I’ll come right out to say that Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, is one of the most enjoyable games I’ve played in a while. But I have to admit that this is the first PlayStation 4 game I have played, since my last PlayStation set was an original PlayStation.
Having the opportunity to indulge in Uncharted 4, I feel the need to play the previous Uncharted titles (UNCHARTED: The Nathan Drake Collection).
Back to Uncharted 4. You play Nathan Drake, the protagonist of the Uncharted franchise, who is a treasure hunter with a penchant for getting into trouble.
Together with his big brother, Sam, Nathan seeks the treasure of infamous English pirate Henry Avery while clashing head on with Rafe Adler, a wealthy partner-turned-rival with an army of mercenaries backing him up.
Coming along for the ride are Nathan’s wife, Elena Fisher, a tough-as-nails journalist, as well as Nathan’s pal and mentor, Victor “Sully” Sullivan, who is always around to save them from a sticky situation.
The characters featured in Uncharted 4 are strong, memorable, and most importantly, believable. They are brought to life by the well-scripted dialogue and cinema-grade voice acting.
The story comprises several flashbacks and swapped timelines so it can be a little disorienting. Even for newbies to the series like myself, Uncharted 4 gets you up to speed by way of Hollywood-worthy cinematic cutscenes and letting you play the characters’ backstory.
You get to play young Nathan as a boy sneaking out from a church-run orphanage and looking for clues on Henry Avery left behind by his mother. You can also play Sam during a flashback. This helps to break the monotony as it’s almost always adult Nathan who is doing stuff in the game.
Uncharted 4 is a strong story-driven game so it’s not for gamers who revel in shooting, or exploring an open world, or button-mashing combat, although it contains a good mix of everything in a nice action-adventure package.
It’s almost like playing an Indiana Jones movie that has you jumping and climbing puzzles, shooting or sneak attacking mercenaries, and solving cryptic puzzles. The game’s thoughtful design helps you in subtle ways without making you feel like a loser, which I appreciate.
If Nathan stands around too long or failed at solving a puzzle, the game will offer hints (if you choose to accept) via the heads-up display, or a non-player character will provide some recommendations, like “there might be a path below” or will even show you the way, “this way, follow me!”.
Although events are heavily scripted, Uncharted 4 does offer some heart-in-your-mouth moments. Collapsing bridges and exploding mummies are worthy of an adventure movie. Even with the game’s linear design, some maps offer the chance for Nathan to drive around and do with some limited exploring.
Uncharted 4 also rewards the curious with a generous scattering of shiny trinkets all over the map to encourage you to search every nook and cranny to collect ‘em all. How Nathan can leap from place to place and hang off ledges with a haul of vases and pots in his inventory is a miracle!
Apart from trinkets, there are also places and actions that trigger journal entries and earn trophies that will satisfy those with the completist compulsion.
Uncharted 4’s graphics are a real treat for the eyes. The game takes you to several exotic locations in search of the treasure hoard, including Panama, Scotland and Madagascar, where you get to explore beautifully rendered grand mansions, collapsing ruins and lush tropical islands occasionally lashed by torrential rain and stormy seas.
All these make perfect settings for fabulous climbing and jumping puzzles that are fortunately not too frustrating.
I did encounter some glitches in the game that caused Nathan to drop to his death – he actually managed to cling to a ledge but somehow fell through the rendered walls into the sea.
Also, the camera angles can be limiting in tight spaces that might cause Nathan to miss a step, though fortunately this doesn’t happen too often.
On the whole, Uncharted 4 is a very forgiving game, and lets you retry the challenge without needing to replay too much.
It comes with in-game bonuses that you can buy with points earned during gameplay. These range from outright silly modifiers like helium (high pitched) or xenon (low pitched) voices, to a “no gravity” mode where dead bodies float in the air, to genuinely useful mods like infinite ammo and slowed down “bullet time” mode.
You can also opt for skin changes for the main characters – I made Nathan and Sam swim in the sea wearing tuxedos! – or a cel shading filter to render the game like a comic book.
There is also a cameo retro game featured in Uncharted 4 by way of the developer Naughty Dog’s Crash Bandicoot that I used to play on my old PlayStation. How very apt, and how far we have come since!
Uncharted 4 for the PlayStation 4 is available in Singapore at S$74.90.
TL;DR
Nothing like a treasure hunt to get your adrenaline going. Uncharted 4 is another winning title in the action-adventure franchise, with great gameplay, graphics, characters and story that will compel you to play until the end, and come back for more.
