Uncharted 4: A Thief's End game review

Here's wat you need to know, Nathan Drake has decided to give up his life as a treasure hunter and is now trying to live a normal life with Elena. But his attempts to live a normal life come to a halt when his brother; Sam, comes back, seemingly from the dead, and needs Nate's help to pay off a serious debt, a debt they plan to pay with the long lost treasure of Henry Avery. But an old acquaintance of theirs also wants this treasure, and will not stop until the loot is found and Sam and Nate are dead, now the race is once again on, to find the largest pirate haul in history.

One of the ways this game pulls from previous Naughty Dog games is in the opening sequence of the game, which borrows from Uncharted 2 somewhat, like Uncharted 2, this game opens in medias res, throwing you into a high stakes action sequence with no context, it is effective in the same way the train sequence was, and it does do a similarly good job of setting the tone, which is much darker than any previous Uncharted game. What follows is a very interesting prologue showing Nate's escape from an orphanage with the help of Sam, and a botched prison job in which Sam 'dies', this is, in my opinion, the highpoint of the prologue, with a fast and intense escape from the prison guards, and some fun climbing and puzzling. It's worth mentioning however that the prologue ends in a very interesting way, similar to the opening sequence of the game, there's a slight whiff of deja vu about it, which, while not a bad thing, is something I feel is worth noting. The game's story is the most grounded in the series so far, completely ditching the more supernatural and fantastical elements of the first 3 games in favour of a more conventional treasure hunting tale. That said, this is, in my opinion, the best story in the series so far, as Nate struggles to balance his married life and the life Sam has dragged him back into, and it's great to see the characters everyone loves from the first 3 games back, even if Elena takes more of a backseat for a large portion of the game. The twists and turns of the tale are cool, if at times predictable, and the mystery that arises as the near finding the loot is fascinating. Like Uncharted 2 and 3, the game's story spans the globe, with stops in Italy, Scotland and Madagascar, and Panama if you count the prologue. But what I like most about this game's story is the adventure and the drama, as the mystery of the treasure deepens, and tension rises between characters. This is a more mature story than any Uncharted before it, and that makes getting caught up in its dramas and emotions easier than ever, hard honesty, this game almost made me cry, a few times, and that puts this game up a few points for me. The game hasn't forgotten what it is though, the dialogue is still fast and witty, and the game still allows for more than enough light hearted fun, including a, shall we say, blast from the past, of sorts, which I really wasn't expecting, and it was awesome. The game does, however, borrow a fair few elements from past games in the series, like the opening sequence, and a host of other events throughout the story that are either reminiscent of Uncharted or The Last of Us, it sounds small, but it keeps happening, to the point where you'd think it's borrowing from other licenses and forms of media, like the recent Tomb Raider reboot and The Goonies, that maybe pushing it, and I don't think this detracts from the game or it's story, but it's something I thought while playing the game. None of that matters in the game's final moments however, which bring the Uncharted story to a close in a brilliantly warm-hearted and likable way, that leaves the game of an extremely positive note, in my opinion.

This is the most fun to play Uncharted game to date, by far, the gunplay is faster and more refined, but can actually be bypassed entirely if you so desire, thanks to an increased emphasis on stealth. Combat areas are now more like play grounds, where you can sneak around and take enemies out quietly, Far Cry style, and the AI doesn't slouch in these sequences either, once alerted to your presence, they will hunt you down, if you're in the open, they will try to flank you, and if they lose track of you, they won't forget you're there. I like taking a stealthy approach to combat situations in games, so I am very happy with this change, but again, if you've not interested in stealth, guns blazing is a completely valid option, and it's more fun than ever, both with the refined shooting, and the inclusion of new power weapons, which are crazy powerful and huge amounts of fun to use. The game also, from time to time, drops you in a huge open area, and gives you the freedom to have fun with its new vehicle gameplay, while it's not the best driving in a game ever, and it's certainly less refined than the shooting, it's still fun to cruise around Madagascar in a jeep, or around a tropical archipelago in a boat. The climbing has also been tweaked, while still fun on its own, new additions like sliding on slopes add more challenge to the climbing, but in a good way, and the new grapple hook is awesome, swinging around on it is fun as hell, pulling off a flawless swing is satisfying, and nailing an enemy in the face fresh off a flawless swing is probably unhealthily satisfying. as the game comes to a climax, the game also does a bit of a change in pace, at least for a specific sequence, and it's in this sequence that I feel the gameplay is at its weakest, as is the puzzling, no spoilers, other than that it's dark, but if I need to find a flaw in the gameplay, I'll pick that. Treasures are back of course, and they're as fun to sniff out as ever, and of course the puzzles are also back, and like  previous Uncharted games, the puzzles can be a bit brain hurty, but are hugely satisfying to solve, and they finally solved the random death problem I've had with the series so far, which is good. One particular puzzle I'm a fan of puts Nate in an old clock tower, and sees you opening hidden doors and solving elaborate combinations, it' pretty cool.

Uncharted 4 is incredible, the story is powerful and adventurous, and closes the book on Uncharted in a way I personally love, the gameplay is fun and intense, the new stealth system is fun to play with, as are the power weapons and vehicles when you're given the chance, the story and gameplay do both drop the ball sometimes, but it doesn't detract from the quality of the game, for me anyway, Uncharted 4 is an absolute must play.