, with the ability to spend real money on Uncharted Points to unlock the customization items quicker.
The multiplayer plays incredibly smoothly, a direct result of running at a solid 60fps. Anything possible in single player can be achieved in multiplayer as well, from scaling buildings, pulling enemies off of ledges, to rope swinging and tackling your foes. You can even charge your grappling hook to use as a powerful melee attack. With constant updates already planned through Spring 2017, Naughty Dog is showing that they want to keep players engaged for quite some time.
Final Thoughts:
Ending a story, let alone a series, is often the hardest aspect of storytelling. As the game reaches its climax and we say goodbye to these characters we’ve either just met or have been following for years, Naughty Dog proves that they are still in a league of their own. With an ending that was as unexpected as it was beautiful, players are left with a sense of finality. The Uncharted franchise exits on a high note, becoming an instant must-own game for the Playstation 4.
-David Kolatschko
