With three main series titles and a Vita spin-off, Naughty Dog’s Uncharted franchise has become one of the biggest PlayStation exclusives in recent memory. However, such an extensive history has also made it extremely familiar. Having their fill of over-the-top set-pieces and ancient treasure hunts, Naughty Dog fans were pleasantly surprised by the rather grounded, gritty nature of 2013’s The Last of Us. Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End stands out as an epilogue to the trilogy. It digs deep to explore the events after the happy ending of Drake’s Deception. It takes on a more serious tone and atmosphere while still maintaining the series’ signature quips and nuances. But did fans really need another game about scaling decrepit tombs and blindfiring into waves of faceless goons? Would the conventions become stale in this fourth instalment?
For those less informed, the Uncharted series has always been about the adventures of fortune hunter Nathan Drake. Nate’s adventures consist of scaling high walls, solving puzzles, finding ancient treasures, and getting shot at by a lot of angry men. A Thief’s End opens with Nate adjusting to a normal married life, away from the thrill of adventure. His long lost brother, Sam Drake, re-appears in Nate’s life, asking him for help in paying off a debt he owes to a Panamanian mob boss. In order to do so, they need to scale some walls, solve some puzzles, find some treasure, and get shot at.
In terms of the story, A Thief’s End doesn’t disappoint. It basically takes Drake’s Deception’s mistakes and remedies them twofold. The cast is smaller than before, leaving out supporting characters like Chloe Frazer and Charlie Cutter, but it does well to develop the limited cast within. The relationship between Nate and Sam is quickly and effectively established in the beginning of the game. His back-and-forth banter with Nate makes for a very real and believable onscreen presence. By the time I was halfway done the game, I felt like Sam was just as familiar as series regulars Sully and Elena.
The romance and tension between Nate and Elena is probably the most serious tale spun throughout the whole franchise. It is evident that the positive feedback to the dark story of The Last of Us encouraged Naughty Dog’s writers to be more raw and serious with Uncharted 4. In a particular cutscene, I really felt as though I was watching a conflict within a real couple. Even when they’re not being particularly dramatic, their chemistry during exploration scenes feels very natural and often, adorable.
The primary antagonist of the game, Rafe, is a seemingly sociopathic rich boy who seeks the same treasure as the Drake brothers. Rafe is by far the greatest villain within the franchise. Not because of spectacle or brutality, but rather the very real and actual development he gets as a character. The past entries in the series all had interesting villains, but none were given the time of day to actually grow. A Thief’s End gives the player time to learn and understand Rafe’s motivations, as well as his relations to the heroes.
There are a few optional character moments that exist for those who really care about the characters. In a particularly touching bit, Nate and Sam can sit in an old pub and pretend to drink from dusty steins, catching up together with a whole cutscene’s worth of dialogue. Any fans of the franchise would appreciate the care that went into these extra scenes.
The jump between consoles completely changed how realistic these characters appear. Uncharted 4 uses everything in the PlayStation 4’s power to make the game as luscious and detailed as possible. Environments have looked great ever since Drake’s Fortune, but A Thief’s End decides to push the envelope as far as it could. There is an extensive open-exploration level in Madagascar containing several vantage points, and I’m convinced that the entire vista is visible from some of these spots. Everything from dust to seawater is displayed with so much vibrancy and life. While some environmental designs can seem repetitive, the level of detail within these destroyed buildings and muddy pathways ensures that you’re never sick of the places you’re exploring.
Combining these high-res textures with smooth motion capture animations and great work from the voice cast culminates in extremely realistic, believable character models and gunfights that are simply bursting with life. Looking at stills from some of the cutscenes, I could understand if these images could be confused with real photos. Raw emotion comes out through characters’ subtle facial expressions. I firmly believe that no other video game has made eyes that look this good.
The raw gameplay is really more of the same. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but as a long-time fan of the series, I found myself occasionally bored during some of the climbing segments. However, A Thief’s End’s levels include many more wide, open spaces to explore for optional paths and hidden treasures. This is a welcome change from the rather straightforward design of past titles.
The grappling hook brings a new dimension to both combat and exploration segments, but it rarely demands that you do anything particularly difficult or skillful. The game also adds a goofy sliding mechanic which tests the player’s reaction time in conjunction with their ability to swing and climb effectively. These changes aren’t anything revolutionary, but they definitely breathe new life into the franchise after years of Nate scaling walls with superhuman dexterity. There are a few vehicle segments in which you get to get to traverse a wide open landscape. Truck segments are introduced, which use a winch to pull down objects or to pull the vehicle up steep hills. These scenes could be boring to some, but the dullness is saved by hilarious and entertaining dialogue from the whole cast.
There’s a decent spread of puzzles this time around, and I thoroughly enjoyed most of them. None of them are particularly difficult, but they at least demand that the player pay attention to clues and use their mind. Each puzzle segment is accompanied by a good amount of banter to keep the scenes from feeling too boring. Most of them are spectacular to look at, and each of them add to the game’s lore.
