Uncharted 4: A Thief's End

I think that the highest praise I can give any form of media -- be that music, TV, movies, or gaming -- is to say that I'm sad I'll never again get to experience that thing for the first time. 

It's a slightly depressing thought, but what a sensation! [corny, I know] When you realize that you personally got so much pure enjoyment out of someone's (or many "someones") work that you can never get that first time back. Certainly not to say that that thing has now lost its luster, often far from it, but that you will never really get to discover it again. 

Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, developer Naughty Dog's final foray into the world of Nathan Drake, gave me this sensation once those final credits rolled. It's a combination of sadness and chills; you're bummed it's over, but also in awe that you just experienced it. 

Truth be told, this has happened to me with the previous three Naughty Dog games, Uncharted 2, Uncharted 3, and most definitely with The Last of Us, but that shouldn't diminish the achievement that Uncharted 4 is for Naughty Dog. It's not only an incredibly adventures standalone title, but one that puts a well crafted "final" bow on PlayStation's greatest hero. When you take a look back on what the series has accomplished, it's easily one of the best videogame series of all time -- my personal favorite actually -- that accomplished a lot in terms of gameplay, visuals, and even storytelling. It's easy to see that Uncharted has had a profound effect on the industry over the years. 

The first of many screenshots I took

Nathan Drake: creeper hiding in vents...

A Thief's End picks up several years after Nate's last adventure. Since then, he has settled down with Elena and taken up a much less life threatening job. But a reappearance from someone he believed to be long dead has forced him back into the lifestyle of treasure hunting and all the dangers that come with it. The start of the tale may be slow from a gameplay perspective (though it does have one of the best videogame "cameos" ever), but it really sets the tone that this story is much more serious, and important, than previous Uncharted titles. I wouldn't say it's quite as dark as the game cover may indicate, especially after Naughty Dog's previous foray with The Last of Us, but it is a much more serious story. Not that I've never cared about Nathan Drake before, but in this game you really care about his well being of his life, and especially his marriage. Elena in particular is a character that I'd be devastated to lose or see in pain and this tale is a good analysis of her and Drake's relationship as well as Drake's addiction to the thrills of this lifestyle. 

Luckily, it's not all serious though as Uncharted 4 is still a fun romp while hunting Drake's largest treasure yet...a pool of some of the world's most successful pirates' loot -- valued at at least $400 million. It leads to a lot of fun locales like Scotland, Italy, Madagascar, and tropical islands and remains quite engaging throughout. The big "twist" was telegraphed a little too heavily and ultimately everything plays out about the way you'd expect. For me though, it was the Epilogue that was the gorgeous, touching final collection of notes that ended this swan song. I wont spoil it, but it's well thought out and implemented. For a moment I thought it was going to pose a discussion about the validity of Drake's violent methods (he does snap enemies neck's after all...) and it didn't go there. At first I was disappointed it didn't but when I thought about it more, that wouldn't have really fit with the theme of Uncharted so I think it was the better decision. Either way though, that Epilogue is simple, yet elegant, and as a major fan of Uncharted, just what I needed to have closure.

One of the best game sequences ever. And yeah...that's Drake being dragged through the mud

Can do one arm pullups and
still shoot straight ^^

Something I've been really pleased with over the course of Naughty Dog's tenure is how they're consistently trying to add new gameplay elements, and tweak existing ones, all while maintaining the quality of the game. This Nathan Drake is more nimble and easy to control than previous games (even if it's only slightly noticeable) and some of his new moves are instant favorites. Rope/grapple swinging is amazing and leads to some stellar gameplay moments, for example. But other things, like the shooting, grenade throwing, climbing, and jumping are all tighter too. They're not super obvious on the normal gameplay mode, but I've been heavily thankful for these upgrades in my current playthrough on Crushing mode (seriously, it's so f**king hard). Shooting feels great and is consistently intense while the cover mechanics remain some of the best in the industry, maybe only bested by The Division. Stealth has always been the "ugly duckling" of the series, so to speak, but no longer. Taking the lessons and mechanics learned from The Last of Us, stealth is actually fantastic this time around and was my preferred method of play on the harder game modes. Stalking an enemy in some tall plants or taking them down from above are not only fun, but critical to success as several arenas the game throws at you are chock-full of enemies. 

In an interesting and arguably successful experiment, Naughty Dog also provides a couple "open-ish world" vehicle sections. They can be slightly overwhelming for those of us that like to collect all the treasures/notes/journal entries, but at the end of the day, they're amazing. Pulling over a hill in a jeep to a Madagascar mountain landscape is breathtaking but it also accomplishes something that the Uncharted series lives for: it gives you an immediate sense of adventure. "What will I find?" "Where do I go?" "Are there enemies around?" are all things that pop into your head during these segments and are questions that are harder to achieve while in a strictly linear game. But even in that regard, Uncharted 4 is miraculous, with an expertly crafted campaign full of astonishing set pieces and a great balance of gameplay elements. My jaw dropped on more than one occasion and a particular chase through the streets of Madagascar may be my favorite gameplay moment ever. It's instantly iconic and it's dramatic conclusion elicited a loud "HOLY S**T!" yelp from me. My only complaint would be that the puzzles this time around are on the easier side. They're still fun and interesting, but none of them had me scratching my head. 

