Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End – Spectacular Action Combined with a Sought After Poise

It has extreme action and frenetic combat, betrayal and redemption, loss and regret; Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End develops slowly into a tale of grownup boys, paired with an equally mature graphics and amazing multiplayer modes that augment the already wonderful creation.

Storyline

Up to this juncture of the series, the developer Naughty Dog has taken us around the planet after great treasures that we read about in famous legends, to find the Chintamani Stone inside the Himalayas, to discover El Dorado in the Amazon rainforest, and to step into the religious, sandy city of Iram of Pillars. However, at its very beginning, Uncharted 4 features the hero Nathan Drake spending a life devoid of hassle with wife Elena Fisher, a freelance journalist, in a 3-bedroom home in New Orleans, playing video games.

The quiet in the life of Nathan changes altogether with the arrival of his older brother Sam, supposedly dead before 15 years. This fellow has turned into a criminal and needs money to pay off a debt. He has also brought the news of a great treasure, the pirate Henry Avery’s looted treasure, one that the brothers were after in their early treasure-hunting days. This is enough to pull out Nathan from his quiet life and they start off in the chase of their life’s biggest ambition.

Display of Emotions at its Best

What is commendable in Uncharted 4 is the way they have shown the emotional life of Nathan. An overview of his past has also been taken and how it created his mentality, how in the past he considered violence as a correct way to end matters and how he hates power and veils himself with humor. Attention to details is superb, for example, Nathan’s hesitation while speaking about his childhood and his secret gazes at Elena! These emotions offer life to the characters.

Of course, you can enjoy this “life” while playing. The game’s prequels made you deal with third-person battle, climbing and solving puzzles. Uncharted 4, on the other hand, is quite non-violent and more of secret, which requires the character to be patient, but also more reserved. The action in Uncharted 4 goes on impeccably beside its narrative. While it has a clear influence of The Last Of Us, together, all this creates a great experience.

Amazing Structure with No Need to Slow Down

Another point inspired by The Last Of Us is the game’s structure, in the form of a more open level design, which would have been harmful for a minor game’s pace but Uncharted 4 is successful in keeping the excitement alive while transitioning from open spaces to action sequences with no requirement of slowing the momentum.

Real World Settings

Another commendable point is the settings in the real world like the acrobatic display on the cliffs in Scotland, Tuscany’s heist, and a chase in the busy marketplace from where you enter a farmland after sliding through mud, leaping over trucks and smashing into the shacks of the Madagascar villages! It’s amazing to get something with high speed and great power all of a sudden, just when you are thinking of a steady rhythm.

Lighting, Camera and Audios Making Wonders

Another great feature of Uncharted 4 is its lighting, camera and dialogues! You are guided by these to the right entryway or a collapsing wall as you dive through the explosions and smoke. There are also audio signals that guide you and other characters over the noise of guns about when to keep running and when to fight.

Wonderful Presentation

And of course, the presentation is the key feature. The cinematography, during cutscenes as well as in-game, multiplies the wonderment of this stupendous world. It just cannot be described with words like vast Scotland or lush jungle; it’s simply majestic! The animation sets a new benchmark for games about how subtle emotions like desire and suspect can be illustrated.

The way Drake looks at the mythical sites he could only dream of in his childhood, is unmatched, achieved through the far-reaching camera shots and close-ups. Uncharted 4 paints the world as someone passionate would look at it!

Moderns and Mysticals

However, the game also is supportive to create maximum chaos by swinging of the clones of Nathan Drake from grappling hooks and antagonists from the previous Uncharted games showering grenades and firing RPGs and beating each other into a mash. While all these are staples of the multiplayer mode, Uncharted 4 features Mysticals too, i.e. attacks with the help of artifacts, that have become well-known across the series. You can make your fallen mates alive with the Chintamani Stone, aggressive ghosts summoned by El Dorado can come to your help and you can teleport short distances with the help of Djinn! Moreover, you can earn gold through kills and restores as well as find it dispersed throughout the multiplayer maps. The gold enables you to add Mysticals to your inventory and also to call upon medics and Al snipers to assist in the efforts of your team.

The Main Draw

However, while the Uncharted 4’s multiplayer elevates its already flowing third-person mechanics, it’s not the main draw of the game. The main draw is its significant single-player journey. It’s the narrative that goes on during the gameplay, for example, Nathan whispering in Elena’s ear or placing an assuring hand over Sam’s shoulder. Such scenes are so carefully created that you can feel that the thoughts of the characters cannot be heard loud.

The narrative goes on feeding the gameplay and the details combine together to make something bigger. Uncharted 4 flows through personal moments and set pieces with a skill, grace and poise; so, you don’t mind if the guns stop firing and smoke gets cleared, and Nathan takes a quiet breath.

Uncharted 4 is a thrilling adventure with spectacular action, exotic settings and an easily puling pace, but it’s also a family story that has self-examination and sacrifices for those whom you care for. And of course, it’s also a story about our legends, myths and idols and how we pass them down to inspire us!

Here I recommend you to also watch a hilarious Uncharted 4 Gameplay review by Soberly Honest which also tells you about the glorious giveaways by the game’s Libertalia Collector’s Edition. Don’t miss this video!