Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End

This is it. The Big One. After several set backs, lengthy delays, and even a truckload of stolen copies, the final instalment of Naughty Dog’s critically acclaimed action franchise swings onto PS4. Describing Nathan Drake’s next treasure hunting adventure in too much detail would involve dipping my toes into murky, spoiler filled waters. So don’t worry, I’ll keep it simple. I’ll try and avoid mentioning specific plot moments or describing set pieces, at least no more that what has been already revealed in official marketing.

Here’s all you really need to know. Naughty Dog have done it again, creating a game that elevates their critically acclaimed franchise to even more spectacular heights. Go away and play it you haven’t already. Finish it if you’ve already started. Or borrow it from a friend if you don’t own it. It’s simply that good.

Uncharted 4 starts several years down the line from the last game, as Drake gives up his reckless ways to start a normal life with new wife Elena. His dull day job pushing papers is hardly satisfying, and part of him yearns to be back out, trekking the globe in search of forgotten treasures. What follows is an exciting globe trotting adventure that combines what are now franchise staples (combat, traversal and story) into an expertly polished journey.

I think Naughty Dog must have been handed the keys to the PS4 literally hundreds of years before other developers. How else could they have produced the best graphics the little black box has ever had? The polished up Nathan Drake Collection gave us a taste of what the series could look like on current gen tech, but nothing could prepare us for a fully-fledged PS4 Uncharted.  The most obvious step-up is in the character models. The new processing power of the PS4 means that game characters have never looked so good before. The performances of Nolan North, Troy Baker, and others, are represented in remarkable detail. Subtle gestures and even muscle twitches are visible, and when combined with the quality script, Drake and his friends seem almost alive. It really builds on the human element that has arguably made the Uncharted series so popular. It’s easy to become invested in the story of the Drake brothers, especially when it takes them to some pretty stunning locations.

Each corner of the game, from towering mountain vistas and the lush foliage of a tropical jungle, down to the tiny glint of a glass bottle brims with detail. It all looks just right; like the way shafts of light filter down through the canopy, or the way water ripples against the sandy shore. It also feels just right.  I don’t think I’ve ever been as excited to see a table of fruit being knocked over. The physics behind each and every object are mind-blowingly realistic, bullets smashing across walls, fence panels splintering under the tires of a jeep, the aforementioned fruit being flung by an explosion.  The level of tech required to make things look this, well….normal, is incredible, and Uncharted 4 pulls it off. The world feels real, authentic, and lived in, even if you’re flying past it at eighty miles an hour. It’s stunningly beautiful, and although not quite looking like real life, is definitely a colossal high point for PS4 graphics.  This attention to ordinary detail helps ground the more fantastical and violent elements of Drake’s final adventure.

The staple Uncharted gameplay of clambering and combat remains. This time however, Drake’s learned some new tricks. The biggest addition to climbing is the grappling hook, which can be attached to various anchor points throughout each level. It’s a great tool to use, both for gaining an extra foothold whilst scaling a cliff, and for swinging to higher ground in the midst of a firefight. Guns and grenades crack with appropriate punch, feeling more dangerous than ever before. The formula of combat remains relatively unchanged from previous games: grab gun, hide behind cover, shoot bad guys, occasionally dive away from a grenade with a familiar cry of “Oh crap, oh crap!” However, this time, enemies are more aggressive and intelligent, using the environment to their advantage, ducking behind cover, and even flanking the player for a surprise attack. They really keep you on your toes, forcing you to move position often.

Getting overrun by baddies is a great moment to try out the newly revamped stealth mechanics. Whilst it won’t bother Metal Gear Solid 5 for the open world stealth crown, Uncharted 4’s system works pretty well. It’s nice to be able to crouch in long grass that actually does obscure your character, instead of just being told it can. Enemies have a little meter that turns yellow when they investigate a disturbance, and red when they see you, and it’s pretty satisfying to have the option to slip through levels like a ghost. Like The Last of Us, combat encounters take place in sandbox arenas, and having a few more options in Drake’s arsenal makes each one feel special.

Vehicles make a welcome return to the series, but with more freedom than the on rails convoy chases we had before. The main addition is the jeep, which not only allows you to explore the open environments at your own pace, but also features centre stage in some of the most explosive set pieces ever. These huge action packed moments are few and far between, which greatly increases their impact. One key sequence (which anyone who watched the E3 2015 video knows) is a series highlight. It blends all the established gameplay mechanics into a stunning chase that doesn’t let up for almost fifteen minutes, the camera never cutting away from the action. It’s the kind of spectacle that film just can’t compete with.

Perhaps the only real downside to Uncharted 4 is that nothing really comes as a surprise. The story doesn’t really deviate from the template laid out nine years ago (good guys look for treasure, bad guys try to get it first, adventure ensues). Apart from a few concluding moments, and a wonderful hit of nostalgia early on, Uncharted 4 rarely surprised me. Plot twists and turns were reasonably predictable, and didn’t do much to subvert genre conventions in the same way Naughty Dogs’ The Last of Us did. The main villains, rich boy Rafe and mercenary leader Nadine are fairly cliché, only leaving their mark in several fight sequences. Bad guys have never been Uncharted’s forte, and whilst the villainous pair are far more interesting than Among Thieves’ one note Russian thug Lazarevic, they’re still not great.