Compared to its predecessors, A Thief’s End feels like it contains fewer gunfights. That said, each encounter is rich with opportunities to play differently. Very rarely does the game shoehorn you into a single path of cover, firing forward into an enemy. Most battles are in open arenas with many directions of approach. This seamlessly integrates with the game’s new stealth mechanics, which allow Nate to escape a fight unseen and re-approach with stealth takedowns through tall grass and ledge grabs. The game also removed the ability to throw back grenades, forcing the player to move when they stay in one spot for too long. The combat set-pieces are also much more vertical in this installment, creating many angles of attack and flanks to watch out for.
You’ll never stay in one place for the duration of a gunfight. I found myself often circling the entire structure during a gunfight due the pressure of suppressing fire, the need to scavenge more ammo, and the heat of being so vastly outnumbered. If the enemies get you into a corner, there’s always a way out, if you can survive it. If you can’t sit in cover, you still have mobile options of self defense. The running blindfire is reliable with pistols and SMGs, displaying satisfying hit markers on the target’s body parts. If the opportunity arises, you can even fire your pistol during a rope-swing, which will throw off your target’s aim. Melee is still reliable without being overpowered. Enemies will often put Nate into grapples, which are countered by the triangle button. There is no QTE displayed in these parts, so the player grows into recognizing when they need to pull a reversal during a fistfight. It’s all very responsive and satisfying. Every choice you make during a fight is the difference between life or death.
If I had to think of a complaint, it would be that there is nothing special about A Thief’s End’s enemy types. Goons are identified by their weapon, and they each dress accordingly to make them easy to identify. Pistol-wielding mercs are usually plainly dressed in a t-shirt and have much more mobility, for example. Snipers always stay back and track you with their laser sights, and the helmeted shotgun men have extra protection from headshots and melee. There isn’t really anything we haven’t seen before.
The multiplayer component of the A Thief’s End, much like that of its predecessors, successfully translates many elements of the single player experience into a chaotic and fun arena shooter. Player loadouts include boosters which enhance your character’s abilities, as well as purchasable heavy weapons, mystical artifacts, and AI sidekicks. These perks are bought by in-game money earned by completing objectives, assisting allies, killing enemies, and picking up treasures. These scorestreak-esque bonuses provide flavour to every battle, and I particularly love the mysticals and sidekicks. Mystical items call back to old Uncharted adventures, which introduce a supernatural element to battles, allowing players to revive each other instantaneously, have the El Dorado swarm an enemy’s holdout with homing flames, or slow down time in a limited area. Sidekicks spawn in to provide support, whether it be a personal medic, an overwatch sniper, or a crazed woman who runs out and puts targets into sleeper holds. I’m not even grazing the surface of what fun there is to be had in multiplayer.
Multiplayer is designed with teamwork in mind. It takes a lot of bullets to down an enemy, and players have a decent window of time to revive each other in the heat of battle. There’s even a revive item that replaces your grenade, enabling you to revive people from a distance. It is nearly impossible to succeed by running and gunning on your own, as being outnumbered two to one usually spells death. That said, when both teams are staying together, it really feels like two hunting parties competing over the same objective – much like the campaigns of the series often do. Though some may feel as though this mode has been tacked on by necessity, I feel like Naughty Dog has done their best to ensure that the multiplayer experience expresses a lot of the feelings surrounding the stories and levels of Uncharted as a whole.
The maps are all beautiful locations from the main story, though it is admittedly lacking the dynamic, two-segment levels from Drake’s Deception. Regardless, they all run at a smooth 60 frames per second. The character selection is smaller in this entry, but each character is fully voiced and has multiple skins. The entire original voice cast seems to have returned with the sole exception of Harry Flynn, whose original voice actor could not make a return. Very little can compare to the spectacle of Tenzin in a tuxedo jumping off a rope and landing on a screaming Eddy Raja though.
The only major flaw of the multiplayer mode is the new way that vanity items are obtained. Player can purchase premium Uncharted Points to unlock characters, costumes, gun skins, and hats. Otherwise they can collect an in-game currency, “Relics” to open randomized boxes which contain the same items. However it takes 150 Relics to buy a box, and the game only rewards you with 10 Relics per match – if you win. Alternatively, the multiplayer tutorial/challenge mode “Trials” easily offers significantly more Relics. I found that after completing all the Trials, I obtained everything I really wanted from the Vanity Chests, but any boxes earned from then on would be extremely slow. I might have some trouble getting any additional Vanity items they add in the future, but I refuse to spend three dollars on a taunt or a skin.
In conclusion, this game is incredible. Dare I say, a masterpiece. Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End is the perfect final act to an iconic franchise. It wraps up the series with so much grace and tact that I actually hope there is no fifth game. The gameplay polishes what we know and love, and the level design is the best it’s ever been. The storytelling is definitely emotionally involved to rival The Last of Us while still maintaining the chuckles and charm the series is renowned for. In retrospect, it’s amazing to see how far this series has come from its modest roots as a lighthearted love letter to Indiana Jones. Greatness from small beginnings, indeed.