Nathan Drake is at it again, in what could possibly be the best entry the franchise has seen.
Like most Naughty Dog games, Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End is filled with stunning visuals, epic story elements, superb cinematics, and solid controls. As is customary for games like these, what with their incredible narrative and story, it is important that this review be spoiler-free, that way your heart-strings can be tugged and tangled just as ours were as we made our way through Nathan Drake’s final (or is it?) entry in such a fantastic franchise.
To put it simply; A Thief’s End is what many games aspire to be. Everything you want in a game is here, including all of your favorite aspects of prior Uncharted titles, though everything has been much more fine-tuned (as if that were possible).
The game is broken up into chapters, that often times are shifted to focus on the past before bringing the present into context with a perspective that always smooths itself out, much like a Tarantino film (without any unnecessary complexities). The chapters focus on Nathan and Elena (but mostly Nathan) as they do their best to live out normal lives having retired from their careers of explorer thieves, but old habits die-hard and the past always has a way of resurfacing.
As is expected of any Uncharted game, Nathan enlists the help of familiar faces to track down an artifact that most don’t believe exist, and the few that do believe it to be lost. Without going into detail, its important to note that major plot points of the game shouldn’t be revealed too early as there are some emotional moments that arise early in the game in order to set the proper tone of the chapters that follow. Regardless of that, whether you know the details we are referring to or not, you should know that you are in for one heck of a ride with A Thief’s End.
“…Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End [is] such a fitting way to end such a marvelous franchise that we truly hope is not quite finished letting us explore”
The action of Uncharted 4 is extreme, to say the least, as I often found myself laughing out loud joyously at just how insane the parkour that Nathan Drake is capable of. Several moments where Drake is swinging from a rope through a canyon or old ruin only to launch himself in the air and clasp firmly to the smallest rock sticking out of a wall made me crack up at the absurdity of such feats, but even then I did not feel once out-of-place with the excellent premise Naughty Dog laid out before me.
Gunplay is as familiar as ever, though the harder the difficulty, the more bulletsponge-like are your obstacles and enemies. However, it is not difficult to distinguish the difference between any attempts at realism, and understanding that this is just a setting of the game’s intended difficulty as set by the player beforehand. That said, it doesn’t matter how hard a difficulty you set the game; a single stick of dynamite will always end an enemy in one explosion, and it is always satisfying seeing them sail through the air.
The environment is also something that should be recognized, with rich sounds and effects with voice work that truly brings the game alive. Sure, there’s an explosion here, gunfire there, lots of Assassin’s Creed-like climbing and parkour-ing, but nothing truly compares to the way the game makes you feel like you are actually there. The visuals help immensely, sure, but taking for granted the sounds of what is all around us in-game is something we often do, even as reviewers. Naughty Dog has not missed a beat, and that should be something respects are paid to.
Without a doubt, Uncharted 4 is a must-have, and a good reason to own a PS4 if you don’t already. Picking up the Uncharted Collection for PS4 to get a deeper understanding of Drake’s history is a recommendation, but don’t feel like you had to have played previous games to thoroughly enjoy A Thief’s End, as there is already plenty of icing on the cake as is, and it is just right.
If you really want to catch all the references, and tongue-in-cheek nods to previous adventures, you may want to sit down and spend 20+ hours getting through the three previous entries. Don’t worry, that is not a chore whatsoever, as each game is easily a 4/5 or better, which makes Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End such a fitting way to end such a marvelous franchise that we truly hope is not quite finished letting us explore.
FINAL SCORE: 5/5
Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End is available now for PS4 (exclusive)