How does a game get this beautiful? With graphics like this do I even need to travel?

This gameplay carries over into the successful multiplayer that once again shows some growth by Naughty Dog not wanting to match the status quo. It's an innovative approach to multiplayer as you earn money in-game for that round and can use it to purchase selected power-ups in the "store" on the fly. So no, you don't have to get X amount of kills to unlock your special abilities, but you do need to perform actions that help your team win. The unlockables include drop in AI teammates (the medic was my favorite), better guns, and mythical powers. Some are more useful than others, but overall these additions really add to the adventure feeling of the matches. I do NOT think it's as good as The Last of Us's MP -- which was probably one of the best, but most underrated MPs in the last decade -- but it's still great fun. I'm bummed that co-op/horde mode isn't available out of the box (it's a promised free update somewhere down the line) as that was my favorite part about previous Uncharted MPs. 

Almost out of bullets...bad guys closing in...
and I have 4 grenades. What to do...what to do?

So...what else is there left to talk about...hmmm...I can't quite rememb -- NEVERMIND IT'S THE GRAPHICS. Dear sweet Lord are the graphics of this game absolutely insane. I'm a bit of a graphics whore, I'll wholly admit it, and this game constantly scratched that itch for me. My first playthrough was somewhere around 27 hours long and I'd be willing to be that at least 3 hours of that were spent in Photo mode. I took upwards of 50 screenshots from this game, probably more than all of my screenshots from last year combined because I couldn't help myself. It's gorgeous. It's beyond gorgeous actually, I just don't have a word for it. The photos in this review don't even do it justice because in motion it's even more breathtaking. Just what type of witchcraft was Naughty Dog using to make this game run and look the way it does?! Things legitimately look real both from a combination of artistry and attention to detail. A fight in a pirate tower on the side of a cliff contains the following: incredible vistas of other mountains and the nearby ocean, a sky full of cirrus clouds, grass that sways in the wind, AI characters moving from cover, Nathan Drake visibly wincing as a bullet comes close overhead, a dilapidated building with old wood and brick and stone, cover made of old brick that crumbles the more it's shot, and an explosion from a grenade with a hyper-realistic smoke trail. Seriously, I get excited just thinking about how good this game looks. But that's not all. The game sounds awesome too, especially on a great sound system. Grenades chirp loudly and result in thudding explosions, underbrush makes sounds as you walk through it, and the original score is rousing and well implemented to the various moods. To put it as simply as I can: it's one of the most technically impressive games ever made. 

And the term "ever" is one I find myself using quite a bit with Uncharted 4: A Thief's End. Asking me to rank its placement in the series is nearly impossible because I love each of those games almost equally, but it's some of the most fun I've ever had playing a game. It's the best looking game I've ever seen. Its story is one of Naughty Dog's best ever. And it's one of the best conclusions to a game series that I've ever experienced. 

PlayStation's best off-roading game in years...

As is the case with every game Naughty Dog has put out in recent years, Uncharted 4 is another benchmark for the gaming industry in more than one way and I'm sad that I can't ever experience it that first time again, but compelled to keep playing the hell out of it. 

CONS:

• The puzzles in this one are some of the series' least challenging
• There have been a few moments where my audio cut out momentarily
• A handful of times that Drake's movements aren't quite what I was aiming to do. In the hectic nature of Crushing mode, these became more obvious and consequential
• Not all of the MP abilities/powers work as well as the developers intended
• The story telegraphs its twist
• Still bummed that co-op/horde mode weren't included from the get-go

PROS:

• Another home run for Naughty Dog
• A compelling and touching story that takes a deeper look at Drake and his lifestyle while also still remaining fun
• The two leads of Nathan and Sam Drake are superb and Nolan North/Troy Baker have good chemistry. The side cast of characters, including Elena and Sully are all here too and the villain is one of the series' best
• The epilogue is a touching, perfect final note for the series. It was much appreciated by this fan
• Wonderful "cameo" at a couple different points in the game
• Refined and fantastic gameplay. I appreciate/loved the new additions (open world-esque segments) and there have been clear, but slight, alterations to the already existing elements. The game flows between different gameplay segments without pause and feels great to control
• The best stealth the series has seen thus far
• Challenging AI, especially when on Crushing
• The campaign is an expertly designed combination of exploring, fighting, and traversing. It's well paced and has some set pieces that are insane
• Speaking of set pieces...the chase through the Madagascar city is just...WOW
• MP is a blast and I really appreciate the attempts to be unique. Most of them are successful
• The. Graphics. Are. Insane. Naughty Dog has truly outdone themselves with this one and everything in the game: weapons, effects, weather, environments, characters, etc. look too good to be true
• Well suited original score
• Great sound effects and sound editing. It's Hollywood-level stuff
• An iconic sendoff to one of the best videogame series of all time. A memorable, fun, and thoroughly entertaining adventure and if this is truly the last of the Uncharted series, I will miss it dearly 
  
  

Rath's Review Score: 10/10 -- Instant Classic

I couldn't keep my screenshots to myself so below are the rest of the best. Enjoy!